Gaggia Babila Vs Breville Oracle: Which Is The Best Hybrid Coffee Maker?

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If you consider Gaggia Babila vs Breville Oracle, I would recommend investing in the Breville machine. This article will review and compare these two machines so you can make the right choice.

For a quick review of the winner – Breville Oracle, it is something of a hybrid between semi-automatic and super-automatic espresso machines. It can automatically grinds, doses, tamps, and textures milk, making the brewing process easier than ever. You can also manually adjust if you want. It also features digital temperature control technology (PID) that precisely controls water temperature to ensure a balanced extraction of coffee, giving you greater control and consistency for a perfectly brewed cup of coffee.

As a runner-up, the Gaggia Babila is still an awesome super-automatic espresso machine. It has many of the intelligent one-touch brewing functionalities. A manual steam wand is integrated into the Babilia as well as an automated milk carafe. I recommend this machine as a great choice for people searching for the convenience of a one-touch machine for making milk-based coffee beverages.

Gaggia Babila Vs Breville Oracle: Specs & Features Comparison Chart

Image
The Winner (#1)
Breville Oracle Espresso Machine BES980XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
The Runner-Up (#2)
Gaggia Babila RI9700/64 espresso Machine, Stainless Steel, Medium
Model
Breville Oracle
Gaggia Babila
Dimensions (WxDxH)
14.5" x 14.7" x 17.6"
9.64" x 16.53" x 14.17"
Material
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel
Weight
34.5 pounds
28.66 Pounds
Power / Voltage
1800 W / 110–120 V
1400 W / 110–120 V
Pump pressure
15 bars
15 bars
Bean Hopper Capacity
~227g
300g
Water Tank Capacity
2.5 Liters
1.5 Liters
Heating System
Triple heating system
Double heating system
Grinder
Stainless steel conical burr
Ceramic burr
Frother Type
Steam wand
Carafe and Steam wand
Adjustable grinder setting
40 selections
15 selections
Removable Bean Hopper
Digital temperature control (PID)
Adjustable Milk Temperature and Texture.
Adjustable Coffee Strength
What I Like
Price
$2,199.95
$1,766.07
The Winner (#1)
Image
Breville Oracle Espresso Machine BES980XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
Model
Breville Oracle
Dimensions (WxDxH)
14.5" x 14.7" x 17.6"
Material
Stainless Steel
Weight
34.5 pounds
Power / Voltage
1800 W / 110–120 V
Pump pressure
15 bars
Bean Hopper Capacity
~227g
Water Tank Capacity
2.5 Liters
Heating System
Triple heating system
Grinder
Stainless steel conical burr
Frother Type
Steam wand
Adjustable grinder setting
40 selections
Removable Bean Hopper
Digital temperature control (PID)
Adjustable Milk Temperature and Texture.
Adjustable Coffee Strength
What I Like
Price
$2,199.95
More Info
The Runner-Up (#2)
Image
Gaggia Babila RI9700/64 espresso Machine, Stainless Steel, Medium
Model
Gaggia Babila
Dimensions (WxDxH)
9.64" x 16.53" x 14.17"
Material
Stainless Steel
Weight
28.66 Pounds
Power / Voltage
1400 W / 110–120 V
Pump pressure
15 bars
Bean Hopper Capacity
300g
Water Tank Capacity
1.5 Liters
Heating System
Double heating system
Grinder
Ceramic burr
Frother Type
Carafe and Steam wand
Adjustable grinder setting
15 selections
Removable Bean Hopper
Digital temperature control (PID)
Adjustable Milk Temperature and Texture.
Adjustable Coffee Strength
What I Like
Price
$1,766.07
More Info

Last update on 2024-03-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Gaggia Babila Vs Breville Oracle: Differences

Breville Oracle was chosen as the winner because it defeated Gaggia Babila with a score of 3-1 in terms of Flavour, Blending power and Value for money. Keep reading to know the reasons. 

1. Flavour

The Winner: Breville Oracle

Grinder 

Both of these machines have integrated burr grinders. Babila’s grinder is a premium-quality ceramic grinder that is more efficient than stainless steel. I extremely love that. The main advantage of the ceramic is that it will never create a burnt taste or change the qualities of your coffee grounds. The ceramic design is also much quieter when operating in comparison to other designs. You will not worry about you will awaken your partner in the middle of the night or early morning.

One of the nice features of the Breville is a bean stopper. You can lock it and unlock it that allow you to take it out and remove the beans and change them out or clean your burr whatever you want while they’re still beans inside. 

Breville's left display shows grind settings
Breville’s left display shows grind settings

You always need to adjust the grind size because not all beans are the same. With the larger size range of Breville’s grinder, that’s not a problem. With 40 grind size settings on the Breville, the ability to adjust to suit different beans will be better than on the Gaggia with only 15 settings.

Heating System

You must have been very familiar with double heating systems, but Breville is a greater innovation. It has a triple heating system that means we have three separate heating systems for steaming, brewing, and brew-head. This helps brewing espresso and frothing milk at the precise temperature and we can do these two processes simultaneously. 

Breville Oracle has two PID controllers. One in the brewing boiler, and the other one maintains the perfect temperature in the group head. The unusual decision to add a PID to the group head to actively regulate the temperature during brewing is pretty amazing. The temperature controlled by PID is accurate within 2 degrees. 

Gaggia Babila has double boilers that reduce the waiting time between brewing the espresso and dispensing steam to froth milk. I feel it is slightly slower than in the Breville machine. The Gaggia Babila’s heating system permits 3 levels of coffee temperature adjustment. You can pick from low, normal, and high temperatures.

Espresso Quality

I hate to say this but I feel espresso extracted from Gaggia Babila is like espresso from vending coffee machines. Even if I adjust to the finest grind size, and choose full-bodied taste in the settings, espresso still tastes very weak, not a full-bodied taste. It tastes light like there’s not a lot of coffee in it. These espresso shots were very watery when compared to Breville Oracle.

Compared to Gaggia, espresso extracted from Breville Oracle is much stronger.  The cream is a dark cream as it should be and it’s very thick.

2. Easy To Use

The Winner: Gaggia Babila

With Orache, users don’t need to know too much about how to have an espresso cup and don’t need to worry about making some mistakes in the brewing or frothing process. This machine will do automatically for you, from grinding, dosing, distributing tamping, and milk texturing. Your only job is to move the portafilter from the dosing cradle to the group head.

Whether you want great espresso at the touch of a button or you prefer to adjust each parameter of your shot manually, this coffee machine can do it all. 

Because Gaggia Babila is a bean-to-cup machine, you don’t even need to screw portafilter to the group head. As its name, all we need to do is put the beans into the grinder and press the button, and then a cup of coffee will be ready. 

The Babila has 8 fully programmable drink presets
The Babila has 8 fully programmable drink presets

The Babila has 8 fully programmable drink presets that make its operation as effortless as possible. The front of the machine has dedicated buttons for espresso, espresso lungo, coffee, cappuccino, and latte macchiato. Ristretto, espresso macchiato, and flat white can be found in the special drinks button. 

3. Blending Power

The Winner: Breville Oracle

On the Gaggia Babila, you can use either the automatic milk frother or the steam wand. The attachable milk carafe acts as the perfect milk container for frothed milk. It is an easy way to make milk-based drinks with just a touch of a button with the Carafe.

For making the ideal, coffeeshop style milk froth, we prefer using a manual frothing wand. Thankfully, they both have a steam wand for manually frothing milk. 

We think the best feature of the Breville Oracle is its programmable. In the auto mode you can adjust the steam temperature and the amount of foam you want in the milk.

You cannot adjust the froth on Gaggia unless you’re doing it manually. And indeed, because we can’t adjust, I’m not satisfied with the quality of milk foam. 

Milk-based drink quality

Froth milk on Gaggia Babila is good but not outstanding. Rather than neat microfoam, the milk is too frothy with bigger bubbles in it. It’s a very very airy foam. The taste remains good, but I’ve seen bean-to-cup machines that are more capable than this one.

I see the milk frothing on the Breville is much better. I had steamed milk perfectly every time. It’s a really creamier foam, not an airy foam with too many bubbles. 

4. Value For Money

The Winner: Breville Oracle

Although Gaggia is cheaper than Bre, but for nearly 2000 dollars, we can really expect more in Gaggia. Gaggia is extremely convenient, easy to brew. But maybe we have had to sacrifice the quality of espresso and milk froth. Because at such a price, the quality of espresso and milk must be excellent.

The Breville Oracle has no competitor among super-automatic espresso machines. I acknowledge that it is big, heavy, expensive but it comes with many features that actually work well. Whether selecting automatic or manual mode, the quality of beverages all makes me satisfied. That’s why I feel the price is justified.

Gaggia Babila Vs Breville Oracle: Similarities

Adjustable brewing parameters

The Oracle also allows you to adjust critical brewing parameters like brew temperature, pre-infusion time, and shot volume. By controlling the pre-infusion time,  you can intensify the flavour and customize it to the type of coffee you are making. Depending on how much espresso you want in your cup, you can choose between one shot, two shots, or control it manually for the perfect amount each time.

In terms of adjusting brewing parameters, you can also control coffee strength, coffee amount, coffee temperature, taste on the Gaggia. On the Babila you can choose from five strength levels to fine-tune the coffee dose that is represented by beans in the display. About the coffee taste, you can choose from delicate, balanced and full body.

Quick Rundown Of Gaggia Babila

Sale
Gaggia Babila RI9700/64 espresso Machine, Stainless Steel, Medium
  • One touch brewing and frothing: bean-to-cup feature. Milk carafe includes automatic milk frothing for cappuccinos, and milk froth. Manual steam wand doubles as a hot water dispenser
  • ACCESSORIES INCLUDED: 1 bottle of Gaggia Descaler, 1 AquaClean Water Filter, 1 Water Hardness Test Strip, 1 Tube of Brew Group Lubricant, 1 Brew Group Brush, 1 Coffee Scoop/Grinder Key
  • PROGRAMMABLE: 8 Programmable brewing options for espressos, espresso lungos, coffee, ristrettos, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiato, flat whites and milk foam
  • Easy access to water reservoir: features a top Loading removable 50.7oz water reservoir; Brew Boiler Wattage: 1400

Last update on 2024-03-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Pros
  • Great for beginners and intermediates as you can go full auto or take manual control.
  • Consistently makes good coffee and milk
  • Heats up quickly
  • Very little mess made
Cons
  • Very high price
  • Slightly on the bulkier side

Quick Rundown Of Breville Oracle

Breville Oracle Espresso Machine BES980XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
  • 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 flavour and is essential for creating latte art at home
  • 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
  • OPTIMAL WATER PRESSURE: The Over Pressure Valve limits the maximum pump pressure throughout extraction, helping prevent bitter flavours; Low pressure pre infusion gradually increases water pressure to gently expand grinds for an even extraction
  • SHOT CONTROL AND LCD DISPLAY: Choose between one shot, two shots or manual control on the LCD display to control how much espresso ends up in your cup to make the perfect coffee/espresso every time

Last update on 2024-03-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Pros
  • Simple to use
  • Easy to maintain, descale, and clean
  • Allows for manual or automatic milk frothing
  • Silent Grinder
Cons
  • Milk a little too frothy
  • No integrated cup warmer

Product Videos

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