First Shots Oracle Touch
For our initial setup, we set the machine to turn on automatically twice a day , with a 2 hour auto shut off. We set the brew boiler temperature to 200F, and set the default steam temperature to 148F. I spent some time dialing in my coffee grind , and after also adjusting the tamping augers height , I settled into a 19.5 double dose, at 18 on the grind fineness settings. I set my default espresso shot time for a double to 34 seconds . The work lights were set to 100%, and the display, which is pretty bright at 100%, was dialed back down to 60%.
It did take some time finding the sweet spot for both my ideal dose of coffee, the grind setting, and the shot time , churning through about 200g of coffee. To be fair, thats a learning cost, that only really happens the first time you really dive into this machine. And also to be fair, Brevilles out of the box default settings should work fine for 90% of the coffees out there, but I didnt like the default 22.5g dose the machine was doling out, at a grind setting in the high 20s. Most of that 200g of coffee I used came from fine tuning the total dosed coffee amount, the shot timings, and the grind settings. Once that price is paid, it wont take that long, or use that much coffee the next time you happen to change coffees to a different blend or roaster, and need to re-dial in the machine.
Heres a photo slideshow of the first dialed in shot pull I did with the machine.
My And My Family Experience With The Breville Oracle Touch
Let me review how my wife and I use the Breville Oracle Touch espresso machine. My wife and I are preparing our two children to go to school in the morning. We have a hard time making coffee because of the short time, so we are moving around a lot, and we need something simple. Many friends have advised us to try one of the Nespresso pod machines or Keurig coffee makers. Though both Nespresso and Keurig make good quality espresso and coffee in less time, we want more than espresso or coffee and a machine that gives us a real taste of coffee and espresso. You must have understood that we want to grind coffee beans with our own hands and brew them.
We used the Breville Barista Express . However, Barista Express has been an excellent machine for us. The problem was that my wife never felt comfortable using it. The extra time we spent using it made our mornings difficult. My wife enjoys making drinks, but its tough to get a drink every day, trying to get out the door early in the morning.
Is The Breville Oracle Touch A Super Automatic Espresso Machine
Nothing sharpens the coffee worlds claws faster than a good debate: third-wave coffee vs dark roasts, the exact French press ratio, and super-automatic vs portafilter.
So, does the Breville Oracle Touch really qualify as a super-automatic? After all, you do have to move the portafilter from one place to the next in order to brew your coffee. And you have to place the milk jug under the steam wand.
Truly a Herculean effort in the morning whilst desperately seeking caffeine.
However, we do put the Oracle Touch espresso machine into the super-automatic category. Why? Because you dont actually do any of the processes in coffee brewing yourself.
You simply push a button and your coffee is ground and tamped. Then you move the portafilter and your espresso shot is pulled. The milk is also automatically steamed to your preference.
If you feel this is too much work then there are machines where you literally just push a button and go. But boy, you are missing out.
The Oracle Touch is a brilliant piece of coffee engineering from Breville that draws you into the process of making great coffee but takes care of all the bits you might mess up. Like having an expert Barista Rat controlling you as you go.. or maybe we watch too many animated films.
Recommended Reading: Miele Fully Automatic Espresso Machine
Final Thoughts On Our Breville Oracle Touch Review
Its no secret: we LOVE this machine.
For us, its a resoundingly big positive to the Breville Oracle Touch review. The fact that it can be used by amateurs and experienced baristas alike is amazing. And, no matter your level of experience, you will get superb results.
I love that it feels like making a coffee when you use it rather than just pressing a button. But, the detail of customization just blows my little socks off.
Dont get us wrong, it is not perfect:
You may not want to move portafilters around and put milk jugs under spouts to get your coffee. Especially when youre spending so much money, and I understand that.
You may not see the need for such a granular approach to customizing your coffee. And again, I can understand that.
But this espresso machine is definitely for you if youre interested in making great coffee at home and want a little help to make sure its always great. Or if you want to explore everything from single-origin espresso to nailing your latte art.
If thats you, then this automatic machine is truly the best thing you can buy.
How Good Is The Coffee From The Breville Oracle Touch
The coffee from the Breville Oracle Touch is superb.
It has everything you need for quality coffee: excellent grinder, doser, tamper, and consistent temperature and pressure throughout extraction. Youre paying a lot of money for this machine so making good coffee is the absolute minimum standard.
Where youll really notice the difference between the Oracle Touch and other super-automatic machines is when you try different beans with different roasts or origins. Then you can get into customizing the brewing process accordingly to get the best out of them.
This can be done with a level of precision far beyond many machines, even at this price point. This is the coffee machine for someone who wants to explore the full spectrum of coffee both single origins and roasts.
If youre looking at using your favorite beans every day to make your preferred coffee, then its something that youll probably never use. In that case, youre better off looking for a cheaper machine that makes your preferred drink at the push of a button.
Not sure the Breville Oracle Touch is for you?
Check out our picks of the top super automatic espresso machines
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What Kind Of Machine Is This Breville Oracle Touch
First and foremost, both my wife and my daughter love it. My wife uses it daily, twice a day, herself. When my wife is not at home, it is my daughters responsibility to use and clean it, and it is straightforward to use and clean. Although the price was something, I was ashamed to tell my family before. I didnt even tell my family how much it would cost for a week or two. I wanted my family to love it first. My game was on point, and it worked. I got some reactions, but man, I saved a lot of grief.
Breville Oracle Touch Espresso Machine
The Oracle Touch also comes with a built-in grinder and milk texturizer, allowing you to go through the entire process of making fresh specialty coffee brews.
Its equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to maintain the optimal water temperature and apply the ideal amount of pressure on the water flow during the espresso pull.
Most brilliant of all is its interface. The well-designed and colorful touchscreen display allows you to make brews that meet whatever coffee preferences you have with the swipe of a finger.
You also get to make and save personalized coffee recipes to waste no time getting your favorite brews in the busy mornings.
Thanks to the Oracle Touch features, this espresso machine can automatically create fresh third-wave specialty coffee while requiring only minimal effort from the user.
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Breville Oracle Espresso Machine
The Breville Oracle espresso machine has an integrated conical burr grinder that offers high precision and consistency for espresso grinding in terms of both size and dose.
It also provides excellent coffee temperature control to automatically extract coffee and steam milk simultaneously with great speed and ease.
Moreover, its engineered with a water pressure valve that helps apply the optimal amount of pressure throughout the coffee extraction without going overboard. From pulling an espresso shot to making milky espresso-based coffee, youll navigate through its intuitive LCD screen and user-friendly buttons and dials.
Youll manually make suitable adjustments and have the espresso machine automatically do the actual deed. Its suitable for anyone who desires convenience and ease of use but also a bit of hands-on action and manual tweaking.
The Breville Oracle Touch’s Features And Functions Pros And Cons
So what makes the Breville Oracle Touch semi-automatic espresso machine a great addition to your kitchen? Here are the reasons at a glance:
- Brews authentic portafilter-style espresso
- Key variables are all handled automatically as part of a single appliance
- Suitable for espresso newbies and afficionados alike. You choose to let the automated systems do their work or take on most of it yourself.
- You have the option to prepare milk froth automatically or by hand with a steam wand
- Easier to clean and operate than a super automatic machine
- High-quality, stainless-steel case and components
As the love child of a super automatic and portafilter machine, the Breville Oracle Touch incorporates two vital automatic systems:
- A built-in grinder with automatic tamping. Baristas working a portafilter always have a separate grinder and compress the coffee grounds by hand.
- Integrated touch screen with preprogrammed settings and menus you wont find on a portafilter.
The integrated grinder and auto-tamper are a big bonus for budding baristas because those are the two areas where theyre usually on shakier ground when making espresso. After all, ideal grind size and optimal compression are make or break because they dictate how long it takes for water to pass through the basket and consequently brew quality.
Note the virtually. Thats because espresso from a professional portafilter machine has a few uniquely human touches. But theyre unlikely to matter much to the average joe drinker.
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Breville Oracle Touch Review
Starting the day with great coffee should be a legal requirement. But it often requires a lengthy, complicated precision process. Or, an expensive habit at your local coffee shop Or is there another way to start the day right?
Thats where our Breville Oracle Touch review comes in. This truly is the top dog of the coffee makers: Serving up professional barista-quality coffee at home, automatically taking care of every part of the process for you. Whilst also allowing you an incredible level of customization.
Theres just one catch that impressive skillset comes with an impressive price tag. So we are here to work out whether it justifies that price tag and, ultimately, if its worth it.
We have scoured the internet for all the Oracle Touch espresso machine reviews to collate with our own, meaning we have the most comprehensive review you can find. Whilst not all home coffee experts give numerical scores, we have averaged these out. Therefore, you can get a consensus opinion on how good this automatic espresso machine really is and know for sure if it is right for you.
This article may contain affiliate/ compensated links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. For more information please see our disclaimer here.
What About Making A Cappuccino Or Latte
This is the part of the process with a typical machine that gives users fits.
The Oracle makes expertly frothed milk at the touch of a button. With some customization, of course.
The user can select milk for a latte, cappuccino or something in between. Pressing the lever for the frother delivers a burst of steam through the wand, expelling any water that has condensed. Nice attention to a seemingly small detail that makes a difference in the quality of the foam.
Cold milk is key to a great froth. An included metal frothing pitcher can be kept in the fridge until ready for use. The cold milk is poured into the pitcher and then the wand is inserted. Once the desired temperature for the milk is selected the lever is pressed again and the frothing begins.
And thats it. You can safely walk away while it is steaming and not worry about scalded milk. It will shut off automatically once the temperature is reached.
For the bold or experienced, there is a manual setting. You can take matters into your own hands and froth the milk. According to your own preference. The wand is adjustable so you can keep the tip deep into the milk and then slowly raise it to the top. The temperature is shown on the digital screen.
Espresso waits for nobody. It is important that the milk and coffee be done around the same time, or the precious crema will disappear. Oracles dual boiler system allows for the milk to be frothed while the coffee is extracted.
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Terrible Machine Matched By Terrible Service
I purchased this machine not long after it came out in 2018. My wife and I had a smaller machine from Saeco and wanted to step up to a better quality of coffee. We chose the Oracle Touch because of the automated functions while still retaining the traditional style group head /portafilter design. So far the machine has been repaired twice and is now in for it’s third repair. Once the steam wand failed and created an error, the second time the steam wand had an issue but without the error. Now it leaks water all over our kitchen counter and can …
Purchasedin
I Cannot Live Without My Coffee Machine
Hands down the best product I have ever purchased. Ive always had pod machines and they could never get the milk hot enough until I changed over to this machine.Everything about it is perfect, it even reminds you when its time to clean the machine or change the filters. The hardest part about the machine is picking what style of coffee you want.
Purchasedin at Harvey Normanfor $1,299.
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Breville The Oracle Touch Bes990
Best Semi-Automatic and Manual Coffee Machines in 2022Listing monitored
For 11 months this machine was incredible, I would have gladly competed with most local cafes i was so confident in the machine….. then it breaks. Before purchasing i read reviews and thought surely others just had a one off faulty machine because you would not expect that at this price point….. but I was wrong.First the steam wand would turn itself on and produce a constant spray of hot steam at whatever time it wanted, i have been burnt by this. shortly after while trying to brew only a thick coffee liquid would be dispensed followed by …
Purchasedat Bing Lee Physical storefor $3,200.
I purchased this unit last June roughly. It was functioning okay for almost one year, but somehow it’s started tripping GFCI outlet and making weird sounds since last week. Considering the price we pay for this expensive unit, its durability certainly doesn’t meet our expectations…
Purchasedin at Appliances Onlinefor $3,019.
Its Not The Humidity Its The Heat
Oracle Touch utilizes a Dual Boiler construction to control the water temperature much better than older Breville espresso machine models.
Rather than just having one boiler for all heating activities, espresso machines like this one are equipped with 2 different boilers:
- A brew boiler for coffee brewing
- A steam boiler for milk frothing
This enables simultaneous extraction and steaming and a consistently ideal temperature for each activity is maintained as well. Neat!
Other than that, the PID temperature control also helps the machine adjust and stabilize the brewing temperature to optimize pulling espresso shots with little variation.
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Who Is The Breville Oracle Touch For
The Breville Oracle Touch is a great machine for coffee aficionados who want to enjoy amazing specialty coffee drinks at home without having to become a barista. It is also suitable for the more advanced user thanks to its manual features. This machine is also great for households of two or more people, as it can pay for itself within a year.
Auto And Manual Milk With Powerful 130c Steam For Fast Silky Microfoam
Enjoy silky, velvety microfoam milk automatically with adjustable milk temperatures between 40°C to 75°C and 9 levels of texture. Or hands on manual texturing like a barista.
Accessories
- 58mm Full Stainless Steel Portafilter
- 1 cup & 2 cup Single Wall Filter Baskets
- 480ml Stainless Steel Milk Jug
- Steam Wand spare parts
- Water Filter Holder and Water Filter
Dimensions
- 39.2 x 37.3 x 45.4 cm
Construction Materials
- Create, save and name 8 customisable coffee settings
- Adjustable Grind Control
- Programmable Milk Temperature and Texture
- 2 Year Repair Warranty
Milk texturing
- Adjustable Milk Texture and Temperature
- Automatic steam wand purge cleaning
Brewing System
- Professional dual-boiler construction
- PID Temperature Control
- This commercial feature limits the 15 bar Italian pump pressure throughout the extraction, preventing bitter flavors in the shot
- 1. Dedicated steam boiler with integrated Heat Exchange aids thermal stability
- 2. Dedicated espresso boiler with Digital PID control delivers precise water temperature
- 3. Heated group headPID controlled embedded element maintains thermal stability
Integrated Burr Grinder
- Espresso shot clock displays shot duration as a guide to extraction consistency
Interface
- Heated Grouphead for brew temp control
Tamping
- Hands-free auto grind, dose and tamp
Grind Settings
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