There’s a type of machine we stopped covering and reviewing on CoffeeGeek back in 2006: super automatics. You know, the “press one button, the machine grinds coffee, brews the shot, ejects the puck, steams the milk, etc etc” all without additional interaction. Today, they’re called Bean to Cup machines.
Most of it, I admit, has to do with snobbery elitist stuff we coffee geeks are sometimes accused of. These machines in the past couldn’t come within a mile of the quality you would get from a hand-made shot on a traditional espresso machine and grinder.
Another part of my resistance to covering these machines has to do with the expense and longevity of super automatics. Back when we stopped reviewing bean to cup machines, they were in the $1,200 to $2,500 range, and had relatively short life spans mainly because the thermoblocks they all used were really bad. They would cake up quick from water scale, and the rubber gaskets would dissolve away in 3-4 years. Repairing them at the time could cost as much as $500 or more.
Since then, bean to cup machines have come a long way. Where they used to use only 7 to 9 grams of coffee for a shot, there are models now that can use up to 18g. Where they used to only have one temperature setting, now some have PIDs and precise temperature controls. Bean to cup machines used to have horrible, off the shelf thermoblocks; today they have highly customized ones designed specifically for long term use in super automatic machines, and many machines today come with dual thermoblocks, one for brewing and one for steam. They’ve also gotten a lot smarter and more intuitive on building the milk based drinks. There’s even WiFi enabled machines, complete with apps on your smartphone for further fine tuning. And a few have even evolved to doing a bunch of cold brew coffees, right out of the box.
I get a lot of questions about bean to cup machines, on social media, on Instagram, and via our own contact forms. There is definitely a big market segment out there them, and a lot of people want to know if the super automatic of 2024 is a) way better than the first and second generation models of the 2000-2010 era, and b) if they can just make a good drink without any fuss.
I figured the time had come to give a new super automatic, a new bean to cup machine, a fair shake at the CoffeeGeek Review process.
I contacted James Smith, owner of 1st in Coffee and one of our longest continuous supporters on CoffeeGeek, asking him about super automatics. Smith was a natural choice to ask; he’s been selling super automatics for nearly 25 years now, and knows the market inside and out. He’s also one of the main go-tos for the company many consider the industry leader in this machine department: Jura.
I asked Smith what machine he considered the best combination of three things:
- drink quality
- innovative features
- best overall investment return / bang for the buck.
There was no hesitation in his reply. He said the Jura Z10 Bean to Cup machine is the model that is setting the new standard in bean to cup machines. He also pointed out it introduced a whole new category to super automatics: the ability to do cold brew, right in the machine.
After some back and forth, Smith arranged for us to get a Jura Z10 in the lovely Aluminum White variant, to feature and review on CoffeeGeek. All with the express understanding that I will not pull any punches in our review process.
I’ve had the machine up and running for several weeks, and I have some initial thoughts. This isn’t a full First Look (that is coming); this is more of a “I had no clue these machines could do these things” kind of post, to share with you my own wonder and amazement at some of this machine’s features.
This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Super Automatic
I can make this statement with a bit of authority because back in 2005, I bought my father a Saeco super automatic espresso machine as a Christmas gift. It ended up being a serious money pit for him (and by proxy, me). Part of the problem was user error – he simply would never clean the machine or clean the milk system – but also it just didn’t brew a very good cup of coffee or shot of espresso. And I tried very hard to fine tune it on one of my visits back east to my Dad’s home, to no avail.
So yeah: with a bit of authority, I can say super automatics have come a long, long way since then. My first coffee through the Jura Z10, using the default, factory settings (and trust me, you can modify every single drink recipe built into the machine), it produced an acceptable double shot of espresso. I knew the Z10’s max capacity for ground coffee per shot was 16g, but I was letting it use its factory set 14g setting for a 50ml shot.
I say acceptable, because I’ve had better shots – way better shots – from traditional machines, but also way worse shots at many cafes I’ve visited.
Then, I played around with the settings a bit. Made the grind finer. Upped the dose to a full 16g. Tuned the temperature up (I was using a fairly light roasted coffee). Dialed down the shot volume to 35ml. And then pressed a button to get a brewed shot.
This time it was, like, really good. Not fantastic, not the best shot I had that week, but definitely an enjoyable, full crema, full body, balanced shot of espresso. In only the 2nd or 3rd shot I ever pulled on the Z10, it was already the best bean to cup shot of espresso I had ever had.
Next up were some simple drink builds. I wanted to see how the Jura Z10 handled americanos. The stock recipe built into the Z10 produced a pretty big drink, but I like americanos with a ratio of 2 parts hot water to one part espresso. Pressing and holding the americano image on the touch screen let me dive into the recipe and modify (and save) it to my own preferences. 40ml espresso, 80ml water. 16g dose, finest grinder setting. Saved, let’s go.
Again, an enjoyable, tasty drink. Again, this machine will never achieve the taste quality you can get with a $1,000 espresso machine (Lelit Victoria, for example), and a $500 grinder (Turin DF64) and your barista hands, but as God is my witness, the Americano I got from the Z10 was a full point higher in quality than the one I had the day before from one of Victoria’s supposed “top” cafes.
I also couldn’t help thinking, the Z10 gives you a lot more recipe options and controls than a machine like the Breville Oracle Touch, or Breville Barista Touch Impress. For instance, the volumes of beverages are more fine-tunable on the Z10 from Jura. One of my biggest gripes with the Barista Touch Impress is, in the Americano recipe, even if you select the smallest volume of water to be used, it pumps out 130ml of hot water. That’s almost double the volume I want for a 5oz / 150ml americano. On the Z10, you can set the ml amount for water in 5ml segments, all the way down to 30ml or less.
Milk Drinks on the Jura Z10
The Z10 has a gazillion options for milk. Even more if you use Jura’s J.O.E. app on Android or iOS. And even more if you use Jura’s bluetooth connected countertop milk refrigeration device.
The machine is so advanced, it even has two different “engines” for heating milk. One just actively heats up milk without creating any foam or froth. The other exclusively makes froth. And both systems can have their own set temperatures. If you want the liquid milk to be 65C, but want the foam to be 45C or less, you have those options.
Literally my only disappointment with the machine so far is I cannot figure out a way to have it make a misto for me; it’s not a drink in the recipe setup (that I could find), and I also couldn’t figure out if you could make a 100% custom drink or not (it may be possible. The Misto is basically an americano with some frothed milk on top.
The frothed milk quality is fair to good. It isn’t microfoam calibre, but the Z10 produces a dense bubble foam, closer to microfoam than it is to the big airy bubbles you get from pannarello frothers. The foam is a bit stiff, enough to barely create a mound; but honestly, every drink I’ve made with milk froth so far on the machine shows a nice level foam in the cup that is very dense in the bubble structure. Temperatures are fully adjustable, so there’s no complaints there.
Cold Drinks on the Z10
This is where the Jura Z10 completely stands out. There may be new bean to cup machines playing catchup with Jura and introducing this feature in 2024, but Jura is the first: this machine does a variety of cold brew beverages. And it does it in a very unique way.
Many of the built in drink recipes, from espresso to cortado, from cappuccino to long coffee, can be made cold simply by pressing the top 4-square menu item on the touch screen, and selecting the snowflake icon.
The machine goes into a very advanced mode for this. FIrst, It will still preifnuse the coffee from the brew-thermoblock, for a few seconds’ draw and saturation of the puck. This aids in getting better overall extractions. Next, it bypasses the thermoblock entirely, and draws water direct from the external tank, brewing the rest of the drink with this unheated water. It does so at slower pulse mode too, pulsing the pump to brew the shot in about 60-90 seconds depending on the drink you are making.
The Z10 does other things too when you’re in cold drink mode. It will automatically adjust the grinder to a coarser setting, because extraction through finer grinds with cold water is more difficult; by going coarser, it aids in the overall extraction rate, delivering a richer cup. It does all this and more, just with a few touches on the full colour touch panel.
It even makes adjustments for the milk side on drinks you’re brewing as cold brew. The milk still needs to be heated to create foam, but the machine adjusts to the lowest temperature setting for this purpose, It also lowers the milk heating temperatures. A lot of brains packed into this thing.
Brew one of the cold brew recipes into a glass with ice, and within 2 minutes, you’re enjoying cold brew espresso, cortados, cappuccinos, long coffees and lattes. Pretty fantastic.
Wrap Up
I really didn’t expect to be impressed with the Jura Z10. I have a heavy bias against super automatics in general, through a lot of testing and experience. Problem is, all that experience happened well over 15 years ago.
I am impressed by the Jura Z10.
It’s not cheap: $4,000 is a helluva lot to pay for an espresso machine. But this isn’t just an espresso machine. It’s an automated, robot barista that can make you just about any hot beverage drink you can imagine. And it also can make just about every cold-brew drink you can think of too. All with a single touch of a display screen. Or via the app.
Almost everything about this machine screams quality too. The full colour display screen is bright, easy to read, and very fast to use. The aluminum front panel is stunningly gorgeous; the white painted side panels just add to the sleek look. Everything from the side mounted water reservoir, to the glass bean hopper lid, to the drip tray design, to the lighting system is all peak quality.
I also love the attention to detail on the machine. For instance, the butterfly design of the front pour spouts, allowing you to brew easily into one tiny cup, or spread apart to easily fill two cappuccino cups. Heck, even the “barista lights” change from bright daylight white to pleasing, candle-light like brown when the machine is actively brewing espresso.
The machine is also a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It’s not that much bigger than a Profitec GO machine, but the sleek minimalist design of the entire Z10 also makes you think it is smaller than it really is.
I’m working on our formal First Look right now; look for it soon on CoffeeGeek. But if you’re in the market for a top of the line bean to cup machine, one with every possible feature you could imagine, the Jura Z10 is one to consider. 1st in Coffee is the primary vendor of the brand in the USA with many satisfied customers; you can’t go wrong buying one from them. They also have the occasional refurbs of this machine for substantial savings.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
- Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
