23 years before needing service. (Gaggia Classic Coffee)

Member Name: singdds

Product:	Gaggia Classic Coffee
Date:	29/01/09 (261 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: workhorse, incredibly reliable

Disadvantages: technique sensitive

I have had Coffee Gaggia espresso machine for the past 23 years! This the predecessor to the Classic and looks identical in every way but color. On average I have used it almost every day for those 23 years and only last month did it need servicing. They replaced an internal fuse and replaced the 23 year old group gasket. It is now back home and brews perfect shots every time. I would absolutely recommend this machine as an incredibly durable workhorse and a quality machine.
I will give it less than 5 stars for ease of use, because I find myself playing with the texture of my grind. It turns out this is my fault. For years I would grind it too fine and accept that my shots would take forever to drip through or I would grind it too course and find myself trying pound the tamper into the coffee to make up for the coarseness. I now use a consistent grind from a quality bur grinder, don't over fill, tamp to 30-40lb, and time my shots to 25-30 seconds. If I am not in that time frame I will adjust my grinder setting. All of this you will need to do for every semi automatic machine, so it may not be fair to say the Gaggia is any harder to use than any other semi automatic machine. Regardless of what machine you get, you need to study the following article so you can get the best results out of it. And by best I do mean better than Starbucks!
http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles.cfm?articl eID=27

Summary: totally reliable, and best price for this level of machine.

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