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

...friend Al tells me as its what gets the flavor out of the beans. Removable water tank 1.6 litre capacity, it makes it easy to refill without spilling or splashing. Though some times I find it a little awkward to get out. I use ground Illy mainly, but occasionally buy beans and grind myself. This is an excellent addition to go for, it so mice to smell the sheer freshness of ground coffee. A grinder is not expensive mine was a present. The baby Gaggia makes two cups simultaneously. It has a cup warming plate though I tend to heat the cups with hot water rather than using this facility, its much quicker. Make sure you heat especially if you are going to have an espresso. Making Latte or Cappuccino sometimes I microwave the milk a little first it speeds up the heating and avoids burning it using the nozzle, which I have only burnt it...

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

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 Class 'D'

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

Great budget performer

Advantages: Cheap, good pump pressure, easy as pie to use.
Disadvantages: Recent units use aluminium -can corrode

...We drink a hell of a lot of coffee here and this is the culprit! It is cheap, its pretty well made and is a great introduction to a good espresso (or cappucino, frothy hot choc etc) The unit design has not changed much since they were released but some are now shipped with an aluminium coffee ground holder. This isn't a big problem but it wont last forever as the old bronze and chrome ones will. The pressure is good enough to pour a great espresso with good crema provided you get the grind fine enough. This is pretty much the same as many of the 'better' models- including an aluminium boiler- so descale as little as possible! The unit is fast to heat up, the pump pressure is good but it does have only one boiler- so multiple cappucinos can be slow- you need to let the unit heat up and cool down between milk foaming and drawing...

tyneman 29.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Espresso

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

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

Espresso in an instant

Advantages: makes espresso, steamer, easy to use, safe, looks good, cheaper than most other similar models
Disadvantages: has a cappuncino milk frother but no thermometer

...I have always wanted my very own Espresso machine and after being a good boy all year Santa brought me one for Christmas after my wife informed him that I really wanted one. My wife may have told him I wanted one, but I did end up paying £129 for the pleasure of ensuring Santa left it in my stocking. Fed up to the back teeth with plain old filter coffee, or god forbid, instant freeze dried filth actually having the Cubika now sitting in my kitchen is nothing short of a godsend first thing in the morning and is officially the boys toy that my friends and I spent most of Chjristmas day playing with and frankly it is so user friendly, we had steaming hot espresso flowing freely within 30 minutes of removing it from the box. There are no fiddly parts that require construction so it is just a case of removing it from the box, placing...

thesquadronleader 01.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Gaggia Cubika