A Thing of Beauty: the Gaggia Baby Classic

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

...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...

bobbacon985 11.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia BABY Class

Having a Baby

Advantages: Makes excellent espresso, cappuccino and latte coffee
Disadvantages: Needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly

...I've never been particularly keen on drinking coffee at work - the options usually consisting of either a mug of the instant variety made with water boiled in a disgustingly furred-up kettle, or a paper cup of brown-coloured hot liquid dispensed by a temperamental vending machine - so it was with some relief when I began a new job last year to learn that there was an espresso machine at my disposal, with which to make a cup of 'real' coffee whenever I wanted one. I wouldn't term myself a coffee snob by any means, but I'm a firm believer that there's no competition between the genuine article and its powdered or granular equivalent, despite what the Kenco lady in the television commercials would have us believe. NAMING THE BABY Our machine, the quaintly-named Baby Dose, is made by the Italian company Gaggia, one of the world...

silverstreak 04.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia New Baby Dose

The baby Grand of Coffee

Advantages: Quaility, Quality, Quaility
Disadvantages: You wont ever use instant again

...This is my second Gaggia, and believe me when you buy your second Gaggia its not because the first broke down, its because you have decided to move up in the brand. My old one is salivating my girlfriend now, so I can now get great coffee when I stay over with her. I use Illy coffee with my Gaggia BABY, and it just means that you get grade A high quality coffee shop coffee when at home. I purchased when in Brown Thomas's in Dublin, the price for me converted was £198 which is pretty par for the course if you shop around. Previous experience told me I was buying quality so I was happy to purchase away from home, and my partner lives in Ireland anyway. There is some excellent quality options on the web from very good quality suppliers. The Gaggia comes with a 15 bar pressure Pump, this is an important feature as my expert...

bigfatdogs 03.04.2007 (04.04.2007) · Read review
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Review of Gaggia BABY

Gaggia Classic Design Problems

Advantages: Looks good and makes superb coffee.
Disadvantages: Frustrating to use and occasionally verging on the dangerous.

...I'm a difficult person to buy presents for, so when I mentioned to my husband last summer that I liked the idea of an espresso machine it was inevitable that one would appear on my birthday. He went for what seemed to him to be the best of the domestic machines - the Gaggia Classic - as it's a well-built basic machine with none of the frills which rarely get used and have the potential to cause problems. It will also make a cappuccino, but not a filter coffee. The Classic is also one of the most powerful domestic machines - water is forced through the ground coffee with 17.5 bar of pressure. To give you some idea of how powerful this is, my central heating operates at 1.5 bar. An espresso coffee is so-called because it comes from the Italian for express. It's meant to be brewed and drunk within a matter of seconds - minutes...

SueMagee 05.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Classic

Baby love, my baby love

Advantages: A lot of control over your coffee
Disadvantages: Not room for bigger cups

...Having previously worked in the coffee industry for a few years, there is nothing like the taste of a good espresso when you wake up and although the trend for domestic coffee machines which take coffee pods and work on the touch of a button, there is nothing like having a machine where you can take full control of how your coffee comes out. The Gaggia Baby D is one such machine, with numerous similarities to the way professional machines work, but aimed at the domestic market. The Look ************ The Gaggia Baby D is quite a strange looking machine, not really because of the styling but at around 40cm tall and 20 cm wide, it looks a bit top heavy, although it is very secure and would take a good whack to knock it over. The machine is constructed out of plastic and chrome and is basically silver in colour. All the panels feel...

christianfilmcritic 03.08.2006 (24.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Gaggia BABY D

My Gaggia...

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...

kiria 21.02.2005 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Classic

Gaggia-ing for a Drink

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...

patriciat 30.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Selector Deluxe

Gagging for a Gaggia

Advantages: high status, easy operation
Disadvantages: plasticky feel, noisy, needs finely burr ground coffee

...I was lucky enough to win the Evolution expresso maker in the Ebay Xmas Treasure Hunt. Apparently Gaggia were out of stock in europe for a few weeks, so I only received it mid February. If you order one then make sure you order from somewhere that actually has stock! The machine comes well boxed with simple instructions. Negatives: The main unit is made of plastic and feels like it will break as you hold it to twist the coffee holder in to place. The water container also can easily slop water whilst you do this if you shove the machine a little. The water pump isn't exactly quiet either as it primes. You are also recommended to use coffee ground in a burr mill rather than a bladed grinder (for that authentic expresso crema), though pods are an easier alternative. A burr mill is an extra expense and not exactly cheap...

cootuk 22.02.2005 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Evolution

The new Gaggia Titanium that broke!

Advantages: Large water tank, Speedy, Compact, Easy to customise and use
Disadvantages: Body finish could be better for the price; Brew unit (plastic) is not very sturdy

...After owning a Krups Crematic combi machine for 5 years, I wanted to own something a step up, although there was nothing really wrong with the Krups and it served me well on a daily basis. Although the new Gaggia Titanium has been out for at least a few months there don't seem to be any reviews of it yet, so I hope this is of help. I was in 2 minds whether to plump for this model or the slightly cheaper Gaggia Synchrony Digital Compact. The main reason the Titanium won was because the water tank was double the size of the Compact, the look was better, and the features were improved. One of the other differences between these two models is the Titanium has an "active" cup-warmer whereas the Compact has a "passive" cup-warmer. Active means it has it's own heater, not just the heat from the machine. So - on with the review. Set-up was...

sarobin 26.04.2005 (01.08.2005) · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Titanium

A classy looker and an impressive performer

Advantages: Looks good. Solidly made. Excellent coffee once you learn how to use it!
Disadvantages: Takes time to learn how to use it and get good, consistent results.

...A year of ownership and I am still impressed with its looks and even more so with the coffee it makes. It takes time and patience to learn how to use the Baby Class properly so if you are the type of person who wants to press one button and have exactly the same coffee experience every time then this machine is probably not for you. If, however, you are serious about coffee and enjoy a really authentic tasting cappuccino or espresso then the time and effort is well worth it. You will enjoy the "event" of making the coffee almost as much as drinking it. I recommend the use of a good quality espresso coffee such as Illy or Lavazza for good, consistent, results. Price c. £250. Shop around as in my experience the price varied from £245 to over £300. Why did I choose the Gaggia Baby Class? My previous machine had worked on pressure...

JonnyCarpo37 24.10.2008 (27.10.2008) · Read review
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Review of Gaggia BABY Class