Breville is a century-old Australian brand that has been at the forefront of innovation in the kitchen appliance industry. They have not only made ultra-modern, super-sleek products throughout the years but also invented a lot of cutting-edge, era-defining technologies for espresso machines.
Sleek designs, intuitive interfaces, and easy-to-use advanced features are the defining characteristics of Breville’s best espresso machines. And Breville’s Oracle series is no different. Both the Oracle and the Oracle Touch make great-tasting coffee. But there are some key differences too! So, let’s compare both models to help you make an educated decision about which espresso maker is perfect for you!
Breville Oracle VS. Oracle Touch: Key Differences
The Breville Oracle is the predecessor of the Oracle Touch. Even though the similarities between the Breville Oracle and the Oracle Touch are way more than their actual differences, they do have some key differences as well that are worth looking at.
Material
Now, this is the kind of factor that gets overlooked a lot. The Oracle’s exterior is made of stainless steel. But some of the parts are made of plastic as well. The Oracle Touch, on the other hand, has no plastic parts, either internally or externally. It’s entirely constructed of brushed stainless steel. It makes the model a little more durable and less likely to be damaged compared to the Oracle model. Both machines, however, come with dual stainless steel boilers. These are the workhorses for the richest and most consistent coffee drinks.
Controls
Since the Oracle has a screen and button-based controls, it has some convenient buttons. For example, the Oracle has a dedicated hot water button to start and stop the flow of hot water from its hot water outlet. Similarly, it offers a one-touch Long Black dialer, which is also preset and customizable. Its steam lever is for one-touch automatic and manual milk texturing. The steam LCD display shows the current milk temperature and texture settings.
The Oracle Touch provides a swipe-screen-based user interface. So, you won’t have those single-button accessibility options with it.
User Interfaces
The most important one is the display. The Oracle Touch uses a touchscreen, which is quick and cuts seconds off your time. Through its swipe screen, you can also make 5 delectable coffee drinks, including espresso, long black or Americano, latte, flat white, and cappuccino. You can also customize and save drinks through the dynamic user interface of the Oracle Touch. Please note that you can save up to 8 customized coffee drinks with the Oracle Touch! The adjustable grind size and programmable temperature settings are easy to adjust using the touchscreen with a visually appealing interface!
The Oracle, on the other hand, has an LCD display with buttons. It doesn’t have pre-programmed coffee recipes. But its user manual has recommended 6 drinks ideal for this machine: espresso, long black/Americano, latte, flat white, cappuccino, and macchiato. Furthermore, it doesn’t have a save mode for customized recipes. The buttons on the control panel are very direct, easy to use, and informative. Moreover, the Oracle has another smaller LCD display window for displaying grind and steam settings.
Price Point
Usually, we don’t want to focus on this aspect when we review or compare products. But both of these machines are considered to be Breville’s flagship models. And both of these machines demand big bucks on the market. Being its predecessor, the Oracle can be $500–$600 cheaper than the Oracle Touch.
It’s because the Oracle Touch comes with a smarter user interface, 5 preprogrammed drink recipes, and 8 user profiles to save all the customizations. The Oracle Touch is also available in 2 different color variants, whereas the Oracle is only available in brushed stainless steel. On top of that, the Oracle Touch is fully made of stainless steel as well.
Weights And Dimensions
Both of these machines come with indifferent bean hoppers and water reservoir capacities. But we’ve already mentioned that the Oracle Touch is made entirely of stainless steel, whereas the Oracle has both steel and plastic in its build. That’s why the Oracle Touch is a heavier machine (37 lbs.) than the Oracle (34.5 lbs.).
In addition, the Oracle Touch is narrower than the Oracle. However, the height and depth are the same for both of these models. So, the Oracle Touch will take up less kitchen space when compared to the Oracle.
Similarities
As we’ve already mentioned, there are more similarities between the Oracle and the Oracle Touch espresso machines than there are differences. Let’s go over their key similarities below.
- Breville has a 2-year repair warranty for both of these espresso machines
- Another important similarity between these two machines is their PID technology, which picks the precise water temperature for your brew
- Both the Oracle and Oracle Touch have auto-start and auto-off switches for optimal energy consumption as well as the ability to maintain a brew schedule
- They also come with steel conical burrs and 45-grind settings. Moreover, the tamping is fully automated, including the grinding, dosing, and tamping
- Both of these machines are capable of creating fantastic shots of espresso. They share the same 58 mm portafilter to make such rich, tasty shots of espresso
- Both of these barista-grade espresso machines hold 22 grams of ground coffee in the portafilter to maintain a professional standard for each brew session
- Both the Oracle and the Oracle Touch are fully automatic, hands-free milk texturing machines. After each milk steaming session, both the Oracle and the Oracle Touch auto-purge their steam wands
- Low-pressure pre-infusion technology is another common feature for both of them. Moreover, both the Oracle and the Oracle Touch come with a PID-controlled group head to ensure the utmost optimality behind each shot of espresso
Overview Of The Breville Oracle
- The Oracle has a built-in milk frother that automatically froths milk to your desired texture and temperature
- It uses a pre-infusion process to gently saturate the coffee grounds before extracting the espresso
- The Oracle has a PID temperature control system that ensures that the water is heated to the perfect temperature for espresso extraction
- A sleek touchscreen control panel that makes it easy to select your desired beverage and settings
- It has a dedicated hot water spout that makes it easy to dispense hot water for tea or other drinks
The Breville Oracle espresso machine is great for those who love brewing on their own at home with the least amount of trouble. It has commercial-grade dual stainless steel boilers, amazing temperature control elements, simultaneous extraction and steaming, and automated cleaning functions.
Breville’s user interface is a combination of an LCD screen display with buttons. It’s pretty straightforward to use. But Oracle doesn’t have its own pre-programmed drink recipes and user profiles to save the customizations properly.
It does have a sizeable bean hopper and a water tank for big brewing batches. The PID technology not only works with the water temperature but also controls the temperature of its group head. The integrated precision conical burr grinder processes, doses, and tamps exactly 22 grams of freshly ground coffee all by itself for optimum taste. Its “Over Pressure Valve” also regulates the maximum brewing pressure to avoid making unpleasant, bitter-tasting espresso shots.
Breville has also added a self-cleaning steam wand feature. It ensures the hygiene and milk quality of the espresso machine. Breville Oracle’s steam wand is a great choice for latte artists and professional baristas, as it can produce high-quality microfoam.
Overview Of The Breville Oracle Touch
- The Oracle Touch has a built-in milk frother that automatically froths milk to your desired texture and temperature
- Automatic grinding and tamping of the Oracle Touch automatically grind the coffee beans and tamp them into the portafilter
- Oracle Touch uses a pre-infusion process to gently saturate the coffee grounds before extracting the espresso
- It also has a PID temperature control system that ensures that the water is heated to the perfect temperature for espresso extraction
- The Oracle Touch has a large touchscreen control panel that makes it easy to select your desired beverage and settings
The Breville Oracle Touch is the successor of the Breville Oracle automatic espresso machine. The Touch is packed with top-notch features that make it a better option than its previous model.
It has all of Oracle’s features and much more. To begin, this high-quality espresso machine has a very simple touch and swipe operation. It doesn’t have buttons like the Oracle. With a simple swipe on the screen, you can choose between 5 pre-programmed drinks: espresso, long black, latte, flat white, and cappuccino.
You’ll also have the option of saving all of your customizations in 8 different user profiles. With the presence of dual steel boilers, low-temperature pre-infusion, PID technology, a heated group head, and adjustable milk and foam quality, you’ll not have many more complete beasts of a machine like this every now and then. Like the Oracle, it has almost similar dimensions, with a smaller width than the Oracle, making it more space-friendly. On the flip side, it weighs more than the Oracle, as it doesn’t contain any plastic components—it’s a completely steel-made machine.
It is more expensive than Oracle, but it compares favorably to its market competitors in terms of value for money.
Conclusion
In the end, we can safely conclude that both of these Breville machines are excellent choices for professional-grade coffee lovers at home. These two machines are not only extremely convenient but they are also built to last for decades.
The Oracle Touch does have better user benefits as it offers more customizations than the Oracle. You can customize and then save your drinks easily and directly with a couple of swipes on its touchscreen. It makes home brewing a pretty calming experience, which is exactly what you want in a fully automatic espresso machine.
The Oracle falls short on some features compared to the Touch model. However, both of these models share 75% of the same features. So, it’s not a big letdown if you consider going for the Breville Oracle instead. Also, note that the entire process of grinding and brewing is almost identical to each other, and both of them produce high-quality espresso shots and milk foam.
So, if you’re an avid coffee drinker and willing to spend top dollar, the Oracle Touch is an excellent long-term investment, while its predecessor, the Oracle, is the next best choice.
FAQs
Can the Breville Oracle brew regular coffee?
Yes, it can prepare regular coffee. Its integrated grinder and the PID temperature control system you help you make regular coffee like Americano with ideal consistency in taste and temperature.
Can I make regular espresso in the morning and decaf in the afternoon with Oracle or Oracle Touch?
Yes, you can, but it’ll be a lot of unnecessary workload for you. You can close the hopper and remove it to fit in a second hopper for your decaf. However, there will be enough residual beans stuck on the bur’s head. And it’ll be enough for half an espresso. Meaning, you’d have to clean those by hand before fitting in your decaf bean hopper. So, it’s too much trouble.
How long does the milk steamer take to warm up the milk to 140 degrees with the Oracle and Oracle Touch?
With both machines, it takes about 60 seconds to warm the milk up to 155 degrees as both of them have dual boilers.
Are Breville Oracle and Oracle Touch models suitable for commercial setup?
No, none of these two models are commercial-grade machines. Although you might be able to use either of them in a low-volume commercial setting it’s not a recommendable approach.
Is Oracle Touch a loud machine?
Yes, especially since the grinder is loud. But the milk frother isn’t that loud. Regardless, it makes amazing espresso, lattes, etc.
