I tried Sage’s new Barista Touch Impress with Cold Brew, and it’s the upgrade I never knew I needed

As iced coffee has become more popular, many of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines are being upgraded with cold brew technology. Making iced coffee at home can be tricky – it might look simple, but you can’t simply make a coffee using cold water, as it’ll come out watery, acidic and weak.

Instead, you need a coffee machine that can extract the flavours of your coffee beans at lower temperatures, so you’re still getting a delicious tasting drink without any dilution problems. Sage has tried its hand at this, as it recently upgraded its Barista Touch Impress coffee machine with Cold Extraction to make both hot and cold beverages.

I’m a big fan of the original Sage Barista Touch Impress which only has hot drink options. I use it every morning, and it’s packed full of premium features, including a bean hopper, built-in grinder, AutoMilQ technology and customisable settings. So, when I heard that Sage was adding cold brew technology to its Barista Touch Impress, I jumped at the chance to try it out.

How did the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction perform?

The Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction has exactly the same features as the original, but with added cold coffee options. To read more about the touchscreen, grinder, AutoMilQ settings, and more check out my five-star Sage Barista Touch Impress review.

Sage has developed Cold Extraction technology that extracts the flavour of the coffee beans at a lower, colder temperature. This reduces any acidity and works to create light, smooth flavours. Sage claims that it takes three minutes for the Sage Barista Touch Impress to extract espresso for Cold Brew and the crema for Cold Espresso takes two minutes.

As mentioned, the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction comes with the same hot options as the original, but also has five cold drinks: cold espresso, cold brew, espresso martini, espresso shakerato and latte shakerato. The last three come with a recipe on the touchscreen – as you shouldn’t be running vodka through your coffee machine! – and it takes you through the steps needed to make the drink.

So, how did the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction perform? Compared to its hot options, I found the extraction to be a bit tougher and longer. It took longer for the drink to ‘brew’ as it needed to cool down to the right temperature but that’s somewhat expected. However, I found the coffee to be more of a trickle at times and needed a few shots until I got the right amount that I wanted.

Having said that, I was incredibly impressed by the coffee quality that the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction made. The coffee is perfectly cold, and still tastes the same as you’d expect when it’s brewed with hot water. As the milk options aren’t required for cold drinks, I appreciated the tutorial assistance for the more complex recipes.

Overall, using the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction was extremely easy and resulted in delicious iced coffees and cold brews. I especially enjoyed the latte shakerato while my fiancé loved the cold brew – and as I tested it during a rare UK heatwave, the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction definitely came at the right time.

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Should you buy the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction?

I’d have to say yes, you should buy the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction if you love both hot and cold coffees. I constantly rave about this coffee machine – I’ve used it every morning for the past couple years and it’s never let me down. In my opinion, it’s just been made better with the Cold Extraction feature

If you’re trying to decide whether to get the Sage Barista Touch Impress or the new model with Cold Extraction, I’d probably recommend going for the former. The Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction performs amazingly, but if you don’t particularly like cold coffee, you probably won’t get the most out of it.

But, the Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction is the same price as the original that comes without cold brew, so there’s really no harm in getting it even if you think you might not use the cold brew options – it’s always better to have the option than not, after all.

The Sage Barista Touch Impress with Cold Extraction is available now for £1,199.95 at Sage.