Quick Answer: I recommend the Jura ENA 8 over the Jura E8. The differences between the two machines are tiny, and I don’t think that the Jura E8 comes close to costing $500+ more than the Jura ENA 8.
Jura released the Jura ENA 8 intending it to be a more compact version of the Jura E8.
In this comparison of the Jura ENA 8 vs E8, I’m going to explain why I recommend you get the Jura ENA 8 over the Jura E8.
Let’s get started.
Should I Buy the Jura E8 or the Jura ENA 8?
I recommend you get the Jura ENA 8 instead of the Jura E8. You’ll get much better value with the Jura ENA 8 than the Jura E8.
The only differences between the two machines are:
- The Jura E8’s drip coffee (called “coffee” on the two machines’ menus) is better than the Jura ENA 8’s. The two machines’ espresso and milk drinks are identical.
- The Jura E8 has a larger water reservoir and bean hopper than the Jura ENA 8.
- The Jura E8 has two extra menu options than the Jura ENA 8.
These differences are not enough (or even close to being enough) to justify you spending an extra $500 on the Jura E8 rather than the ENA 8.
So I recommend the Jura ENA 8 as I think it offers much better value for money than the Jura E8.
Jura ENA 8
There’s little between the Jura ENA 8 and the Jura E8, so I think you’re much better off getting the Jura ENA 8 as it’s significantly cheaper than the Jura E8.
I’d only recommend getting the Jura E8 instead of the Jura ENA 8 if one of these three statements applies to you:
- You’re going to be drinking a lot of the machine’s drip-style coffee.
- You’re buying the machine for an office.
- You can somehow find the Jura E8 for cheaper than the ENA 8.
I don’t think this will apply to many people, especially as no super-automatic espresso machine (the Jura E8 included) makes drip coffee as well as a $20 French press.
So if I wanted a super-automatic espresso machine and also was going to drink longer coffees, then I’d just get the Jura ENA 8 and a separate French press.
What are the Differences Between the Jura E8 and Jura ENA 8?
| Specification | Jura E8 | Jura ENA 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Available Black Drinks | 7 | 6 |
| Available Milk Drinks | 8 | 7 |
| Available Milk Texture Settings | 1 | 1 |
| Brew Basket Capacity | 5g-16g per drink | 6g-10g per drink |
| Dimensions (Width x Depth x Height) | 11″ W × 17.6″ D x 13.8″ H | 10.7″ W × 17.5″ D x 12.7″ H |
| Water Tank Capacity | 64 oz | 37.2 oz |
| Bean Hopper Capacity | 10 oz | 4.4 oz |
There are three key differences between the Jura E8 and Jura ENA 8:
- The Jura E8 can brew with more ground coffee than the Jura ENA 8.
- The Jura E8 has a larger water tank and bean hopper than the Jura ENA 8.
- The Jura E8 has two more menu items than the Jura ENA 8.
I’ll now run through how these differences affect each machine’s performance and usability.
The Jura E8 Has a Larger Brewing Basket Than the Jura ENA 8
The Jura E8’s larger brewing basket means that it can make better drip-style coffee than the Jura ENA 8. Their espressos are the same.
The Jura E8 can brew with up to 16 grams of ground coffee at one time. The Jura ENA 8 can only brew with up to 10 grams of ground coffee at one time.
Since a single espresso is brewed with nine grams of coffee, and both machines grind two doses of coffee for their double espressos, the ENA 8 and the E8 brew espresso (both singles and doubles) to the same standard despite these different-sized brewing baskets.
The different brew baskets are noticeable when it comes to the machine’s larger drip-style coffees.
The Jura ENA 8 cannot brew a coffee larger than 5.5 oz without it being watery – it simply doesn’t hold enough ground coffee to brew with this volume of water.
The Jura E8 can brew up to 8 oz of coffee and still have the ideal 1:16 ground coffee to water ratio that you want for a strong filter coffee.
I still wouldn’t recommend getting the Jura E8 instead of the Jura ENA 8 if you’re going to make a lot of longer black drinks.
Neither the E8 nor the ENA 8 are great at making this beverage as they brew them too quickly.
If you want to make longer black drinks in addition to espresso and milk drinks then I recommend getting the Jura ENA 8 and then just getting a separate $20 French press.
This is a much cheaper solution and will allow you to make better long coffees than any Jura machine can.
The Jura E8 has More Menu Items Than the Jura ENA 8
Although the Jura E8 has two more menu items than the Jura ENA 8, you can easily recreate these by customizing the Jura ENA 8’s existing drinks.
The Jura has two more specialty drink options than the Jura ENA 8: a macchiato and an Americano.
A macchiato is an espresso followed by 4 seconds of milk foam. You can recreate it on the Jura ENA 4 by brewing a cappuccino and turning down the milk foam to 4 seconds of dispensing time.
An Americano is a 4.5 oz espresso topped with plain hot water.
Again, you can recreate this with the Jura ENA 4 by making an espresso, turning up the volume to 4.5 oz, and then using the machine’s hot water feature to top it with hot water.
Both machines allow you to customize your coffee’s strength, size, and milk volume to the same degrees (although the Jura E8 gives you a bit more range for your coffee’s strength) so you really can create whatever drink you want with either machine by playing around with its settings.
Both machines give you the option to save your programmed settings as the menu item’s default settings going forward.
The Jura E8 Has a Larger Water Reservoir and Bean Hopper Than the Jura ENA 8
The Jura E8’s larger bean hopper and water tank means that it needs to be refilled less often than the Jura ENA 8.
The table below shows how many times each espresso machine needs to be filled up with coffee beans and water.
| Jura E8 | Jura ENA 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Water Tank Capacity | 64 oz | 37.2 oz |
| Approx Number Of Coffees Before Each Water Tank Refill | 10 | 5 |
| Bean Hopper Capacity | 10 oz | 4.4 oz |
| Approx Number of Coffees Before Each Bean Hopper Refill | 30 | 12 |
Honestly, I’d only care about having this extra capacity if I were buying a coffee machine for an office.
Filling your machine with beans and water after every five or so drinks isn’t too much of an issue at home, especially when you consider that the Jura ENA 8’s water reservoir is attached to the outside of the machine and can be easily carried with one hand.
What Are the Similarities Between the Jura E8 and Jura ENA 8?
Here are the similarities that the Jura E8 and Jura ENA 8 share.
They Both Make the Same Standard of Espresso
The Jura E8 and ENA 8 both use Jura’s patented Pulse Extraction Process and Jura’s Aroma G3 grinder, so their brewing mechanisms are identical.
This means that they both make the same (very high) standard of espresso.
As I said earlier, the Jura E8’s larger brewer basket means it makes better drip-style coffee than the Jura ENA 8.
However since espresso only needs 9 grams of ground coffee per shot, and the Jura ENA 8 holds up to 10 grams of coffee in its basket, their espressos are identical.
They Both Steam Milk to the Same Standard
The Jura E8 and ENA 8 have identical milk steaming systems.
They can both only steam milk to one texture, so your latte macchiatos, cappuccinos, and flat whites only differ in their ratios of coffee to milk (rather than in their texture).
They can also both only steam milk to one temperature.
I’ve seen people complain about both machines not steaming milk to a high enough temperature.
If you want very hot lattes then you will need a machine with a steam wand so you can control this temperature yourself.
In short, if you are only going to drink milk drinks then just get whichever machine is cheaper (this is almost always the Jura ENA 8) as they both make milk drinks to the same standard.
They Have Very Similar User Interfaces
Both machines are operated by button-controlled display screens.
They both have the exact same workflow for selecting and customizing your drinks, as well as accessing their cleaning cycles.
They Both Let You Customize Your Drinks in the Same Way
Both machines let you customize:
- Your drink’s strength on a scale of one to ten (although there are bigger differences between each step on the Jura E8).
- Your drink’s size to the nearest half ounce.
- Your drink’s milk volume to the nearest second dispensing time
- Your drink’s temperature on a scale of one to three.
Both machines let you make these changes “on the fly” as you brew your drink and will give you the option to save your settings as the machine’s default after each drink you make.
Their grinders both have bypass dosers which lets you brew with pre-ground coffee if you want.
They Both Have the Same Basic Cleaning and Maintenance Procedures
Both machines have the following cleaning and maintenance procedures:
- They both need to have their drip tray and used coffee ground container emptied every few days (the Jura ENA 8 needs this more regularly than the Jura E8 because its drip tray and used coffee ground container are smaller).
- They both run a rinse cycle turning on and turning off.
- They both need to have their milk spout cleaned after every milk drink. Here is a video on how to do this.
- They both need to have their brewing system cleaned using cleaning tablets after every 180 drinks that it make.
- Neither machine needs to be descaled if you use Jura smart Claris water filters.
- They both need to have their rubber milk pipe changed every 3 months.
They Are Both the Same Size (Contrary to What Jura Tells You)
The Jura ENA 8 and Jura E8 have the same size footprint. The Jura E8 is only one inch taller than the Jura ENA 8.
The Jura ENA 8 is marketed as a more compact version of the Jura E8. However, once you take into account the Jura ENA 8’s water tank being attached beside the machine (rather than built into the machine like the E8) the two machines are actually the same size.
They Both Can Be Operated With Your Phone if Only You Buy a Separate Adaptor
Both machines can connect to Jura’s J.O.E. app which allows you to control the machine from your phone.
Although the app is cool and works well, I don’t like how you have to buy an adaptor separately to use the app.
Jura machines are already very expensive compared to other manufacturers.
Since most other manufacturers’ equivalently-priced machines have app connectivity sold with them as standard, it’s a bit outrageous that you have to buy it separately with the Jura E8 and ENA 8.
They Both Have a Similar Level of Durability
Both machines use the same single thermoblock heating system where their coffee brewing and milk steaming systems are powered by the same heating element.
The heating element is usually the part of an espresso machine that stops working first, so you can expect the Jura E8 and Jura ENA 8 to last you about the same amount of time.
Both machines also come with a two-year warranty from Jura as standard.
I’ll now assess these two machines across the following criteria:
- Coffee quality
- Milk steaming performance
- Functionalities
- User-friendliness
- Design and durability
- Value for money
Coffee Quality
While the two machines make identical espresso, the Jura E8 makes better drip-style coffee (called “coffee” on the two machine’s menus) because of its larger brew basket.
This difference is particularly noticeable if you make larger servings of this drip-style coffee.
The Jura ENA 8 can only brew 5.5 oz of coffee at the ideal 1:16 ground coffee to water ratio, the Jura E8 can brew up to 8 oz of coffee at this ratio.
To keep things in perspective, the two machine’s espresso and milk drinks are identical.
So this difference in coffee quality is marginal.
Coffee Quality Winner: Jura E8 (but only just)
Milk Steaming Performance
The two machines have the exact same milk-steaming mechanism.
Although their milk frothers are positioned differently on each machine, the frothers themselves are the same. They both steam milk to the same single temperature and texture.
If you want multiple milk textures then I’d recommend the Delonghi Dinamica Plus instead of the Jura E8 or ENA 8.
Milk Steaming Performance Winner: Draw
Functionalities
The Jura E8 has a slightly wider range of coffee types and coffee strength settings than the Jura ENA 8.
As I said earlier, you can recreate all the Jura E8’s additional coffee types on the ENA 8 by playing around with its settings.
The only thing that you can do with the Jura E8 that you cannot do with the Jura ENA 8 is make a large drip coffee. Even then the Jura ENA 8 lets you make a double drip coffee where it will grind two doses of coffee to give you the strength you need.
So really there isn’t anything that you can do with the Jura E8 which you can’t also do with the Jura ENA 8. It might just take a few more button presses to do this with the Jura ENA 8.
Functionalities Winner: Jura ENA 8 (but only just)
User Friendliness
Both machines have the same user interface, workflow, and cleaning procedures.
Although you could argue that the Jura E8 requires less cleaning and maintenance because of its larger water reservoir and used coffee grounds container, this difference in upkeep is tiny.
User Friendliness Winner: Draw
Design and Durability
Both machines have the same basic design and use the same internal components.
You can therefore reasonably expect them to last the same amount of time.
The Jura ENA 8 is slightly sleeker, whereas the Jura E8 is more boxy, but I guess this is the price you pay for the E8 to have a larger water tank and used coffee grounds container than the ENA 8.
Design and Durability Winner: Draw
Value for Money
The Jura ENA 8 offers far, far better money than the Jura E8.
If you’ve gotten this far then you can probably see that the differences between the Jura E8 vs Jura ENA 8 are marginal.
Performance, functionality, and durability-wise the two machines are practically identical.
So I just can’t see where you get the value in paying $500 more for the Jura E8 than the Jura ENA 8.
The Jura ENA 8 is the better value of the two machines by miles. This is the main reason why I recommend the Jura ENA 8 instead of the Jura E8.
Value for Money Winner: Jura ENA 8 (by a long way)
Jura E8 vs ENA 8: Final Verdict
I recommend the Jura ENA 8 over the Jura E8. The Jura ENA 8 offers better value for money than the Jura E8.
Jura ENA 8
There’s little between the Jura ENA 8 and the Jura E8, so I think you’re much better off getting the Jura ENA 8 as it’s significantly cheaper than the Jura E8.
