Sage the Barista Express (BES870)

If you would rather not shop for a separate grinder, the Barista Express is the natural one-box starting point: it builds a conical burr grinder with dose control into the same body, so you grind fresh and brew in one workflow with no second appliance to research or find space for. It uses a 54mm stainless portafilter with single- and dual-wall baskets, Thermocoil heating that delivers 93C with PID temperature control for shot consistency, 9 bar extraction, volumetric 1- and 2-shot control and a manual microfoam steam wand — the hands-on kind that lets you learn to texture milk and pour latte art yourself. The trade-offs versus the Bambino Plus: it costs around £100 more, it is much larger with a bean hopper on top, and its Thermocoil heats up more slowly than the Bambino Plus and Barista Pro's ThermoJet. Official price is around £499.95 (reduced from about £629.95); treat as indicative.