Both the Breville Oracle and Barista Express are elegant and beginner-friendly espresso machines. But the Breville Oracle is more knowledgeable and skilled at making espresso. It’s got a super-automatic design with a dual boiler and a larger water capacity. It already knows what works, saving you time and effort in the process!
The Breville Barista Express offers the best barista-like experience if you want to learn about coffee. It has intuitive features that let you become more and more skilled at brewing espresso. With high-quality and sturdy parts, it is a durable pick with a wide range of capabilities.
Breville Oracle vs Barista Express: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2023-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Breville Oracle vs Barista Express – Differences
Between the Breville Oracle and Barista Express, Oracle is the higher-priced pick. What you’d be paying extra for is better, integrated features such as automatic tamping, a dual boiler, and a faster grinder.
That is why buying the Breville Oracle is the better option. It wins against the Barista Express 4-2 for a classy yet functional choice for beginners and intermediates!
1. Ease of Use
It’s true that fully automatic espresso makers are easier and faster to use. And they are also readily available in baristas because of their superior brewing technology.
Perfect for producing cup after cup of coffee, a fully automatic brewer is the one to buy.
The Breville Oracle which is fully automatic includes a burr grinder. Simply press a button and the machine will grind and brew, bean to cup, in a matter of minutes.
It controls the volume, time, and grind size perfectly. If you select the drink you’d like, latte, cappuccino, Americana, the Oracle will fine-tune the variables according to that coffee selection. Even though the settings are automatic, they are not the same for every drink.
The Breville Barista Express, on the other hand, has a bit of a learning curve. It’s not as one-touch as the Oracle so it does take a bit of guesswork, experimenting, and tweaking according to taste.
But the performance is smooth and consistent, just like the Oracle. You have control over the water amount that passes through the grounds. This is the point of difference, controlling the volume of water, between the Oracle and Barista Express, giving the former advantage for faster results.
2. Heating Element
The Breville Oracle features a stainless steel dual boiler which is better because it heats up quickly and maintains high heat for consistent brewing.
Here’s a fun fact: originally, espresso machines used stainless steel boilers for producing heat!
In the Oracle, you have two boilers – one for espresso, the other for steaming milk. This saves time during and between brewing and steaming, especially if you have a drink like a latte or flat white.
The machine will not lower the temperature after brewing espresso. And the separate steam heating element ensures that the milk warms up to the perfectly accurate temperature for milk frothing!
This makes the Oracle slightly heavier and less energy-efficient. Because the machine uses more power to maintain and stabilize high temperatures.
The Barista Express uses a Thermoblock heating element. The advantages of using Thermoblock are less than a stainless steel boiler.
While it does make the water hot quickly, it is unable to maintain higher temperatures for brewing and steaming. This can affect the milk temperature, keeping it slightly less warm.
The advantages, however, of using Thermoblock are better energy efficiency, lightweight design, and longer-lasting performance.
3. Size
The size of the Breville Oracle is larger than the Barista Express. Where the Oracle weighs 34.5 pounds, the Barista Express weighs 23 pounds.
Not only is it heavier, it also features a larger water reservoir capacity of 2.5L, the Barista Express is 2L. The stainless steel dual boilers contribute to the weight, making it wider and taller than Barista Express.
Overall both espresso machines have solid construction. Another point of difference is that you can access the water reservoir in the Oracle from the back, it features a water level indicator at the front so you can accurately figure out when to add water.
The water tank in the Barista Express can be accessed from the back. It’s sturdy, space-saving, and looks and feels compact.
4. Coffee Grinding
The Oracle also features a larger bean hopper capacity of 270g. It’s lockable and you can store it for the longest time without the beans spoiling. The machine features automatic grinding and dosing and tamping. So all you need to do is add the coffee beans (of your choice) to the hopper and the machine takes care of the rest.
The conical burr grinding technology of the Oracle grinds and tamps precisely 22g which is perfect for espresso. It produces rich and crema-infused flavor perfect to drink as is, with hot water, and steamed milk.
The portafilter is high-quality and 58mm stainless steel which, according to baristas, is the professional range.
The Barista Express features a 250g bean hopper. You can detach it for cleaning and refilling coffee beans. However, the lid of the bean hopper is not as secure. I would recommend you to add only the amount of coffee beans you’ll require per cup.
You can adjust the grind size intuitively and quickly. And the machine automatically grinds the coffee into the portafilter. Since it’s not fully automatic, figuring out the right dose of coffee for maximum espresso flavor takes a bit of time.
5. Interface
The Barista Oracle features an LCD display to pick between certain variables. Such as shot volume and manual control. It displays all the information you need to get your espresso cup.
The Barista Express features a more basic yet useful interface with an analog gauge and button control. The pressure gauge is helpful because it displays the accurate pressure levels of the espresso. You can learn how much to tamp the coffee for the best possible flavor extraction.
6. Steam Wand
Both espresso machines have an incredible steam wand. The Oracle offers integrated steam with automatic and manual controls. It has a thermostat at the tip of the wand which touches the milk so it reaches an accurate steaming temperature.
The LCD display lets you know when the milk reaches the high temp for better frothing results. You can also set the temperature manually if you like your coffee at a precise temperature, either very hot or warmer.
Lastly, the steam wand has an automatic cleaning function which makes everything better! It cleans itself immediately after use, as soon as you put it back to its original position.
The Barista Express’s steam wand is traditional yet powerful. You can control how much foam you want and it also dispenses hot water. The steam wand is easy to clean with a damp cloth and purging. And it automatically lets out a few hot spurts to clean itself after use. This auto-purge feature is efficient and durable to use.
Breville Oracle vs Barista Express – Similarities
1. Pre-Infusion Technology
Pre-infusion espresso is one step ahead of the game when it comes to brewing coffee at home. And both these espresso machines feature pre-infusion technology.
The machine pre-infuses the coffee grounds before passing hot water through the puck. Soaking the grounds inside the portafilter itself makes sure that all the grounds are soaked in hot water. As the hot water penetrates through the coffee, it leads to a richer flavor, better crema, and a strong aroma!
2. Dose Control
Creamy espresso starts with proper dose control at lower pressure plus pre-infusion. And fortunately, the Breville Oracle and Barista Express offer all of these.
The correct dose of between 19 to 22g is the perfect spot for espresso. It is the professional standard for baristas. And it produces the richest espresso you’ll ever have.
Anything less will make the espresso watery, and anything more will lead to a powdery, bitter taste experience.
Quick Rundown of Breville Oracle 980XL
- 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
Last update on 2023-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown of Breville Barista Express BES870XL
- The Breville Barista Express delivers third wave specialty coffee at home using the 4 keys formula and is part of the Barista Series that offers all in one espresso machines with integrated grinder to go from beans to espresso in under one minute.Grind Settings : 16 precision grind settings, Tamping : Manual removable magnetic tamper,.Pressure Gauge : Extraction Feedback pressure gauge. Interface : Simple button control.
- DOSE CONTROL GRINDING: Integrated precision conical burr grinder grinds on demand to deliver the right amount of freshly ground coffee directly into the portafilter for your preferred taste with any roast of bean
- OPTIMAL WATER PRESSURE: Low pressure pre-infusion gradually increases pressure at the start and helps ensure all the flavors are drawn out evenly during the extraction for a balanced tasting cup
- PRECISE ESPRESSO EXTRACTION: Digital temperature control (PID) delivers water at precisely the right temperature, ensuring optimal espresso extraction
- MANUAL MICROFOAM MILK TEXTURING: The powerful steam wand performance allows you to hand texture microfoam milk that enhances flavor and enables creation of latte art
Last update on 2023-09-26 / 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.