Breville Oracle Jet Review: This Beginner-Friendly Espresso Machine Is Worth Every Penny

I’ve had quite a few dreams and aspirations in my adult life thus far. One of them was owning an espresso machine. As someone who would typically choose a cappuccino over a cup of drip coffee, the idea of waking up every morning and enjoying the perfect mug of milky espresso from the comfort of my own home seemed like the pinnacle of luxury.

Besides the obvious barriers to entry of price and counter space, one of the main reasons I waited so long to make my dream a reality was that, well, I was intimidated. The world of coffee—and espresso in particular—is one that intrigues me, but I’m admittedly no expert. And while the science nerd in me feels somewhat compelled to spend time delving deep into grind size and ratios and extraction times, the reality is I’ve always felt daunted at the prospect of actually doing so—and wary of investing in a machine that would be so complicated to use, I’d end up forgoing it anyway. At the same time, I shied away from the idea of fully automatic machines that operate at the push of a button, because the wannabe barista in me wants to feel like I’m doing something as I make my morning cup. That, and I’ve never found the espresso those kinds of machines make to be all that good.

That’s why, when I got wind that Breville was launching a new top of the line, not-quite automatic espresso machine that promised to guide me through all of the processes I was intimidated by, I was immediately intrigued. The machine in question? The Oracle Jet, the latest in Breville’s Oracle line after 2017’s Oracle Touch. The Jet shares many of the same features that made contributor Carina Finn fall in love with the Oracle Touch when she tested it—namely, an easy-to-use touchscreen display with a multitude of drink programs, automatic grinding, dosing, and tamping, and an automatic milk frother. But the newer machine has several key improvements that make it an even better pick for home espresso drinkers—and after months of testing, I can say quite confidently that there is no other machine I’d rather own.

How does the Breville Oracle Jet work?

The Oracle Jet is about as close to a super-automatic machine as you can get without actually being super-automatic. That is to say, you still have to complete a few steps along the way to your latte.

After unboxing my machine on its arrival, I was delighted to find that there was no need to flip through a physical manual. The entire setup process was explained (very clearly, I’ll add) via the touchscreen display, and the steps were laid out in a logical order, which I really appreciated.

After the initial set up, the display guided me through making my first drink and calibrating the grind size for the beans I had on hand. I had to make several rounds of espresso to get the ideal grind size (which the machine suggests based on extraction speed). As someone with no espresso machine experience but who likes to know why and how things work, I found this process fun and helpful, a great jumping off point in my own espresso journey.

Within 30 minutes of receiving my machine in the mail, I had set it all up and made a pretty damn good cappuccino—far better than the $6 ones I get from my local coffee shop, that’s for sure. To make a coffee drink, you’ll start by selecting from a catalogue of options (12+ at the time of writing) and inserting the portafilter under the grinder chute. Press the grind icon to begin the grinding process, after which it will automatically be tamped down. Then you’ll move the portafilter over to the group head, twist it into place, and press the brew icon to start the extraction process. The display will count the extraction time for you, and even suggest adjusting the grind size for next time if it notices the extraction taking too long or too short. If you’re making a milk-based drink, the last step is to add your milk of choice to the included stainless steel pitcher, place it under the steam wand, and press the milk frothing icon. The wand will steam the milk to whatever temperature and foam level you’ve selected (and according to which type of milk you used, be it animal or plant-based). After you’ve removed the pitcher, you’ll wipe down the wand and lower it back into place, where it’ll shoot out hot water to purge any remaining milk from the system.