29 April 2009 16:00 GMT / By Chris Haslam

It’s the slimmest bean-to-cup machine on the planet and promises unbeatable coffee at the touch of a button, but can the Jura ENA5 justify its price tag?

At 23.8cm wide the ENA5 is surprisingly slender for a fully featured bean-to-cup machine, but at 44cm deep and 36 high we can’t describe it as a compact appliance. That said, for £750 we’re happy for it to take pride and place in our kitchen, and thanks to the supermodel looks it was never really going to blend into the background.

The ENA5 is gorgeous - we tested the "ristretto black" and loved the minimalist one button click wheel design and angular body. It’s also available in white, blue, brown, red, green and cream so whatever colour your kitchen there’s something to suit.

Set-up was nice and simple - switch it on and the clear LED display tells you just what to do - fill water tank, fill beans, push centre button. The onboard computer monitors water and coffee levels, tells you when it’s heating, ready to use, in need of descaling and even how to change from one setting to the next (the click wheel scrolls easily through coffee strength, hot water, steam, etc).

Our first espresso took less than 25 seconds to brew, including grinding and the results were astounding. The coffee was as good as any we’d ever tasted - luxuriously dark with a rich creamy top and no bitter after taste. We’ve tested dozens of machines over the years, but nothing has come close to this for quality. For £750 we were confident of good results but never expected such a huge step up even from some of the best £200-300 machines on the market.

We were disappointed by the steam and hot water nozzle however. We found it small and fiddly and although the one dial control was easy enough to use it was awkward and we found it hard to get enough air into the milk to make really frothy cappuccinos. The results were still pretty good, but not a patch on the espresso. We also didn’t think the hot water was quite hot enough for a good cup of tea or long black coffee.

Aside from emptying the used coffee grounds and drip tray maintenance is almost all automatic - there is a built in water filter for descaling, the machine cleans itself and flushes the system each time you turn on and it comes with a blister pack of cleaning tablets for occasional use - pop one in the water tank and the machine does the rest.

Accessories include a filter cartridge, cleaning tablets, measuring spoon, funnel water test strips, and grinder key.

Verdict

Jura don’t make cheap coffee machines - and the £750 ENA5 is actually at the budget end of the range. They do lead the luxury market in fully automated bean-to-cup machines, but unless money is no object or you are a complete stickler for espresso perfection we can’t justify the price tag. It does produce an unbelievable espresso and looks the business, but for the money we want idiot proof automatic milk frothing of the highest quality.

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Review Recap

Made by

Jura

Price as reviewed

£750

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The good

Superb looks, flawless espresso, quick and easy to use

The bad

Fiddly milk frother, expensive

Quick verdict

We can’t justify the price, but it is beautiful, easy to use and produces a cracking cup of coffee

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