Best Breville Fully Automatic Coffee Machines

This is a follow up to my review of the Breville Oracle Jet published in May 2025. In that review I raised a number of "initial impressions" after… Read more

adjusting to the change from using (several) previous Breville Oracle coffee machines. I pointed out issues I had with the new machine, and concluded that "there's much that can be praised about the Oracle Jet .....But it hasn't met my personal, fairy limited, needs for a two cups of cappuccino. I've lowered my aim and I'm becoming used to making one cappuccino at a time - and standing at the coffee machine while my wife drinks hers! But I wonder was it really worth the $3308 it cost me? Probably not."

More than 12 months have now passed, and I'm well "adjusted": the milk frothing function mentioned in my previous review has improved significantly (possibly a software update - the Jet is wifi connected), and I've accepted that only one coffee can be made at a time.

As before, the Jet still gets full marks for being able to make a cappuccino (or a variety of menu coffees) almost instantly - there's no waiting for "the boilers to warm up". (And obviously, there's no risk of the boilers failing either.)

But I've come across more issues that are worth keeping in mind if you are looking at the Jet as a coffee machine option.

Firstly, and most noticeably, it is an extremely "wet machine": it demands far more water than any of my Breville machines - and not all of it on making coffee! As a result, I have to empty the drip tray of a cup of clear water every time I make a single coffee.

And occasionally, and more worryingly, this water seems able to escape. I had a problem lasting some weeks with a pool of water at the rear left hand side of the machine, whenever I checked before using the machine. I attempted problem solving: I emptied the drip tray after every use, so that couldn't be the source. I removed the water tank and checked and cleaned all the valves; and I checked under the machine for possible leaks. I found none. But then, for no apparent reason, just as quickly as it started, the leak stopped a few days ago after about three weeks. Touch wood!

Secondly, there is a EXTREMELY annoying issue with "Notifications" which seem designed to harass the barista! I first noticed it with a Notification to "clean the coffee head" which appeared on the screen just as I was about to make my morning coffee. The Notification offers two options: dismiss or start. I selected "dismiss", and later in the day when it was convenient to me, I ran the cleaning cycle. Ah, but it was a trick! The Notifications continued to appear over coming days until I selected "start" and ran the cleaning program FROM the Notification on the screen.

That's annoying I thought. But then days later, I received a "change the filter" Notification. In this case, I was actually a week ahead of the machine in changing the filter, but the Notifications continued. Obviously, I was expected to change change the filter FROM the Notification screen.

I contacted Breville and found these Notifications can't be changed via the Settings, or by a software update (via wifi). They are hardwired, and MUST BE OBEYED!

As I was contemplating how to defeat this irritating problem, I received yet another Notification - the third in two weeks - this time to descale. This was a bridge too far!

Reluctantly, I did "factory reset" as it was the only way to stop the harassment. I say "reluctantly" because the Jet doesn't allow the machine to be reset then repopulated with your preferences. Instead, like a machine straight from the box, you have to go through the entire original, new product set up process: "this is how you grind coffee beans; try it now", "this is how you fill the puck; try it now". etc, etc, etc, I might say the language in my kitchen as I was being forced through this process was colourful! But at least the 20-30 minutes of (unnecessary) pain stopped the accumulating and demanding Notifications!

Finally, it's worth mentioning that if you have a problem with the Breville Oracle Jet, you can only contact the company via a "case" on the Breville support page. And yet again, you'll face another unnecessary set of over-engineered processes: sign into the Breville home page with your account details; select Support from the menu, and sign in AGAIN to the Support page; then create a "new case" - and despite the fact that your machine is registered with Breville - you have to find all the documentation to populate the "case" with information they should already hold, like serial number, where and when purchased, etc!

The bottom line is this, the primary benefit of the Breville Oracle Jet is that it's fast. Its ability to make coffee is comparable with other reasonably priced coffee machines. Its downside is that it's over engineered and the user is locked out of everything but grind size, pour length and milk temperature. And the longer you have this machine, the more irritations emerge - and they can't be resolved. As a result, I'm unlikely to buy another Breville Oracle Jet. And I wouldn't recommend one to a member of my family - not for close to $3000!