Delivering café quality coffee.
The next generation fully automatic espresso machine from Breville, the Oracle Touch (RRP $3,499), currently exclusive through Harvey Norman, will expand its retail distribution from 1 July, 2017, and according to Breville global brand manager, Scott Brady, the machine is a game-changer for the fully automatic coffee machine category.
Addressing attendees of an exclusive event held at the company’s Sydney head office, Brady said, “We have come a long way from introducing the world’s first sandwich maker to the world’s first juice extractor that can juice whole fruit, the world’s first active arm citrus press and the world’s first fully automatic tea maker. Today, we are going to unveil what we think is going to redefine fully automatic coffee machines forever.
“Design has become a cornerstone of our brand. In fact, this little Australian company, based in Sydney, has now won more Design Awards in the last 12 months than any other kitchen appliance brand in the world and five of those accolades belong to the Breville Oracle Touch.
“In 2011, we launched the Dual Boiler coffee machine, which has two different heat systems – one for the milk and another for the coffee, which means you can have coffee and milk at the same time and a controlled temperature within plus or minus one degree. It may sound like a very narrow window but it has a huge difference on the flavour of the coffee. We then went on to launch the Oracle, which started to automate some of the tasks of grinding and milk frothing and today, we are unveiling what we think will change the game in fully automatic coffee machines.
Four key elements in cafe quality coffee
“The reason why we think this machine changes the game is because it delivers the four key elements of authentic café quality coffee.
“The first one is having 19 to 22 grams in the portafilter. If you do not have the right amount of coffee the coffee shops do, you won’t achieve the optimum flavour.
“Secondly, temperature control, maintaining the temperature at plus or minus one degree Celsius throughout the entire shot for a better flavour compound coffee.
“The third key element is the way it controls pressure, which is the other variable that gets the right flavour compounds out of the coffee. In a coffee shop, they start with three bars of pressure – around the same as water comes out of a tap when you turn it on. That is done for a few seconds to allow the coffee beans to expand, get moist and form a hard seal before they move to higher pressure, which is always limited to nine bars of pressure because it has a valve that stops it. This machine has exactly that system – three bars of pressure for the initial few seconds and then the pressure valve controls it to nine bars throughout the extraction.
“The fourth key element is the milk and Australians know what milk is supposed to be like with microbubbles packed together to stimulate the tongue and allow you to taste more of the oils of the crema.”
Features and benefits
The Breville Oracle Touch allows users to select from a menu of five café favourites (espresso, long black, latte, flat white and cappuccino) or create and personalise their own. Automated, touch screen operation simplifies making coffee in three easy steps – grind, brew and milk. Users can easily adjust the coffee strength, milk texture or milk temperature to suit individual tastes. Furthermore, customised settings allow up to eight personalised coffee preferences to be created and saved.
The integrated conical burr grinder automatically grinds, doses and tamps 22 grams of a double shot coffee, similar to a commercial machine. The steam wand, powered by a dedicated boiler, automatically textures milk and delivers barista quality silky micro-foam that enhances the flavour of coffee then it cleans itself.
There are more detailed settings to change the temperature of the water, program what time the machine will turn on in the morning, as well as a quick start guide, which offers a step-by-step guide on how to select the right coffee beans and to know when they are fresh, how to use the control panel, how to pre-heat the cup, what buttons to press to brew and how to insert the portafilter into the grinder.
“As well as having these guides built in to the machine, we also offer a complementary white glove installation service with this product. When the consumer purchases the machine, they can take it home and install it themselves or they can opt to have someone come into the house to put the water into the machine, test the water hardness, program start time, provide you with a full tutorial on how to use the machine, tips on how to get the best out of your coffee beans and the milk, as well as how to clean and maintain the product,” Brady said.