A Coffee Nerd’s Take on the Breville Oracle Jet: "It’s Just So Nice" (But Also, "It’s Just So Computer-y")
The Breville Oracle Jet is a $2,000 espresso machine that’s about as far from your simple Keurig as you can get. It’s a marvel of engineering, a computerized coffee-making behemoth that can make a perfectly pulled espresso with the push of a button. But for someone like me, a moderately knowledgeable coffee nerd, the Oracle Jet is a double-edged sword: it’s incredibly convenient and produces delicious results, but it also takes away some of the joy and ritual of crafting a good cup of espresso.
In my household, coffee is a clear division of labor. I, the self-proclaimed coffee person, am responsible for our espresso machine, the Breville Barista Express. My husband, while he enjoys a good cup of coffee, remains resolutely unintimidated by the mechanics of making one. He prefers to stick with the trusty Keurig.
The Oracle Jet is, in essence, a step up from the Barista Express, the older sibling who left their modest hometown and landed a prestigious job in the bustling metropolis. It’s a superautomatic espresso machine that takes care of most of the work, from grinding the beans to tamping the grounds. The graphical interface guides you through each step, making the process less daunting, even for a Keurig devotee like my husband. After a quick tutorial, he was whipping up Americanos with confidence, a feat that would have previously sent him running for the pod machine.
For someone like me, who takes a certain pride in the tactile ritual of pulling a shot of espresso, the Oracle Jet feels like beautiful overkill. There’s a certain charm in weighing out the beans, grinding them coarsely or finely, tamping the grounds with a satisfying pressure, and pulling the perfect shot. The Oracle Jet’s automation, while undeniably convenient, takes away this element of control, leaving me feeling slightly adrift in a sea of coffee-making simplicity.
"It’s just so nice," I thought, as I marveled at the sleek design, the illuminated portafilter, and the generous drip tray that promised fewer spills. But as I experimented with the auto-dose system, I discovered a nagging inconvenience. Adjusting the "dose" (the amount of ground espresso the machine adds to the portafilter) was a frustrating endeavor, a process much less precise than manually calibrating my Barista Express.
Ultimately, I settled on a coarse grind and resigned myself to the Oracle Jet’s pre-determined dose. While it produced decent shots, I couldn’t shake the feeling that with more persistence and a willingness to experiment, I could have achieved better results with my own manual approach. The Oracle Jet, while an impressive feat of engineering, couldn’t quite capture the nuanced satisfaction of a handcrafted espresso.
However, the Oracle Jet has a unique trick up its sleeve: cold espresso. It doesn’t actually chill the water but uses ambient temperature water, a touch of heat, and a drop in temperature to brew a room-temperature shot. This results in a stronger, less diluted espresso ideal for iced lattes, a welcome feature particularly in the afternoon heat.
Yet, for all its technological wizardry, the Oracle Jet left me yearning for the tactile simplicity of a traditional espresso machine. The touchscreen, while functional, felt intrusive, an affront to the peaceful solitude of crafting a morning cappuccino. And the WiFi connectivity, while allowing for remote updates and troubleshooting, seemed unnecessary, adding a layer of digital complexity to the already sophisticated process.
"I watched this espresso machine download a software update over Wi-Fi," I thought, a mix of amusement and incredulity washing over me. Here I was, a self-proclaimed coffee nerd, witnessing the future of coffee-making, and it involved a machine connecting to the internet to download a software update. It was both extraordinary and slightly disconcerting.
This digital sophistication, however, has its downsides. Some local espresso machine repair shops won’t work on Breville machines, citing limited availability of spare parts and technical documentation. While Breville prioritizes durability and makes components easy to replace, it’s still a factor to consider, especially when a replacement machine costs a considerable $2,000.
Overall, the Breville Oracle Jet is an impressive machine, a technological tour-de-force that makes undeniably delicious coffee. It embodies convenience and efficiency, but it also sacrifices some of the tactile charm and ritualistic pleasure of traditional espresso making. It’s a machine that ultimately caters to a specific type of coffee lover: one who values ease of use and the assurance of a perfectly brewed shot, even if it comes at the cost of a bit of hands-on involvement. In the end, the Oracle Jet may be "just so nice," but its digital complexity and the compromises it demands from a control freak like me leave me clinging to my manual Barista Express, a faithful companion in the pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee.