The Breville Oracle (BES980XL) Review

Do you dream of a time when you’ll wake up and make a perfect cup of coffee day after day?

Well, the Breville Oracle BES980XL is here to make your dreams come true. Whether you want great espresso at the touch of a button or you prefer to tweak each parameter of your shot manually, this coffee machine can do it all. 

Keep reading for a full run-down of its exciting features.

Summary: The Breville Oracle BES980XL

• Automation for grinding, dosing, tamping, & milk steaming
  
• Dual boiler — you can brew and steam at the same time
  
• Almost endless programmability

The Oracle® creates café quality coffee that tastes like you’d get in your favourite café.

– Breville

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The Breville Oracle Review

With the Oracle espresso maker, Breville left no stone unturned to make it as easy as possible to brew excellent espresso at home. Its price might blow your mind, but so will its features and capabilities.

Breville Oracle

• Design
• Brewing System
• Coffee Quality & Versatility
• Cleaning & Maintenance
• Value For Money

4.1

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Design – 4/5

With the Oracle, the designers at Breville bridged the gap between the semi-automatic machines (which need some expertise to operate) and the super-automatics (which take away a lot of control from you). This stylish espresso maker has a brushed stainless steel outer casing with an aluminium top surface, which has a built-in cup warmer.

Despite its good looks, it might not be a good fit for every kitchen. Measuring 40.9 x 37.3 x 45.3 cm and weighing 15.6 kilos, this coffee maker is a real beast. However, the designers have given it a nifty roller bearing system that you can engage using the knob located below the drip tray. It allows you to swivel this heavy machine around to reach the water tank at the back.

Brewing System – 4.5/5

Like the Breville BES920XL, the Oracle eliminates the wait time between brewing and steaming thanks to its dual boilers. Now you can pull your espresso and steam your milk at the same time. The pump, capable of maintaining 15 bar pressure, ensures that the extraction happens at the ideal pressure, while the PID that lets you set the brewing temperature. This is good news because, according to Coffee Technicians Guild (1):

Oracle’s stainless steel conical burr grinders are fed via a 280 g bean hopper. You can adjust the grind settings via the dedicated dial. It’s a cinch to grind directly into the portafilter after you have adjusted the grind settings via the dedicated dial. Insert the portafilter into the holder, and give the handle a slight push to the right to start grinding.

The water tank has a gargantuan 2.5-litre capacity and will accept a charcoal water filter (included in the box). There’s a water level window located at the front, but the display will warn you when it needs to be topped off (or when you need to change the water filter). The best part is that you can open the lid on the top to refill the tank. No need to turn it all the way around.

You can adjust the steam temperature and the amount of foam you want in the milk. Then you position the milk jug under the wand and let the machine work its magic. There is a sensor in the tip of the wand that indicates when the desired temperature is reached so you can shut off the steam. Or you can take full manual control of the entire process. It’s up to you.

Coffee Quality & Versatility – 4.5/5

The Oracle uses a 58 mm stainless steel portafilter to brew the espresso. But all you have to do is fix the portafilter in position and hit a couple of buttons. The machine automates the grinding, dosing, and tamping.

You can even program the Oracle to your heart’s content.

• You can change the dose to adjust the strength of the brew.
• You can set the tamping pressure and polishing time according to your liking.
• The single and double shot buttons are programmable for volume or duration.
• The Americano button has 3 programmable settings for size and strength.
• You can even program the pre-infusion time, wait time, and brew time for that perfect layer of crema.

Those are just the settings for your coffee. You even get to control the temperature and frothiness of your steamed milk via its dedicated control dial.

The espresso tastes great after you’ve dialled in all the settings. And that makes us happy. That first cup in the morning can be hard to make, and the Oracle makes it so much easier. And if you choose to experiment with your brew on the weekend, you can override the automation and take back control.

Cleaning & Maintenance – 3.5/5

Since the Breville Oracle brews coffee like a traditional espresso machine, there is no brew head or dregs container to clean. However, you’ll have to dump the used grounds into the knock bin after every brew, and give it a wipe with a cloth. However, the display will flash a warning to let you know that it’s time for running a backflush cycle or descale the machine.

Speaking of descaling, we have to admit that it’s an onerous process. It can take anywhere between 60-90 minutes from start to finish. Luckily, Breville has an instruction video to guide you through it:

The steam wand is another part of automatic espresso machines that requires frequent cleaning. You will have to wipe down the exterior after every use. But after you’re done steaming, push the wand back into place, and it automatically cleans the nozzle by forcing steam out of the tip. How smart is that?

Breville makes a bevy of coffee equipment and has a huge network of service centres. That comes in handy if you ever have to invoke Breville’s 2-year Repair Warranty. Every once in a while, you will hear about some problems with the Oracle; don’t worry, the company will help you sort it out.

Value For Money – 4/5

This Breville Oracle has no competitor among super-automatic espresso machines. It is a super-automatic machine that brews espresso in a traditional portafilter, and has a dual boiler system. Not to mention, you can control and program almost every single aspect of your brew to get the perfect shot. And if you choose to, it offers you the convenience of one-touch brewing without compromising on the quality of the coffee.

We acknowledge that it is big, heavy, expensive, and packed to the gills with automation. That might put off some people from buying this espresso machine. But there’s nothing like the Breville Oracle in the market; it truly is in a class of its own. That’s why we feel the price is justified.

Do Not Buy The Breville Oracle If…

You drink your espresso black – If you have no need for a steam wand, check out the Jura ENA Micro 1. This ultra-compact espresso machine makes great espresso at the touch of a button, and we found it to be a great option for those who don’t drink milk-based coffee. Better yet, you can save a bundle by picking up a refurbished model.

You want a compact espresso machine – If you’re a fan of the Breville brand (or Sage if you’re in Europe) but prefer a compact espresso machine, then the Bambino Plus may just be the perfect one for you. Although a semi-automatic, this machine is packed with features. You can learn more in our Breville Bambino Plus review.

You want a more affordable espresso machine – The Kalerm KLM1601 is another superautomatic espresso machine that can make you espresso, cappuccino, latte, and cafe Americano at a touch of a button. It is also cheaper than the Oracle. You can lean more about it in our Kalerm KLM1601 Premium review.

On the other hand, if you know your way around a steam wand, you can save a lot of money by buying a super-automatic espresso machine without automatic milk frothing. 

For example, the DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300 costs significantly less than the Oracle and lets you brew everything from an espresso to a latte. We find it offers excellent value for money. For another affordable option, take a look at our review of the Gaggia Brera. It makes delightful espresso shots, and the Pannarello-style steam wand produces silky smooth milk foam.

Still unsure about the best super-automatic espresso machine for you? We’ve rounded up all our top picks.

The Verdict

This is a great coffee machine for the person who might want to take the easy road on some days but also wants to maintain some control over the brewing process.

It will appeal to the coffee lover who has a fair amount of knowledge but also likes to automate some of the tasks once they have set the machine up to deliver exactly what they want.

The Breville Oracle offers extensive programmability and impeccable performance that takes the headache out of making café quality espresso at home.

We like the idea of having an espresso maker that enables us to have incredible coffee at home effortlessly. Yet, it empowers us to contribute our brewing expertise and knowledge, if we so choose.

If you want to bring caffeinated happiness to your home, you can check out this beautiful machine, or even these amazing Breville espresso machines right here.

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