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“I think that any bad Gaggia Classic reviews may be...”

written by Bikerbird on 16/10/2008

Good Points
Everything - looks fantastic, produces great, hot, espresso and lattes

Bad Points
Messy but they all are, that's the fun

General Comments
I think that any bad Gaggia Classic reviews may be because people don't realise when they buy them that there is a fair amount of work involved in producing a good cup of espresso with a manual pump machine. Personally, I enjoy the fact that it is a bit technical but this may not be everyone's cup of espresso.
Also I'm sure there are few 'Friday afternoon' machines out there but mine doesn't seem to be one of them.
I managed to get a great latte at my second attempt. The first one was a bit weak because I was too frugal with the coffee and tamping. I've used an old fashioned lever machine in the past and this is miles easier to get good consistant results. The milk frother was fantastic, great results first time.
This machine is of robust build and looks good without being fussy. Simple rocker switches are probably more reliable than buttons.
Many people complain that you can't get hot enough coffee from home machines but this is not the case with the Classic.
You have too wait a very short time between functions (foamer and espresso) but only really the time it takes to gather all the bits together and the machine warms up quickly when first switched on.
You can also dispense hot water through the steam nozzle for people who want tea so it can just be switched on in the morning and be used for everyone's favourite drink.

I don't know if I'm doing things optimally but this works for me.
Latte:
1 Give the machine time to warm up
2 don't forget to pre-warm the filter group for best results
3 dispense some hot water into the mug to warm
4 Put coffee (to taste) in filter and tamp down gently but firmly - install on the machine
5 Place small espresso cup or shot glass under group
6. Run water through to dispense espresso until crema forms and stop before it runs clear. This only takes a few seconds.
(about 1/3 of espresso cup).
7 switch to foamer
8. Use a fair amount of steam for foamer (shouldn't take more than about 1min - don't let it boil)
9 Tip hot water from mug and add frothed milk
10 tip in the espresso

I found that ready ground espresso coffee works fine if it's good quality. Freshly groung coffee is probably better but this is good enough for me. I haven't tried pods but there is a filter for them with this machine.

I would definitely recommend this machine