The Breville Oracle Jet is a $2,000 computer that can also make coffee

There’s no girl math in the world that can make the Breville Oracle Jet make sense to me, but boys use it just fine.

Like most of the gadgets I test, this $1,999.95 espresso machine comes with a touch screen. It connects to the wireless network and receives software updates this way. But unlike most gadgets I test, the Jet is designed to squirt hot water at high pressure and turn it into coffee.

Jet is an updated version of Breville’s high-end Oracle superautomatic machine. It’s kind of like a sibling to my Breville Barista Express, but only in the sense that it’s an older sibling who left their modest hometown and got a high-powered job in the big city. I’ve been testing it out for the past few weeks, but more importantly, so has my husband.

I’m sure that in every relationship there is one person who is in charge of the coffee machine and the other person who chooses not to learn how to use it. In my family, I am the coffee person and my husband does not participate in Barista Express. I tried to convince him that making an Americano was easy, but he still felt intimidated and unless I was there to make him coffee, he insisted that he “just made a Keurig” and it was “fine.” almost not.

The basic mechanism of the Oracle Jet is the same as my machine – they both grind coffee beans into a portafilter and then brew to make espresso. But like Breville’s other superautomatic machines, the Oracle Jet’s grinder compacts the grind, eliminating a manual step in the process. The graphical interface also guides you through the steps of making your drink. It made the complicated process less intimidating, at least for my husband. After a tutorial, he successfully made an Americano on demand.

To the knowledgeable coffee geek that I am, Oracle Jet feels like beautiful overkill. I gave up on some of the process surprisingly easily; the machine could be more consistent in compacting or crushing the grinds before brewing anyway. That’s it OK, also. There is a light so you can see what you are doing. The drip tray is larger so I can make more drinks before dumping. The water tank can also be filled from the front of the machine; on the Barista Express, I had to push the machine forward so I could reach the reservoir in the back.

Being a control freak, I don’t like leaving other jobs to machines. First, changing the amount or “dose” of espresso powder the Oracle Jet adds to the handle is a pain. Technically, you can, but it’s not precise, and adjusting the strength of your espresso is already a process of trial and error. To keep it simple, Breville simply lets you adjust the coarse or fine grind to control your shot.

I tweaked the dosage a bit, but eventually gave up and opted to use a very coarse grind for my espresso. A finer grind and smaller dosage might give me better, more consistent injections. It worked okay, but with a little more patience and effort I could have gotten better results.

Oracle Jet also introduces a new feature: cold espresso. It is not cold, To be precise – “None of the products on the market, including ours, have the ability to cool water,” Breville product manager Matthew Davis explained to me. Instead, the Oracle Jet draws water from a tank at ambient temperature, applies a bit of heat, lowers the temperature, and applies pressure to brew room-temperature water. The less melted ice in an iced latte, the stronger the flavor of the drink, which I appreciated at 3pm on a 85-degree day.

Still – and this is definitely my problem – I don’t think I like the computer-ness of the Oracle Jet compared to my Barista Express. Using my espresso machine is one of the few opportunities I have throughout the day to take a break from using my computer. Touchscreens are nice, but I’m still a firm believer in physical buttons. Also, I saw this espresso machine downloading software updates over Wi-Fi, which is pretty crazy.

Connectivity does have some advantages. This is Breville’s first Wi-Fi-equipped machine, and the company is just beginning to explore how to use sensor data during diagnostics for remote troubleshooting. But like other computers, some repairs require hands-on work and skill, and this is where things get more complicated.

I found that several local espresso machine repair shops around Seattle were unable to use Breville machines – espresso repair experts said the company didn’t provide enough spare parts or technical documentation to the public.

Davis said Breville’s approach focuses on building machines with optimal long-term durability while making high-wear parts easy to replace. This philosophy has kept my Barista Express running strong so far, now several years out of warranty. But here’s another factor to consider, the cost of replacing the machine is $700, not $2,000.

Still, this is one hell of a machine for anyone who doesn’t mind using their computer in the middle of the day. Oh my gosh, can you spend more than $2,000 on an espresso machine? I probably won’t be upgrading to Oracle Jet anytime soon, but if nothing else, testing it gave me a better idea of ​​how hands-on I want to be when it comes to making coffee. I thought it was probably a good thing that I could solidify my own field – my Barista Express was still going strong after all.

Photography: Allison Johnson/The Verge