Jura E8 vs S8: specs, taste and value compared

E8 vs S8 at a glance

Head to head

The better result in each row is marked, based on my testing and the manufacturer specs. Rows where the two machines are level have no winner.

Keep in mind that the tally is not my verdict. Some rows matter far more than others, and which ones matter depends on what you drink.

What the E8 and S8 have in common

These two sit side by side in Jura’s range, and underneath they are closely related.

Both are fully automatic bean-to-cup machines with a 15-bar pump, a thermoblock and Jura’s Pulse Extraction Process✕Pulse Extraction Process (P.E.P.)Instead of pushing water through the coffee in one steady stream, the machine sends it in short, rapid pulses. It helps short drinks like espresso extract more evenly.. Both grind with steel conical burrs✕Conical burrsTwo cone-shaped grinding parts, one inside the other. Beans are crushed between them, and the gap sets how fine the coffee is. and take up to about 16 grams of coffee per brew.

Both have a 64-ounce side tank, a 10-ounce hopper and a grounds bin for about 16 pucks. Even the footprint is within a third of an inch.

So the step from E8 to S8 is not about capacity. It is about how the coffee tastes, how the milk behaves and how you talk to the machine.

Design, size and build

Side by side, the S8 looks the more premium of the two. Its front is dominated by a big touchscreen, with the spouts neatly framed below.

The Jura E8 has a chrome-look panel around its outlet, a smaller color display flanked by buttons and a little cup light that switches on with every drink.

Both are about 11 inches wide and 13.8 inches tall. The E8 is about 17.6 inches deep and the S8 about 17.3 inches.

The S8’s big touchscreen dominates its front and makes it look the more premium machine.

The E8’s housing and drip grid are mostly plastic. It feels solid but not luxurious. The S8 felt a little more substantial in the hand, especially the milk spout and its lever.

Our tip: Leave about 2 inches above either machine so you can lift the hopper lid without sliding it forward.

Both front panels wipe clean easily. The S8’s glass screen picks up fingerprints a little, while the E8’s buttons hide them better.

In a dark kitchen, the E8’s cup light is a genuinely useful touch, and the S8’s bright screen does a similar job by lighting the area around the spouts.

Touchscreen vs buttons

This is the difference you will feel every single day.

The Jura S8 has a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, one of the clearest I have used on any coffee machine. Drinks are big, bright tiles, and changing strength or volume is a swipe and a tap.

The Jura E8 has a 3.5-inch display between physical buttons. Each button controls the drink next to it, which makes it the easier machine for guests and older relatives.

On the E8, you can change strength and volume while a drink brews, and press the button mid-espresso to let it run longer. On the S8, you set it on screen before or during the drink, with finer steps.

The E8 also has the full maintenance dashboard and works with Jura’s app out of the box. On the S8, app control needs an optional adapter.

The E8’s buttons sit right next to each drink, so nobody has to learn a menu.

Our tip: On the S8, set your favorite drink’s strength once and save it, because ten levels give you room to fine-tune each bean.

Grinder and dose

Both machines grind fast with steel conical burrs, and both dose up to about 16 grams per brew, enough for a double shot or a 12-ounce mug in one pass.

The S8 uses Jura’s multi-level Aroma G3 grinder. In practice, its finest setting went a little finer than the E8’s, which showed up in the espresso.

On the E8, my 15-gram doses took about five seconds. Its finest setting still felt a touch coarse for a really heavy shot.

How fine each grinder went, my impression

Relative to each other, from side-by-side shots with the same beans.

With medium-dark roasts, the gap was small. With lighter roasts, the S8 kept its body while the E8 ran fast and tasted bright.

Our tip: Only change the grind while the grinder is running on either machine, so beans never jam the burrs.

Espresso quality

The S8 won the espresso round, and not by a hair.

Its 16-gram brew unit gave real body, with a thick, glossy crema✕CremaThe golden, foamy layer on top of a fresh espresso. It forms when pressure pushes oils and gases out of the coffee. and flavors of dark chocolate and caramel. Ten strength levels let me push a dark roast without it turning harsh.

The Jura E8 made a smooth espresso with an even crema and mild chocolate, but the body was a touch thin. In milk drinks that did not matter, but in a straight shot I noticed it.

The S8’s espresso had more body and a thicker crema with the same beans.

My espresso scores

My scores out of 10 for body, crema, flavor and consistency.

Long coffee and americano

Both machines handle big black coffees well, which surprised me less than the espresso gap did.

On the E8, the long coffee at about 5 ounces and the highest temperature was my most consistent mug of the month. It came out hot and sweet, with a lasting crema.

The E8 also has a one-touch americano✕AmericanoEspresso topped up with hot water. Done properly, the water is added separately instead of pushed through the coffee. that adds hot water after the espresso, keeping the cup clean and smooth.

The S8’s coffee and americano-style drinks were just as good, with a little more body thanks to the finer grind. Three temperature levels let me run long coffee hot without scorching it.

For black coffee drinkers, this round is close to a draw.

The E8’s long coffee at maximum temperature hides its slightly light espresso body.

Milk drinks

This is where the S8 earns its place.

Its interchangeable milk spout has a simple lever. One position gives silky, lightly textured latte milk; the other gives airy cappuccino foam.

On the E8, all milk drinks use very similar foam, and the difference is mostly the amount of milk. It is excellent microfoam, dense and silky, but there is only one texture.

The S8 also pours its cappuccino milk first, so the foam sits on top and holds the heat. My cups stayed warmer to the last sip than on the E8.

The E8’s frothed milk measured about 122°F on my probe thermometer, which is pleasant to sip at once but cool for many people.

The E8 wins on drink count. It has one-touch cortado✕CortadoA small drink of espresso cut with roughly the same amount of warm milk, with very little foam., flat white✕Flat whiteA short milk coffee with a double shot and a thin layer of silky microfoam. Stronger and less foamy than a cappuccino. and latte macchiato✕Latte macchiatoA tall glass of hot milk and foam with a shot of espresso poured in, so it forms layers., plus extra-shot versions of the big three.

One lever on the S8’s milk spout switches between silky latte milk and airy foam.

Our tip: Use cold milk straight from the fridge on both machines, because warm milk makes big, loose bubbles.

Hot water and tea

Both machines dispense hot water for tea and americanos.

The E8’s hot water measured about 176 to 185°F at its highest setting. That suits green and white tea but is a little cool for strong black tea.

The S8 offers water at green-tea temperature as well as hotter water, which made it the more flexible tea machine in my kitchen.

Our tip: Keep a kettle for black tea with either machine, and use the machine’s water for green tea and americanos.

Cleaning and upkeep

Neither machine has a removable brew unit✕Brew unitThe part that compresses the ground coffee, holds it while water passes through and ejects the used puck.. Both run a cleaning program with a tablet when they ask for it.

Both recognize the Jura water filter automatically, which stretches descaling✕DescalingRunning a mild acid through the machine to dissolve the mineral scale that hard water leaves in the heater and pipes. intervals and removes guesswork.

On the E8, the frothing head drops down and comes apart without tools, so I rinsed the air valve and nozzle every day. Its pre-ground chute is fully removable for washing.

The S8’s milk spout also comes apart easily, and its lever mechanism rinsed clean under warm water. The S8 scored a little higher for cleaning in my reviews, mainly because its spout and drip tray are easier to reach.

My cleaning scores

My scores out of 10 for daily and weekly care.

Daily use and noise

Day to day, the E8 was the machine anyone could use, and the S8 was the machine I enjoyed using.

Guests never needed help with the E8’s buttons. With the S8, they needed one look at the screen, and then they were exploring strength levels on their own.

The E8’s grinder is quick, but its brew unit gears make a noticeable clunk during preparation and when the puck drops. The S8 felt a little smoother and quieter in the same kitchen.

My mornings settled into a rhythm on both. Switch on, let the machine rinse, press the drink. From button to cup took about a minute on either.

On weekends, when I made a round of four drinks, both recovered quickly between cups. Neither ever made me wait for heat, thanks to their thermoblocks.

The real difference was how much I thought about the drink. On the E8, I pressed and walked away. On the S8, I often nudged the strength or switched the milk lever, because the screen made it so easy.

Noise, my ranking

Relative loudness from side-by-side use. Shorter bars are quieter.

The E8’s cup light is a small touch that really helps in a dark kitchen.

Is the step up to the S8 worth it?

Because both share capacity, the step up buys you three things: a better espresso, a second milk texture and a bigger, nicer screen.

If you mostly drink cappuccinos and lattes, the milk lever alone may justify it. Being able to choose silky latte milk or airy foam changed how good my morning drinks were.

If you mostly want a reliable, easy machine with the widest one-touch menu, the Jura E8 gives you more drinks and better maintenance tracking for less.

What the step up buys, my scores

Difference between my S8 and E8 scores out of 10.

In my reviews, the S8 scored 8.8 overall against 8.1 for the E8. That gap is real, and it shows in the cup.

My four weeks with both machines

Living with each machine for a month showed things a quick test never does. Here is how my four weeks went, side by side.

Week one: setting up and dialing in

Both machines were ready in minutes. I tested my water hardness with the strip, fitted the filter and let each one rinse.

The first three drinks on both were weak while the grinders settled, so I threw them away. By day three, the S8 was on a fine setting at strength level seven, and the E8 was on its finest setting at the strongest level.

Week two: chasing the perfect espresso

I used the same medium-dark blend in both. The S8 needed fewer tweaks to taste full, and its extra strength levels let me find a sweet spot between rich and harsh.

The E8 got close with darker beans. With a lighter single origin, I had to extend the shot mid-brew to soften the sourness.

Week three: lattes and cappuccinos

Week three was all milk. The S8’s lever quickly became a habit: latte milk for my partner’s morning latte, foam for my afternoon cappuccino.

On the E8, the foam was lovely but always the same texture, and its cooler milk meant I pre-warmed every cup.

Week four: maintenance and routine

Both machines asked for a milk clean and showed filter status. The E8’s dashboard laid every task out at a glance, which I liked.

The S8 simply prompted me on its big screen when something was due. Neither job took more than a few minutes.

By week four, the S8 had become my default for anything I wanted to taste properly.

What I would change on each machine

No machine is perfect, and a month of daily use makes the small annoyances obvious.

On the Jura E8, I would add a milk temperature setting first. The foam is lovely, but at about 122°F, cappuccinos cool quickly unless you pre-warm the cup.

I would also like a slightly finer grinder for espresso, and a metal drip tray grid to match the chrome-look front.

On the Jura S8, I would include app control out of the box instead of needing an adapter. I would also let you set milk in milliliters rather than seconds, which would make recipes easier to share.

A removable brew unit would be welcome on both, because I like to see and rinse the part that does the most work.

None of these are deal-breakers. They are simply the things I noticed once the novelty wore off, and they help explain where each machine falls short of perfect.

Who actually needs the S8’s extras?

The S8’s three big extras are its touchscreen, its ten strength levels and its two-texture milk spout. Not everyone will use all of them.

If you drink the same cappuccino every morning, the milk lever is the extra you will feel most. If you drink straight espresso, the strength levels and finer grind matter most.

If you mainly drink long coffee and the occasional flat white, the Jura E8 already covers you, and its extra drinks and buttons might suit you better.

How much each group gains from the S8’s extras, in my view.

My honest test: if you can name which of the S8’s extras you would use every week, it is worth the step up. If you cannot, the E8 is the smarter buy.

Common mistakes to avoid

All of these become second nature within a week, and none of them is a reason to choose one machine over the other.

Living with each machine in a busy household

During my testing, both machines served the same four people: an espresso drinker, a latte fan, a long-coffee drinker and someone who mostly drinks green tea.

The Jura E8 handled that mix with the least explaining. Everyone found their button, and the extra-shot milk drinks pleased the latte fan who found regular cappuccinos too mild.

The Jura S8 handled it with more nuance. The espresso drinker loved the strength levels, the latte fan loved the silky milk setting and the tea drinker loved the green-tea water.

Neither machine has separate user profiles✕User profilesSeparate saved settings for each person, so everyone’s favorite drinks stay the way they like them., so everyone shares the same saved settings for each drink. In practice, we agreed on defaults and adjusted on the fly.

If your household has very different tastes, the S8’s finer controls make those on-the-fly changes quicker and more precise.

Beans, water and supplies

Both machines reward fresh coffee. Use whole beans within a few weeks of the roast date, and avoid very oily or flavored beans, which can clog the grinder over time.

Medium-dark roasts are the safe choice on the E8, because they taste full even when its grind is not ultra-fine. The S8 is more forgiving with lighter roasts, thanks to its finer grind and extra strength levels.

Fill both tanks with fresh, cold water every day, use the filter if your water is moderately hard and skip distilled water. Both use the same type of filters and cleaning tablets, so supplies are simple either way.

Check what is included where you buy, because milk containers, filters and cleaning tablets vary between bundles.

Our tip: Buy beans in bags you can finish within three weeks, because both grinders show off fresh coffee far better than stale.

Real-life scenarios

Specs only go so far. These are the situations where one machine clearly pulled ahead during my testing.

Lived with side by side, the S8 was the machine I reached for when the coffee mattered most.

My scorecard

These are my own scores out of 10. The first four come from my single reviews of each machine, and I added two rows that decide this matchup.

Jura E8

Jura S8

Overall, I rate the E8 8.1 and the S8 8.8. The S8 is the better coffee machine; the E8 is the simpler one with more buttons and more drinks.

Which one should you buy?

It comes down to what you value more: the best coffee and milk in this size, or the simplest machine with the most drinks.

For espresso and latte lovers, the S8 is the machine worth stretching for.

Jura E8 vs S8 specifications

From manufacturer specifications and my own testing.

How I tested and compared them

I used each machine as my everyday coffee maker for four weeks, making espresso, long coffee, americanos, cappuccinos, lattes and tea water.

I weighed doses and yields, measured milk and hot water temperatures with a probe thermometer and worked through the grind and strength ranges.

I then compared my notes with Jura’s specifications, owner documentation and published test data.

• Coffee: dose, crema, body and consistency.
• Milk: foam texture, temperature and drink range.
• Workflow: controls, menus and daily routine.
• Ownership: noise, cleaning, water care and footprint.