Breville Oracle Review: Why the Oracle Touch Reviews call it a Super Machine

Is your "cup of tea", in fact, a cup of coffee? Well, deliciously brewed espresso is even better. If this is your ideal way to start the day, maybe you’ve thought about getting an espresso machine to have at home. If you’re deciding whether or not to make the investment, Breville espresso machines are a brand worth considering, which is why we have put together this Breville Oracle review.

To be frank, the Oracle is one of the pricier options if you are looking for a home espresso machine. However, there is a reason for the increased price, automation. The Breville Oracle is arguably the best when it comes to super automatic espresso machines. While most espresso machines require a hands-on approach, this machine is more of a set it and forget it espresso maker.

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Breville Oracle Touch

The Breville Oracle Touch Fully Automatic Espresso Machine makes brewing specialty coffee easy. With the Oracle, you get not only automatic grinding, dosing, and tamping; you also get automatic milk texturing. Guess what that means? The two trickiest parts of making espresso are a breeze.

If you want your espresso quickly during busy mornings, you will appreciate how it brews your espresso and textures the milk at the same time. There are two espresso machine models in the Breville Oracle series: the original Oracle and the Oracle Touch. 

Specs: 

• Width: 14.7 inches
• Height: 14.5 inches
• Depth: 17.6 inches
• Weight: 37.26 pounds
• Water Tank Capacity: 84 ounces 
• Bean Hopper Capacity: ½ pound 

Let’s take a look at a brief overview of the Breville Oracle espresso machine before our breakdown. Here are just a few of the features you’ll enjoy with this coffee maker. 

✅ Quickly provides cafe-quality espresso

✅ Brews and foams at the same time

✅ Only takes a few seconds to heat up 

✅ Precise temperature control

✅ Grinder is built in 

✅ Brushed stainless steel exterior

✅ Stainless steel dual boiler 

✅ 2-year repair warranty 

✅ Two boilers allow simultaneous brewing and milk steaming

🚫 Too large for small kitchens

🚫 Expensive 

The Breville Brand 

Breville’s history stretches back almost 90 years. In 1932, Bill O’Brien and Harry Norville created Breville, which is a derivation of their surnames. Founded in Sydney, the brand has become popular all over the world. Breville makes a wide range of kitchen appliances, including the Oracle. This brand prides itself on innovation and responsiveness to its customers. Breville Oracle gives you a third-wave specialty coffee experience in the comfort of your own home. 

Breville Oracle Review

Like many other worthwhile purchases, the Breville Oracle is an investment. It is definitely a little on the pricey side, but if you’re an espresso lover, you may decide it’s worth the splurge. Breville Oracle has an array of impressive features. 

Breville Oracle boasts what is described as a 4 keys formula. This provides third-wave specialty coffee. The pillars of the 4 keys formula are: 

• Velvety and silky texture
• Unforgettable espresso body 
• Ideal balanced taste
• Decadently rich flavor 

Sounds delicious? It is. But before deciding to buy a Breville Oracle, you should know everything about the machine. That’s important, so you know it’s a good fit for your preferences and lifestyle. After all, it’s a large machine and certainly an investment.  In our exploration below, you’ll read ratings of different facets of the product, including Features, Ease of Use, Design, Value for Money, Performance, and Brewing System. Get the benefit of our experience. 

Features 5/5 ⭐

Breville Oracle has top-notch features that give you cafe-quality espresso at home. For example, it boasts Optimal Water Pressure. It’s the Oracle’s Over Pressure Valve that limits how much pressure the pump creates during extraction. This is key to cutting out unwanted bitterness in your espresso. 

This machine has low-pressure pre-infusion, which slowly boosts water pressure as needed. This leads to smooth and even extraction. You simply cannot get professional-grade espresso without the low-pressure pre-infusion that Breville Oracle provides. With this pre-infusion process, the machine soaks your coffee grinds. It allows the water to evenly distribute through the grinds. 

Looking for an espresso maker that grinds? You’ll get that here. Breville Oracle has Dose Control Grinding. The machine features an integrated precision conical burr grinder. This will automatically grind and dose your espresso. It also tamps it. All of this is key to the best possible flavor. 

Temperature control is key to the perfect espresso. The Oracle has Digital Temperature Control (PID) functionality. It ensures water is at exactly the correct temperature for the best espresso extraction. Your Oracle creates a complete espresso with foam that would make your barista green with envy. This machine’s self-cleaning steam wand gives you premium-quality microform. This is key to the perfect espresso or latte. 

Making top-notch espresso quick and easy is a priority with Breville Oracle. You see this in this espresso machine’s personalization functionality. Its computerization lets you save as many as eight personalized coffee instruction sets. This includes specifications such as milk texture, temperature, and strength. 

If you go all out and choose the Touch Screen model, you’ll find operation even quicker and easier than with the original (and that’s saying something). 

Ease of Use 4/5 ⭐

Both models of the Oracle are incredibly easy to use. No experience making espresso? No problem. This product is designed to guide you through the process, delivering consistent café quality coffee. It’s the perfect balance between more advanced and less expensive machines in terms of user-friendliness. Simultaneous espresso brewing and milk foaming means you get your whole espresso all at once. There is no need to stand around when you need to be on the go. 

It’s easy to program your preferred milk texture and temperature. There is also adjustable grind control and settings such as long black, one/two shots, and hot water. You can also adjust the coffee strength, of course. 

Design 4/5⭐

One of the great things about the Oracle machine is that its design falls somewhere between the super-automatic and semi-automatic machines. With a super-automatic machine, you lose quite a bit of control. With a semi-automatic machine, you really need to know what you’re doing. 

The Oracle is also stylish. Its outer casing is brushed stainless steel. The top surface is aluminum, and this features a built-in cup warmer. This is a large machine, however, and it might not be appropriate for your kitchen. It weighs 35 pounds and measures 14.5 X 14.7 X 17.6 inches. 

This machine has a useful roller bearing system. The knob for controlling this is underneath the drip tray. With the roller bearing system, you can turn the machine around. This is essential when you need to access the water tank. 

Value for Money 4/5 ⭐

This is a connoisseur’s product, someone that enjoys the brewing process, yet wants to automate it. The perfect buyers know who they are and are after café quality coffee. If it’s right for you, you’ll know it’s worth the money. If it’s the ideal fit for your lifestyle, space, and preferences, the Oracle is an excellent value for money. It’s a truly unique product and well worth the investment. Still, it is certainly on the pricey side. 

Performance 5/5 ⭐

The Breville Oracle is designed to perform as well as any barista’s machine. Once you’ve made the investment, you can enjoy cafe-quality espresso with immaculate foam any time of the day or night. The Breville Oracle Touch has 1800 watts of power. Eager to create latte art? You can do so using this machine’s automatic steam wand. Once you have the this coffee machine, you will enjoy the true tastes of the cafe and brewing process at home. 

Brewing System 5/5 ⭐

The Breville Oracle has dual boilers, so you can brew and steam simultaneously. The pump is able to keep up 15 bar pressure, and this makes sure you get the right pressure during extraction. You can choose the brewing temperature with the PID. 

The bean hopper has a half-pound capacity, and it’s through this that you feed the conical burr grinders. These are made of stainless steel. The Oracle has an 84-ounce capacity water tank. The machine comes with a water filter, and you can install it if you like. 

It’s easy to customize how much foam you get, as well as the steam temperature. You’ll know when you reach the temperature you want, as the wand tip has a sensor. 

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Don’t Buy an Oracle If…

As fantastic as the Oracle is, there are a few reasons why it might not be right for you. 

• You don’t have much space- The Oracle certainly isn’t compact. This is a large coffee machine. 
• You prefer black coffee - Don’t buy the Oracle if you never want froth on your espresso. There’s no point, as there are smaller and more affordable options that will give you black espresso. 
• You don’t want to make so much of an investment -  You can find less expensive options for making espresso at home. 

How to Brew with the Oracle 

Brewing the perfect cup of espresso with your espresso maker is simple and easy. Here are the steps: 

Put beans into the Oracle’s hopper

As the Oracle grinds coffee beans, you can put whole beans in this espresso machine. 

Grind Coffee beans

Take the portafilter and put it in the machine’s grind mount. Push the Oracle’s grind button. Once you have done this, the machine will grind the exact amount of beans you need. The ground beans will go to the portafilter. 

Tamp the grounds into the machine’s portafilter

The Oracle has an automatic tamping function. This is one of the best (and most unique) features of the machine. Tamping is essential to espresso making. 

Brew your espresso and make your froth

Take the portafilter out of the grinder and put it in the group head. Once you’ve done that, you can brew. The Breville Oracle has simultaneous milk frothing. You can steam, foam, and froth your milk to create the perfect espresso. 

Why Does the Coffee Taste So Good from a Breville Oracle? 

Breville has everything you need for perfectly brewed espresso: 

✅ The Oracle’s PID (digital temperature control) technology means you get the ideal espresso taste. It will always be sweet and delectable. 

✅ This espresso machine always uses precisely the right amount of freshly ground beans to brew your espresso. This is key. If you don’t use enough, you end up with disappointingly weak espresso. 

✅ The Oracle’s 9 bar (high pressure) extraction process is what gives the espresso such impressive body. The machine has a 15 bar Italian pump. 

✅ Advanced steaming technology gives you perfect microfoam milk. The right amount of pressure is used to create all the minuscule bubbles you see at the cafe. This makes your espresso wonderfully smooth. The Oracle’s Micro-Foam Steam Wand makes the magic happen. 

✅ You get ideally balanced flavor because of optimized water pressure. The Oracle has an Over Pressure Valve (OPV). This cuts out bitterness in your espresso. 

Troubleshooting the Breville Oracle

Even the highest quality machines will eventually need troubleshooting. We take a look at some common troubleshooting with the Breville Oracle below: 

Overfilling of Portafilter

This problem may be caused if you took off the tamping fan to clean it and forgot to put it back. To fix the problem, make sure your tamping fan is where it should be and mounted properly. It should be connected to the drive shaft. 

Problems Locking Bean Hopper into Correct Position 

Inability to lock the bean hopper into the correct position may mean there are coffee beans blocking the necessary locking device. To deal with the problem, first take out the bean hopper. Then, remove any beans that are causing the block. Position the bean hopper and lock it into position. 

Auto Start Feature Isn’t Working 

Check to see if you properly set the auto start time. Perhaps you didn’t program it correctly. 

Oracle Models

There is the original Breville Oracle and the Oracle Touch. There are many ways in which these two models overlap in their features and capabilities. The differences between the Oracle and Oracle Touch center on features, aesthetics, and cost. 

Of course, the primary feature the Oracle Touch has and the original Oracle doesn’t is the touch screen functionality. With the Oracle Touch, the screen displays a complete menu, including espresso, cappuccino, flat white, latte, and long black. You can also save your favorite settings, naming your creations. 

There are some slight differences in the look of the Oracle and Oracle Touch. While you control the Oracle with buttons, you control the Oracle Touch entirely via the touch screen. There are two control knobs on the Oracle. One controls milk texture and the other extraction from your coffee beans. With the Touch model, there’s just a single knob. 

While both Oracle models are pricey, the Oracle is significantly less expensive than the Oracle Touch. 

Its Competitors 

The De’Longhi ECAM3507531 Dinamica with LatteCrema Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is a competitor to the Breville Oracle. A little less expensive, this is still a significant investment. De’Longhi, of course, is a legendary name when it comes to coffee machines, and this super automatic espresso machine is no different.

This De’Longhi machine grinds your beans, and you can adjust the milk frothing. The Dinamica’s milk frothing system is called the LatteCrema System, and it’s proprietary to De’Longhi. Like the Breville Oracle, this espresso machine has dual heating. Similar to the Oracle Touch, it also has an easy-to-use LCD display screen. 

Frequently Asked Questions

As with any new piece of equipment you buy for your home, especially a beloved coffee maker, you will have questions about how to operate your dual boiler Breville Oracle. Make sure to read the instruction manual before you start using your new espresso machine. Also, take a look at some FAQs we’ve listed below. 

It says “CLEAN ME!” on the LCD screen. What should I do? 

This message appears after you’ve made about 200 espresso shots. It means you need to do a cleaning cycle. This involves putting the grey silicone cleaning disc in the machine’s portafilter. Secure the portafilter inside the group head to clean the brew head of coffee oils. Fill the water tank with cold water. Make sure the drip tray is completely empty. Go through the rest of the process as outlined in the instruction manual. 

This is critical for any espresso machine as it cleans off coffee grounds and residue build-up within the machine. You can also run some Grindz through the built in grinder to expel old and unwanted coffee grounds stuck within.

Can I use the milk wand manually? 

Yes, you can use the milk wand, or steam wand, manually. If you want to use the milk wand manually, put it on the appropriate setting by switching upwards. If you switch downwards, the milk wand will be on automatic temperature control, providing automatic milk frothing. 

Will I know the water temperature? 

Yes, you can see the water temperature on the espresso machine. You get to set the temperature. Once the water is at the temperature you selected, brewing starts. 

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for a superb espresso machine, the regular Oracle and Breville Oracle Touch are top contenders. These are unique super automatic espresso machines, and it’s difficult to find other comparable options. If you’re an ardent espresso enthusiast and want to make barista-grade espresso shot in your kitchen, one of these machines will be a great addition to your home. 

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