Jura E8 Espresso Machine Review for 2021

Bottom line

Compact and space-saving design and superior overall performance with advanced features, make the Jura 15097 E8 an unbeatable buy for any coffee aficionado.

Jura 15097 E8 Review

If you are looking to make coffee and espresso brewing at home quicker and easier, while also improving the quality of the brews, a top brand espresso machine like Jura 15097 E8 will be a wise investment.

With 12 brew specialties and 8 strength levels and Jura's unique pulse extraction process, this machine will take your espresso brewing a notch higher.

Brewing System: Fast and efficient

The brewing system makes use of the pulse extraction process (PEP), which is slowly becoming one of the main things that coffee lovers love about Jura machines.

This technology ensures optimal extraction time. With PEP, you get a taste explosion when it comes to short specialties like espressos and ristrettos, and it also ensures they maintain some fantastic aromas.

But, before getting to the PEP stage, the brewing system will first engage the intelligent pre-brew aroma system (IPBAS). This pre-infusion doses the coffee grounds with just the right amount of water causing them to swell, which leads to more consistent espresso extraction down the line.

What's more, before the coffee gets to the IPBAS stage, the beans will go through a 6-level Aroma G3 grinder, which ensures optimal and even grinding of the beans. Also, this grinder is at least twice faster when compared to regular espresso machine grinders. Better yet, it will grind the beans consistently and evenly every time and also preserve all the aroma-rich oils.

The only disappointment with the brewing system is that this machine only has a single thermoblock heating system. What this means is that switching between the milk steaming and espresso-making functions take more time and also increases the likelihood of inconsistencies.

Coffee Quality: Suitable for your specific tastes and preferences

The manufacturer describes this machine as, “The most successful automatic coffee machine in JURA's history – now even easier to use, with an even greater variety of specialties and an even more sophisticated design".

Anyone that has used this espresso machine will agree that this perfectly describes it, at least when it comes to the specialties.

The coffee quality that you get is designed to suit your specific tastes and preferences. This machine allows you to choose from 12 specialty options, which is more than most others in its class. Better yet, there are also 8 strength options, and this means it will provide a more easily adjustable coffee quality.

For those that like milk-based brews, this espresso machine also takes care of you. It includes a professional fine foam frother technology that has been specially-designed for lattes, cappuccinos, macchiato and various other milk drinks.

This frother will deliver fine-texture milk foam and do it more consistently. And when compared to typical espresso machine frothers, it also does the job faster and more effortlessly as the process is fully automated.

What all this means is that this espresso machine will provide coffee quality to suits any coffee aficionado out there. That said, this means it can also work well for both home and commercial user where the coffee tastes and preferences differ.

Design: Compact and attention-grabbing

At a little over 11 inches wide, the Jura 15097 E8 is a compact machine, and this is more so when you compare it to others in the same class with similar capabilities and functionalities. The 22-pound weight is also fairly lightweight for a high-end and feature-rich super-automatic espresso machine. Hence, it should be able to fit under most countertops, smaller kitchens with smaller counters and tight spaces.

When it comes to the looks, you can get this espresso machine in either chrome or a glossy black finish, which means it should be easier to match it to your kitchen theme and décor.

But, a few more finish options like stainless steel and some kind of white would have been great. Also, note that while the chrome finish seems to be quite popular, it shows fingerprints more than black.

Ease of Use: Intuitive controls

As expected from a Jura espresso machine, the 15097 E8 has some intuitive controls meant to give users an easier time when it comes to making coffee. But, unlike many other top tier super-automatic espresso machines, it does not have an LED touch screen. Instead, Jura uses a more traditional TFT-LCD screen.

While the touch screen is always trendier and brighter, the LCD screen is surprisingly bright and super easy to read in any lighting condition. This screen displays all the drink options and settings. And there are 6 physical buttons that will correspond with the selections on the screen since the display is not a touchscreen.

Besides these controls being intuitive, they also help ensure that your screen does not get covered with fingerprints, which helps this high-end machine maintain the striking looks that characterize it.

Cleaning and Maintenance: Quick and fairly easy

Jura makes this espresso machine with ease of clean up and maintenance in mind as it has a smart automatic cleaning system to make cleaning fast, easy and highly efficient for minimal downtimes.

The smart cleaning system uses the hardness of the water you use to make coffee on this machine to schedule the ideal interval for descaling the machine. And it will also run automatic rinse cycles every day when you power it on, every time you make milk-based beverages and when you power it off.

Also, you can reduce the frequency of descaling with Jura’s Intelligent Water System. This system filters the water before it gets to the brewing system. And the fact that both the water tank and drip tray are removable will make cleaning and maintenance a little easier.

The only catch here is that the automatic rinse cycles seem to use up quite a lot of water, which means more frequent refills for you.

Value for Money: Pricier but still great value for cash

Like many other premium quality Jura espresso machines, you should be ready to spend a significant amount of money to get the 15097 E8. This is not an average espresso machine, but rather a high-end super-automatic machine, and so it does not come cheap.

That said, given the features that you get, all the bells and whistles, the fact that this machine makes some amazing brews and has a solid build, you can be sure that you will get great value for every buck you pay for it.

What's more, this is also a more affordable model when compared to other Jura machines in the E8 line such as models 15270 and 15271 despite them having almost identical features.

Verdict

Jura 15097 E8 is an amazing super-automatic espresso machine for anyone looking for something compact that still delivers exceptional performance.

If you are also looking for an espresso machine that will give you more specialty brew and coffee strength options than most others out there, this will be a fantastic pick. What's more, it is also quite straightforward to use with some intuitive controls, and with the highly automated cleanup, maintenance will give you an easy time.