Jura E6 coffee machine review: Fast, barista-quality espresso

Best prices today: Jura E6

$1,599.00

It’s tempting to say that the Jura E6 is a coffee vending machine for a kitchen, but such a claim would betray the very quality of the coffee it dispenses.

Yes, the Jura E6 brews you six different types of coffee straight from the bean at the touch of a button. Offering espressos to cappuccinos, with americanos, lungos, macchiatos and plain coffees along the way, there’s also a hot water option for teas and a milk froth option for hot chocolates.

But is it complicated to install and clean? We’re giving it a try to find out.

Design and build

• 2.8″ color display
• 1.9 liter water tank
• 280g coffee bean capacity

The first thing you notice about the Jura E6 is that it is a large machine. With a height of 36 cm, a depth of 45 cm and a width of 29 cm, it occupies a good part of your work surface. Kitchen kitchen owners should therefore check th at they have space.

That said, Jura has cleverly used curves for the faceplate design, so the effect is softer than a sharp rectangular black box. We tested the silver model and found that the lighter color lessened its impact considerably.

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

The main body of this 9.1 kg machine is black, with access to the 280 g coffee bean hopper on the top and the water tank on the left side with a hinged lid. The water reservoir takes 1.9 litres, enough for around 63 shots of espresso, but the dark tint on the side of the reservoir makes it difficult to judge where the water level is when the machine is in place.

The spout, featuring the Jura logo on a badge, is adjustable 5cm up and down, fitting espresso glasses and 250ml cups, although not of a traditional latte cup. The chrome-style drip tray pulls out to reveal the used coffee grind container, which holds up to 16 servings, and you get a healthy 1.2 meter power cable, giving you flexibility on potential supply points.

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

But it’s the display that’s most surprising, as it features images. Once you’ve set up the machine, the E6 control panel will light up with images of coffee cups with the different drinks you can choose from by pressing the six side buttons, although a milk-based drink requires also to turn the button on the side, such as performing the rinsing and cleaning processes.

Jura says the machine uses 58.4kWh per year (and is energy class A), but we guess that depends on how often you use it.

How to prepare the machine

• Not plug and play
• The manual can be confusing
• Water hardness test requirement

At first glance, the instructions for preparing the E6 for use seem daunting. You need to find a suitable place for the machine, fill the bean hopper, plug the machine in, set your tongue, test your water hardness (strips are supplied) and tell the machine, install the filter cartridge extension, rinse and fill the water tank, start the filter rinsing process, empty the drip tray, then start the machine rinsing process.

The use of bullet points in the manual, rather than steps 1-2-3, makes this harder to follow than necessary, as the control panel prompts you to continue to the next step.

If you then want to connect the milk, again, the process seems more daunting than it actually is. You must use a suitable milk container with a Jura connection hose. We used a Jura Glass Milk Container (priced at $50 / £37.74), which you buy separately, with the metal inlet pipe that fits into the lid. It’s a much more attractive option than the plastic tanks that come with some grain machines.

You will also need the correct Jura milk system cleaners to clean the mechanism daily after use.

Once you have them, however, all you have to do is connect the two pipes to the glass container, rinse the mechanism and fill the container with milk.

Make coffee in the Jura E6

• Intelligent preheating and automatic rinsing
• 15 bar high performance pump
• 10 levels of programmable force and adjustment

After setting up the machine, you just need to turn on the machine, it preheats very quickly and performs an automatic rinse, then you place your cup under the spout and press the button for the coffee you want.

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

The E6 gives you pre-programmed options for espresso, plain coffee, cappuccino, macchiato, caffe barista, lungo barista, hot water and milk froth. For a milk drink, it will ask you to turn the dial to start and stop milk frothing, but it dispenses everything else automatically.

If you want to change these presets, you can. Expert mode, found in the settings menu, will let you change coffee, hot water and milk dispense times, and give you the option of three brew levels and machine temperature. ‘Hot water.

You can also adjust the grind settings to suit your coffee roast by turning the dial on the side of the bean loader while the grinder is running. Jura claims its built-in grinder provides 12% more flavor release than conventional grinders, and our taste test suggested a noticeable difference.

And, if you ever run out of coffee beans, you can use ground coffee with the filter funnel next to the bean hopper. The process, however, requires more steps. You can’t add more than two scoops of ground coffee, and you have to scroll through the settings menu to find the ground coffee button (it’ll ask you when to add the coffee to the funnel).

So how’s the coffee?

We started with a bean-to-cup espresso. The result was a fast-dispensing mini-Guinness coffee with great aroma and crema. The taste was like dynamite in your mouth: a real rush of adrenaline – so much so that you didn’t know if you could take another one.

The cappuccino was a revelation. The machine first dispenses twelve seconds of milk froth (it will ask you to turn the button on and off), then adds the 60ml shot of espresso, resulting in a smooth and luscious cappuccino that is light and airy .

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

Indeed, a real star of the Jura E6 is the milk foam. We tested it for a child’s long drink and the result was like a hot cloud in a cup: something we’ve never been able to achieve with a conventional steam wand.

The E6 will tell you on the screen, either with messages or light icons, if you need to fill the water tank, empty the coffee grounds or drip tray, refill the bean container, or if you need to replace the filter, clean or descale the machine, or rinse or clean the milk system.

Smart features

• Requires Jura Wifi Connect accessory
• Requires JOE app
• QR code provided

If you buy the optional Jura WiFi Connect ($60 from Jura US / £45 from Jura UK), which plugs into the coffee machine, you can control the E6 remotely via Wi-Fi via the smartphone app or tablet from Jura, JOE This allows you to brew specialty coffees, set and store your personal preferences and send coffee orders directly to the machine from your smartphone. The E6 manual provides a QR code to download the JOE app.

Price and availability

The E6 is expensive, sure, but in terms of bean machines, it’s on the lower end of the price bracket. If you want a high quality coffee machine this is good value for money, especially if you are in the UK.

It is available worldwide. In the United States, it is priced around $1,599 and it is available from a number of retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. There’s a similar array of retailers in the UK, including John Lewis and Currys, where it’s available for around £865.

The E6 is also at the lower end of Jura’s own range of grain machines, which you can browse on its US website or UK webshop. At the top sits the Giga 6, which has two grinders, two heaters and two pumps that can deliver lattes, flat whites and cortados – for around four times the price of the E6.

For something a little cheaper than the E6, you’d be looking at the ENA4, a compact, one-cup, bean-to-cup machine, available in Full Metropolitan Black and Full Nordic White.

Jura also manufactures many accessories: from freshness control containers to cup warmers, espresso glasses and branded cocoa dusters. Care products are roughly mid-priced: from $25/£14.50 for mini milk system cleaning tablets to $20/£15.50 for 2-phase descaling tablets.

He also offers a range of coffees, including a decaffeinated Arabica and, interestingly, a single-origin Arabica from India that he says was moistened and dried by monsoon rain and wind.

Verdict

The E6 is a terrific machine that takes all the stress out of brewing specialty coffee. Granted, it’s an expensive appliance for the home, but it’s a good price for a good bean maker and will make a huge difference if you’re a serious coffee-loving household.

Keep in mind that if you want smart features, you’ll have to purchase a separate add-on. And remember, even in coffee heaven, someone will still have to clean the milk system daily.

To browse the best coffee makers we’ve tested, check out our roundup of the best coffee machines, which features the pros and cons of each machine we’ve tested and links to full reviews.