What is the JURA E6?
The machine in JURA's range where milk arrives, and the reason to look past the E4.
JURA publishes eleven specialities on the E6 and four of them involve milk: espresso macchiato, cappuccino, cappuccino extra shot and a portion of milk foam, alongside espresso, two espressos, coffee, two coffees, Caffe Barista, Lungo Barista and hot water. The milk comes from what JURA calls the Easy Cappuccino function, through an interchangeable spout it lists as HP1 / CX3.
The rest is JURA's usual apparatus: a variable brewing unit taking 5 to 16 grams, the Pulse Extraction Process, a Professional Aroma Grinder, a 280 gram bean container, a 1.9 litre tank, a 2.8 inch colour display and Wi-Fi. It weighs 20 lbs, draws 1450 watts, draws nothing at all on standby and is made in Portugal.
The E4 makes five drinks and none of them have milk
This is the whole decision between the two, and it is not a small one.
The JURA E4 costs around $1,399 and makes espresso, two espressos, coffee, two coffees and hot water. There is no milk system in it at all, no wand to add and no accessory that changes that. For a household that drinks black coffee it is a deliberate and rather elegant machine. For a household with one person who drinks lattes it is the wrong purchase at any price.
The E6 is where that stops being true. Roughly $500 more buys the milk circuit, four milk drinks and seven more strength steps, and nothing else in the two machines differs much: the same 5 to 16 gram brewing unit, the same Pulse Extraction Process, the same 1.9 litre tank and the same grinder. You are paying for milk and adjustment, which is a clearer proposition than most step-ups in this category.
Ten strength levels, which is the quiet upgrade
The headline is the milk. The setting you will use daily is this one.
JURA publishes ten individually programmable coffee strength levels on the E6 against three on the E4, plus three brewing temperatures and three hot water temperatures. On a bean-to-cup the grind is mostly out of your hands, so strength is the lever that decides whether a bag of light Ethiopian tastes thin or a dark Italian blend tastes scorched.
Ten steps is enough to tune per bag rather than per mood. It is the kind of specification that reads like a number on a box and turns out to be the thing you touch every week. What that adjustment is actually doing to the cup is in espresso beans against coffee beans.
The $75 nobody mentions on the spec sheet
The machine is Wi-Fi capable. It is not Wi-Fi equipped.
JURA's specification tab lists a Wi-Fi connection to a home network and compatibility with J.O.E., its app. What the specification tab does not say, and what JURA's own shop does, is that Wi-Fi Connect is not included with the E6 and is sold separately at $75.
That is worth knowing before you buy, because the app is how JURA machines are usually shown being used, and nothing on the machine's own page suggests the connection needs buying. It is not hidden, exactly. It is simply on a different page from the one that advertises the feature.
The filter claim, and what it is worth
JURA says the filter removes the need to descale. That is a stronger claim than most makers will sign.
The E6 takes a CLEARYL Smart+ cartridge with automatic filter detection, so the machine knows a cartridge has been fitted rather than waiting to be told. On its own CLEARYL page JURA states plainly that the filter eliminates the need to descale the machine.
Descaling is the chore that kills bean-to-cup machines, both because it is tedious and because skipping it is what eventually blocks a boiler. A maker willing to say the filter replaces it is making a commitment worth having in writing, and the cartridges are a running cost to price in. JURA publishes filter life by water hardness, from about 65 litres in soft water down to 40 in very hard, so how often you buy one depends on your tap.
JURA E6 vs the Gaggia Cadorna Prestige
$1,899 against $1,049, and both make milk drinks at a button.
The Gaggia Cadorna Prestige is the obvious alternative at this level and it scores higher on this site, because it publishes more and costs less. Both grind, brew and froth without you touching anything.
What the JURA answers with is the brewing unit and the upkeep: a published 5 to 16 gram dose, a filter its maker says ends descaling, zero watt standby and a two year warranty stated plainly. Whether that is worth $850 is a judgement about how long you expect to own it, and the JURA argument is a durability argument rather than a features one.
Is the JURA E6 worth it?
Worth it if you are stepping up from an E4 or replacing something that died of limescale.
As the milk-capable JURA it is coherent: eleven drinks, ten strength steps, a serious brewing unit and a filter system that takes the worst job off you. For a household that wants one button and a cappuccino, with as little maintenance as a machine like this allows, the case is real.
The warranty deserves reading before you pay. Two years or 6,000 brews, whichever comes first, means a house pulling eight drinks a day is out of cover in about two years, and 6,000 is not many for a machine bought to be used. Add the $75 for Wi-Fi if the app matters to you, and price it at $1,974 rather than $1,899.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if
- You want cappuccino and macchiato at a button from a machine built to last.
- You live somewhere hard-watered and want the filter to do the descaling.
- You want more than three strength settings to match different beans.
Skip it if
- You drink only black coffee, in which case the E4 does that job for $500 less.
- You brew heavily; the 6,000 brew cap on the warranty arrives quickly.
- You expect the app connection in the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the JURA E6 make cappuccino?
Yes. JURA lists eleven specialities including espresso macchiato, cappuccino, cappuccino extra shot and a portion of milk foam, through what it calls the Easy Cappuccino function.
What is the difference between the JURA E4 and E6?
Milk, mostly. The E4 makes five drinks and all are black. The E6 adds a milk system and four milk drinks, and goes from three coffee strength levels to ten.
Does the JURA E6 come with Wi-Fi?
No. The machine is listed as Wi-Fi capable and compatible with the J.O.E. app, but JURA's own shop states Wi-Fi Connect is not included and sells it separately at $75.
Does the JURA E6 need descaling?
JURA states that its CLEARYL Smart+ filter removes the need for descaling. The machine also has an integrated rinsing, cleaning and descaling programme.
What warranty does the JURA E6 have?
Two years or up to 6,000 coffee brewings, whichever comes first, as published by JURA's own shop. The machine's product page states no term.
