Fully automatic coffee and espresso machines have quickly grasped the ground due to the convenience they offer. One of them is Oracle Touch by Breville. Most people question a fully automatic machine’s ability to retain rich flavors and prefer to choose semi-automatic machines. The latter provides them with more control over their final cup for better consistency in the taste.
But the Breville Oracle Touch is a completely different ball game. It can retain flavors and create a divine coffee, each time you turn it on. Upgraded from the original Oracle BES980XL, the Oracle Touch comes with a one-touch operation. It has a user-friendly display that allows you to create a delicious coffee recipe with just one keystroke.
For the coffee fanatics, who prefer to get into more details, this might not be a very intriguing feature. But for the simpletons who desire a good taste without any hassle, this is a great option.
In this review, we will find out how good is the Oracle Touch and whether or not you should invest your money into this fully automatic coffee machine.
Pros
- Interactive touchscreen.
- Inbuilt eight coffee recipes.
- User-friendly.
- Automatic steam wand purging.
- Fully automatic.
- Durable stainless-steel body.
- Adjustable coffee grind size.
Cons
- Better suited to entertain small crowds.
- No control over your final cup.
Fully automatic vs. semi-automatic: Which espresso machine is better?
Fully automatic machines are better because you can create a fine tasting cup with just the push of a button. You don’t have anything to do with the entire process. Just pour the beans into the bean hopper, push the button, and wait for your cup to be ready. This machine is all about facilitation.
Semi-automatics give the user more control in terms of pressure, volumetric dosage per shot, and temperature. You can alter these metrics very conveniently. This is a feeling that brings you even closer to your heavenly coffee and you feel more esteemed. But you will have to go through several trial-and-error phases, especially if you are new to the art of coffee making.
For the newcomers to the world of coffee, a fully automatic machine is a good choice while for an experienced one, a semi-automatic machine will be the preferred choice.
Breville Specialty
Breville has been in the business for many years and is known for its highly innovative and quality products. It keeps bringing in features that add to the overall value and facilitate the users to treasure the best coffee at home.
Proportional Integral Derivative
PID is just another fancy name of a temperature controller among Breville machines. With these features, the machine quickly achieves high temperature, and optimally maintains it for better brewing and extraction.
Stainless-steel construction
Breville uses high-quality stainless steel in the construction of its coffee machines. The stainless-steel machines are durable, robust, and can stand the test of time.
Dosage Technology
Breville machines also feature volumetric dosage, that allows you to choose between single or double shots. You may also go for a manual dosage with just the push of a button. The integrated grinders these machines feature can grind coffee beans as you need them.
Comparison Chart
| Features | Oracle Touch | The Oracle | The Cafe Roma |
| Taste | Smooth, rich and creamy but inconsistent | Rich-tasting, silky smooth coffee | Milder but rich in taste |
| Brewing capacity | 10.5 cups (84.5 fl oz) | 10.5 cups (84.5 fl oz) | 5 cups (40.5 fl oz) |
| User-friendliness | Extremely user-friendly with touchscreen control and inbuilt recipes | Intuitive display with simple knobs and buttons | Just a power button with a knob to brew or froth |
| Design & materials | Quality stainless steel construction that is durable and lightweight | Robust and lightweight stainless-steel construction | Lightweight and compact |
| Cleaning & maintenance | Simple to clean and descale | Easy cleaning and descaling | Straightforward cleaning and descaling |
| Frothing | Steel wand for creamy and thick milk frothing | Stainless steel wand produces airy and creamy frothing | Less creamy and more airy frothing with steel wand |
| Grinding | Inbuilt burr grinder with 8 oz bean hopper | Inbuilt burr grinder with 8 oz bean hopper | No grinder |
| Additional features | Interactive touchscreen, eight different coffee recipes, and quick to heat with a dual boiler | Intuitive display, dual single touch Americano, boiler heating system, and removable bean hopper | Dual-walled filtration, thermoblock pump, cup warming plate, and various accessories |
| Value for money | Meets the value | Meets the value | Cheap |
The Breville Oracle Touch Fully Automatic Machine Review
Taste
The Oracle Touch’s taste is very aromatic and rich in flavor. If you prefer coffees that are less bold and provide you with an exquisite taste, featuring more cream, the Oracle Touch is the machine that you need immensely.
You can top it up with some latte if you want and experience a specific and divine taste. The only thing is its low consistency in producing such taste. With time, you will have to do a lot of cleaning to maintain the taste according to your preferences.
The Oracle BES980XL is equally good in taste and aroma but the major benefit that semi-automatic machines have over the full-automatic ones is its consistency.
The EXP8XL Cafe Roma is more geared towards a milder tasting cup of coffee but you will get the crema here. This machine is designed to work with fine coffee grounds. The Oracle Touch is all about single touch facilitation. If that is your priority, there is no ultimate option for you.
Brewing capacity
The Oracle Touche’s brewing capacity is 10.5 cups and a water tank of 84 fl oz. Therefore, you can make several cups before you need to refill. For heavy coffee drinkers, this machine can get through the day without a refill. Even your family and friends can join in and treasure the coffee.
It is suitable both for home and office use because it can serve a small group of coffee lovers. The same case is with the Oracle. It also has a water reservoir tank of 84 fl oz and can brew 10.5 cups without a refill. Hence, it is a suitable choice to entertain a small group of people.
On the other hand, Cafe Roma features a brewing capacity of 5 cups and it is a recommended choice for individual use. You can serve another person with this machine but entertaining a group will require frequent refills.
User-friendliness
People who don’t want to get into any details of coffee would be better using fully automatic machines. Hence, the Oracle Touch would prove to be a good investment. Multiple recipes are waiting for you just to be clicked and the machine will start the action. It will provide you with your favorite cup of coffee which is just the push of a button away.
However, if you are looking for more control access to hot dosage, temperature, pressure, and don’t want to opt for inbuilt automated recipes, choose the Oracle. This machine is designed for coffee lovers who want to try different recipes to have the perfect cup.
Cafe Roma doesn’t offer any complexities and has simple controls. It’s just a matter of brewing and frothing. There is no coffee recipe, and the machine will keep making a simple cup of espresso just the way you like it. If simplicity and user-friendliness are on the top of your priority list, choose Cafe Roma.
Design and materials
The Oracle Touch and the Oracle BES980XL are very similar to each other in all their features. The only difference between the two is the inbuilt coffee recipes of Oracle Touch.
Being a fully automatic machine it delivers slight inconsistencies in the flavor. There is no other difference when you compare it with the Oracle. Both these machines are identical in terms of weight and dimensions. They are made of brushed stainless steel that is extremely durable and comes with a similar footprint. So you can make a choice based upon the design and material.
Cafe Roma however, is different and has a smaller footprint than the other two. There is just a power button along with a dial to choose between frothing and brewing process. All three machines are made of stainless steel and extremely durable. It is a much better option if you have compact space and you can easily move around your coffee machine.
Cleaning and maintenance
As we have just mentioned, both the Oracle Touch and the Oracle are identical so their cleaning process is the same as well. Just be sure to go through the cleaning and maintenance instructions in the manual. Breville has elaborated on every step included in the entire process. You can clean and maintain both your Oracle Touch and Oracle coffee machines using these guidelines.
Nevertheless, whichever you use, you need to go through the cleaning and descaling processes a few times to be well-acquainted. You can also use a range of descaling tablets for convenience.
One less headache for you is both machines can automatically purge the steam right after it has been used.
In the case of Cafe Roma, there is not much difficulty. This simplistic machine is not too hard to descale, you can conveniently use a descaling tablet for cleaning. Removing the tank is not a big deal and you can quickly get them back in as well.
Frothing
Oracle Touch’s steam wand can produce a well-balanced creamy frothing. But you won’t have much control over the wand because it will create the frothing according to the drink. Whereas, Oracle’s steam wand can create more airy and creamy frothing suitable for different coffee-based beverages. And if you are a latte fan, you will find this steam wand more useful. Despite the automatic features, you are more in the driver’s seat with Oracle as compared to the Oracle Touch.
Cafe Roma’s frother is very basic but does a great job of creating a good latte. It will be hairier than the Oracle models but for the simplistic design, the machine does a fine job. This is a suitable choice for anyone who is on the run and doesn’t have much time to sit down and enjoy coffee.
Grinding
Oracle Touch features a burr grinder and is detachable. Therefore, if you’re short on space or you already own a grinder, you can remove the inbuilt grinder of this machine. The bean hopper of this coffee machine comes with an 8-ounce capacity. Breville has designed it to preserve all the flavors of the beans and keep them there for extraction.
The same type of grinder with similar attributes comes with Oracle Touch. It additionally has an 8-ounce bean container with similar qualities of safeguarding the flavors right tile the extraction procedure starts. And that’s not all! Both these grinders come with adjustable grinding features to change the coarseness of the grounds.
But if you own a grinder already, you should go to Cafe Roma because it doesn’t feature one. Always ensure to choose the best quality coffee beans to assure your rich and sweet-smelling cup. The quality of your beans can make or break your final cup.
Additional features
Oracle Touch has all the features of the Oracle in addition to an intuitive touchscreen with inbuilt eight different coffee recipes. The fully automatic machine is very simple to use and is best suited for anyone who likes a quick cup right away. The machine comes with a dual boiler, adjustable grinding features, and a removable grinder. The only gross is you don’t have any control over your final cup.
As opposed to that, the Oracle also comes with a dual boiler, a single-touch Americano and you can program the temperature of your shots with its Italian pump. The Oracle comes with a heat retention feature to make sure your cup doesn’t have any bitterness.
The Cafe Roma doesn’t come with dual boilers. Breville has fixed a thermoblock pump which is the real reason behind the compact footprint. But that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the heating aspects. It also comes with a cup-warming tray to keep your cup hot for long. Additionally, you will find a dual-walled filtering system and a range of accessories like a measuring spoon and a tamping tool.
Value for money
Oracle Touch is an ideal choice for a small group of coffee drinkers, just like Oracle. If you like a cup of joe to entertain your friends and family with different coffee preferences, this machine is the best for your home/office or café. It features eight different coffee recipes and you can conveniently spend the evening with just a couple of refills.
The same can be said about the Oracle as well because it also comes with almost all the features that Oracle Touch has. But it doesn’t have inbuilt recipes, so you have to run your creative juices here. If you want to show off your barista skills; Oracle is an ideal choice for you.
But for individual needs and a person with a very hectic routine, the Cafe Roma would be a better choice. There are no complicated controls, it’s just as simple as it can get. You won’t be satisfying any crowds here but that’s how the Cafe Roma rolls.
Who should buy the Breville Oracle Touch?
If you love the idea of operating a coffee machine with a simple touchscreen and drink any type of coffee without the hassle of working on the recipe then there is nothing better than the Oracle Touch. It comes with an inbuilt eight different coffee recipes and you just have to push the button and leave the rest.
This machine keeps things convenient and focuses on variety. If you are new to coffee making this machine should be your top priority. You don’t have to do much when it comes to cleaning as well. And if you can afford, this machine is a better choice to entertain small crowds with just a few refills.
Who shouldn’t buy the Breville Oracle Touch?
However, you won’t find the Oracle Touch very useful if you are thinking of using it for yourself only. This machine is not designed for individual purposes. There are better options available if you are concerned about inbuilt automatic recipes.
It also won’t suit you if you don’t have enough space in the kitchen because the machine comes with a larger footprint. If you are an experienced coffee maker then again, this machine won’t be the ideal option for you because the first thing that you will notice is, it is not very consistent in flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions for the Breville Oracle Touch
Does the Oracle Touch make a regular cup of coffee?
It does include Americano as one of its eight inbuilt coffee recipes. But it doesn’t make a regular cup of coffee.
How can I get consistent flavors from my Breville Oracle Touch?
If you are looking for more consistency in flavors and aroma from your Oracle Touch Breville make sure you don’t go for oily coffee beans. Also, ensure to keep your machine clean at all times. Using distilled water would be a better choice and descale your machine frequently by following the guidelines provided by Breville in the instructions manual.
How can I properly descale my Breville Oracle Touch?
You need to go through the instructions manual and follow all the steps to descale your machine. To properly descale your machine, you need to use a liquid descaler that is designed for fully automatic machines. And don’t experiment on your machine with those DIY methods of descaling that you find on the internet because they can ruin your machine for nothing.
The Verdict
The Breville Oracle Touch is a versatile fully-automatic machine that features eight different coffee recipes. You only have to push a button to access them. To prepare these coffees, you do not have to be skilled, an amateur will do.
You have an expert in the face of Oracle Touch. Just one push of a button and your favorite cup of coffee is ready. You can serve a small group of your friends and family too. The only thing you have to worry about is the consistency of flavors. But if you properly maintain your machine and descale it regularly, this issue will not create any hurdle between you and your perfect barista.
