[Closed] Gaggia Classic mod & plenty of coffee.

Oh will try to post pics when I have time.

how is it better, I seem to get superb results with the default thing, I'm tempted to go for one of those digital display mods though.

>. I did that ... by experiencing and drinking nearly a liter of full fat milk last night with at least 6 cups of cappuccino/latte whatever that you want to call them.

PMSL.

MrNutt,

The original steam wand with the plastic bit only agitates the milk with big bubbles. You cannot control it to get silky smooth paint like microform to make latte art ... The mod steam wand on the other hand can and better but you need to practice a bit.

Cost me about £22 for the steam wand from including postage from here.

[url= http://www.shopdrury.com/product.asp?strParents=146&CAT_ID=148&P_ID=675 ]Drury coffee[/url]

Andywhit,

LOL! Not to say that half of those full fat milk came from Gold Top (5.2% Fat) as oppose to your girlie normal blue cap full fat milk(3.6%) from supermarket.

But guess what they are swwweeeettttt! Full fat that is.

Bought more beans this afternoon so will try more tonight.

😆

I thought it was 'microfoam' - but there you go.

Don't 'proper' barristas do this stuff on the geet big machines rather than a wee Gaggia? You'll have to start all over again young fella!

TooTall,

LOL! Yes, it was meant to be microfoam not "microform" ... I need caffeine boost. More! More! More!

Geet big machines? No use that if the Barista skill is not up to scratch.

Nahhh ... if I cannot get it right with a tiny Gaggia Classic I have no chance in hell to work on those large machine. Bet the big boys cannot work on the tiny Classic to best out of it.

I have seen large commercial machine and all I can say is that it will be easier to steam milk or to pull shots.

Are you in the coffee industry?

😆

D'oh! This is tough work this ... this is my 3rd cappuccinos within the last 2 hours I think. My 8 today ...

Still not up to perfection but rather okay flavour. My latte art is still shite so far or non existence.

Caffeine boost is not doing any good either as I am falling asleep.

😯

I'm not - but my lovely other half did work for one of the BIG companies and was trained by their head taster on the technical & taste side of coffee. I've turned into a coffee snob by association and slow education!
Go and visit Italy - you'll see coffee without the fannying about.

Since when has having a cuppa required so much expense, time and electricity? Have filter coffee at home so when you buy a coffee out it is a much better treat!

TooTall,

I think many people love the big companies' coffee because they suit their taste. Not me though as I like proper stuff.

Yes, if I can learn from a proper Barista in Italy I would but then I am not sure that is possible.

mysterymurdoch,

Only if you want to drink a proper cup of coffee and planning to be a Barista like me. Otherwise, I can recommend you instant coffee with sweet condense milk and a bit of sugar.

😀

Sorry to dredge this but i'm considering either a Gaggia Classic or a Rancilo Silvia and was wondering if you guys had any opinions, one thing it must be able to do is be able to make perfect microfoam. I was looking at the Classic first of all, then when I saw that you can only really get good microfoam from using the Silvia wand I had a look at that also. Anybody tried both and can offer any comparisons?

P.S. I simply can't resist the urge to post up one of my little works of art

[img] [/img]

Isn't a barrista just a meaningless name made up by an American company to describe a minimal wage, minimaly trained coffee pourer?
Oh, how I wish I could aspire to such heights.

Isn't a barrista just a meaningless name made up by an American company to describe a minimal wage, minimaly trained coffee pourer?

I've got a gaggia classic, love it. Didn't know you could hot rod 'em though.

Yes, you can this how you do it.

[url=

Gaggia Classic[/url]

Very easy but make sure you buy the right steam wand.

🙂

I modified mine last year and agree it makes much better foam.

How about trying a bottomless filter ! now that is an amazing improvement as well

[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/gagbotdom-gaggia-classic-bottomless-portafilter.html ]clicky thingy[/url]

I get great smooth foam out of my Silvia with its standard wand about one time in three. More practice needed!

Isn't a barrista just a meaningless name made up by an American company to describe a minimal wage, minimaly trained coffee pourer?
Oh, how I wish I could aspire to such heights.

Maybe you could start by learning to spell it correctly...

isn't cappuccino a breakfast drink?

Well, that does it, I've seen it all now. A thread discussing modding of an espresso machine. Is it possible to get any more middle class than this?

Btw baristas who work in shops have a machine that does it all automatically, so there's little skill involved aside from the speed with which you do it. The faster, the better the coffee.

molgrips all you need to get the best from a Rancilio is [url= http://hubpages.com/hub/Modifying_Miss_Silvia ]here.[/url]

Btw baristas who work in shops have a machine that does it all automatically, so there's little skill involved aside from the speed with which you do it. The faster, the better the coffee

Erm, that kind of depends on which coffee shops you're frequenting. I'll hazard a guess that the ones where the machine does it all automatically are making pretty shoddy coffee.

How about trying a bottomless filter ! now that is an amazing improvement as well

I'd quite like to pick up the silvia wand as well, for £22 it's a bit of a bargain - I think just having a longer wand would be useful as I find I waste a lot of milk with the standard wand as if I'm using a jug big enough to froth properly I have to put 2-3x as much milk as I need in for it to reach effectively.

Is it easy to mod the Classic with that wand then? I assume it is just a spanner job by the look of it...

EDIT - just watched the vid - I assume the hack is to get the bolt off the original and use it on the upgraded wand? I kinda missed that on the vid.

Erm, that kind of depends on which coffee shops you're frequenting.

Oh christ here we go. I'm clearly far too much of a pleb for this thread 🙄

As far as my Gaggia is concerned, I'd rather a) the wand was a bit more mobile as I have to lift the machine up to extract the jug/mug from under it and b) I wish the boiler was a bit more powerful - takes ages to heat two coffee's worth of milk to a decent temp.

as if I'm using a jug big enough to froth properly

have to lift the machine up to extract the jug/mug from under it

That looks nice MF.. I bet it's £35 tho.. 🙂

Anyway, everyone knows you're a philistine if you have milk in your coffee...

Yes, you can this how you do it.

Modify Gaggia Classic

Very easy but make sure you buy the right steam wand.

will have a look at this when I get home. I used to have a classic and it came with a long black plastic steam enhancer for the end of the steamer that worked great. Tried buying a new machine not so long back but for some reason they no longer come with this addtion?! Its crap without it for frothing properly.

Jesus! I only paid £150 for mine. They are upto £300 now for the classic. WTF.

I bet it's £35 tho

anyone know where I can find a classic cheapest?

Btw baristas who work in shops have a machine that does it all automatically, so there's little skill involved aside from the speed with which you do it. The faster, the better the coffee.

I've been working as a barista for two and a half years and i'd never do it automatically, the quality you get from an automatic steam wand is horrible. If you don't care about coffee, why bother trying to start an argument over it? Now, run along and stop being a silly little boy eh? 😉

anyone know where I can find a classic cheapest?

Cheapest new would be around £250, you're probably best just looking around ebay and seeing what you can find.

[url= http://www.maturionline.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=944 ]Peter Maturi, Harrogate (and online)[/url]
But I bought mine in the shop and it was £220 even though the site was selling them for £300 at the time.

I didn't start the argument! I care about good coffee, but when there's a choice of Costa or Starbucks, whaddya gonna do? If I could teleport to Jacqmotte on the main square in Brussels for a cuppa I certainly would.

If I could reopen the indie coffeeshop here in Manchester and bring back the Yugoslavian girl to make my espresso's I would. So powerful (yet unburnt) that you were actually high for a split second 😀

Got mine on Ebay last October, Pressy from Mrs Surfer. It came with the Rancilio wand upgrade as well as various bits and pieces, descaler and everything.
Been used everyday since, cost £130.

[i] Now, run along and stop being a silly little boy eh? [/i]

Heh, he's not the one with a magic foam wand in his hand 🙂

I didn't start the argument! I care about good coffee, but when there's a choice of Costa or Starbucks, whaddya gonna do? If I could teleport to Jacqmotte on the main square in Brussels for a cuppa I certainly would.

I'm sure that unless you live in the middle of nowhere, there's a good coffee place near you. Just because Starbucks and Costa are pretty easily spotted it does not mean they're your only options.

Tea's nicer. 🙂

EDIT

Oh christ here we go. I'm clearly far too much of a pleb for this thread

I care about good coffee, but when there's a choice of Costa or Starbucks, whaddya gonna do?

Well then it hardly seems fair to accuse me of being a snob about it when you know these places make poor coffee!

I'm sure that unless you live in the middle of nowhere, there's a good coffee place near you. Just because Starbucks and Costa are pretty easily spotted it does not mean they're your only options.

Just because you don't like their ubiquity doesn't mean they don't have a good product.

Milk? In coffee? Weirdos.....

If you can buy a Classic for less than £250 then that is cheap, otherwise standard retail price is around £299 or slightly more.

I am not a keen coffee with milk person but have to drink/make them because I want to be a Barista.

Cappuccino is alright but I prefer Americano (posh filter coffee LOL!) as that's where I feel good coffee taste like i.e. with good coffee beans.

There are only handful of good cafes that make good coffee and if you find a good one you will notice the different in the coffee.

😛

Whats happened to the price?!! Mind you I bought mine circa 2001 and binned it circa 2005.

Starbucks etc don't make poor coffee imo, they make quite drinkable coffee and they also do nice cakes and whatnot.

I've not found a fabulous coffee place in Cardiff yet. There was/is Candles which could sell you various coffees but it was cafetiere coffee which would be best black, and I don't necessarily go for that. I like espresso, but made from single provenance beans for example.

TBH when I need an espresso I dont mind whose it is. Although high street ones are VERY weak nowadays.

Starbucks etc don't make poor coffee imo, they make quite drinkable coffee and they also do nice cakes and whatnot.

I've not found a fabulous coffee place in Cardiff yet. There was/is Candles which could sell you various coffees but it was cafetiere coffee which would be best black, and I don't necessarily go for that. I like espresso, but made from single provenance beans for example.

The main problem I have with Starbucks is their milk, they do something that you previously suggested baristas do, using the automatic frother. This, in my opinion at least, creates horrible milk for coffees. I don't mind going into Starbucks for an espresso or something, but I won't have anything milk-based from there (unless it's a store I haven't been to before in the hope that they do things differently).

Having had various coffees as espresso, it can be a truly wondeful thing. Not all coffees are good like this, but most dark-ish roasts are.