How to adjust the inner burr and grind finer on the Sage or Breville home espresso machines

Improve the extraction of your espresso at home

Some types of coffee beans will require a wider grind range in order to achieve an ideal extraction, thus an espresso that tastes good.

If during the process of making espresso you find yourself reaching the finest grind setting on your Sage or Breville home espresso machine (i.e. number 1 on the side dial), but the espresso still shows signs of significant under-extraction (fast flow, short extraction time, poor crema, lack of sweetness and texture), you should consider grinding even finer by adjusting the inner burr.

How to adjust the inner burr on a Sage or Breville home espresso machine

Before following the steps below, I recommend removing all the coffee beans from the hopper, running the grinder until empty and turning off your espresso machine.

1. Unlock the hopper

2. Remove the hopper

3. Pull the wire handle into vertical position and twist counter-clockwise to unlock the conical burr (if done correctly, the red arrow indicator will move from “Lock” into “Align” position) and remove the burr

4. Remove the wire handle from both sides of the burr

5. Move the adjustable burr from 6 (default factory setting) to finer. I recommend proceeding in no more than 2 steps at a time.

6. Align the number with the handle opening

7. Reinsert the wire handle in both sides of the burr

8. Push the conical burr firmly into position and twist clockwise (this time around the red arrow indicator will move from “Align” into “Lock” position). You should hear a loud click, if locked in place correctly.

9. Align the hopper into position and lock it in

10. Run a few espresso shots, check the extraction and adjust further if necessary

I hope you find these tips helpful and, if you’d like to dive deeper, you may consider our espresso and latte art home barista workshops. Happy brewing!

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this, you might find this blogpost here interesting too – What is the best grind size for the Sage and Breville home espresso machines with a built-in grinder?