Gaggia Achille /GA 100

Advantages: Italian design, milk frother
Disadvantages: Cleaning coffee grind.

...Gaggia ********* Achille Gaggia produced the first modern steam-less coffee machine on 5 September 1938, and are now probably the most renowned brand in the world. PRICE ******** So why pay £250 for a Gaggia Classic espresso machine. If your a coffee lover and you have been to Starbucks, Caffe Nero or one of those other trendy coffee bars, when you open the door and you get that whiff of the fresh ground coffee being served to people lounging on sofas reading the free papers or chatting about life in general you will know why. The coffee machines that are in these shops cost thousands of pounds but do the same as the Gaggia Classic, they make a shot of espresso and froth milk. Yes you can buy cheaper coffee machines, filter, stove top, percolator and cafe-tier but these are not pump driven machines and you need a pump driven... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A wonderful array of hot drinks
Disadvantages: Other than price, none

...After a long day's shopping in Nottingham recently our final port of call was House of Fraser and the wonderful smell of coffee wafting around the shop floor led us to the Gaggia display counter. The barista immediately asked us if we would like a drink and it seemed a shame not to, so black coffees were produced for hubby and myself and a hot chocolate for the grandson. The salesman/barista was passionate about his products and told us all about them at length and our eye was caught by one particular model, the Selecta, which was on promotion at half price. For a limited period this machine was on sale for £134.99 instead of the usual, double priced amount. The beauty of this machine is that as well as being able to take the pods which we still had left from another machine, it also makes tea from bags or loose leaf tea... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Pure perfection
Disadvantages: A lot of work for a small cup of coffee....

...Ive had my Gaggia for a good while now...when I first got it it was in constant use...these days it usually doesnt get used much during the week...reason being that there is a lot to clean up after and not much time to do it....easier to make a cup of instant....thought of course its not any where near the same...just a matter of lifestyle...But at the weekends it comes into its own...and is in constant use... Once you get over the initial 'how to' it comes as second nature, like anything else new...when you start to use them they seem pretty daunting to say the least...but once youve mastered it, away you go.... Now I have no idea what it would cost these days...(mine was aroung the £140 mark if memory serves me correctly) and more often than not some of these things tend to get cheaper...since there are very many more makes... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful