Gaggia Unica

I bought this machine about six months ago on the basis of excellent reviews on other sites and my own positive experience with Gaggia products in the past. Unfortunately, I have been disappointed with the Unica.

My previous super-automatic was a Saeco purchased from Starbucks. It was quite good, but after 8 years of daily use, finally succumbed. The Unica seemed appealing as a smaller and less pricey replacement. In fact, it is not smaller at all, taking up loads of counter space. Yet despite identical footprint, it has a much smaller coffee hopper and water reservoir, both of which need to be refilled after just a few drinks. By contrast, my old Saeco could go about a week between refills. What's more irritating is that the Unica turns on the low water indicator light when it is still one-third full. That's enough water to make at least three espresso shots--but no, you have to add water.

In addition to being small, the hopper is covered with a plastic grille not designed to be removed in daily use. Coffee is supposed to fall through it to the grinder, but in practice it makes the hopper difficult and messy to fill while serving no discernible purpose whatsoever.

The espresso it brews is quite good, but the steamer wand is virtually useless; it's next to impossible to both heat the milk and build foam. Depending on technique, you get either foamy cold milk or foamless hot milk. After 8 years using a similar machine, I'd gotten pretty good at frothing, but now I bypass the wand entirely and use another method. So much for "automatic."

As you might expect from a cut-rate machine, the build is flimsy. I have to be even more careful than I usually am--and all I really do is make espresso. My suggestion is to shop around for a better option, even at a higher price.