Jura E8 Review:
The Perfect Balance of Cost and Functionality?

Being a premium Swiss brand, there are expectations from Jura before you even look inside the box. You know it’s going to be expensive so Jura brand coffee machines have to look great, be easy to use and work flawlessly. It’s really not much to ask and, as stereotypes go, it’s not the worst in the world.  

In this Jura E8 review we’ll take a deep dive into one of the most teched-up super-automatic espresso machines on the market. Is it worth the price tag? Do all those gadgets and proprietary technologies actually do anything?

So dive into our complete Jura E8 review and buying guide to answer all your burning questions. We’ve played with all the settings, tasted all the coffees, and cleaned all the components to give you the best review we can to inform your espresso decision.

At a Glance: Jura E8 Review

1. 15 Speciality Coffees

In their advertising materials, Jura claims the E8 will make 17 drinks, but they’re counting hot water and foamed milk in that number. Which is pushing it a little. That said, this covers basically every type of espresso drink that you’d likely order in a coffee shop. But at the touch of a button and whilst wearing your pajamas.

2. Pulse Extraction Process (P.E.P.)

This is exactly as it sounds – the water is pulsed through the coffee grounds. The benefit of this is it brings out the full flavor of your preferred type of coffee beans.

3. Smart Connect

For the ultimate in ease of coffee making, you can connect your coffee machine to your phone. This allows you to customize your drinks and start the brewing process all from an app. To do so, you need to purchase a Bluetooth dongle separately which is a little annoying for the price.

4. 64 fl oz Water Reservoir

This is enough for around 64 single espressos

5. 10 oz Bean Hopper

The large size reduces the need for constant refills and is designed to keep your delicious espresso beans fresh.

6. One Touch Coffee

Makes coffee with a single touch of a button. It really couldn’t be easier.

7. Incredible Customization

You can alter the size, strength, and temperature of your espresso as well as adjust the microfoam on your steamed milk for perfect caffeination (or decaffeination). The possibilities are practically endless.

8. Self-Cleaning and Descaling

The Jura E8 self-cleans after each use and will automatically descale when needed to keep your coffee at peak quality.

The Jura E8 espresso coffee machine state-of-the-art technology works its magic to ensure everything is perfect. As long as you are able to navigate a fairly large and well-designed display with the buttons at the side then you’ll be fine.

There are a lot of customization options, but each one is clearly described and easy to cycle through. Plus, once you’ve set your coffee just how you like it, you simply have to press a button. The machine will remember your settings and reproduce the same outstanding coffee drinks quality every single time.

The in-built grinder comes with 8 grind settings which are adjusted by a dial on the side of the machine. So you don’t have to go digging about in the bean hopper like with some cheaper super-automatic coffee machines. Whilst this might not seem like many settings, the E8 is designed to make only espresso-style drinks and lungo. So it really is plenty of options.

Milk Frothing

The Jura E8 coffee machine looks like it has a milk dispensing spout to the side of the coffee ones. But fear not, that is where the milk hose attaches to the machine so you don’t need to move your cup. You can put the hose into any milk container of your choice. Or, to stay fully on brand, you can purchase a sealed one branded by Jura. 

The microfoam produced is superb and doesn’t require any adjusting in our opinion. However, there is a small dial for making adjustments if it is not to your liking.

The in-built Aroma Grinder uses patented technology and has 8 grind settings for perfect bean grinding results. At first glance, 8 grind settings might not seem like very many. But many cheaper super-automatic coffee machines will only have 3 or 4. When you’re always grinding for espresso, you don’t need much range to get it right.

The Jura E8 coffee maker does also come with a chute for you to use pre-ground coffee.

Why would you do this?

Well, if you have a hopper full of your favorite coffee beans but you perhaps want a decaf coffee, or a guest does, then you can use some pre-ground decaf straight into the Jura E8 coffee machine. Very easy, no fuss, and you still get 1 touch, customized coffee, but with decaf (or any other choice of beans).

This is a fairly standard feature on super-automatic espresso machines for precisely this reason.

The Looks

It is the epitome of the sleek, minimalist design that is so popular in modern kitchen appliances.

The Jura E8 automatic coffee machines come in a range of colors, covering the spectrum of white to black through a couple of shades of grey (though significantly less than 50). So, no matter which option you go for, it’s unlikely to clash with your kitchen’s color scheme. But you also won’t be able to make a bold statement through color alone for those who prefer a splash of color from their Jura coffee maker.

The Jura E8 is mostly stainless steel, with some plastic elements. Overall, it looks like a coffee machine that costs a couple of thousand dollars – which you’d kinda hope it would. The LCD screen is large and beautifully animated with various options for coffee and settings for strength, size, etc.

Before buying, you need to make sure you have enough space as the Jura E8 is a larger coffee machine than many of its competitors, sizing up at 13.6 x 11 x 17.5 inches. It will make a statement in your kitchen through sheer force of presence – an impossible-to-ignore, expensive-looking coffee box sitting on your counter.

The Build

Style over substance is not something that Jura coffee machines really do. Everything they make works seamlessly and lasts too – a Jura might just be the last coffee machine you ever buy.

The drip tray feels a touch flimsy if we’re being hyper-critical of the Jura E8 espresso coffee machine. But that is really the only part of the machine that you could accuse of not living up to its high billing.

The grinder is stainless steel, but it’s pretty quiet and it’ll last a good decade before becoming blunt.

The brew group can’t be removed to be cleaned. This is standard across similar Jura coffee machines as they believe their self-cleaning and descaling programs will keep everything in top condition for producing delicious coffee for years. And there are no reports to suggest otherwise. You can also get it serviced every couple of years if you like for added peace of mind.

*UPDATE* A fellow coffee nerd used a Jura machine everyday for 1 year then dismantled the brewgroup to see how clean it was. It was spotless. The internal cleaning works.*

With a 10oz bean hopper and 64 fl oz water tank, you won’t be constantly refilling your Jura E8. The only slight gripe we have is that the beans load from the top of the machine, which is difficult if it sits underneath your cabinets.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Jura E8 automatic espresso machine is heavy – nearly 22lbs. So you aren’t going to be moving it around much. But we also need to remember there is a lot of machinery packed in to make it such a smart espresso coffee machine. And that all adds extra weight. Then again, I don’t know anyone who moves their machine around all that much!

This is where the P.E.P. really shows it’s not just a marketing ploy. Pulsing the water through the coffee grounds optimizes coffee bean extraction time, giving you a perfectly balanced espresso.

Without needing to turn all the settings up to maximum strength, which is fairly standard on many other expensive coffee machines, you get a rich, syrupy, full-bodied espresso with great crema. You will get the full flavor and aroma of the beans.

We don’t put too much stock in a great crema as it’s easy to manipulate the way your brew espresso to create it. And, most importantly, it doesn’t necessarily mean great coffee. But without having to resort to trickery the crema on the espresso from the Jura E8 is a joy.

Not having to turn everything up to the max to extract a full-flavored espresso also means all the various customization options are actually useful depending on your coffee beans. Again, this is sadly not always the case. Generally, it’s the grind settings I play with the most, but having all the tools available makes a huge difference.

The superb thermoblock boiler means the quality doesn’t dip if you’re brewing 3 or 4 coffees in a row. You really get what you pay for with the E8. The temperature is very consistent across multiple brews – no burnt coffee from this amazing coffee machine.

Quality of Milk Frothing

It’s not just the coffee that’s great though. The micro-foam on the milk is perfect on the standard setting. Perfect for us that is, your preference may differ. But if it does, it’s so easy to change on the dial that it’s not something to worry about.

Even with the single boiler, the wait between coffee and milk pouring is minimal. Plus, it doesn’t seem to mess up the espresso temperature by asking it to foam milk in between shots. This means all your short specialty coffees such as flat white, cortado and macchiato will be just how you like them.

If you’re thinking about brewing 6 lattes in a row for all your friends, this will take a bit of time though. 

Overall, our Jura E8 review gives a big thumbs up to the quality of coffee drinks produced.

But what really sets the E8 apart from many other coffee machines is the Smart Connect optional extra to connect to your phone. It will set you back around $60 though.

Is Jura Smart Connect Worth it?

The Bluetooth Smart Connect dongle allows you to control your Jura E8 espresso machine and set up your coffees from your phone.

Do you need this? No. You will find life perfectly wonderful using your Jura E8 without it.

Do you want it though? Almost definitely.

If you enjoy using technology, you can save lots of different drinks in your profile compared to on the machine alone. For example, maybe you need an extra-strong flat white first thing but a regular one in the afternoon. Simply save “Morning Flat White” and “Afternoon Flat White” on the app and you can choose with one tap.

You can of course save custom drinks on the machine itself, but only 12. So you’d probably need to press a button twice to make your extra-strong flat white in the morning, which is just unthinkable!

The app is very easy to set up and use too. For us, the Smart Connect technology is a “must-have” to get the most out of the Jura E8 espresso machine.

This deep cleaning involves using Jura-branded cleaning products, which are obviously more expensive than other methods. But, when investing in a top-quality coffee machine, we’d recommend using branded cleaning products. It’s worth it to keep the machine working flawlessly for years.

The drip tray and grounds bin are not dishwasher safe, which is a minor annoyance, but only a minor one. If you rinse them every day then they’ll never get dirty enough to warrant going through a dishwasher anyway.

The milk dispenser is a bit more fiddly to clean. Milk dispensers always are, due to milk getting stuck in them. You can be prompted to do this daily or just remember. But the system needs to be flushed out, cleaned, and disassembled to be rinsed every day. Doing so ensures you don’t get nasties growing in there.

It doesn’t take much time to clean the E8, but it is slightly fiddly. The saving grace of this is you don’t end up with a mountain of plastic getting chucked away over a month of use (looking at you Nespresso). So I’m happier cleaning the milk system manually but probably because I rarely drink milky coffee.

These aren’t bashed-up, broken-down coffee machines that have had a difficult life. They’re often display models or ones that have been returned faulty, fixed, and then can’t be resold. They come with a 1-year guarantee and are a brilliant way to get your dream coffee machine at a major discount. You can check out their range of refurbished Jura machines here.

There really isn’t much to choose between them on the surface, however, the E8 offers significantly more drink options than the S8:

While Jura will say the S8 does 15 specialty drinks, 2 of those are milk and 2 are hot water (alongside double ristretto, double espresso, and double lungo). So we’re actually looking at 8 different types of coffee available at the touch of a button (well, screen).

The E8, on the other hand, claims 17 drinks but only 2 are hot water or milk, then double espresso and double lungo so we’re getting 13 different coffees. That’s a big difference. OK so some are just extra shot versions of milk-based drinks but that’s still a distinct option and not just fluff.

The Jura E8 doesn’t do ristretto. But you can program the espresso function to get really close if that’s your thing.

With so much of the technology being the same between these 2 machines, this is really the point I want to focus on. If you want more choices of coffee, the E8 wins hands down. The S8 has a nicer display and it’s possible to save coffees to profiles on the machine without the app. But you’ll still save money by getting the E8 with additional Smart Connect. So, yeah, the Jura E8 all the way for us. 

That all depends on what you consider important.

On the ENA 8, there are 7 fewer pre-programmed specialty drinks, no touchscreen, and no milk customization. Plus, the milk form is only really good for cappuccino or latte macchiato – for everything else, we found it a little lackluster.

With a price difference of around $400, you have to question whether sacrificing these things actually matters to you. If not, save yourself some cash and opt for the ENA 8. But, if you love your milky espresso drinks then it’s not worth the compromise and you should get the E8 instead.

If you want to know more about the ENA 8, check out our full review here.

Stunning espresso, beautiful design, easy-to-use functionality, super cool app, and easy to clean.

The fact that Jura is a premier coffee machine brand with a track record of making top appliances that last for years is the clincher too. The Jura E8 will be a superb coffee companion for years to come. This is a seriously impressive coffee machine.

Don’t get us wrong, it’s not perfect. The milk system is slightly annoying to clean and there is a slight delay between coffee and milk pouring due to the single boiler. But we’re really splitting hairs at this point. There’s a very good chance that if we hadn’t mentioned these things, you’d never have noticed.

If you take just one thing away from our Jura E8 review, let it be this:

If you’re in the market for a coffee machine of this caliber, you won’t find a better one for the price. And you definitely won’t find a better one for significantly cheaper.

You’ve got to love those Swiss engineers.

Our preferred stockist for Jura Coffee machines is 1st in Coffee 

You can also buy your Jura E8 from Amazon

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds

Matt's coffee obsession started in 2006 when working as a Barista. A tendency to turn up to work hungover kickstarted his coffee journey which quickly turned into a love affair. As he moved on to work as a Restaurant Manager and Sommelier, the obsession continued to grow. Now, his passion is helping others to enjoy better coffee at home.