Jura ENA 4 vs E8: do you need milk drinks?

ENA 4 vs E8 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 ENA 4 and E8 have in common

These two sit at very different points in Jura’s range, but they share the basics.

Both are fully automatic bean-to-cup machines with 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 the Professional Aroma Grinder and its 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 both make espresso and coffee at one touch.

Both recognize Jura’s CLEARYL Smart+✕CLEARYL Smart+ filterJura’s water filter cartridge. It sits in the tank and removes minerals and off-flavors, so the machine needs descaling far less often. automatically and both have fixed brew units cleaned with a tablet when prompted.

So both make good coffee from the same family of parts. The real question is whether you need milk drinks, hot water and more capacity.

If the answer is no to all three, the ENA 4 is a lovely machine. If it is yes to any of them, the E8 is the safer buy.

Both are also quick from a cold start, ready to brew in about a minute after switching on.

And both are well built, with solid housings that showed no wear after a month of daily use.

The difference is what each adds on top: the ENA 4 adds nothing and stays tiny, the E8 adds milk, hot water and a menu.

Design, size and build

The Jura ENA 4 is Jura’s most compact machine: about 10.7 inches wide, 12.7 inches tall and 17.5 inches deep, at about 19 lb. Its tall rear tank gives it a striking, design-led shape.

The Jura E8 is full-size: about 11 inches wide, 13.8 inches tall and 17.6 inches deep, at about 21.2 lb, with a chrome-look front and a small cup light.

Under my low wall cabinets, the ENA 4 fit with room to lift its hopper lid. The E8 needed a short pull forward.

The ENA 4 is Jura’s most compact machine, with a striking rear tank.

Height on the counter. Lower is easier under wall cabinets.

The ENA 4 needs a little room behind it for its tank. The E8 needs a few inches on its tank side and room beside it for a milk container.

In a dark kitchen, the E8’s cup light is a nice touch. The ENA 4’s lit symbols are subtler.

Our tip: Measure the gap under your wall cabinets first, because the ENA 4 fits about an inch lower than the E8.

Both look good on a counter. The ENA 4 is the one guests comment on; the E8’s chrome front looks modern and tidy.

Both need a little space for their tanks: the ENA 4 behind, the E8 to one side. Think about where the machine will actually sit before you choose.

Symbol buttons vs a display with buttons

The Jura ENA 4 has symbol buttons on top for espresso, coffee and their doubles. There is no display. You program strength and volume once, and then it does the same thing every time.

The Jura E8 has a 3.5-inch color display with a physical button beside each drink. It is one of the easiest Jura menus I have used, and guests worked it out without asking.

The E8 adds a maintenance dashboard and works with Jura’s J.O.E. app. The ENA 4 needs an optional adapter for app control.

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

For one person with one drink, the ENA 4’s buttons are perfect. For a household, the E8’s display and dashboard are far easier.

Both show maintenance alerts clearly, so you always know when a filter change or cleaning cycle is due.

Guests found the E8 far easier. The ENA 4’s symbols needed a quick explanation the first time.

Water tank, hopper and dose

The E8 holds far more. Its tank holds about 64 ounces and its hopper about 10 ounces, with a grounds bin for about 16 pucks. The ENA 4 holds about 37 ounces of water and 4.4 ounces of beans, with a bin for about 10 pucks.

The dose✕DoseThe weight of ground coffee used for one brew. A bigger dose gives a stronger, fuller drink. differs too. The E8 takes 5 to 16 grams per brew, so doubles and big mugs come in one pass. The ENA 4 takes about 6 to 10 grams, so they take two cycles.

Manufacturer figures, rounded.

For one person making two or three espressos a day, the ENA 4 was perfectly sized. For a family, the E8 went days between refills while the ENA 4 would need daily attention.

Our tip: Fill the ENA 4’s tank every evening, so the first coffee of the day never stops halfway.

Milk drinks also stretch the E8’s tank further, because milk replaces some of the water in each cup.

A double espresso on the ENA 4 took about a minute longer than on the E8, because of its two brewing cycles.

Grinder and noise

Both use Jura’s Professional Aroma Grinder with steel burrs, and both grind quickly, which limits heat and keeps the aromas intact.

The ENA 4 is the quieter machine by a clear margin. Its grinder makes a soft, short burst, and it was the quietest Jura I have tested.

The E8’s grinder is fast, about five seconds for a 15-gram dose, but the gears that move its brew unit make a noticeable clunk during preparation and when the puck drops.

The E8’s grinder is fast, but its brew gears are the louder of the two.

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

In an open-plan apartment at 6 a.m., that difference is real. In a separate kitchen, you will barely notice it.

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

Neither machine needed grind changes after the first week. Once set, both repeated the same shot every morning.

Espresso quality

This is the ENA 4’s strongest point.

It pulled sweet, balanced espresso with a dense golden crema✕CremaThe golden, foamy layer on top of a fresh espresso. It forms when pressure pushes oils and gases out of the coffee., the kind of shot you can drink without sugar. Its short pre-infusion✕Pre-infusionA short soak of the ground coffee before full pressure starts, so water flows through the puck evenly. kept extraction even.

The Jura E8 made a smooth espresso with an even crema and mild chocolate, but the body was a touch thin for me. Its finest grind setting felt slightly coarse for a really heavy shot.

My espresso scores

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

With lighter roasts, the gap widened. The ENA 4 kept its sweetness on a fine setting, while the E8 tasted bright until I extended the shot.

In milk drinks, the E8’s lighter body disappears, so cappuccino drinkers will not notice it.

Long coffee and americano

For big mugs, the E8 pulls ahead.

Its long coffee, set to about 5 ounces at the highest temperature, came out hot and sweet with a lasting crema. Its one-touch americano✕AmericanoEspresso topped up with hot water. Done properly, the water is added separately instead of pushed through the coffee. adds water after the espresso.

The ENA 4’s long coffee was its weakest drink, mild and made in two cycles for a big mug. It has no hot water, so americanos need a kettle.

Our tip: Set the E8’s long coffee to maximum temperature, because it hides the slightly light body its espresso shows on its own.

For travel mugs, both fit standard mugs under their spouts. On the ENA 4, a big mug simply takes a minute longer.

Milk drinks: the deciding difference

The Jura ENA 4 has no milk system at all.

The Jura E8 draws milk through a hose and froths it with the Venturi effect✕Venturi effectWhen steam rushes through a narrow channel, it creates suction. Jura frothers use it to pull milk up the hose and mix in air.. Its foam is dense, smooth microfoam✕MicrofoamMilk foam with bubbles so small you can barely see them. It feels silky and glossy, which is what a good flat white or cappuccino needs., and its menu covers cappuccino, 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., latte macchiato✕Latte macchiatoA tall glass of hot milk and foam with a shot of espresso poured in, so it forms layers., cortado✕CortadoA small drink of espresso cut with roughly the same amount of warm milk, with very little foam., macchiato and extra-shot versions.

The catch is temperature: its milk measured about 122°F, which feels cool unless you pre-warm the cup.

For anyone who drinks milk drinks, this is the whole comparison. The E8 does 17 drinks at one touch; the ENA 4 cannot do one without a separate frother.

Plant milks behaved predictably on the E8. Barista-style oat milk foamed well, regular oat and almond made looser foam and whole milk gave the sweetest result.

The E8’s silky foam and 17-drink menu are the reason to choose it.

Our tip: Use cold milk straight from the fridge on the E8, because warm milk makes big, loose bubbles.

If you own the ENA 4 and want an occasional cappuccino, a handheld frother gets you part of the way. It is a workaround, and it adds another gadget to a small counter.

Over the month, the E8’s extra-shot milk drinks were popular with the espresso drinker too, because they made up for its slightly lighter shot.

Hot water and tea

The E8 dispenses hot water for tea and americanos. At its highest setting, my cup measured about 176 to 185°F, which suits green tea but is a little cool for black tea.

The ENA 4 has no hot water function, so a kettle is needed for any tea.

For a household with a daily tea drinker, the E8 is genuinely useful. With the ENA 4, the kettle stays on the counter.

Neither is ideal for very strong black tea, which wants water close to boiling. For that, a kettle is still the best tool.

Cleaning and upkeep

The ENA 4 is one of the easiest Jura machines to clean, because it has no milk system.

Both have fixed brew unit✕Brew unitThe part that compresses the ground coffee, holds it while water passes through and ejects the used puck.s cleaned with a tablet when prompted and stretch the descaling✕DescalingRunning a mild acid through the machine to dissolve the mineral scale that hard water leaves in the heater and pipes. interval with filter recognition.

The E8 adds the milk side. Each day, its frothing head comes apart without tools, and I rinsed it in about a minute.

My cleaning scores out of 10.

Over a month, the E8’s milk side added roughly twenty minutes of cleaning. For daily cappuccino drinkers, that is a fair trade.

Both drip trays and grounds bins are easy to reach and empty.

Daily use and noise

Both settled into a quick rhythm: switch on, let it rinse, press a button. From button to cup took about a minute.

The ENA 4 suited my solo espresso mornings perfectly, and it was the quietest Jura I have tested.

The E8 suited a household. Four people each had a different drink, and nobody needed help finding theirs. Its brew gears make a noticeable clunk, though.

For a solo espresso drinker in a small kitchen, the ENA 4 is about as simple as it gets.

One habit I picked up on the ENA 4: refilling the tank every evening. With that routine, its small size never caught me out.

On the E8, I refilled the tank twice a week, and its cup light made early mornings a little easier.

Which suits which household

The rule is simple: one espresso drinker in a small space, choose the ENA 4. Anyone who wants milk, tea or big mugs, choose the E8.

Guests are another clue. On the E8, visitors found their drink immediately. On the ENA 4, I had to explain the symbols and apologize for the lack of milk.

For a couple who both drink espresso, the ENA 4 works well. The moment either of you wants a cappuccino, the E8 becomes the better choice.

What a full day of drinks looked like

I logged every drink each machine made on an ordinary Saturday with three adults at home.

The ENA 4 made six drinks: four espressos and two long coffees. Tea came from the kettle, and the cappuccino drinker went without. It needed one water refill and a bin empty.

The E8 made eleven drinks, including three flat whites, two cappuccinos and a latte macchiato. It needed no refill until the evening.

One Saturday, three adults, each machine on a different weekend.

On a solo weekday, the gap disappeared. Three espressos, no refills on either, and the ENA 4’s shots were the sweeter.

The E8 did not make better espresso. It made five extra drinks possible, and the household drank every one of them.

Making either work in a small kitchen

Many people considering the ENA 4 are short on space, so here is what I learned.

The ENA 4 can sit tight between a kettle and a wall, because its tank lifts out from the back. But without hot water, it means keeping the kettle on the counter too.

The E8 takes a little more space, but it replaces the kettle for most teas and adds milk drinks, so it can actually reduce clutter overall in a tea-and-coffee home.

Counter clutter for a coffee and tea household.

If you drink only espresso, the ENA 4 is the tidier choice. If tea or milk drinks are part of your day, the E8 may be the more space-efficient one.

Our tip: Keep a jug of filtered water and a spare bag of beans next to the ENA 4, so refills take seconds.

Both machines look good on a counter, so you are not trading style for space either way.

Which gives you more for your money?

In my reviews, the ENA 4 scored 8.3 and the E8 8.1. The ENA 4 scored higher because it does its one job very well.

The E8 does far more: 17 drinks, milk, hot water, an app, a dashboard and nearly twice the capacity.

If you need any of those, the E8 is the better value by a long way. If you do not, the ENA 4 gives you sweeter espresso in a smaller, quieter body.

My scores and drink counts from my single reviews.

Think about the next few years too. If a partner who loves cappuccinos moves in, the ENA 4 cannot grow with you.

If you can only choose one, ask a simple question: will anyone in your home want a cappuccino in the next year? A yes means the E8.

For a solo espresso drinker who is certain the answer is no, the ENA 4 will make you happy for years.

What I would change on each

On the Jura ENA 4, I would add a hot water spout and a bigger tank.

On the Jura E8, I would add a milk temperature setting and a finer grinder for espresso.

Both left me satisfied after a month. These are refinements, not reasons to avoid either one.

Neither left me wishing I had chosen the other for its own routine.

My four weeks with both machines

Living with each machine for a month showed things a quick test never does.

Week one: setup

Both were ready in minutes. The E8 was learned within an hour; the ENA 4 needed a few minutes with the manual to program volumes.

Week two: espresso

The ENA 4 won the espresso round from day three, with sweeter, more balanced shots.

Week three: milk

In week three, my partner wanted flat whites. The E8 made them at one touch; the ENA 4 could not.

Week four: routine

The ENA 4 needed its small bin emptied most evenings. The E8’s dashboard showed exactly what was due.

By week four, the E8 had become the machine the whole household used.

By the end of the month, the pattern was clear: the ENA 4 for solo espresso drinkers, the E8 for everyone else.

Beans, water and supplies

Both reward fresh whole beans used within a few weeks of roasting. Avoid very oily or flavored beans, which can clog the grinder.

Medium-dark roasts suit the E8 best for espresso. The ENA 4 handled lighter roasts beautifully, keeping their sweetness.

Fill the tanks with fresh, cold water daily, use the filter if your water is moderately hard and skip distilled water. Check what is included where you buy, because filters and cleaning tablets vary between bundles.

Both use Jura cleaning tablets, and the E8 also uses Jura’s milk cleaner, so supplies are simple either way.

Common mistakes to avoid

All of these become habits within a week.

None of these are reasons to choose one machine over the other. They are simply the habits that keep both running well.

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 E8 was the household machine and the ENA 4 the solo espresso one.

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 ENA 4

Jura E8

Overall, I rate the ENA 4 8.3 and the E8 8.1. The ENA 4 makes the better espresso; the E8 is the better machine for anyone who wants milk drinks.

Which one should you buy?

It comes down to milk. If anyone wants a cappuccino, buy the E8. If not, and space is tight, the ENA 4.

For homes where anyone drinks milk drinks, the E8 is the one to buy.

Jura ENA 4 vs E8 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 and doubles, plus cappuccinos, flat whites and tea water on the E8.

I counted refills, logged a full day of drinks on each and timed my daily cleaning.

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.