Jura E8 Coffee Machine Review

The Jura E8, the coffee machine that delivers in taste, looks and presence.

The Jura E8 is a beast of a machine. Whilst it certainly isn’t the most expensive home coffee machine on the market it is marketed at a higher price point than something like the Melitta Caffeo Barista coffee machine. I feel sometimes you can look at a machine and tell it is going to produce a good cup of coffee. The Jura E8 is one of the machines. You can see the attention to detail Jura have put into producing this automatic coffee machine.

Overview of the Jura E8

So, what makes it so special, it lacks a few features that we like in a high-end coffee machine, such as a cup warmer and milk frother. Why would you invest your hard earned money in this machine?

Firstly, along with producing great tasting coffee, it looks the part. Whilst it is a fair sized unit measuring in at 44x29x35cm and weighing in at a whopping 11Kg. It exudes presence and class. This coffee machine sat on your worktop looks like you are a serious coffee fiend. Someone who knows a good cup from a bad cup and takes coffee very seriously. Whilst you may not be someone who has the time nor inclination to get involved in the barista experience. It shows you know that good coffee is important and you want it at the touch of the button. This is the impression people get when they see this bad boy sat on your worktop.

Customising your coffee

It’s TFT display gives a lot of functionality and the ability to customise your coffee to the nth degree. There are 12 individually programmable speciality coffees and you can pre-program up to 3 coffee drinks, 3 milk based drinks a hot water portion and a milk portion. Once you have spent the time to customise just how you like your coffee it is simply a case of one touch of a button to produce your favourite cup. The customisation can also be done using your tablet or smartphone thanks to the Jura smart connect. This is sold separately and we talk a bit more about it below.

When it comes to customising your coffee, as well as choosing from one of the 12 speciality coffees you can also set the temperature of the water thanks to the thermoblock heating technology. You can set the volume of coffee and volume of milk dispensed into your cup to make your absolute dream coffee.

If you take a look at an espresso as an example of one of the drinks, you will see how granular the settings are. It displays beans on the TFT screen so you can select the number of beans being passed into the shot of espresso.

There is a lot of customisation going on with the Jura E8, most of which is done with the buttons at the side of the TFT screen. However, there is also customisation when it comes to the foam of the crema and the grinding of your beans. The Jura E8 features the Aroma G3 grinder which allows for up to 6 different granularities of coffee grounds.

The hopper

The bean hopper can hold up to 12oz of beans at any one time, this is a single hopper so there isn’t the option to have a light and dark roast sat there ready to use. It does, however, have a bypass filter which allows you to put pre-ground coffee into the machine. This takes two scoops of pre-ground coffee, perfect for someone who likes decaf. The lid that sits on top of the bean hopper has a great gasket on it, which seals in the freshness. Most of us don’t want to use all of the beans in the hopper in one day, this gasket ensures everything is kept fresh for a better taste.

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Intelligent Water System IWS

Jura places a large emphasis on water, we all know that the hardness and quality of the water used when making a coffee can affect the taste tremendously and so Jura have sought to get it right. They make use of what they call an Intelligent Water System or IWS. The two-litre water tank that is included makes use of a filter to make the water taste it’s best. Up to 98% of a cup of coffee can be water and so getting this right is crucial. The Jura E8 will alert you on the TFT screen when it is time to change the filter.

Cleaning and maintenance

Cleaning of the Jura E8 is a little limited in as far as user intervention. The drip tray is removable and provides you with access to a front to back full drip tray and the place waste coffee grinds are deposited. This can all be cleaned fully by removing it. However, the brew unit itself isn’t something that can be cleaned by removal, it is fixed into the machine and without stripping the machine with screwdrivers it is to be left where it is. Jura does provide a cleaning tablet, which does a fantastic job of keeping everything clean and fresh.

Pulse Extraction Process PEP

Jura has perfected a technology they call PEP or Pulse Extraction Process. This is something they have spent a lot of time on and they say it optimises the extraction time of the coffee from the grounds by instead of forcing the water through the grounds like normal. It instead uses a pulsing action to do it which gives a much fuller taste.

Warranty

The Jura E8 comes with a two-year warranty, which gives great peace of mind that should something go wrong with this coffee machine, you are covered.

Jura Smart Connect

Whilst the Jura E8 is a fantastic machine. With very easy to operate controls thanks to the TFT screen on the front. If you want to get down to customising every drink it has on offer in detail. You are going to be standing in front of the coffee machine for a long time!

Enter Jura Smart Connect, this is a separate accessory that you can purchase and is compatible with the Jura E8. It allows you then to not only configure all of the customisable features of your favourite drinks. But also dispense them all from the comfort, luxury and convenience of your smartphone or tablet.

It takes gadgets to the next level! It is very impressive when you are entertaining and also makes your life so much simpler!

Positives and Negatives

The Jura E8 is a fantastic machine with some amazing features, but as always there are some things we feel they could have done better.

Positives

• 12 individually programmable speciality coffees
• Intelligent Water System, IWS
• Pulse Extraction Process, PEP
• A lot of customisation on the drink
• 2 Year warranty
• 6 setting grinder

Negatives

• No cup warmer
• No milk frother
• Single bean hopper

Gallery

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Conclusion

All in all the Jura E8 is a fantastic automatic coffee machine. It can’t be compared to an offering such as the Nespresso Citiz due to its sheer power, customisation options and presence. It could be compared to some of the bean-to-cup machines that give you a more authentic barista experience. If you want something that you can setup once, press a button to achieve coffee shop tastes in your kitchen. This could be the machine for you!

Did you enjoy this review? Why not check out our review of the Nespresso Citiz?

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