If you value customization over time, I would recommend the Breville Barista Pro. It’s designed for every coffee enthusiast, with a wide variety of intuitive and user-friendly features.
But if the quality of espresso extraction is more important to you, the Breville Oracle is one of the best automatic espresso makers. It’s a convenient and easy-to-use machine for daily use. You can make multiple espresso shots at one time or spread throughout the day. And it’ll be quick, leaving you plenty of time to do other things!
Thankfully, for the times that you do want more control over your shots, the Oracle lets you switch to manual mode. This is why Oracle is a better competitor because the Barista Pro has no such automated mode.
Breville Barista Pro vs Oracle: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2023-03-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Breville Barista Pro vs Oracle: Differences
Choosing the Oracle over the Barista Pro (the comparison score is 2 – 4 in favor of the Oracle) means you get 2x the convenience of using an espresso maker at home. Dual stainless steel boilers (fast performance) plus automatic and manual espresso features (better control)!
1. Semi-Automatic vs Super-Automatic
The Winner: Breville Oracle
The Breville Barista Pro is a semi-automatic espresso maker. It has all the important features that make it possible for you to brew barista-quality espresso at home. But you need to go through the process of manually controlling certain key variables yourself.
Such as the right amount of ground coffee, time, and shot control. With a single touch, you can customize your espresso shot quickly and effectively.
The LCD display offers incredible control over such variables to keep the measurements accurate and consistent for the next shot.
The Oracle is a fully automatic espresso machine. Once you turn it on, it will do exactly what a barista does to give you an excellent shot of espresso. This includes grinding the coffee beans, dosing and tamping for extracting maximum flavor, and lastly, maintaining an optimal temperature for a deliciously full-bodied drink!
So the Oracle is more automatic than the Barista Pro. By automating the manual brewing process which might seem too complex for a beginner, the Oracle works to get bean-to-cup coffee in lesser time than the Barista Pro!
2. Programmability
The Winner: Breville Barista Pro
While it’s true that the Breville Barista Pro offers a more involved espresso brewing experience to its user, it’s also intricately and intuitively tuned to deliver better espresso results. This includes espresso taste, texture, aroma, and strength!
For an intense espresso palette, go for the Breville Barista Pro. Its programmability is unique and user-friendly. Starting with the LCD display, you can easily observe all the key information. And right under it is the button/dial controls for an even more accurate experience.
You can access the intuitive menu to customize the grind size, shot volume, and milk texturing temperature.
The high-quality 54mm portafilter works for 18 to 22g of freshly ground coffee for a single and double shot of espresso. The grind size and dose dial allow you to tweak the settings based on how strong you want your espresso!
The Breville Oracle is slightly lazier with regard to programmability. It features an automatic timer and you can override it to manual mode for controlling the grind size, temperature, and timing of the shot.
But I found it a little less intuitive and responsive than the Barista Pro. As a super-automatic espresso machine, its customization abilities are not as fast as a semi-automatic that is designed precisely for manual control!
3. Size
The Winner: Breville Barista Pro
There are 3 key differences in size between the Breville Barista Pro vs Oracle.
Barista Pro has a smaller water tank size of 67 fluid ounces while the Oracle offers a large 84.5-ounce water tank.
Its bean hopper capacity that is capable of storing high-quality coffee beans for a long time can keep 226g of coffee beans at a time. The capacity runs slightly smaller, again, when compared to the Oracle which has a 280g bean hopper capacity.
The large water reservoir and bean hopper of the Oracle give it an even bigger construction size. The Oracle measures 16.1 x 14.6 x 17.8 inches and the Barista Pro 13.9 x 16.1 x16 inches.
This makes the Oracle taller and wider than the Barista Pro. But the Barista Pro is thicker, or more voluminous than the Breville Oracle.
If you’re deciding between more or less counter space, the Barista Pro is a compact and easy-to-handle machine. It doesn’t take up as much room as the Oracle which is a few inches taller and wider than the Barista Pro.
4. Steam Wand
The Winner: Breville Oracle
While the Barista Pro offers precise control over temperature and milk texturing, thanks to the PID temperature control. It features a manual steam wand that lets you decide the correct steaming temperature of the milk.
The Barista Pro also comes with a single Thermocoil element that controls temperature and lets you adjust it accurately as well. You can increase and increase the temperature by 2-degrees to ensure smooth and consistent extraction.
This affects the steam wand in that you can control the temperature/texture of the milk to improve its flavor. Hand texturing for creating the perfect latte art is a skill that requires a learning curve. So a manual steam wand gets easier to control once you know what you want.
Moving on, the Oracle is better than the Barista Pro in that it features dual boilers. This means no waiting in between to get the steam wand up to the right temperature for texturing.
But most importantly, the Oracle features both manual and automatic control of the steam wand. You can even set the timer to get the machine heated up for a piping hot latte first thing in the morning.
The stainless steel boilers use PID technology to get steamed milk right each time. This makes Oracle faster and more energy-efficient than the Barista Pro.
5. ThermoJet vs Dual Boiler
The Winner: Breville Oracle
The Breville Oracle again ranks the highest for its quick and dual stainless-steel boilers. But this doesn’t mean that the Barista Pro has no interesting features to offer.
It does offer a quick heat-up time in 3 seconds for transitioning from espresso extraction to milk steaming.
The single boiler works effectively to get the water hot on demand. Even though it is a single boiler, it comes very close to offering the advantages of a double boiler.
Speaking of dual boilers, the Oracle pulls shots really very quickly. As a dual boiler espresso maker, it can produce more than 10 shots of espresso, back to back, without slowing time. The Barista Pro, though it’s fast, is not fit for such intense use.
6. One-Touch Functionality
The Winner: Breville Oracle
Even though the Barista Pro features a hot water dispenser, it doesn’t include a pre-programmed feature like the Oracle. By pressing the ‘One Touch Long Black’ button, you can drink a double espresso plus hot water which delivers rich and hot Americanos without going back and forth, just like you would have to with the Barista Pro. It’s a convenient feature for black coffee drinkers.
Breville Barista Pro vs Oracle: Similarities
The Breville Barista Pro and Oracle share plenty of features in that the former offers manual control while the latter offers manual and automatic control.
I’m talking about the integrated conical burr grinder. It has many advantages for the beginner or advanced user. Such as dose control, maximum flavor, great texture and smoothness, and most importantly, consistency.
The Barista Pro lets you adjust the grind size with the help of an intuitive LCD display. And it’ll extract espresso in less than a minute. The Oracle offers similar benefits but you can also let the machine automatically detect the grind size for you.
Both conical burr grinders on the machine have a small footprint, taking up less space than a separate espresso maker and grinder would!
Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Pro BES878
- Note: 1)Too coarse a grind, too little coffee, or insufficiently tamping the grounds before brewing can all lead to inadequate pressure for a proper brew. 2)It is important to note that the amount of espresso extracted will vary depending on the grind size and amount and reprogramming may be needed when the size and amount are adjusted
- The Breville Barista Pro delivers third wave specialty coffee at home with a single touch as the built in grinder with dose control delivers the right amount of coffee on demand for maximum flavor.
- Faster heat up time: Innovative ThermoJet heating system achieves the optimum extraction temperature in 3 seconds with the instantaneous transition from espresso to steam. Ready to make your best coffee without the wait.
- Microform milk Texturing: The powerful steam wand performs at the level that allows you to hand texture micro-foam milk that enhances flavor and enables creation of latté art.
- 19-22 Grams dose for full flavor: Achieve a consistent and balanced espresso using the right amount of ground coffee. The 54mm ports-filter with 19-22 grams is the key for full flavor and cafe quality coffee
Last update on 2023-03-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown Of Breville Oracle BES980XL
- The Breville Oracle fully automatic delivers third wave specialty coffee at home using the 4 keys formula; It has a professional Dual Boiler construction that delivers unparalleled temperature control and simultaneous extraction and steaming
- Dose Control Grinding: The integrated precision conical burr grinder automatically grinds, doses and tamps 22 grams of freshly ground coffee, for maximum flavor
- Optimal Water Pressure: The Over Pressure Valve limits the maximum pump pressure throughout extraction, helping prevent bitter flavors; Low pressure pre infusion gradually increases water pressure to gently expand grinds for an even extraction
- Precise Espresso Extraction: Dual stainless steel boilers and heated group head controlled by digital temperature control (PID) delivers water at precisely the right temperature, ensuring optimal espresso extraction
- Automatic Microfoam Milk Texturing: Self-cleaning steam wand, powered by a dedicated boiler, automatically textures milk to your liking and delivers barista quality microfoam that enhances flavor and is essential for creating latte art at home
Last update on 2023-03-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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I am a passionate coffee drinker. Since I left my job as a barista a few years back in 2012, I’ve been sharing my expertise on coffee and buying the best coffee equipment online. That’s how Wild Boar Coffee came to life.
I write about everything coffee-related under the sun. Where to buy the freshest coffee beans from? How to test coffee beans based on texture, aroma, and acidity?
I know all this from scratch – all thanks to my years and years of experience as a barista. So I’ve gotten real up-close-and-personal with coffee beans and different brewing techniques.