Jura E8 Superautomatic Review

Introducing the Jura E8

The Jura E8 is a superautomatic coffee and espresso machine, designed in Switzerland, and built in Portugal. Jura is famous for building high quality espresso machines, at high prices. But what makes Jura so successful? Are their designs that good? Let’s take a closer look…

Design of the Jura E8

Most superautomatics are made with plastic casings, and Jura is no exception. Shown below is the Jura E8 from the right side, where you can see the right plastic casing, and the milk frothing attachment. Pretty plain from the right side, but it does have two-toned colors in the gray and black, and the sides are bowed instead of straight. The drip tray cover offers another chromed reflective accent. Just know it’s plastic.

Having a look from the left side, we can see a litte more design inspiration. This is where the water tank lives, which admittedly is a nice design. Again, you see here the bowed left and right sides, and the water tank with its ribbed and transparent aesthetics provides a nice contrast to the black panel behind it, and light gray panel towards the front.

You might be asking yourself, “where are the heat vents”? These are often found on the left and right sides of most machines, but on the Jura, the vents are on the top, towards the front. You can also see the flaps in the back, and to the right of them, the power button.

The top of the Jura also shows the bean hopper, which has a nice transparent cover, with a very good gasket seal on it. In the below picture, you can see the pre-ground grinds chute on the upper left, with the grind adjustment to the right of it.

I suppose the most interesting part of the machine is the front. The main focus of the machine is the color screen (non-touch), and the coffee outlet spouts, sitting right in the middle of the machine. The front looks handsome, with its black color being columned left and right by the light gray of the side panels.

The drip tray by the way is plastic, and so is its cover.

I like the look of the coffee spouts, and especially the jura logo, in cursive font. The logo pops in silver upon a black background, and is circled by a chromed ring.

The HMI Screen and Drink Menus

The HMI is one of the strong points of the Jura E8, mainly because it’s clear and logical – easy to use. Just keep in mind that this is not a touch display. The buttons that garner the left and right side of the display are the inputs to the system. This is how you navigate the menu, and choose your drink selection.

On the main menu, you will find choices for: espresso, coffee, ristretto and hot water.

You can also enter the main menu at any time, with the lower left button. Navigate to the right using the lower right button (arrow).

On the second page of the menu, you can choose: espresso doppio, macchiato, special, or hot water for tea.

On the third page, you can choose milk drinks: cappuccino, flat white, latte macchiato or hot milk.

How is the Grinder?

The Jura E8 uses a 5 bladed conical stainless steel burr grinder. You can see the settings for the grinder on the right side of the picture below. My version of the E8 only has 5 grind settings, but the newest models have at least 10 settings.

If you want to use pre-ground coffee, you can also do that. The flap on the left gives access to the chute, which is where you put the ground coffee. What’s nice about this chute is that it’s removable for cleaning.

What is indeed strange about the grinder is how incredibly quick it is. It can grind 15 grams in 5 seconds, which is like warp speed! I think this has to do with the burr design.

Jura recommends having the burrs changed every 7,000 to 10,000 drinks. My burrs were getting a bit loose, resulting in crumbly pucks, so I made the video below, showing how to change them.

So how does the E8 perform for Espresso and Coffee?

So, how does the Jura preform for coffee? Well, I’d compare it to the Delonghi Dinamica Plus for Eletta Explore. Since it’s able to make 15 gram pucks, it does provide a pretty intense drink, with good body and decent flavor notes.

With that being said, I do think that Delonghi extracts a little better for me. Even after changing out the burrs in my Jura for new ones, I still get better flavor depth and body (mouth feel) from the more expensive Delonghi machines. I think the reason for this is the super quick grinding of the Jura does not allow for fine enough grinding. That’s just my honest impression of it.

There is a major advantage that the Jura has over Delonghi though. You can adjust the shot volume while it’s pulling on the Jura. So, if it looks like it’s going to end too soon, you can extend it. You cannot do this on Delonghi.

Also, the Espresso and Coffee from the Jura is way better than anything from Philips or Gaggia superautomatics, in my honest opinion. Those just make small 8 gram pucks, which lack intensity.

So how does the E8 perform for Milk Foam?

Again, I would draw a comparison to the Delonghi machines. The Jura E8 makes similar milk foam to Delonghi, maybe just slightly less silky in texture, but still quite good. What is a bit unfortunate is that you cannot adjust the texture of the milk foam, like you can on the Eletta Explore and Dinamica Plus.

How does the Jura E8 look inside?

Being a curious engineer, I took the E8 apart to see what it looks like inside. It’s actually pretty easy to disassemble, once you have an oval bit in your arsenal.

The side and top panels fit well, and are held in place by hooks and screws, rather than clips. This is a good thing. You can also see that the wires are routed pretty cleanly.

In the above picture you can see the motor that drives the brew group, and the heater that’s covered by the black plastic cover. You can also see the pump on the lower left, and numerous other parts. As I said, pretty clean layout. I will say this: the motor driving the brew group is quite loud. You can hear that in my YouTube test video below.

On the other side of the machine with the panel removed, you can see the RFID sensor, just to the left of the water connection. This is what notices when you install a new water filter. Pretty cool!

Finally, here you can see the top of the machine, with the cover removed. The grinder and pre-grounds grind chute are exposed, and you can see the vents on the left side of the picture.

Required Maintenance?

Maybe the most off-putting thing about the E8, and really Jura machines in general, is the fact that you have to use their products, or give up the guarantee. That sucks.

For example, the Jura has an RFID reader for the water filter. That’s pretty neat technology, because it knows when you’ve put in a new filter, and can tell you when to switch it out. But, the filters are not cheap.

It’s the same for the cleaning tablets. You are told in the directions to use the Jura branded cleaning tablets and milk cleaning solution, as well as descaling solution.

Check the links below for Jura’s maintenance products.

Pros and Cons of the E8?

Welp, the Jura is for sure a nice machine. But it’s also very expensive, especially in the USA and Canada. I also feel like you can get the same or better results with Delonghi machines like the Dinamica Plus or Eletta Explore, for cheaper. But, I know lots of people love Jura, and it does have a clever design, so I get that.

Specifications of the E8:

– Dimensions: 11″ deep x 17.6″ wide x 13.8″ high

– Weight: 22 pounds, or 10 kilos

– 1450 watt machine

– Build Materials: mixture of plastic and metal

– 280 gram bean hopper

– 1.9 liter water tank

– Available in the colors: gray, black, and white

– Country of Origin: Portugal

Competitors to the Start

If you want to consider something other than the E8, I’d suggest looking at the Dinamica Plus, or the brand new Magnifica Plus (a wonderful machine).

For a cheaper option that doesn’t do milk (if you just want coffee drinks), consider the Tchibo Esperto.

Find your Jura E8 here here:

More Resources:

Amazon Reviews

Reddit Conversation