19 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Excellent super-auto machine
Date of Review: Jan 15, 2009
The Bottom Line: If the super-auto tradeoff is right for you, the J5 ought to be on your short list for quality, features, and styling.
For years we have enjoyed our morning coffee from an older Capresso grind-and-drip machine. The machine was showing its age, though, and we wanted to top off the remodeled kitchen with an espresso machine. Plus, we've had wonderful cafe crema (also known as caffe suisse) traveling, and my wife wanted to be able to make that on demand.
Espresso aficionados will tell you that you can only get "good" espresso from a dedicated espresso machine and separate grinder. I knew from our grind-and-drip experience that the necessary ritual just wasn't going to happen in the morning, so we decided to trade the ultimate in coffee flavor for a lot more convenience -- meaning, a super-auto. The machine we ended up with was the Jura Capresso J5.
The J5 is nicely described at the Jura-Capresso web site, so I won't parrot all of its features here. Basically it's a very stylish looking super-auto coffee or espresso machine, meaning that it grinds, tamps, pumps the shot, and dumps the used coffee puck into an internal bin, all at one button push. It can also steam milk for latte or cappuchinos, with a choice of two different frothing attachments. (One is meant to be easiest to use, while the other can produce better microfoam in the hands of the more experienced user.) It also has a separate funnel for pre-ground coffee; this might be used if you normally keep regular beans in the hopper, but need a cup of decaf. The four coffee buttons are programmable as to strength (amount of coffee), amount of water, and water heat. So, you can program them to give you exactly what you want.
The super-auto is all about convenience, and the J5 delivers in full. More water through a coarser grind gives you a cafe crema. Less water through a fine grind gives you a very nice espresso shot. It won't be as full bodied and rich as a good shot through a dedicated machine made with a $$$$ grinder. The J5 cup or shot WILL be consistently good, and all it takes is a button press. Our coffee consumption has definitely gone up, since it's so easy to walk by, push the button, and get a shot. I will note that the J5 is a little touchy about coffee bean quality; it can emphasize the flaws in stale or burnt/overroasted beans. I roast my own, and have for some time, so that's not a concern for me. There are many sources of freshly roasted beans on the web if you don't have a reliable local coffee roaster.
There are a ton of convenience features: the quiet grinder; programmable on-off timers; automatic bean refill and dump-box emptying reminders; automatic water fill reminder; visual coffee quantity programming; on-the-fly strength or amount change; and on and on. Fortunately, the control system is quite well laid out, and is not hard to use or learn at all. (This is doubly fortunate because the manual, while well written, has all the photos at the front instead of in-line with the text! which is bizarre at best. I did not watch the enclosed instruction video and can't comment on it.)
We only drink coffee drinks, no lattes or cappuchinos, so I can't say anything about the milk attachments in practice. From reading the manual it appears that they are quite flexible. The J5 does not have a separate milk-steamer thermoblock, so there's a slight delay as it switches the heat level for steaming. If making many milk drinks quickly is important, the J5 might be a bit limited in that respect.
It's too soon to say anything useful about reliability. The machine certainly does make a wonderful array of whirs, clanks, buzzes, and gurgles. Regular maintenance is surely important, with all the machinery inside. The J5 keeps track of usage and reminds you when it needs a cleaning cycle, which is a nice touch.
I was a little worried about spending the money for a super-auto, after reading many dismissive comments about them in various coffee forums. I shouldn't have worried. If you are a tweaker, or seek the ultimately best espresso "god-shots", or don't mind the whole manual grind, tamp, pour, cleanup ritual, get something else. But, if you want good, consistent coffee at the press of a button from a slick, stylish machine, the J5 is for you.
Update: after submitting the above, and after reading a few other super-auto reviews, I thought it worthwhile to add a few points.
- Most importantly, avoid dark, oily beans, or at least use them with caution. These beans are over-roasted anyway and will not give you the best flavor; the "dark roast" myth is just that, a myth. Medium roasted beans carry the best flavors with only a very few exceptions. Use a quality local or online roaster, use fresh (date-stamped!) beans, or roast your own. Actually, this is advisable no matter what your brewing method, even ordinary drip!
- If you use the pre-ground bypass, use a grind in between traditional espresso and drip. A too-find grind could choke the machine, in the worst case requiring repair. If the grind feels like powdered sugar or talcum powder, it might be too fine. If it's a little sandy feeling it should be OK.
- If you have hard water, use the Jura "clearyl" filter, or use bottled/distilled water, or descale regularly. Scale build-up kills machines dead. Even medium-hard water requires filtering or occasional descaling.
