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PROP STYLIST: CHLOE DALEY
THE ONE Bloomberg Pursuits January 29, 2018Breville Oracle Touch
The easiest way to make perfect espresso drinks at home
Photograph by Ted CavanaughTHE CHARACTERISTICS
In its native Australia, Breville is synonymous
with toasters. But since expanding to the
U.S. in 2002, the company has been quietly
unsettling a wide field of established brands
with durable, high-performance induction
burners and food processors. Its latest coup
is in the automatic espresso market: The
Oracle Touch uses an intuitive touchscreen
to prepare—and re-create on command—
your favorite espresso drink. An integrated
conical burr grinder removes guesswork, and
a steam wand, powered by a dedicated boiler,
textures milk to your taste without requiring
a doctorate in coffee science.THE COMPETITION
Although it looks like an industrial-grade
machine, the $2,500 Oracle Touch is meant
to help java fiends make cafe-quality drinks
at home. Jura Inc.’s $5,500 Giga W3 offers
31 espresso drinks, compared with the
Oracle Touch’s five, but Breville’s precise
temperature control produces more balanced
espresso. The $3,000 Prima Donna S from
De’Longhi SpA also has a double boiler
to heat water, an integrated burr grinder,
a self-cleaning milk wand, and a memory
function to store preferences, but only the
Breville regulates water pressure to prevent
bitterness and get an even extraction.THE CASE
The Oracle Touch’s exacting technical
standards for temperature, timing, pressure,
and steam are the highest available to non-
baristas. Once you load the commercial-style
portafilter, all the tricky functions—grinding,
dosing, and tamping—are automated. The
dedicated steam boiler creates ideal milk
temperatures for silky lattes. The machine’s
big selling point, though, is the color
touchscreen that lets you customize and save
favorite drinks, whether you like to add more
foamy milk for a dry cappuccino or an extra
shot (or two) for a potent Americano to kick-
start the day. $2,500; brevilleusa.com