Hello everyone - this is my first post. I have been following coffee forum and coffee snobs pages since before Christmas, and was debating whether or not to bite the bullet and buy the Oracle Touch - but was very apprehensive about shelling out the $$$. I have had my trusty Rancilio Silvia/Rocky set up now since 2010, and while it has provided me with a fantastic learning experience into the world of manual espresso, and while I've loved the shots that Silvia provided, I could only ever pour two good coffees out of every five, and latte art was something that I was never able to master. But ultimately I was just sick and tired of the clean up, the maintenance, the inconsistency, the messy bench top, grinds everywhere, having to refill the single boiler, waiting half an hour for the machine to reach temperature - you get the picture. I only ever had the desire to use the machine on weekends because it was just too much work for this non-morning person. So after scoring a deal at Harvey Norman for $2,750 along with $204 worth of beans, guess what was sitting under our Christmas tree five days ago? A shiny new Oracle Touch, with all its bells and whistles. Have to say, this is one GORGEOUS machine. But after five days of practice, I am obviously still in the learning process, and I will be brutally honest with you all and admit I have NOT yet been able to get the same quality of shot and milk as I did on the Rancilio - whether this is to be expected or not I do not know, however like I said, it's still early days. So here are my first impressions: PROS: Auto switch on/off scheduling, easy-manoeuvre wheel, speedy heat up, consistent puck, next to no mess, beautiful intuitive touch screen with lovely graphics, customisable options, auto milk wand purge, adjustable grind/brew time/milk temperature/froth level. The machine is a breeze to use, and so far my first impressions are excellent. CONS: Puck gets almost baked in the filter basket and won't tap out unless I chisel it out with a spoon, dose is non-adjustable, milk has to be filled up to a line on the wand which seems excessive and means you waste a LOT of milk, I can't seem to get the milk not to separate which gives me quite a watery cup with foam on top only. These are things I hope to conquer in time, but I would really love to hear from any Touch users who have mastered these issues and can give me some tips on how to perfect my cups. My honest opinion is that it while it doesn't (so far) give me the same quality of cup as with my Rancilio, the pay-offs in cleaning, time saving, ease of use, convenience, consistency, and customisable options well outweigh this. I find I am now drinking a coffee from my home machine every weekday morning rather than a trip down to the local cafe before work, so that's a good thing and a money saving right there. Plus my partner loves it too, and he never really got the hang of the Rancilio. So I'm really looking forward to hearing the opinions of other users; what are your first impressions, has anything changed since you first bought your machine, and especially hoping for some advice regarding the puck issue and milk separating. Thanks for listening!
