Oscar II vs. Oscar Mood: Which is Right for You?

If you’re looking for a prosumer-level home espresso machine, then the Oscar machines from Nuova Simonelli should definitely be on your shortlist, as some of the best home espresso machines on the market right now.

Nuova Simonelli is best-known for making some of the best professional espresso machines in the world. With the Oscar line, home users can also benefit from Nuova Simonelli’s advanced technology and reliable build quality. While they are attractively priced, the Oscar machines are even rugged enough to be used in light commercial settings, such as small hotels and offices. This alone tells you that for the home barista, these are surely machines that you can rely on.

The Oscar II was launched in 2016. This stylish machine was an upgrade to the much loved Oscar, first released in 1999, and was quickly hailed as one of the best home espresso machines on the market.

Last year, Nuova Simonelli announced the Oscar Mood, a revamped model of the Oscar II with a more modern design and a wider choice of colors. The differences are more than just cosmetic, however. In fact, the Oscar Mood has some important improvements under the hood as well that make it more user-friendly and, most importantly, make the espresso taste even better.

If you’re buying one of these machines today, you have a choice of the Oscar Mood, or two slightly different versions of the Oscar II. This guide will explain the differences between these three models to help you choose which one is right for you.

Design

The first thing you’ll notice about the new Oscar Mood is that the design has been updated. The original Oscar II has a striking Art Deco-style appearance, with the angular, stainless steel body and the distinctive grooves in the group head contributing to the architectural feel of the design.

On the other hand, the Oscar Mood has softer, smoother lines, especially around the group head. It features a wooden portafilter handle, which helps the machine look less ‘industrial’, but also feels great in hand. The result is a sleek modern design that can fit into any home interior. 

In addition, there are four subtle colors to choose from: black, ruby red, a muted green shade called ‘guacamole,’ and ‘taupe,’ a soft dove-gray color. With these options, it’s easy to find a shade to fit your aesthetic.

But it’s the attention given to the small details that really make the Oscar Mood stand out. It has a re-designed drip tray with an attractive circular mesh instead of a plain grid. In addition, it features a button to control the steam electronically, instead of the protruding lever found on the Oscar II, which makes the overall design much slicker. Finally, the Oscar Mood features a digital display, and higher-quality materials were used for the buttons and other parts, which give the machine a more premium feel overall.

Enhanced Control

The Oscar Mood’s digital display makes it easier for the barista to control the machine. The display makes it much simpler to program the machine and change the settings, and also quickly alerts the barista to any issues, such as the water tank being empty.

In addition, the display helps the barista make better coffee. It includes a timer, which allows the barista to monitor the progress of every shot, and it also shows the temperature and pressure of the machine.

By contrast, the Oscar II doesn’t have a display, so the options to control the machine are much more limited.

The PID

At the core of the Oscar Mood is a device known as a PID. This is an electronic controller that precisely regulates the temperature of the boiler.

The PID inside the Oscar Mood has two important functions:

• It delivers a more stable brewing temperature. This makes for a more consistent, better-tasting espresso.
• It allows the user to change the brewing temperature.

Having a stable brewing temperature is vital to making great espresso. Brewing water that is too hot or too cold can easily ruin the flavor of the coffee.

In addition, having precise control over the brewing temperature allows serious home baristas to experiment with different flavor profiles in their coffee. For example, a barista might choose a higher temperature to get more flavor out of a lighter roast or use a lower temperature to avoid burnt flavors in a dark roast. The PID makes this control possible.

In the Oscar II, on the other hand, there is no PID, but instead, the temperature of the machine is set at the factory between 92 and 96° C. As a result, the user is not able to adjust the temperature, and the brewing temperature is likely to be less consistent, which makes for less consistent espresso.

The OPV

Another core feature of the Oscar Mood is the Over Pressure Valve or OPV. This valve limits the maximum pressure inside the machine to 9 bars, the same pressure that is used in commercial machines.

Without an OPV, pressures inside the machine can reach as high as 15 bars, which can create channeling and give the espresso an acrid, burnt flavor. The only way to reduce the brewing pressure in machines without an OPV is to choose a coarser grind size. This can be a problem, especially for lighter-roasted coffees or for recipes like ristretto that rely on a fine-grind setting. Therefore, for the home barista who enjoys specialty coffee, the OPV is essential.

The original Oscar II did not include an OPV. There is now also an option to buy the Oscar II with an OPV fitted, which we highly recommend.

The Oscar Mood, by contrast, comes with the OPV as standard, so the machine will always deliver the perfect pressure for rich espresso, even with light roasted coffee.

Greater Convenience

The Oscar Mood has some nice extra features that simply make the barista’s life a bit easier. The most popular of these is the cool-touch steam wand. Cool-touch steam wands are insulated so that you won’t accidentally burn your fingers when you touch them! They are also much easier to keep clean, because milk residue will not burn onto the steam wand. At the same time, they are just as powerful and easy to use as the traditional steam wands on the Oscar II.

Both the Oscar II and the Oscar Mood feature a timed dosing function, which means that you can program the machine to stop the extraction after a certain number of seconds instead of having to stop each espresso manually. In the Oscar Mood, the digital display makes setting the right time much easier, as you can easily check the programmed settings on display. On the Oscar II, by contrast, you have to rely on your own timer to set exactly the right extraction time.

You can also program the Oscar Mood to power up or switch off automatically at certain times. This handy feature means that you don’t have to wait for the machine to warm up in the morning but can set it to be ready for you when you get up.

Even if you didn’t program the machine to turn on automatically, the Oscar Mood also heats up pretty quickly, being ready to go around 15 minutes after you switch it on. The Oscar II, on the other hand, takes a little longer: most users recommend leaving it for around half an hour to fully heat up. Since the Oscar II doesn’t have a timer to switch on automatically, this can be inconvenient on a busy morning.

The Right Choice

Both the Oscar II and the Oscar Mood are excellent home machines with many similarities, so whichever model you opt for will be a great choice.

Both machines are heat exchanger (HX) espresso machines, which means they allow you to make espresso and steam milk simultaneously. Their 2-liter boilers mean they have enough capacity for light commercial use, and they will handle anything that a home barista can throw at them.

All of the Oscar models use professional-grade components, including a group head design derived from commercial machines and a full-size 58mm portafilter, the same standard found in cafes all over the world. They both have powerful steam wands, ideal for experienced baristas who want to make great latte art.

Accordingly, any of the Oscar machines can make coffees that are just as good as the coffee you’d buy in a cafe but come at a very reasonable price. If you prefer the space-age looks of the Oscar II, and don’t need the additional features, then it is an excellent machine to choose for any home barista setup — although we certainly recommend the version with the OPV already fitted.

On the other hand, the added features of the Oscar Mood make it much easier to use and can greatly improve the flavor of your coffee. For serious home baristas, the Oscar Mood is the obvious choice.

In addition, the sleek design of the Oscar Mood can fit anywhere, bringing a modern touch to your office or to your coffee corner at home. Together, these differences make it well worth considering an upgrade to the Oscar Mood.