For the longest time, the time period “super-automatic” was a unclean phrase in critical espresso circles. It dropped at thoughts the unhappy, gray espresso disbursed from workplace machines; a brew with all of the character of a dial tone, dutifully consumed however by no means really loved. These gadgets had been the champions of comfort, however that comfort all the time got here at a steep worth.
However a humorous factor occurred: the class acquired surprisingly good. Higher tech and shopper demand pushed producers to up their sport. All of a sudden, even finances machines just like the De’Longhi Magnifica Begin proved an honest, one-push espresso didn’t require a second mortgage.
Amidst this, the Swiss firm Jura has all the time performed a distinct sport, focusing relentlessly on the premium market. Their territory spans from ‘entry-level premium’ with the ENA line up to the ultra-premium Z sequence and Giga workplace machines, letting them continuously redefine what luxurious bean-to-cup will be.
Whereas different manufacturers rightly compete on delivering unbelievable worth, Jura competes on status and bleeding-edge options. For a lot of, they’re nonetheless seen as the highest of the pyramid. Their id is intertwined with notions of Swiss precision, implying reliability, tight tolerances, and longevity; all making them the benchmark in opposition to which different premium super-automatics are sometimes measured.
The Z-series has all the time been their pinnacle lineup, a showcase for his or her most superior engineering and design. The present Z10 is their lively standard-bearer, a flagship that makes the daring, audacious declare to be the one coffee-making machine a discerning, and admittedly, fairly rich family will ever want. It’s the type of machine that makes your different home equipment really feel insufficient.
Its most important speaking level is a function that tackles a critical engineering problem: what Jura calls the Chilly Extraction Course of. Integrating a real chilly brew system right into a chassis that additionally has to handle boiling water isn’t any easy job. This isn’t simply cooled-down espresso; it’s a devoted methodology utilizing unheated, high-pressure water to create a essentially completely different beverage.
This single innovation, aimed squarely at an enormous pattern in fashionable espresso consumption, instantly units the Z10 aside. When that is mixed with a complicated digital grinder that intelligently adjusts itself for each drink on its menu of 32 choices, the machine presents itself as a complete, do-it-all beverage station.
Naturally, this sophistication instructions a price ticket that might fund a used automotive, pegging it at $4,300 within the USA. This locations it firmly within the realm of luxurious items and invitations intense scrutiny. It forces a really direct query: has Jura constructed a machine so superior that it might really fulfill the demanding palate of a seasoned espresso lover? (Earlier than you faint, we’ll word that our very long time sponsor accomplice, 1st in Espresso, typically has manufacturing facility refurbished or ‘open field’ models for as a lot as $1000 much less.)
I additionally put it one other manner on Threads lately: I requested the query “Is $4,300 an excessive amount of to pay for an excellent computerized espresso machine? What about paying double that worth for a La Marzocco GS3? Maybe the reply is, ‘sure, it’s a truthful worth to the proper particular person’”. So is it?
To seek out a solution, we did one thing we not often do for a First Look. As a substitute of some weeks, we spent six months dwelling with the Z10. We examined it, our pals examined it, and we even handed it alongside to some members of our native CoffeeGeek focus group for his or her unvarnished suggestions.
Here’s what we found.
