By tcsr205
on 23rd Jan 2004
tcsr205's Ratings
| Value for money | 7/10  |
|---|
| Overall value | 8/10 |
|---|
 tcsr205's recommendation |
Good Points
Solid, very good coffee, particularly the crema. Milk frother (steam nozzle) works extremely well.
Bad Points
Build quality is questionable. Rough edges, misaligned drainage hole and bad paintwork. Fiddly removal of coffee filters.
General Comments
I have just upgraded from a DeLonghi £50 machine to this Gaggia Classic. I was very excited about getting the Classic because I love the coffee making ritual so much. I'd heard it described as the Rolls Royce of coffee makers with talk of gold plated connections etc. I managed to get it for £240, which seemed like a pretty good deal. It arrived and I eagerly started to assemble it. This is where I started to get worried. I noticed that the drip tray cover was very badly finished. It had paint peeling off it and several of the drainage holes have been drilled awkwardly so that they are slightly bigger on one side than the other (as though the drill slipped or something). Also, there is a pressure release pipe which comes out of the machine and is supposed to go through a half inch hole in the drip tray cover. This hole is drilled about half an inch too far back, so I had to actually force the pipe into the hole where it is very hard up against one side and there is a big gap at the other side! It just wasn't what I was expecting from a machine, allegedly, of this class.
But, it does make very good coffee. The crema is much longer lasting than my old DeLongh. It's crema used to dissipate after a minute or so. The Gaggia's does not. It also makes brilliant frothed milk easily and every time without fail, my old machine was very hit and miss.
A final complaint. The filters fit very tightly into the filter holder. So tightly that I cannot get them out without prising them out with a knife.
So, do I like it? Yes I do, very much. It isn't the Rolls Royce but it is a decent Jag. Whoever made the drainage cover for it spoiled the product for a ha'peth of tar. What a shame.
Finally, and bizarrely, when I assembled it I was left with a seven inch by three inch, eight sided piece of black plastic about 1mm thick with lips all around on both sides. I have absolutely no idea what it is for. Neither did Gaggia's customer support line.
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