Hi Mark 👋 I agree with other comments this is by far the best tutorial I have found. Related to all you said about buying or( more to the point) needing to buy a coffee every day. I have owned my touch oracle for at least 3 years now and rarely buy coffee now. I absolutely love it and yes it is right up there if not surpassing other cafe coffees. When it's finally brewed its last cup it will be replaced the same day. Cheers.
I just got this machine and wanted to say that you’re video is SO HELPFUL! Breville should hire you to do their videos because they aren’t nearly as detailed and comprehensive as yours. Thank you, you’ve shown me so much I didn’t know!
Thanks for all the videos on the Oracle Touch. You're the one who convinced me it was worth it buying one. And... you were right. I wrote a review here in Switzerland linking your 3 year review. I hope it helps others see if that's the device for them. Keep on with the great work, mate! 👍👍👍
We first had a Dual Boiler and then the Oracle over more than 6 years and have never regretted the purchases. It's good reliable gear that gets used everyday in our house. Great review thanks
Thank you, thank you, thank you! finally a review that wasn't gimmicky and wasn't presented by a try hard. It was balanced, straight forward with good information and I'm very apprecative. Hence, it's why I now have a new Breville Oracle coffee machine sitting on the kitchen bench!
Thank you for this review. I have been bouncing back and forth on purchasing the oracle/touch and feel much better now. I wish all the reviews for all different products on youtube were as great as this one. No unnecessary editing, promotions or clickbait.
Really great review, no stone left unturned and good to hear from a real world experience after a few years of use. This definetly helped me make my choice. Time stamps were handy as well. Cheers.
Ive recently bought an Oracle Touch and have been searching for information. I think that Mark B's video is perfect; absolutely clear with practicalities and tips along the way.
Thank you for talking about cost vs benefits. People were getting shocked when I was shopping for $2K machine so then I did mathematical break down for them and their jaws dropped. Sadly, all still went on their lives buying $6 Latte every day because they have a hard time wrapping their heads around spending that money up front, mind you, we get dividend from oil royalties every year and they have no problem dropping that $$$ to keep buying new TV.
Thanks for taking the time to review the Oracle Touch. I found the review very useful and informative, and has helped me decide which machine I'm going to buy.
Great video, I've spent ages looking at reviews on what to buy and the differences between them. You have simplified this in a digestible way. Thank you.
Thanks for the review. I have the same machine and love it just as much as you do. A couple of things to add ....... On the positive side, there is a separate hot water spout behind the group head which is very convenient for pre-heating your cups and for making Americano style long coffees. On the negative side, the complexity of the dual boiler system with all its probes and sensors has led to reliability issues with this machine. There are lots of tiny o-seals inside which can be prone to leaks and can cause serious issues with the electronics. The Breville/Sage warranty is 2 years, which is good, but be aware of the possibility of problems. I had a leak in mine after a year which was not visible externally but caused corrosion of the internal electronic board. Eventually, after a visit from the warranty team, the machine was replaced under warranty.
I had the same problem with mine. I owned the Oracle since 2015 which is the predecessor of this one. Breville replaced twice while it was under warranty due to the internal leaking then I sent the last one to be refurbished after just over two years due to leaking. That one lasted 6 months before it started to leak. when that happens the machine trips the circuit breaker and the machine is unusable.
Totally agree - great machine - but if you use it a lot as we did - it needs service. Fortunately Breville is great at honoring their warranty. We have had ours serviced twice in two years - and that doesn’t sound unusual. I was pretty careful to flush and descale religiously - so I don’t think the problems were due to lack of routine maintenance on my part. It’s a great machine - and pays for itself in less than one year - but it is not uncommon to run into problems due to either scale or the seals leaking.
@meski42 so I'm about to buy the current version of this machine, we'll be using the credit card that gives us extra years on the warranty and making sure that we keep it somewhere safe, lol
Spot on review! Ask yourself are your still going out for coffee? If you are, then you need a different machine. I was still spending additionally $150-$200 a month on coffee. After we bought this machine, we have not been to any coffee shops in over 2yrs. Good long term investment!
Great video, and very thorough! Breville should be sponsoring you, because, as other people said, you have convinced us to get one. Thank you my friend!
Hi Tony, thanks for the positive feedback. I make these videos only to help others. Whilst it may be nice to get paid, I think it could compromise my objectivity and the advice would be less valuable to others. Enjoy your new machine ! Mark.
@@MarksElectricLife And you do help others Mark. When I'm about to buy something RU-vid is one of the places I go to for reviews. I was joking about the sponsorship obviously, but I've seen sponsored videos do much worst at promoting a product, lol! No, yours gave me exactly what I was looking for, and made me aware of little problems that I needed to know about, and which I can live with with this product. Keep making great videos Mark, and thank you!
I love my Breville Oracle Touch. I worked at Starbucks for 10 years and wanted a nice machine at home. I did all my research and chose the Oracle Touch because #1 Quality of Breville. I have a Breville Kuerig Coffee machine that after 20 years is still going strong . #2 I wanted the ease of just pushing a button and the fact that It is a dual broiler so I can steam milk and pull shots at the same time. I am coming up on a year with my Breville Oracle Touch and I am still in love. Best decision!!!!!
Just an update on the previous comment... after 2 years of making "good coffee", I have now adjusted the dose and worked on the grind setting vs the pour... I think I have just made the perfect coffee... Thanks again for the video and elevating us from "good" to "perfect" coffee....
@@kwik-kiwi Hey Craig, thanks for the positive feedback. My goal is to help people get the best results so I'm very pleased to hear you are getting a "perfect" brew now. All the best! Mark.
I love that you are a home user and that you've used it three years. GREAT explanation of the machine and love that you have virtually had no problems with it.
Great video, I would add two things into the process, 1) Purge some of the coffee ground beans as there is old coffee from previous use from the day before. 2) Run the water thingy as well for a few seconds, it's like a pump that needs priming. I measured about a 50% difference in the volume output by doing this. This is a great machine. Our local repair person here in Hornsby (Sydney) told and showed me (April 2024) that Breville brought out a new boiler in Dec 2023. We had had many issues because of the old boiler (not a person), he replaced it for free out of warranty (I had an extended warranty from Bing Lee though). By the way the coffee in my opinion is better than most cafes. We use Aldi coffee at $15 a kilo and it is excellent, used to use Campos $50/kg and they are very comparable. Our machine is 5 years old in 2 months and the handle is still good. I liked the tip on putting the jug in the fridge, I'll try that tomorrow. I did buy a tamper (and it's a work of art) as well, but I did this as sometimes the machine throws a lot of extra coffee in the cup, but will try the smoothing out. Great video. And yes expensive initially but will pay for itself in no time. Plus I don't think its a good idea driving to the café topless in my boxer shorts, and my wife is not patient :). No coffee shops near anyway. 15 mins each way, One other thing I don't know about is setting the burr mechanical setting v the electronic setting on the side. I was told the electronic setting ie the wheel on the side is more a refinement compared to the mechanical setting on the burr itself. I was told to set the mechanical part at 6 which I believe is the factory default anyway. Any advise on this would be good. Oh, one other thing, the milk you use I've found influences the taste big time as well. Personal preference, I found GOLD (Australian) is great, but I'd imagine that any full cream milk is great, I haven't really compared them all so not an expert.
Very good review! thanks for the content. It's also worth mentioning that is advisable to service these machines every two years or so that could cost you around $400 depending on the service. Still worth it, but it does add a little to the costs. :)
I bought a Breville Oracle in 2016 (the original model before the touch screen). I remember agonizing over spending so much. Just one person in my household but I did do some calculations on when it would pay for itself. I love the convenience of being able to make a delicious latte in my kitchen without having to drive somewhere. I have often wondered what I would do when my machine dies. Well, the answer is I would buy another one. I have had mine now for going on 9 years and it has been nearly trouble free. I have a latte most days so it has paid for itself many times over. I am sure someone smarter than me could tweak the settings and it would make an even better latte but I am more than satisfied with my Oracle. Enjoyed watching your review.
Great review, really enjoyed the commentary - thanks. Some other info: The Barrista Touch is the little brother of this machine, single boiler and no automatic tamping. A lot cheaper though. Unless you use freshly roasted beans and spend some time dialling-in the settings, don’t expect great tasting coffee. Buy and consume your beans within 7-10 days or roasting, spend some time to dial-in the settings (brew ratio’s etc) and this machine does indeed give you “coffee shop” quality at-home. I would recommend a bottom-less porta filter as it really shows visually what’s going on with the brew. Excellent for making sure you dose and tamp correctly for the best most even extraction. I actually roast my beans (SR500 roaster) and it’s really easy/convenient. Green beans keep for a long long time and are cheaper than roasted ones. Coffee is a spectacular pleasure of life!
Excellent video, thank you. I’ve had mine for a year and love it - but I learned so much from your video. I have a question. My grinder recently started to take about 50 seconds to finish grinding. Any clues what that might be about? I’ve fully cleaned it, no difference.
Hi Chris, not sure. I think mine takes about 30 sec. Was that how long yours used to take ? It the level in the basket still correct and is the surface of the puck smooth ? Are you still getting a good shot ? If everything else is still good then I probably wouldn't worry but if any of the above things are not right it may suggest a problem with the tamping fan or sensor. It will take longer if your grind adjustment is very fine.
Great video. I know it’s older but have you invested in any coffee brewing accessories like a Weiss Distribution Tool, or puck screen to keep the shower head cleaner?
Thank you. You have convinced me to buy one of these machines. I am not an espresso expert, but I love them. Will keep you posted. It might be good to explain how to clean it.
Great video for sure! I have one question - how tall of a mug can you fit? You say you take your morning cup to work - I gather you pour into a travel mug?
Hi, thanks for the positive feedback. I did post the max cup height in response to another comment. Yes, I use a traveller mug. So I use a 250ml double walled latte glass for the extraction. Then add milk and coffee to the traveller. Most important pre-heat both glass and traveller mug with boiling water.
where can you get those wooden handles? they should be on the machine from start i think ohh never mind i got it from the description great information btw and also important is the water quality is it possible to put in filters in the watertank?
Thank you Mark for the very accurate description of this device. I hope it will convince my husband to buy the Miracle Oracle Machine! He’s not the main coffee drinker in our house, I am. So, wish me luck. 😊
Hi Mark! Thanks for this great video! I wonder how long it takes to start the machine (warm up time) Some says it takes about 50 seconds, while others say couple of minutes...?
Hi Andy, thanks for the positive feedback! It takes 3 minutes to heat up from a cold start. In my situation this isn't really relevant, since I have it programmed to auto-start 15 mins before my morning alarm. That way I can pull my first shot while I'm making breakfast. Hope this helps! Mark.
Hi, thank you for the review and based on your review we purchased the Oracle. We have found it to be a very good coffee maker and are so happy we did buy it. Sure it costs a bit more but the ease of use makes it worthwhile. I have just watched your cleaning video and it showed how easy it is to clean. Thank you so much.
I use glass cups and pre heat them in the microwave 30 sec, before I make the latte. I see your cup is probably not microwave friendly thought. After frothing the milk I get a separate jug and hit the steam button again for two seconds before canceling it , this way the left over milk is emptied in the cup and doesn't spray all over the machine when it auto cleans plus you don't have milk stains/grime building up in the water waste catcher, just something I do. And than after the shot is finished run a single shot mode without the handle in to clean it of any coffee grinds that get left behind...just a few tips for anyone who might care..☺️ Appreciate your video really helpful.
Great review. Really helpful and informative. I've been dreaming about getting this machine for years! I like to have done my research so I'm ready for when I win the lottery!! 😆👍
I’m about to buy my third Oracle the two previous each have lasted about 5 years before issues - I’m a coffee addict minimum 4 cups a day using this machine makes a coffee caffe quality coffee
Excellent review! Just received my Oracle touch. I found very helpful that you talk about tampering your coffee grounds, as I have the same issue with unevenness. Can you please share what brand of professional tamper are you using? Not sure, if it’s Pullman? Your advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Nice review with good simple tips to improve the quality of the coffee and milk froth. You convinced me to place my order for an Oracle touch after seeing this.
Brilliant! Thank you kindly, sir. Best video re the Oracle Touch. And thanks ever so much for the link to Wilcox Coffee Parts. Liked, subscribed, loved through the ether from America.
Thanks I use a gaggia classic . Learning my way on the self brew steps. Possibly a fab machine on usability and saving time. Thank you for explaining . Maybe in 25 years I could buy one too.
@@denisejohnson2851 mine is a classic possibly 20 years old . Definitely not the pro. It was well looked after and keeps me tinkering on settings for the pump vibration and temperature Using a pid upgrade. .. Just bought another classic to refurb. Over winter. Good luck Happy coffee Day every day
@@antonyhand8542 thanks so much for your response. I’m new to this and afraid it might be too much to perfect coming right out of the gate with no temp and pressure controls .
I have this machine for 3 years now and it's fantastic. Got to buy good beans as that obviously has a big influence on the coffee, but we make better coffee than most cafes at home and use it everyday.
Fantastic review, and brings a touch of homesickness (Aussie in the US here). The coffee from this machine is better than most of the coffee available here in Chicago, though there’s a couple of places it equals including one from a company run by a Kiwi. It’s worth noting that all coffee is not equal…that roasted for American coffee is considerably more oily than Aussie/Kiwi/Italian style beans. In some coffee machines, this oil will impede the beans feeding into the grinder, and also tastes pretty average. Just something to note for the global audience. Again, top review, thanks mate!
Hey Dale, thanks for the positive feedback! My only experience of American coffee is Starbucks and frankly I'd rather drink my own urine! That's interesting, what you say about the beans. I always felt that Starbucks were over-roasting and burning their beans and that might explain why there is more oil coming out of them. If you can't find a good roaster in your town, you might try buying your beans raw and using a home roasting machine, like a Gene Cafe. I used to do this before good roasters arrived in my town. Well mate, I hope you make it back home to Oz eventually. Whatever you do, stay out of Starbucks !😉
Hey Mark. Loved your video, and your love for coffee and perfection was painted all over. Upgrading mine from délonghi to sage/breville soon. Have asked my friend to to get it. Cheers and keep making cool videos.
Great review and insight to the ownership of the machine mate. I think it's worth a mention that they do require maintenance which will eat into that money your saving by not buying one. I've had an Oracle for 5yrs now however it was for the convenience of having great coffee in my home. Loved it so much we got one for the holiday house too.
Loved all of your videos. Very helpful. I am looking to purchase and will probably get the Oracle Touch. One issue- I need to switch beans from regular to decaf and back quite frequently. Looked into single dose hoppers (as there is no bypass doser) but they are not really for the Oracle. What would you recommend? If I manual grind and tamp in kind of defeats the purpose of this machine. Thank you.
Hi Michael, thanks for the positive feedback ! I'm pretty sure I've seen single dose hoppers to suit this machine, however I can't tell you if they do a good job. Have you seen this one ? www.singledosebrew.com/products/breville-and-sage-single-dose-grinder-hopper The only other thing you can do is purchase a separate grinder to do the decaf - like you often see in cafe's. Expensive, but you might pick one up on the second hand market. I sold a very high quality commercial grinder on eBay a few years ago, at a fraction of the new price. So they do come up. Enjoy your new machine ! Mark. 🙂
Thank you for your review, I have been on the fence about purchasing a dual boiler or going for the oracle. I have been hesitant because of the bad reviews with machines breaking within 1 -2 years and poor customer service from Breville. I'm glad to have found someone that still loves their machine 3 years later.
I'd go for the barrIsta express. Mine has lasted 6 years and only now needs a part replaced in it. Very reliable. Haha sorry for the unsolicited advice.
I've had to send mine in for service once after the warranty ran out because of a known issue with the machine. Still doesn't work as well as it did from the beginning after the service . I would not buy another given the price and realibility issues. Breville has shut down many of their service/repair centers so getting the machine fixed could be a problem which is what I ran into. Just hope it doesn't break down again.
It took me a while to understand the 'semi automatic' part of this machine. Thanks for the clear explanation and some really great tips for getting a perfect shot. I'll start saving up for one
Excellent comprehensive review, and realistic after 3 years use. One question I have is how do you know how much water you can add using the front flap without looking round the back to check the tank water level?
Thanks for the positive feedback PT. Well you've asked the question I've been dreading! I'm going to make a huge confession... Even though I have access to some excellent boutique coffee roasters in my town my bean-du-jour is actually bought from Aldi and called Lazzio. It's roasted in Melbourne and has won some awards in Australia. www.beanscenemag.com.au/aldi-lazzio-beans-win-2021-canstar-awards-best-branded-coffee-in-australia/ Is it as good as the boutique beans? No, but it it's not greatly inferior. I buy the dark blend but you can get light, medium and even single origin beans. In my machine it produces a consistently good shot with fine crema. The flavour is smooth and nutty but with enough body to cut through a latte. Here's the clincher - these beans cost me $11/kg. Compared to $45/kg for boutique beans, there is a very compelling business case for using the Aldi beans, even though the flavour may not be quite as good as the freshly roasted beans from my local roastery. On the subject of freshness, I think these beans don't sit on the shelf very long so they are always pretty fresh. They don't have a roasting date on the packet but you can tell by the texture/crema that they are not old beans. If you live in Australia give these beans a try and tell me what you think. Mark.
Great review, presented very nice. You have a good and clear voice to listen too. The machine is a bit expensive for me at the moment, still very nice review :).
Two questions, how long before your machine is ready to brew from when you turn it on? Do you have to wait between preparing drinks, or can you make them back to back?
Heat up time is in my Q&A video. Yes, you can make them back to back with no break. Link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_YeuG6xcbno.htmlsi=X1GkOTCQIcR_AqgU
Nice video! The Oracle Touch is a bit rich for me, so I'll forego some of the higher-end features (like dual boiler, temperature sensor at the tip of the milk frother, wheels) and order a Breville Barista Touch. I think with a 20% discount, it may be had for USD800 + tax, here in the States. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.
Hey, thanks for the positive feedback. Yeah, it's pretty expensive. I reckon you'll be happy with the Barista, since it still has a proper group head system. It may be a bit more manual but in the end it you won't know the difference in the cup. Enjoy your coffee !😋
No sure if US has the Oracle the buttons/non-touch model which is much more affardable. I has almost the same features as the oracle touch and is easy to use.
Great review, thank you for sharing. As someone who has owned this machine for 8 months I’ve had two issues. The first was with a rusted/corroded grinding burr when I received it. It didn’t stop the machine functioning but Sage customer support handled this poorly and would not replace the part. They wanted the whole machine returned, which would have been a terrible waste of time and resources when all that was required was this part being sent out in a Jiffy bag. The second issue I just encountered was with the machine air locking during a descale. This is fairly common from comments online and prevents your boiler from going above 70c. Again Sage solution is to return the machine and be without for a month approximately. The air did dissipate after 3 days and the machine started working again. As other comments suggest, these machines require maintenance and Sage customer support is not what you would expect for a product in this price bracket.
Hi Adam, thanks for the positive feedback! Sorry to here about your troubles with the machine. I'm guessing you live in the UK from the fact that your machine is branded Sage ? Reading about service experience makes me think there is a big difference between Sage customer service and that provided by the Breville company, here in Australia. I had a couple of early issues with my machine and had to report them to Breville. They actually replaced the machine twice for me and that was handled through the local retailer. So I needed to return the machine to the retailer and they gave me a replacement. Slightly inconvenient but I was happy. Also, when the second fault occured I actually got a call from one of the Breville engineers who was chasing a bit more detail on the fault. He wanted to make sure it was included in their continuous improvement circle. So all in all I was pretty happy with my after sales experience. I hope things go better for you in the future! Regards, Mark.
Thank you! I think the black truffle looks great out of the box. My only concern with coatings is that it will show any scratch that is deep enough to expose the substrate. I guess it depends on how careful you are not to scratch it.🤔
Great review.Nice to know that you have all this experience with coffee machines. Any chance you can add to the video a close up on the brew process and on the final milk froth? Trying to get a feel of the final result
Hi, as shown in the video I had to replace the plastic group handle with a hardwood one. Cost me around $100. I consider this an upgrade. Also replaced the brew head screen about a year ago. Spare part from Breville cost me about $20. Otherwise it's been 100% reliable.
I love my oracle touch. Would not trade it for all the Starbucks coffee in the world. It pays for itself eventually. This is probably the best $2.5k I ever spent. Have mine for about 5 years now. Love it still.
Hi Mark. Very detailed and thorough review. And we bought one after saw your video. What grind size settings you normally do for the beans. We did around 12-16. Just a bit inconsistent with the flow. That's why we keep adjusting. Would love some of your tips. Thanks
Hi Jin, to be honest I don’t know what the grind setting is right now because I never look at it. Even if I could tell you it wouldn’t help because I have made adjustments too the burr gap and this has the effect of de-calibrating your fine adjustment scale. Put simply, 12-16 on your scale would be nothing like it is on mine. To get a good result you need to focus on getting the right shot volume over the allocated duration (30s on my large basket). Get your kitchen scales and weigh the group handle when it’s empty. Then weigh it again when full. Now you know the weight of the coffee you should aim to get double that weight of liquid in your shot. For me that’s about 48g. Now my shot clock for a double basket is set to 30s. So all I need to focus on is getting 48g of liquid at the end of a 30s pour. How I achieve that is by dialling in the grinder. If the shot is more than 48g I must turn the grinder knob clockwise to make it finer. If the weight is less than 48g I must turn the knob anti-clockwise. And that’s it ! You may need to waste a couple of shots to get this right but pretty soon you will just get a feel for it and make fine adjustments without thinking about it - which is why I can’t answer your question. Good luck and enjoy your coffee! Mark.
I've had mine for 4 years. It makes excellent coffee and has paid for itself. Bedsides the minus you have mentioned the clearance height for the coffee cups is a bit low. I had to find mugs that would accommodate that issue. It is expensive for what it is but works well. I make on average 3 cups a day and hope to get at least 10 years out of it. Question: How often do you descale your machine? I have done so a few times and use reverse osmosis exclusively.
Hi JA, I have never descaled my machine and it's had no problems after 4 years, That said I am luck to live where the water is very soft - low on minerals. If you are using RO filtered water you shouldn't need to descale either.
Excellent Review. Loved it. Amazing explanation and great feedback. We are planning to start a small cafe.. Would you recommend having this machine for making and serving coffee?
Thank you Praveen, I'm glad you found helpful. Several people have asked me that question. I would not recommend this machine for commercial use, unless it was only as backup. There are three reasons I say this. Firstly it is too slow to produce many coffees in a short space of time. Secondly, it cannot be connected to a permanant water supply, so you would be constantly refilling the water tank. Lastly, whilst it has been very reliable as a domestic machine, I think it may wear out quickly if used for commercial purposes (I suspect it could void the warranty also). Regards, Mark.
Hi there Jean, not a power converter just a power filter to stop surges. I put these on all my appliances that have a microprocessor in them. Which is pretty much everything. It's made by Belkin.
