As a born-again coffee snob, I now find myself unable to start my day with subpar joe. But as a full-time writer and new dad, I no longer have the 20 minutes to spare for weighing, grinding, heating, cleaning, and hand-pouring every single dinky cup. And who can afford a commercial macchiato habit that costs about the same as the mortgage on a very small house?

Enter Breville’s Oracle Touch: the fully automated home espresso machine that handles everything from grind to drip, serving up world class beverages like the barista at a top notch coffee bar. But what's been hailed as “worth it” is also one of the most expensive consumer coffeemakers on the market, requiring an up-front investment of $2,500.

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Even over the long run, can any consumer coffeemaker possibly be worth this much? Does it drink the coffee and get your work done for you, too? I decided to test the Oracle Touch for a week to see for myself just how much better the machine might make my life. Brewing a different drink each day, I’d evaluate the coffee, my experience, and its effect on my well-being. Then I’d translate this to a monetary gain or loss based on time saved or spent, and the street value of each beverage.

Can an espresso machine make you $2,500 happier? Here’s what happened when I tried to find out.

Day One: Preparation

Pulling the Oracle Touch out of its box, I feel intimidated, like I’ve adopted a baby orangutan without any orangutan-raising experience. The machine is big, too, and for a city dweller in a cramped apartment, the required counter space might be an issue. From assembly to calibration, setup takes me about 90 minutes; I’m so spent that I decide to hold off on brewing until tomorrow.

DAILY VALUE: -$20

Day Two: Espresso

After the machine has warmed up, I pour some Hotbox Roasters espresso beans into the hopper and set the grind size to the recommended 30—my over-extracted coffee barely dribbles out. I change out the one-cup filter basket for the two-cup, and play with the grind settings, but it takes a good half hour and five failed extractions to get any drinkable liquid. There’s a learning curve here.

On the brighter side, after tasting through so much coffee, I now have a ton of child-playing energy. With the increase in dad points, we'll call today even.

DAILY VALUE: $0

Ethan Fixell

Day Three: Americano

With A.M. baby duty and a writing assignment due within the hour, my morning is on the verge of “clusterfuck” status. I barely have time to down a glass of water, much less brew coffee, and I’m functioning at 40 percent capacity.

Oracle to the rescue: I touch three simple buttons, and in moments, have a piping hot Americano. The grind is still a bit too fine–but the coffee is nearly as good as I could have made with my pour-over setup, and with way less work.

I spend the extra time hanging with my daughter, and get the assignment in right before deadline.

DAILY VALUE: +$5

Day Four: Latte

I start my day by manually adjusting the burr grinder and produce perfectly brewed espresso for a latte. And here’s where the Oracle shows true value: While my traditional Gaggia Classic requires skill and finesse to foam milk, the Oracle—with its foolproof wand and customizable computerized touchscreen—nails it automatically.

A lactose intolerant, I use Oatly Oat Milk in place of dairy, and the resulting latte is unbelievable. A drink like this at any New York City coffee shop would easily cost $5— not to mention that I’d have to go outside, walk to the joint, and wait in line to buy it.

Though I’m thrilled with the time I’ve saved, my attempt at latte art is a different story: At best, it looks like someone sneezed in my drink.

DAILY VALUE: +$10

Day Five: Flat White

Using the machine is a breeze now, and when I hit “Flat White” on the touchscreen, I do so with the confidence of a veteran barista. Do I understand the difference between a flat white and cappuccino? Absolutely not. Do I care? Sure don’t! What’s important is that this is the best tasting coffee I’ve ever made in my home, and it took only three minutes.

Even more important is how this success makes me feel: Great tasting coffee can lift the spirits, and I’m proud of the tweaking I’ve done to craft such a cup.

DAILY VALUE: +$10

Day Six: Cappuccino

By this point, I feel like the Oracle is my second child–one that I’ve trained to brew delicious coffee. (That’s what kids are for, right?) Today I whip up two cappuccinos in the time it took me to brew one latte a few days ago. And my foam art has improved, too. With brewing confidence at an all-time high, I am convinced that in an official competition, I could easily best any professional barista*.

(*I already regret making this statement and retract it altogether.)

DAILY VALUE: +$20

The Valuation

Using my highly scientific valuation system backed by absolutely nothing, I calculate a gained total of $25 over the course of six days. This comes to a daily average of $4.16–about the cost of a latte–meaning the machine would pay for itself in less than two years. And that’s even with unjustly factoring in my one-time-only setup deduction (i.e. if you’re drinking every day, you’d actually cover the cost of the appliance much sooner).



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More importantly, this machine isn’t just a shortcut–it’s a powerful, customizable tool that can be manually tuned for some of the tastiest beverages on the planet. To get the most out of it, you really must buy quality beans and experiment with brew temperature and grind size. The payoff is a daily cup far more consistent and easily brewed than normally possible for most. As a caffeine addict, that’s worth the investment.

Of course, with a price tag of $2,500 ($2,500!), I can’t possibly recommend it for everyone. In fact, I hesitate to promote the idea that anyone “needs” a coffee machine, especially one that costs as much as a trained pony. But it does produce a great cup with very little effort—and that, at least, makes this busy snob pretty damned happy.

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