From renowned coffee maker, Breville, comes two espresso machines that have their sights set on revolutionizing the home-brewing experience. The Oracle Touch and Barista Touch are at the pinnacle of coffee-making technology and performance, but which one is right for you?
Overview of the Breville Oracle Touch
The Oracle Touch is built for convenience. At first glance, it appears to be a typical coffee machine, but look a little closer and it reveals that it offers convenience beyond compare. Put simply, this espresso machine will give you the perfect espresso-based beverages at the press of a button. Its intuitive digital display will walk you through the menu of options, allowing you to craft drinks from caffè lattes to flat whites with ease. One touch offers you instant access to all its automated functions such as the automatic steam wand for milk texturing and dosing, grinding, tamping and brewing.
Overview of the Barista Touch
The Barista Touch, much like its predecessor, is built for convenience and ease of use. Designed as an intuitively-suited to the wide variety of users that can benefit from its features, this espresso machine gives you one-touch access to grind, dose, tamping and brew on demand. It also offers the user manual control over the steam wand, allowing you to texture milk to your exact preferences. As with all Breville® espresso machines, the Barista Touch offers adjustable grind fineness, coffee dose size and milk ratio to perfectly suit your taste.
Comparison of Features
The key similar features between the Breville Oracle Touch and Barista Touch are the adjustable grind fineness, coffee dose size and milk ratio, allowing you to customize the perfect espresso-based beverage at the touch of a button. Additional features that both machines boast include a stainless steel conical burr grinder, 54mm portafilter – for full flavor extraction, digital temperature control for consistent espresso extraction, and integrated storage for three user-specific preferences.
On the other hand, the key differences between the two machines are the Oracle Touch’s intuitive digital display with one-touch access to all automated functions such as automatic steam wand for milk texturing and dosing, grinding, tamping and brewing, compared to the Barista Touch’s manual control over the steam wand. The Oracle Touch also has a slightly larger 54mm integrated burr grinder, compared to the Barista Touch’s 51mm integrated burr grinder.
Design and Functionality
The Oracle Touch utilizes a stunning stainless steel finish and backlit LCD screen to create a truly modern aesthetic. On the other hand, the Barista Touch takes an easier, minimalist approach with less visible features. Both models are incredibly compact, clocking in at just 15 inches in size.
When it comes to usability, both machines offer exceptional performance. With one-touch operation on the Oracle Touch, user-friendly automation unlocks a wide range of customizations for you to craft your ideal cup of espresso. On the other hand, with manual control on the Barista Touch, users can more precisely control espresso parameters such as temperature, shot size and other settings to craft the perfect cup.
Brewing Options
The Oracle Touch comes with an Auto-Start brew process to warm up water 30% faster than standard pre-infusion brewing times. This ensures that your machine is ready to go when you want it. The touch of a button initiates a full extraction cycle before your espresso is ready for enjoyment in as little as 55 seconds.
The Barista Touch has thermal stability system enabled to grant precise water temperature. Additionally, it has is Quick Heat Boiler technology to increase startup times, allowing you to save energy when switching between beverages. With different adjustable settings from shot size to manual over-ride between single and double shot buttons. This allows for consistent pressure and temperature control for balanced flavors.
Grinding Options
Both machines come with high-grade stainless steel conical burr grinders which will ensure consistently ground beans every time. The Oracle Touch has 54mm burrs while the Barista Touch has 51mm burrs — however both sizes are more than suitable for home use.
Additionally, both machines have a grind setting selector — but only around 10 different settings so adjustability is somewhat limited in comparison to other coffee grinders on the market. It’s worth noting that they’re both extremely fast at grinding — a feat not seen in many home coffee grinders.
Milk Texturing Options
For those who prefer frothy milk-based beverages such as cappuccinos or lattes then both machines deliver excellent performance with their integrated steam wands. On the Oracle Touch you can also make use of its automated steam wand for texturing and dosing — taking some of the work it out of it for you.
The Barista Touch has temperature stabilization technology with automatic flush mode so you can be sure that your final product is consistent with each use.
Cost Comparison
Both machines come in at similar prices; the OracleTouch is slightly higher priced compared to the BaristaTouch at around $2300USD compared to $1900 USD respectively.
Pros and Cons of Each Machine
OracleTouch
- Pros: Easy to use and automated features give you barista-style results with minimal effort and one-touch convenience.
- Cons: Limited variety of grind settings.
BaristaTouch
- Pros: More customizable grind settings and manual control over steam wand.
- Cons: Less automation with brewing and texturing.
Conclusion
The decision between the Breville Oracle Touch and Barista Touch largely depends on what type of brews you’re after and how much work you’re willing to put in. If you’re looking for convenience and hassle-free operation then the OracleTouch is your ideal choice – but if you prefer manual control over steaming and grinding then the BaristaTouch will be better suited to your needs.
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