Road-testing the Jura F9 automatic espresso machine

If you want the convenience of a capsule machine without the waste, and the choice of using any fresh coffee beans you like to make your brews at home without having to take a barista course, an automatic espresso machine could be the answer.

The Swiss company Jura has just released its new F9 and A9 automatic espresso makers in Australia. Both machines won Australian Good Design Awards in May.

The F9 is a chunky black plastic thing that looks like a home version of a coffee vending machine, with an LED screen and selection dial interface.

The F9 makes 14 different black and milk coffee styles, including espresso, ristretto, "coffee" (a long espresso), macchiato, cappuccino, caffe latte and even a flat white (which apparently caused confusion at Jura sales conferences in the US).

The screen-and-dial combination makes it easy to use: pour fresh coffee beans into the hopper, use the screen to select the brew, push a button, and the machine grinds the coffee, packs the internal portafilter and extracts.

Espressos made on the F9 reflected the character of different beans well. A specialty seasonal blend from a local roaster came out bright and fruity with hints of dark chocolate, while a Cuban from an organic grocer was rich, sweet and earthy. In both cases the espresso shots had nice honeycomb-coloured crema and a good mouthfeel.

The best of the milk coffees in testing were the macchiato and the flat white. The macchiato was a good espresso shot with a dollop of foamy milk, while the flat white was surprisingly close to a cafe flat white in milk texture, mouthfeel and flavour. The caffe latte was watery, though you can adjust the coffee strength and volume and the milk volume of any of the preset brews, while the cappuccino, with the milk going in first, was a pale imitation of a cafe capp, with a thin bed of white microfoam on top of the coffee-milk mixture.

Cleaning and maintenance is push-button easy; though you need to flush the milk system daily, and clean it about once a week with a cleaning solution that costs $13 for 16 cleans.

At $2490 the F9 is pricey compared with capsule machines, but you'll spend half as much per cup for beans, create much less waste – and drink much better coffee. See au.jura.com.