Breville the Oracle Automatic Espresso Machine with Grinder & Milk Frother, Cappuccino & Latte Machine for Home, BES980XL, Brushed Stainless Steel

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect amount of manual in an automatic espresso machine I have been using it for about a week. I have wanted it for about 2 years, since I saw it at a William Sonoma and tried a sample and loved how it operated. I have a Saeco super automatic machine that I have used every day for over 10 years. It is slowly breaking (display stopped working, water tank occasionally leaks, can’t run the decalcifying program anymore). So, I didn’t need this machine now. But, I was going to need it. The Saeco is a workhorse and I never expected to last as long as it has. I thought the coffee tasted fine from the Saeco. But, I realized it tasted like crap once I got this machine.

Very easy to set up. There are a few things to know about operating it that requires reading the manual. But, day to day operation is pretty simple. It takes way longer to get ready than my Saeco. But, you can easily program it to turn on at a designated time. The main display is more old school than it needs to be. In this day and age, they can use something more than an old school lcd display. For some of the functions, if you don’t know what it supposed to be displaying, you won’t understand it. Probably used it for the aesthetic.

I really like the manual part of this machine. It is still essentially an automatic machine. But, you have an espresso basket to put in one port for the grinds to be dispensed into and tamped. Then, you move it to the other port and it makes the coffee. If you make a triple cappuccino, like I do, it is a bit more work than pressing the espresso button 3 times, like I did on my old machine. With this, I have to move the basket from one port to the other, then bang out the grounds in the included barista ground disposal thing, rinse it off and start the cycle again and do that 3 times. You also have to move the cup for the coffee off the machine when you remove the espresso basket or you risk knocking it over. That takes slightly more time than a fully automatic machine but it is more the attention it requires. If you want to multitask while the machine does all of the work, this machine is not for you. One nice feature that saves time is that you can froth the milk while the espresso is being made and you can do that hands free. So, compared to my Saeco, the active time making a beverage is about the same, since the Saeco required my attention in frothing the milk.

I think this machine provides the perfect amount of manual interaction in an automatic machine – and the interaction that I want. I would love to get a shiny La Pavoni and a professional grinder, learn the perfect amount of pressure to tamp and have that for the weekend and a fully automatic machine for the work week. But, I don’t have the money or the counter space for that. This machine gives me close to both experiences. I get to use an espresso basket (which makes it feel more like an authentic coffee making experience) but still not have to worry about tamping it perfectly and watching the coffee come out and stopping it when it makes the right amount. Yet, you can still experiment with the time for the water flow to control the strength of the coffee. You can control the water temp, the tamping pressure, the grind and a bunch of other options. Or, you never have to fool with those settings.

Did I mention it makes amazing coffee? It does. It tastes incredible and the froth is perfect every time. I haven’t even used espresso beans in it yet. I have been using some light roast that a local roaster made and was given to me as a gift mixed with some Philz dark roast that I had left over.

Only comment/complaint is that you only have one portafilter size. It only dispenses a fixed amount of grounds. So, the button for a double espresso isn’t really a double, compared to the single. At a coffee shop, they would use a different size filter for a single and a double and a different amount of coffee in each. So, if you want a full strength double, you really have to make 2 singles. You will have something different if you just let water flow through the same grounds for an extra 10 seconds. Small price to pay, though. Other comment/critique is that the milk can be tough to clean off the bottom part of the frother and you really should do it each time.you use the frother. Didn’t have that issue with the Saeco that used a plastic frother tip.

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT MACHINE, HAPPY CAMPER THIS IS A GREAT MACHINE. BACKGROUND, I HAD A GAGGIA SYNCHRONY SUPERAUTOMATIC FOR 5 YEARS, THEN SOLD IT. GOOD ESPRESSO, I THOUGHT AT THE TIME. BEEN A STARBUCKS DRINKER FOR TEN YEARS IN CHICAGO BEFORE GETTING MY FIRST ESPRESSO MAKER. CHARBUCKS IS MEDIOCRE, BUT THEY SHOWED ME THE POSSIBILITIES. I WAS LUCKY THAT MY GAGGIA TITANIUM LASTED 6 YEARS AND 10,000 SHOTS.
THE TITANIUM SUPER AUTO MADE A SLIGHTLY BETTER SHOT THAN THE SYNCHRONY. I SPENT ABOUT 100 HOURS DOING RESEARCH ON SEMI-AUTO MACHINES, BECAUSE I REALLY BELIEVE ITS THE WAY TO GREAT ESPRESSO.
ROCKET CROSSED MY MIND, BUT THE MESS AND BOTHER SEEMED TOO MUCH .
I SAW TONS OF VIDEOS ON THE BREVILLE ORACLE MAKING ME BELIEVER. THIS IS THE ONLY HYBRID MACHINE THAT WORKS THIS SMOOTHLY , MAKING EXCELLENT COFFEE, WITH LITTLE FUSS. . BEEN TO TOP GRADE ROASTERS AND PLACED MYSELF IN FRONT OF BARRISTA SUPERSTARS ON $10,000 MACHINES. SOME SHOTS WERE GOOD OR GREAT, AND SOME BITTER AND SOUR. $2000 HURT A LOT, BUT I AM SUPER HAPPY. THE RELIABILITY RATING BY AMAZON AND OTHER TEST SITES WAS NEAR 80%. ESPRESSO MACHINES SEEM TO HAVE A 50-60% CUSTOMER PROBLEM RATIO. I PULLED MY FIRST FEW SHOTS WITH A POUND OF SPECIALTY JAVA ESPRESSO AUTHENTICO. IT WAS ROASTED 5 DAYS AGO. I SET MY THE BOILER TO 199 DEGREE TO STAY AWAY FROM A BITTER SHOT. TAMP PRESSURE 3 TAMP DURATION 4 I TRIED 20 SEC SINGLE SHOT, JUST TO TASTE IT. GREAT CREMA AND THE LEAST BITTERNESS OF ANY SHOT I EVER HAD. THEN TRIED A DOUBLE SHOT 28 SEC AND 30ML.
THE POUR OUT OF THE SPOUTS ARRIVED AT THE 11 SECOND MARK. THE DOUBLE WAS VERY SMOOTH . I LOVE THIS MACHINE , SO GLAD I GOT IT. DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF TROUBLE GETTING GOOD SHOTS. MAYBE A LITTLE LUCK OR
SOME EXPERIENCE. I LIKE THAT IT IS NOT MESSY AND EASY TO PROGRAM AND MAKE INSTANT CHANGES. I LOVE THE LOOK OF THE ROCKET 58 , BUT THIS IS THE MACHINE. FRESH BEANS ROASTED TO MED DARK AND 6-20 DAY OLD ROAST DATE.
CLEAN WATER WITH LESS THAN 100 PPM MINERALS. ALSO JUST ORDERED A BOTTOMLESS PORTAFILTER TO SEE SHOT
PRODUCTION AND TWEAK SHOTS MORE. IF THERE BE A NEGATIVE, IS THAT THE DOSAGE CAN’T BE CHANGED.
I READ CHANGING TAMP PRESSURE HIGHER WILL MOVE IT UP 1 GRAM. I GUESS YOU ALSO CHANGE WATER VOLUME TO ADJUST TASTE. I CONSIDERED TEMPERATUE CHANGES FROM 194F TO 204 F COULD HELP. WITH USING THESE VARIABLES
UNLIMITED COMBINATIONS WITH ROAST, AGE OF ROAST, DIFFERENT ASSORTED BEAN COMBO, DIFFERENT WATER, PRE-INFUSION OF THE GRIND, WATER VOLUME PER SHOT, A FEW GRAINS OF SALT ADDED, AND THINGS WE HAVEN’T THOUGHT
OF…………….HMMMM. PERHAPS THE SO CALLED GOD SHOT MAY BE PULLED SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. ITS GOING TO BE FUN TRYING AND LEARNING. WAS THINKING OF BUYING SOME KLATCH ROASTED WORLDS BEST ESPRESSO BEAN.

4.0 out of 5 stars Produces wonderful espresso, but Breville service has gotten much worse over the past few years. I have purchased multiple Breville Oracle espresso machines for both home use and for use in the office. The Breville Oracle makes wonderful espresso, better than any of my previous espresso machines (Saeco, Gaggia, Jura). The problem I’ve had is with how long they last before they need service. Here are the number of days a Breville Oracle has lasted before needing service:
– 301 days
– 395 days
– 466 days
– 421 days
– 531 days
– 318 days

all within 9 months and about a year and a half. In the past, Breville had great customer service. I would call or email Breville support and they would immediately offer to service my espresso machine, usually for free or for a small fee. Now, they won’t service the machine until they go through a long checklist, which includes a video conference in which you have to show them it isn’t working correctly. Their customer service has gone from great to frustrating. If the machine is beyond their one year warranty, then they now charge $500 to repair the machine and offer a six month warranty on the repaired machine. I wish their machines would last longer and they had great customer service again because they do make a great cup of espresso.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great, if pricey machine!! I’ve been a fan of Breville’s espresso machines for years going back to a really inexpensive one I bought 9+ years ago that is still working. It isn’t the greatest machine, but it produces decent, if not great espresso. A little more than a year ago I got a Breville 920XL that is still working fine with an easy repair I did recently.

So I decided that the Oracle would better fit me because I’m remodeling the kitchen and would like to reduce the counter space usage. Got the Oracle a couple weeks ago and it was DOA! Called Breville and they offered a fix I could do, but it didn’t work. They sent me a replacement which did the same thing. But this time I remembered that air locks are sometimes a fact of life. So I opened the 2 boiler drains and then turned it on and let it run until some water came out. Closed the drains, the machine kept going and filled the boilers and heated up. All is good!! BTW, I had called Breville on this second unit and they were going to pull one from the warehouse and fully test it before sending it out. That’s going above and beyond IMO.

Now for the review of the Oracle itself. After doing all the preliminary things such as bringing it up and flushing things as the instructions said, I then proceeded to brew an Americano with the default settings. Nearly perfect, though it was a bit thin. Well within range of dialing it in. After 2 more runs with changed grind settings, things are spot on! Pulled a very sweet Americano.

Next was to test out the automatic frothing/heating of milk for a Cappuccino. Worked perfectly, I was impressed by how well it does it. The milk was at the proper temp (140F) and the consistency was like wet paint, just like it is supposed to be. The cleaning flush for the steam wand is wonderful! You do the milk, wipe the steam arm down with a damp cloth and push it back into place and it automatically does a few cleaning spurts. Very nice.

Overall this machine is excellent IMO. Looks good, works good and my experience with Breville says it will last quite awhile and they do back up their stuff quite well. There are all sorts of adjustments that you can do as you learn this machine. Brew temp, pre-infusion time and pressure, Americano volume, shot temp and volume and Tamp time and pressure are all there, as are auto-start and auto-stop. BTW, Americano has 3 built in settings and you can add 6 more settings depending on how you like your Americanos.

The auto-steamer has temp and type adjustment so you can set the temp you want the milk to get to, and the type for a Latte or a Cappuccino or anywhere in between. It is a well thought out implementation.

I noted some other reviews that saw issues with descaling. I think that is probably earlier models as there has been a firmware change to aid in that not being an issue. I’ve descaled my 920XL which is the same basic design as the Oracle’s espresso side a few times with no issues.

3.0 out of 5 stars Heartbroken… If you can see by the pictures, my package did not arrive in the "Very Good" condition that I was told when I purchased it. I even had to wait an extra week because the Oracle was on "Backorder". The box was too big, one of the cardboard sides was torn and had water damage. The whole thing was also being protected by one piece of bubble wrap.

I was heartbroken to see that whoever tested the product to make sure that it worked forgot that there was water in the unit. Said water spilled all over the machine. The machine came in a bag with some of the other parts and accessories, but not all of them. Sadly, due to them all being in the same bag, the accessories put a lot of dents and scratches all over the left side of the Oracle. The tray was missing as well as the portafilter. Not to mention, the whole machine was covered in mold and the grinder was rusted from the water exposure. The group head was corroded. I had no idea what was wrong with it, but upon inspecting it, my husband said that is what happens to aluminum. He assumes it came from the machine’s water exposure as well.

Bless my husband, he was trying to be positive because he saw that I was on the verge of tears. I was so sad to see that this machine suffered so much abuse and neglect due to a lack of proper packing. My husband was sweet enough to wipe the water off of the machine and try to get the mold cleaned off the areas that he could. I inspected the steam wand and it too was covered in mold and dry milk scale. There wasn’t a tool kit in with the machine so I tried to clean it the best I could. We thought that maybe with a little TLC that this machine could still be salvageable. Mike was concerned about the rust in the grinder. He wasn’t sure if that much rust could have been caused by such a short time of water exposure. Granted, we do not know how long this poor machine had been in this condition. His statement was, "There is moisture in the air. We live in Alabama and we will have to move. This machine will have to be packed and put into a semi for a few days. Will that exposure to humidity cause this machine to rust and corrode?" Again, we have no idea if the Oracle had been in that bag for 3 days or 3 months. But, my husband did bring up a lot of really good points. This is an expensive machine and it does seem that it had a lot of breakdown in material upon it’s exposure to the elements. I had been lusting after this machine for 2 years and thought I had done my research. I had read all of the customer reviews on Amazon and Breville. I had watched videos and drove 80 miles to Williams-Sonoma in Montgomery in order to have a hands-on look at the Oracle in person. I thought I had done my homework on this machine and what to be prepared for. I understand that this was a very strange situation and it’s one that I am not sure I could have ever expected. But, it did bring a lot of issues of quality to light.

I was terrified that the machine wasn’t going to turn on. To my shock, it fired right up! I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was wearing oven mitts and safety goggles as Mike was standing by with a fire extinguisher. We were afraid that it was going to start on fire honestly. We didn’t know if there were any components on the inside that were wet and would start an issue.

I gave it time to warm up and we loaded beans in the hopper. When I bought the Oracle, I purchased an extra portafilter and frothing cup because there are some mornings that 5 A.M. is too early to watch a coffee filter and milk pitcher. I’m happy I had them on standby since they were missing from the box along with the tray that the cups sit on. I put the portafilter in place and tapped it to the side to start the grinder. The grinder fired up and started grinding…and grinding…and grinding…and grinding…. until the hopper full of beans was totally empty. The grinder never tamped the grounds into the portafilter. I unlocked the portafilter and grounds snowed everywhere. All over the machine, the counter as well as myself. It was the most delicious smelling mess I have had since the apple sauce explosion of 2012. In an effort to help, Mike scooped up the grounds and tamped them into the portafilter by hand. He locked it into place on the group head and told me to "push the buttons to make it do what it’s supposed to." (He’s not a coffee guy.) I pushed the button and the machine started and coffee began to flow from the portafilter. It was then that there was a sputter and a mixture of water and coffee grounds began to leak out of the bottom of the machine. It was a small amount so I am not sure if that is supposed to happen every time? With the absence of the drip tray, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was then that I was sad and realized that this machine maybe too broken to save.

Still being hopeful, I contacted tech support at Breville and explained what happened in the hope that maybe it wouldn’t be a lot to fix and replace the missing parts. Sadly, I was very mistaken. The cost to ship it to them would be $93. Replacement of missing parts would be $250. And the cost to have Breville even look at the machine would be $250. Almost $600 without even diagnosing what the problem would be. I can’t imagine the additional cost for replacing the grinder. Breville’s recommendation was to return the machine to Amazon.

I woke up the next day and decided that the machine had to go back. The money that had been spent and the additional money that would have to be spent in order to get it functioning would mean that this unit would be more expensive than if I bought it brand new.

So, I gave this product a middle of the road set of stars. A replacement was not offered to me, just a refund due to the machine being from the Warehouse. Sadly, I packaged it up and UPS came to retrieve it. I was promised by Amazon Customer Service that the second UPS scanned the item that I was be given a refund. That was 4 days ago and I was told today by a different Amazon employee that my refund would not be processed until after they get it the machine back. Not very happy at the double standard, but it does seem to be par for the course since the beginning of this endeavor.

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW All I can say is WOW. I’ve had the machine for about three months and it has become one of my most valued possessions. I’m glad to see someone still cares about perfection. I really have nothing but praise for the product. I can’t think of a single thing they could have done better.

SIX MONTH UPDATE:
Functionality: I have discovered one flaw in an otherwise perfectly running machine. The beans in the hopper sometimes jam up. It’s very easy to know this has happened, the grinder revs up like a jet engine getting ready to take off. Without filling the portafilter the auto grind, dose & tamp function continues to operate. I haven’t waited around to see if it would eventually shut off as I’m sure this would damage the gears.I have only found two solutions for this, both of them bad. One is to open the lid to the hopper and redistribute the beans while it’s grinding which sounds very dangerous. The other is to tap the sides of the hopper to loosen the beans, which is what I do. I’m afraid all this banging and sideways force might also cause damage to the grinder mechanism. Breville should have included a vibrator in the hopper to precent this.

Counter space: Fortunately, I decided before purchasing the machine that I was going to put it on it’s own stand inside a kitchen bay window. You would have to have an extremely large kitchen to not be disappointed by the amount of counter space this device takes up so be forewarned.

Cleanup: The designers did an amazing job at designing this machine to be as hustle free as possible but first and foremost they wanted it to produce a very high quality cup of coffee. There is no getting around it, it’s going to take some effort to keep it in top running order. There are five separate cleaning and maintenance tasks that take up the majority of the 42 page manual. It’s the only product manual I have bookmarked in my favorites menu. Fortunately, true to form, the machine does most of the work for you. You do have to keep a number of supplies on hand for maintenance and that will add to the expense. Be sure to look at the manual before purchasing. Search for breville oracle manual.

Milk substitute: If you like cappuccino but don’t like or don’t want to use dairy there is good news. Blue Diamond almond milk produces microfoam in this machine that is very similar to milk. Silk taste about the same but doesn’t produce the foam for some reason. I haven’t tried other substitutes other than those two.

I should also mention that although cleanup is something you have to set aside time for, the actually making the coffee couldn’t be easier, which is good because I’m pretty much useless before my first cup. I do really love this machine, I look forward to that first cup every morning.

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want a perfect Latte/Expresso, this is it! We use Almond milk for Latte. This oracle takes the nut fat in the milk and makes it into Cream!
We had to work to get the double boiler to get it right, but this steam wand does it right every time!.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, this is the Oracle! This espresso machine is way better than any fully-automatic and I’m glad I picked it over the Krups, Delonghis, etc… If you want hot coffee with hot milk, this machine has incredible temp control and gives you even manual control to get your milk as hot as you want(using the manual steam lever)… I read that fully automatic machine have a tendency to only get the milk warm(and they are tricky to clean-up specially the milk carafe gizmos with all the tubes and little parts! )

The hot water dispenser could be a little faster dispensing hot water, but the water comes out nice and hot and fill up a very large cup/mug in about a minute or so…. I guess it controls the temp on the water so it always comes out at the set brewing temp… The grinding/tamping is top-notch and the steam wand is a magic wand 🙂 All you need to do is wipe it clean after each use and you’re good to go.

The electric wire that comes with the unit is pretty short(extensions not recommended by Breville) so plan on putting in right next to a plug, also plan on putting it on a countertop with at least 20" clearance in height, so can easily fill-up the bean hopper on top and fill-up the water tank from the top door, this will save you time turning the machine each time to access the water tank in the back…

In conclusion, if you’re on the fence and trying to decide between this and any full/semi automatic, just get this one and you’ll be glad you did. All you need is some good coffee beans and some milk and you’ll have the best hot cup of cappuccino/latte you ever had at the comfort of your own home every morning 🙂

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE this machine We had an old Saeco machine and originally replaced it with the Saeco Multio One Touch. We used that for a week or so and after tinkering with the settings and spending considerable time on the phone with customer service, we determined that the Saeco Multio One Touch was not able to make a decent beverage. We returned that unit and I started my research again. I was in search of a machine that was not completely manual but could be, if I ever so desired. I wish I would have come across the Breville Oracle first. Out of the box, the machine malfunctioned when I set it up. The pump ran continuously for 20-30 minutes and the temperature would not get past 155 on the screen. For some reason, I don’t think water was getting through to the boilers. I turned the machine off for a bit and then tried again and it did what it was suppose to. After initial setup, I made my first cappuccino without changing any settings. If you watch the videos, you will learn that you should not tinker with the settings right away. The factory settings were optimal for me. This machine is so simple. It puts out incredible lattes and cappuccinos. I would say that they are just as good as my local coffee shop. My only complaint so far with this machine is that the steam wand seems a little flimsy when wipe it off after use. I feel like I have to hold the top so I don’t break it off. Other than that, I have no complaints. I have read some reviews that said the machine did not perform as well after cleaning/decalcification. I will update my review down the road once we get there. It really is an incredible machine and well thought out.

4.0 out of 5 stars Starbucks? Who needs Starbucks? My wife and I are coffee aficionados and after a 9 year run with a Jura S9 Classic, we decided to shop around for a replacement. While looking at suitable superautomatic replacements, I came across the Breville Oracle on a YouTube review, so we decided to take the plunge. Wow–this thing is a beast! It is built to last (i.e. heavy duty), and the separate grinding and brewing steps ensure that you get a barista-level coffee drink. The auto milk frother is amazing in its ability to give you the right amount of foam depending on your preferences at the temperature you desire.

My only -minor- complaint is that it is a bit messy to clean up, but that’s to be expected when dealing with an espresso machine.

If you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket and you love espresso-based coffee drinks, you can’t go wrong with this machine. You’ll make your money back faster than you think if you are a regular (daily) Starbucks customer.

5.0 out of 5 stars BA-BAAM! All it claims to be yet even better than expected. I waited and waited and waited and……
I had been using my old Breville die cast machine for years. I was going to save it for the cabin but now it just seems like a toy. The Oracle is really exactly what it claims to be. Like all the high end Breville products this machine delivers the goods. I took the time to watch tall of the instructional videos online before it arrived. rarely does something exceed my expectations like this machine did. There is no mess at all. Unlike my last machine, the grounds are a perfect puck or cookie rather than a soupy slop that gets everywhere. It just plops out after two taps. The frothing wand created perfect texture. It allowed me to make latte art for the first time. I also appreciate the timer function so that the machine it to temp. (it is smart enough to not let you make a shot until it is) when I get to the kitchen in the morning. It also has an auto off setting so I can program it to stay one longer if I want to sleep in. I have to dial in the right beans now as it can really pack a punch. Beans that I used in my old machine create a much different drink in this one. Be aware that this is a tall beast that requires 18" of space to fit under cabinets.

5.0 out of 5 stars A proper super and semi-auto espresso machine The media could not be loaded. Really good espresso. Really good and proper milk steaming. Easy to keep clean! Love the auto grind/tamp feature. Americanos are absolutely the easiest.

Takes about 4 minutes to heat up. I have it set to turn on automatically by 6am—so nice to wake up to…I can pull the shots manually or let it do it all. I can steam the milk manually or let the temp determine proper latte froth. Best and quickest quality in my opinion. Different types of espresso will need to be “dialed” as to the grind coarseness so it infused correctly…it’s not hard—just a bit of practice.

Fits under the counter so nicely

The largest cup you can put under and not “tilt” under the portafilter to fit is 4 inches. I’d like the water reservoir (80oz) to be larger but maybe that’s because we just keep using it so much. Since I have the whole bean hopper below a counter I sometimes don’t realize the hopper is empty until I’ve started a grind/tamp session. There’s no way to stop it (that I’ve determined) and it just keeps trying to tamp and polish what little espresso might be in the portafilter—it eventually stops on its own. I’ve been more observant lately since I don’t want to “run out” anyway. Just my observations—

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect hybrid machine 4 stars because it’s great WHEN it works, this is my 3rd in 3 years. Breville makes a great product until it stops working, then you’re stuck with about the worst customer service in the civilized world. I recommend buying from bed bath and beyond or someone with a great return policy as you will likely need to be returning yours at some point.

Now for the good…

When this works it works great, easily the best compromise between full manual and super auto. After 3 years of searching I have settled on Koffee Kult’s single origin Ethiopian Harrar medium roast beans, when set to about a 15 on this machine it produces a phenomenal shot.

Temperature and extractions are perfect once dialed in correctly and everything else from grinding and tamping as well as steaming work flawlessly.

I do highly recommend this machine just cross your fingers and hope you get one that lasts more than a year.

5.0 out of 5 stars Breville Espresso – Rocky start at first – now I love it. The more I use this the more I love it. I’ll admit when it first arrived I had issues. I set it up according to directions, turned it on and the unit would not heat up above 165 degrees. I let it run for a couple hours and it remained a constant 165. This is an issue since the water must be at 200 before you can use it.
I shut it off for the night and turned it on again in the morning. This time it heated to 200 in less that 10 min. I don’t know why it didn’t heat up after it arrived. Maybe the ambient temperature of the machine had to match that of my house. Not sure.
It’s working great. The coffee is OMG so good. Smooth, rich creamy. I’m using the ground coffee we have in house.
Pro’s obviously coffee is excellent even with pre-ground coffee. It’s easy to use. Easy to fill, Easy to clean.Can be used with whole beans or pre-ground.
Con’s – price and size – it does take up a bit of counter space.
Overall it’s a great machine, we owned several brands of espresso machines over the year and the flavor from this one beats them all.

1.0 out of 5 stars Fine machine TERRIBLE SERVICE I bought an Oracle in Jun. It didn’t come very well packaged and was making strange noises even when powered off. I called customers service. We had a 10 min video call when the rep said the machine needed replaced, but not to worry if I dropped it off they’d have a replacement for me in a couple of days.

It’s been 6 weeks and I still don’t have a replacement. 6 weeks without coffee for our office.

Every few days I email Breville, and unbelievably they keep saying “oh, that colour is out of stock, do you want the other colour?” THREE TIMES I said I don’t care about colour any colour is fine, and Three times they say they’ll send a replacement without actually doing it!! I follow up a few days later and it’s like they never read the detail in the email thread and start the whole thing over again.

It’s the worst customer experience I’ve ever had. Let alone for a machine worth thousands of dollars. It doesn’t feel legal that they can take your money, promise you a replacement but string you along for months.

DO NOT RECOMMEND.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome service Amazon This is a very very good expresso machine, works wonderfully and for the home barista makes outstanding coffee very easy to make. Zero issues… however the first machine arrived and would not reach temperature. As many have found this is probably due to airlocks in the system (in this case uncurable using internet suggestions) which stopped the pumps from priming. Very frustrating.. However started a late night online chat with an amazon rep, the replacement arrived the next day and the failed and carefully reboxed machine was taken away. The second machine works oh so very well… so again Thank-you Amazon… There is a reason you are at the top of the online marketplace. Oh.. several vendors (including Amazon) were vendors for this device on Amazon.. I made sure I bought it directly from Amazon (it cost $0.33 more :-)) for this very reason, easy return and of course the credit card bonus.

5.0 out of 5 stars I’m convinced this is one great unit! We have been researching what espresso machine to purchase next (we’re on our 4th machine with this one) and were really impressed with the amount of control the Breville Oracle offered. Well, our old machine died this last week and so we ordered our Breville and it arrived today. Within an hour of its arrival we had made our first espresso and were easily able to make adjustments to get the perfect cups for us. This machine is so well thought out that it even has a tool drawer storage are so you won’t have to hunt down your brushes! One of the best features is that you can refill the water reservoir from the top without having to remove the reservoir from the back. We prefer to steam our milk in the pitchers and the steam control can be either automatic or manual on this unit; fantastic! As far as I’m concerned, this Breville offers the best of both worlds: the convenience of an automatic with the flavor of a manual espresso machine. Thank you, Breville!

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING SO FAR! I received the Oracle about 1 month ago. The machine was forwarded in a slightly damaged Breville box without any other outer packaging; however, the inner packaging was great and it has been working perfectly. I returned my first Oracle order because it would not heat up beyond 67 degrees. I use bottled water and clean the machine THOROUGHLY after each use. It is amazing how much coffee remains in the grinding area. I prefer cappuccinos and order Peets fresh roasted coffee (Arabian Mocha Sanani and Arabian Mocha Java are fabulous). Additionally, I use Land O’ Lakes half and half and the frothed milk has come out perfect each and every time just like in the videos (the half and half is much better than the whole milk and does not clog the tip of the frothing wand). Hopefully, the Oracle’s outstanding performance will continue. I will update my rating if there is any change in performance.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not reliable and inconsistent performance We have had an entry level Breville espresso machine that lasted for 10 years and when it stopped grinding, we thought we should upgrade. Unfortunately, this was not really an upgrade. The machine makes great espresso, when it works as it is supposed to. One could say it is consistently inconsistent. While a first extraction on a certain setting gives excellent coffee, the next one results in water just pouring through with no real taste. The milk steamer has various grades, supposedly to make more or less foam for your different types of coffees. And it did so for the first month, after which it doesn’t really matter what you put on, it always comes the same. The support person asked me to clean and descale the machine and use 3% fat milk (instead of 2% that we use) to fix this but none of these helped.

Considering the high price and poor and inconsistent performance, I would not recommend this to anybody.

5.0 out of 5 stars What are you waiting for? Buy this. This machine is awesome. For those insisting on fair and balanced feedback, the only negative to me is the pre-programmed large Americano being so large it overflows the provided cup. So I just make the espresso and use the manual override to add the amount of water I want. Otherwise, wow, wow, wow. I sell coffee and machines for a living. Oracle is my favorite by a landslide. I took it in to a local roaster to let them play with it and they were very impressed. The automatic grind, tamp and polish blew our minds. And it is easy enough to manual the infusion and extraction time, but there’s really no need. This thing rocks right out of the box. Considering you can pay many thousands more to get espresso machines that are much harder to use and maintain, this is worth every penny.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cannot make a mistake with this espresso machine! Wow is all I can say about this espresso machine! We are not into spending big money but this was an exception. It was totally worth the price. If you want a consistent cup of coffee then this is the machine for you. Been running it daily since we purchased it about 3 months ago and have had zero issues. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a good quality espresso machine that seems like will last forever (as long as you keep up with required SIMPLE maintenance). Also, the metal filter was missing on the piece for the water reservoir, contacted Breville, and had a replacement piece and a box of filters within 2 days at my door for no charge. Awesome customer service!

5.0 out of 5 stars Whole new world This is my first real espresso machine and I was in the market for a super-automatic machine originally. My concerns with the super-automatic machines being cleanliness, custom capable, milk steaming, and dealing with milk containers. These concerns are taken care of with the Oracle. Cleaning is simple, customization is easy, and there are no milk containers to keep sanitary.
However, getting into the espresso world at home may not be for everyone. As I’ve learned there is a lot of factors that go into a good brew and you’ll have to put effort into figuring it out. In the process you’ll have some bitter coffee experiences but once the unit is dialed in to the beans you’ll love this machine.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great machine producing consistently good cappuccino Spent a month in Italy and got spoiled having 1 to 2 cappuccinos every day, so purchased the Breville Oracle when we returned. Have had it for 4 months and am very happy with it.
Find the beans you like (make sure they are fresh), set the grind so espresso begins coming out of brew head in 7-12 seconds and set the amount of froth you want in the milk – that’s it. It has a Venturi system that draws in the proper amount of air and steam into the milk. I make two 8 oz cups or one 16 oz cup. Consistently good cappuccino every time. Quick and easy to operate and easy cleanup. Great machine.

2.0 out of 5 stars I received a USED PRODUCT.. OPEN PACKAGE opened package… used product – doesn’t work properly. will request refund

1.0 out of 5 stars I contacted breville and was told that they would repair it under warranty – great! They would send a fedex label and box … I purchased my unit in late August of 2017, by June 2018 (9 months after purchase) our unit began to short out when heating up the element. We followed the upkeep regimen religiously.

Sometimes these things happen and I wouldn’t necessarily hand out a 1 star for this alone (though apparently this is a known issue which blows my mind on a $2k unit), but our warranty repair process has been a complete joke.

I contacted breville and was told that they would repair it under warranty – great! They would send a fedex label and box to return – even better!

However, the return box took around 2 and a half weeks to arrive, the unit spent a half a week in transit and then another week at their repair station, by this point we’ve spent a month out of a coffee machine.

The icing on the cake to all of this is that the unit which was apparently sent back to me, has now been mysteriously lost in their warehouse – I don’t recommend!