Gaggia New Baby Class

Author's product rating:   

Performance	Excellent
Ease of use	Very easy
Durability	Everlasting
Cleaning & Maintenance	Easy
Value for money	Fair

Advantages:	Makes café quality espresso with a perfect crème
Disadvantages:	Water can be too hot sometimes

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought this espresso machine in September 2008 from my local speciality coffee shop; "MacBean's" in Aberdeen, Scotland. After viewing it in the shop it struck me as a thing of beauty as much as coffee machine and I could imagine it taking it pride of place in my kitchen- which it now does.

I paid £250 from this local Gaggia agent, though online it can be found much cheaper- for about £150 or even cheaper on sites such as eBay. I got a good deal as I when I asked for some free coffee to sweeten the purchase I was surprised to find I also was given a set of six espresso cups and saucers for free. I suggest you ask around when purchasing this machine as it seemed like the shop might have got them free from Gaggia as a promotional item.

After struggling home with my heavy purchase and regretting not taking a car I opened the box to find a tightly packed machine with all the parts, instructions and warranty cards included as appropriate. Weighing it as some 7.5kg, this machine is sturdily built with a metal casing that feels like it will last for years and years even with constant daily use. The Italian build quality is impeccable.

The machine comes with the necessary accessories to brew up your espresso including a solidly built and remarkably heavy grounds handle (with various inserts for different amounts of grinds), a small plastic tamper and a small plastic grounds spoon- the latter feel a little cheap but then I immediately went and bought a new tamper and grounds spoon from Starbucks relatively cheaply so this wasn't a problem.

At the back of the machine you can find the one litre water vessel which is made from a strong and durable plastic that feels like it will last as long as the metal cased machine. I have had it in the dishwasher a number of times (which may be against manufacturers instructions) too no ill effect with no problems with the clarity of the plastic being challenged.

Once the water vessel has been filled it takes approximately six minutes for the water to boil and to be ready to begin making coffee. To make an espresso you will need to grind the coffee to an espresso grade powder for maximum quality, I would recommend my grinder the "Dualit EL60" which should be set on the finest espresso setting. Once ground use a tamper to pack the grounds into the handle you just insert it into the socket on the front of the machine, give a quick 90 degree twist to lock the handle into place and then press the water button to start the water flow. The boiled water will be forced through the grinds at a more than sufficient pressure of 15bar and then into your espresso cup giving you a perfect espresso with a thick crème top in approximately 20-30 seconds.

As a coffee aficionado I can assure that this machine makes café type espressos which are perfect- the reason I bought the machine. I would not part with this machine and its quality of coffee making for the world.

As for other features, I've not used the machine to steam milk, but the pressure on the steamer is extremely high. With the turbo steam function initiated it will easily last long enough to steam enough milk for at least a couple of cappuccinos or a hot chocolate.

When cleaning this machine it is very simple. All you need to do it run the handle under a cold tap to clear out the grinds and quickly wipe over the outside of the machine to clear any splash-backs now and again. Occasionally a layer of compressed coffee grounds can be left on the water head of the machine, rather than staying in the handle cup, but this can easily be knocked out once dried or scraped out with a knife. The instruction guide does explain how to take the machine apart for a complete clean though I have not done this and it seems unnecessary for a normal user.

The only issues I've come across that has really bothered me is that coffee shouldn't be served at near boiling point and the water does come out extremely hot from this machine. An option to have a lower temperature would be appreciated so I don't have to let my coffee sit for a minute to cool.

Overall this machine is highly recommended and I would definitely replace it if it broke and recommend it to anyone looking at spending a significant amount of money on a quality espresso maker.