Gaggia for Illy Espresso Machine

I really enjoy making and drinking espresso, so I jumped on the chance to review this Gaggia espresso machine.

* How does it work?

This machine is very easy to use and care for. There are two compartments: On the left is a removable water tank, and on the right is the removable drawer for the spent pods. To brew you just pop in an espresso pod, which must be the Illy brand or compatible, and press the brew button. 30 seconds later you have a hot cup of espresso which is very drinkable. For those of you who don't like straight espresso, you can add hot water (via the steam wand with the turn of a know), you have an "americano". You can also set the machine to brew longer, which will give you a fuller-tasting americano. To make a cappuccino (less milk, foamier) or latte (more milk, less foam), just fill a large mug with milk, then press the Steam button and wait for it to heat up. Turn the steam knob with the tip of the wand submerged in the milk and soon you have hot frothed milk.

* How does it taste?

Straight Espresso: I drink espresso straight, about 1-3 times a day. It is so concentrated this way that it is very easy to taste any defects in the espresso. This Illy machine, using the red medium roast capsules, made a very mild and drinkable cup of espresso with nice crema and very mild bitterness. It wasn't the best espresso I've had, but better than you get from many "espresso" cafes in the US.

Other drinks: The steam wand is an automatic frother type, which means you can make nice foam without practicing on a commercial machine for a week. If you are making other drinks with added water, sugar, and/or milk, I recommend going with the darker roast (blue) Illy capsules, as you'll want the more robust flavor to stand up to what you are adding.

* Likes:

Super easy to use. Compared to my manual grinder and espresso machine, which leaves a huge mess and takes lots of practice, but can make better espresso, this Gaggia machine is dead simple. You can't really mess it up with this machine.

No mess. I spend a lot of time cleaning around my grinder and espresso machine.

Price: Very affordable.

Brand: Gaggia has been making espresso machines for decades. I have one of their grinders and it has worked without any issues for many years.

* Dislikes:

Coffee expense. See my thoughts on pods/capsules below.

Packaging waste. Pods don't seem very recyclable/compostable.

Hard to find capsules. Order online or go to a fancy kitchen store. My supermarket didn't have these capsules.

Build quality. You get what you pay for. Nice design but it is mostly plastic. This is expected at this price range.

* Summary:

If you want an affordable machine that uses no-mess, Italian-flavor Illy capsules, this is a solid little machine. I recommend it with my caveats about coffee capsules below. 4 of 5 stars. Will update this review if anything breaks.

* Footnotes: Coffee capsules (a.k.a. pods)

I'm not a big fan of coffee capsules, but I did not count this against this review. The benefits and drawbacks of capsule machines are pretty obvious: You pay 3x the price for coffee, waste 3x the packaging, and make 1/10th the mess of a manual grinder and espresso machine. You have very little control but the results are pretty consistent. Getting really fresh coffee is pretty hard. Illy has made a science of packing coffee for long shelf life (nitrogen purged canisters, for example), and it always seems to taste decent. But getting a local roasted bean that was roasted a week or two ago and extracting it just right can be worth it. The choice is yours. If you want the simplicity of capsules but don't want to waste so much packaging, you may want to consider a fully automatic machine. These machines are 3-5x as expensive as this one, and do require more maintenance, but offer the simplicity of one button brewing and no separate grinding, and the ability to use whatever whole bean you want.

Again I didn't count the capsules against this rating of this machine but now you know..

UPDATED MAY 31, 2012; LAST PARAGRAPH.

In the past six years I've owned two other brands of single-serve espresso makers. And I still love my Nespresso machine the best. I don't drink a lot of regular coffee, but I do enjoy my shots of espresso in the morning, and I particularly appreciate the ease and simplicity of these single-serve machines. So, when offered an opportunity to review this Gaggia machine*, I enthusiastically agreed, then waited impatiently for it to arrive. Neither of my other two machines have a milk frothier. This one does, so I was especially looking forward to that new experience, too.

There are a lot of espresso machines available. How do you choose? Consider how much convenience you need in a machine. If you decide on the convenience of a single-serve machine, then you better do a lot of research on the flavors of the espresso offered in the proprietary capsules/discs/pods of each brand. Consider the footprint/size, color and style of machine that will suit your kitchen. When you've got those questions answered, then it's time to compare prices.

Personally, at our house, the workers in the family wake up and are out the door one short hour later. We are away from home for the next twelve hours. So, our philosophy is this: Connoisseurs may debate that taking shortcuts by using a single-serve espresso maker cannot produce a "perfect" cup of espresso or, latte or cappuccino, but for the people in our family, these single-serve machines allow us a little luxury while expending a minimum amount of time. We're willing to sacrifice perfection for the opportunity of a few sips of wonderful coffee. What have we learned? We feel that flavor is NOT diminished by using a single-serve machine.

This is what I learned when we experimented with this Gaggia machine: We not only get beautiful espresso, but the milk frothier with this machine produces terrific foam--with tiny, tiny bubbles--very easily and in a minimum amount of time. We love the Pannarello Wand! I don't know how I've lived without a milk frothier all my life....We are having a great time and a lot of fun with this frothier--in the morning and after dinner, too. (We've been experimenting with steamed milk and froth and some of our chocolate, mocha, coffee and French vanilla liqueurs. Very nice!)

This machine only uses illy brand capsules--called iperEspresso capsules. I don't have any problem with a machine that only uses proprietary capsules; my other two machines are the same way. The problem I did have with the illy brand capsules is that I couldn't find them anywhere in the Houston, Texas area.* I contacted customer service at the company that distributes this machine in the US, and they were surprised to hear that I couldn't find capsules in my area. I was told that they are easy to find in many other areas of the country. So, if you do NOT want to take advantage of the company's mail order delivery service immediately (as in PRIOR to receiving your machine), check out capsule availability before you decide to buy this machine.

Another important point: Capsules are available in only four different types of espresso--two strengths, one lungo and one decaf. (One of my other machines has 16 different blends of beans.) If you are already an illy fan, you already know this: The flavor, aroma and crema is top notch: Not bitter, a little citrusy, robust-all-around nice and consistent. The intensity of the dark roast is not as high as available in some other brands. And I found that I did not appreciate the medium roast when milk was added.

A few other observations: 1.) The water heats up quickly: Equal with the other machines I have. 2.) Clean-up is not difficult. 3.) Customer service is friendly and helpful, but not available on weekends or holidays--but hey, that's okay, since during the week you get to talk to a real person from the first hello! And, it sounds as if she's always smiling! 4.) This machine is black and blocky--no beautiful design here. There are other companies out there that produce white and other colors. And there are some beautifully designed machines, too. And some have smaller footprints if you're short on counter space. 5.) The platform for your cup is adjustable, but the height allowance is still limiting. There are machines that allow for a taller cup. (Sometimes I like to froth my milk in a cup, then add a shot of espresso to that same cup. I know, unconventional, but it works for me.)

Here is a short list of what you need to buy and/or have on hand before your machine arrives: Capsules--crazy as it sounds, not a single espresso capsule arrives with the machine; a frothing pitcher, preferably stainless steel and 20 ounce size is recommended; a variety of cup sizes--take a look at the Bodum double-walled cups, they are great.

*I was offered this machine through the Amazon Vine Program. Because I had such difficulty in locating capsules, the Vine Program removed the machine from my list of items to be reviewed. I was told I was not required to review this product, but they did not tell me I couldn't review it.

UPDATE: We still love our Nespresso machine the best. The frothier on the Gaggia machine has stopped producing the great foam that it used to create and now we get a lot more larger bubbles. I've faithfully cleaned the frothier per the instructions, but it's still not working right. I continue to look for the pods at the grocery stores, but--still--no one is stocking them. I do see they are available by mail from Amazon.

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Machine initially was good, but failed in short order, where the machine couldn't generate the pressure needed and struggled to put out a succession of drips of lukewarm espresso. No parts on hand led to a 6 week delay, which has just been updated to a 12-14 week delay. Whole latte love does not offer an advanced exchange program, nor a loaner, nor the option to swap out for a refurbished model, so be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait.

Whole latte love has been courteous and professional, and their service staff has been very helpful. That doesn't change the fact that my machine is out of commission for an extended period.

Not sure if this is simply a failure to stock parts or if this model has such a high failure rate that they can't keep them in stock. Either way, one may wish to take this into consideration while making your purchasing decision.

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I had another Illy machine a while ago and did enjoy it. This one in comparison is so much easier to use. It is no wonder it's the top seller in Italy.

Illy makes great coffee. And their capsules for these machines give you ease of use and consistency. The set up was pretty straightforward. Fill with water (after rinsing), prime it and add a capsule of Illy coffee. Now, keep in mind this machine comes with NO capsules. I knew that from before so I ordered some from Amazon and they arrived about the same time. You would think they would include a couple of capsules just to get you started. They have a long shelf life so that shouldn't be a factor.

The machine worked flawlessly. The crema is wonderful to see at the top of the glass. And the taste was excellent.

You can also use the wand to steam milk if you like. This is very easy to use and do.

The only thing I would point out is that if you don't use this for a bit, you will need to prime it again. Not a long process, just a bit inconvenient. The solution is of course to use it regularly. The coffee is a bit expensive, but it takes minutes to get an espresso, a great tasting one at that, and there is no clean up.

I very much recommend this great machine. It also looks good on your counter.

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I bought the Illy-Gaggia Iperespresso Pod machine for my wife. She absolutely loves it. Since we have twin infants and are regularly in a state of sleep deprivation this little unit sure does the trick when holding one infant in arm! The crema is perfecto and having the ability to set the "pull" of the shot is super useful as we both like it a bit shorter and rich. We've been using it daily for two months now and have not had any mechanical issues or quality issues with the pods. The only downside for us, being mindful of waste and design issues, is the necessity of sourcing non-recycable/reusable pods that have to be thrown out. The other part of the pod dilemma is the cost per pod...hopefully one day it translates to less then $.70 cents per shot on average. Aside from that we're both happy come morning, afternoon, or evening shot!

Cheers

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Clever Coffee Dripper

As one of many who is always looking for the best coffee maker, I was happy to try the Clever Coffee Dripper when it came out. I discovered It is easy and makes the best cup of coffee yet. If you like French press, you've got it here. The dripper has a stopper in the bottom that opens once you place it on your coffee cup so you get a fresh cup each time. And clean up is simple. All you have to do is dump the filter and rinse the dripper that's it. Here is how I make a cup: I place a filter in the dripper and wet it with hot water and then spoon the coffee into it (I use a digital scale to get the same amount each time). Then I pour really hot water into the dripper, put the lid on top and wait 4 minutes. In the meantime I pour hot water into the mug to get it ready. Then when the 4 minutes are up I empty the mug and place the Clever dripper on top the stopper opens immediately and the brewed coffee empties into the hot mug. It couldn't be simpler.

Is it low-tech? Yep, but is a very cool design, too. Finally, I can have French press-style coffee without the clean-up. And you can use regular grind coffee instead of the coarse grind French press requires. Plus, if you are as picky about the heat of your coffee as I am, this is the only way to go. I heat enough water at just below boiling for the dripper and my empty mug. Hot, full-flavored and easy clean-up a no-brainer.

The Clever Coffee Dripper uses #4 cone filters, but only makes one cup at a time. Recommended time for steeping the coffee is 4 minutes. It takes about another minute to drain all the coffee into your cup.

It makes great coffee! Easier clean-up than a French press or a stove-top espresso maker. Better coffee than an automatic drip coffee maker.

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I'm not what you would call a 'fanatic', but I just have to have a good strong cup of coffee. I've tried most of the other methods with varying degrees of success. I liked the French Press, but couldn't deal with the sludge at the bottom of the cup. I'm told that the proper grinder will eliminate this, but who wants to spend $200 on a grinder? This is the best $20 I ever spent on a coffee gizmo.

Some others have commented that the coffee gets too cold, or doesn't make a good cup. All I can say to them is...you're doing it wrong.

1) Pre-wet your filter & pre-heat your cup or carafe.

2) Heat water to boil.

3) Take water off heat & start grinding your beans.

4) Pour water over coffee, stir, cover, wait four minutes.

5) Steep into cup.

If you grind your beans too soon, or if you let your water get too cold, that WILL affect your cup of coffee. With a little practice and experimentation, you can have a fantastic cup of coffee in about 6 minutes flat, and it didn't cost you $500 in equipment to get.

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I've used one of these for a few years now, and love/hate it.

First, the idea is sound and it does make a great cup of coffee. But it is NOT durable. Don't even think about putting one in a dishwasher, or the plastic will craze and begin leaking. To the manufacturer's credit, they do tell you this if you read the documentation.

And, if you store it upside-down the seal unseats and will dry out. The result is a puddle next time until the seal moistens up and becomes tight again.

The lid if you get one is concave and dishes inward. So if you're trying to max the capacity, you'll coat the inside of the lid with coffee mud.

Even with it's faults, I love the coffee it makes and just keep replacing them. I'm wearing out number five right now.

I'd LOVE to see this thing redesigned in glass or ceramic. And if the lid was redesigned to be convex so the center clears the upper edge of the dripper by at least a quarter-inch you'd have the perfect product IMO.

UPDATE 03/25/12 Number five is worn out. It lasted about 9 months, used between once and twice a day. It's never been in a dishwasher or microwave yet it is thoroughly crazed and leaking.

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I own a café and am used to having really delicious espresso. I've tried a number of different gadgets including French press (too cloudy), pour over (not rich enough flavor) Aeropress and Toddy (both delicious but a hassle). I love this little guy she's so easy to use and wonderful coffee there's something gratifying about putting the gadget on top of the coffee cup and watching all the coffee just flow out. Excellent. Five stars.