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Ok about to pull the trigger on a Classic.
Before anyone says 'try this one instead'. I had a Classic for years and loved it (I think I paid £120 for it) however it scaled up then imploded through lack of maintenance. I tried a Cubika and loathed it.
Anyway- cheapest online now is £249 😮
Anyone know of anywhere doing them cheaper?!!!! Its a very basic machine
I got that down by 25 quid by using Google.
Debenhams online plus voucher [s]code PG7D = £200[/s]
Forget it won't work with kitchen appliances.
Hora, did you ever manage to get a decent crema from your classic? I have one and I'm struggling, tips please!!
Happy Donkey sell a frother attachment off a Rancilio that fits a Clasic.
I just make sure I've given the steam element long enough to warm up.
amazon £200 delivered
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaggia-Classic-Machine-Professional-Stainless/dp/B0000C72XS/
Cheers bigjohn, milk is fine, it's the coffee 🙂
Hora, did you ever manage to get a decent crema from your classic? I have one and I'm struggling, tips please!!
[b]Don't[/b] use the double basket and use fresh beans. I can get a lovely crema with mine now.
BigJohn - have you a link to that attachment? Might make a good Xmas pressie for me 🙂
I was looking recently and saw refurbed classic for £175 - google refurbished gaggia classic (think it was whoever 'deals'/services gaggia in the uk now) - didnt look further as went for a rancillio in the end (I loathed my cubika that I had for my 1st machine and I was too afraid that I'd also hate the classic to shell out for it when I know I really wanted the silvia)
doc_blues. They are like night and day. I even tried taking the Cubika back to the shop (I know I know).
Interested to hear more on the Rancillio though. Might as well incase the competition is 'better'..
Try contacting Steamer Trading cook shops in Lewes. They have an outlet store and discount the demo models and shop display models.
I bought a Kitchen Aid blender for £80 notes last week brand spanking new.
Tim
http://www.steamer.co.uk/index.php?pageid=our_stores
The outlet one otherwise it'll be RRP.
Not sur eif they post though.
Tim
Edit £ for £ the Classic looks a good weigh-in against the Rancillio?
Anyone have experience of both?
The Classic is available [url= http://www.gaggia-service.co.uk/coffee_machines.htm ]here[/url] for £175.
Edit: It's refurbished.
Hora, did you ever manage to get a decent crema from your classic? I have one and I'm struggling, tips please!!
Don't use the double basket and use fresh beans.
I have no problem with the double basket. Fresh beans are a must (try [url= http://www.hasbean.co.uk/ ]HasBean[/url]) and bear in mind that different beans/blends will give differing quality/amount of crema. Equally important to a good crema are grind and tamping pressure.
[url= http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Espro-Automatic-Hand-Tamper.html ]These are great[/url] for consistent tamping pressure.
Hmm well I have always struggled - using the double basket is fine *if* it is full, but the coffee is too strong for my taste when full and it is when not fully filled that I struggle with crema.
My problem is that the single basket isn't *quite* strong enough either so all this led me back to where I bought it from (Peter Matturi in Harrogate - same price as anywhere on the interweb at the time) and he said mine is a common problem. Unfortunately he wasn't aware of a basket somewhere between the two sizes which would fix my problem.
So in conclusion - the double basket is fine if you like stronger coffee or are making for two people. 🙂
Double espresso for me, so a full basket and no problems with strength!
Double basket, fresh tin of illy and almost a cm of crema mmmm
Yeah that is my problem - I have tried lots of different beans and have settled on Whittards' Guatemalan Elephant (for the time being) and getting the balance just right has proved very difficult - especially as when I overfill the single basket the grounds stick to the plate.
I might try the double basket again at the weekend and jump up and down on the coffee to tamp it down enough (yes I already have a good heavy metal tamper).
Like MM, I've never had an issue with Illy in the double basket. It's the coffee not the machine.
Like MM, I've never had an issue with Illy in the double basket. It's the coffee not the machine.
It is neither - it is the [b][i]quantity[/i][/b] of coffee used - as I said above, it is fine when filled but when it has the amount I prefer for my taste it doesn't get a good crema - basically it fills with water then squirts coffee out really quickly.
it fills with water then squirts coffee out really quickly.
The grind is probably too coarse. Do you grind your own? Water should never 'squirt' out, even if you short-fill the double basket.
Yes I do - with a Dualit burr grinder set on the finest setting.
The coffee shop owner ground some coffee for me at a much finer setting using the shop grinder and it wouldn't push through. I accept there may be a point in between the two where the coffee doesn't squirt but it DOES come out.
hora - the cubika (fisrt machine, bought on ebay) was replaced with a saeco via venizzia - they were like chalk and cheese and I was pretty happy for 18 months with the saeco (once I'd doctored the portafilter to remove the pressurisation on it) - you could pull a decent shot of coffee through it. 9 months of hard use whilst I was off work saw it die a noble death.
the rancillio - well thats a whole different league in comparisson (but should be at about £200 more) - very very pleased with it. it has been pretty easy to pull satisfactory shots thorough it so far, even usung non descript espresso beans from waitrose. I'm going to order something from hasbean or borrow some from the deli down the road who roasts his own to see what it is like with other beans. Main issues were getting the grind right from my isomac and havent had much success with creating microfoam yet (but I tend to drink black anyway so not too bothered).... build is solid, buttons have a great clunk to them that I like.
if you were to buy...I'd recommend the guys at hasbean...ordered and was dispatched within the hour, with me 9am next day... have heard bad things about places like coffeeitalia etc (but never used them myself)
The coffee shop owner ground some coffee for me at a much finer setting using the shop grinder and it wouldn't push through. I accept there may be a point in between the two where the coffee doesn't squirt but it DOES come out.
This is where you need to adjust your tamp pressure, i.e. how hard you press down on the coffee. A shot should take 25-30 seconds...any less and the grind is too coarse and/or the tamp isn't firm enough, any more and the opposite is true.
Sorry for the hijack, i want a coffe machine, but not looking to spend hundreds on one. What do I need to look for/avoid?
ta
Rusty - I push as hard as I can on it and it is fine with the single hopper or a full double one. I haven't got the money to spend on a new grinder unfortunately.
Ohh and the coffee shop-ground coffee wouldn't come out even if I didn't tamp at all!
Well you're happy with the results for the single basket anyhow, so I guess it's kinda a moot point 🙂
Well *sort of* happy - it isn't quite strong enough and I usually overfill it causing grinds to stick to the filter plate on the machine or not being able to fit the handle on properly. I could really do with a 1.5 sized basket for my taste.
Ok, then switch to double espressos and MTFU! Well, this is STW...
Hi.
I've got a Baby D for sale if anyone is interested.
Recently been de-scaled and used once since. Dont
use it anymore, and is taking up precious worktop
space.
Ok, then switch to double espressos and MTFU! Well, this is STW...
8)
So, without wanting to start a new thread, what grinder should I get for superior performance than my Dualit?
I've never had any trouble with my Dualit burr grinder. I grind on the absolute finest setting, actually adjusting it slightly past the 'minimum' mark seems to make a difference. Could it be that your tamp strength needs adjusting? Can't work out whether you need to push harder or softer from your description, mind you.
I'm using a Rancilio Silvia - very very nice machine, but I've found not much margin for error in grind/tamp.
[url= http://www.homewares.co.uk/gaggiaspecialists/10081.html ]coffee clicky[/url]
Yes I do - with a Dualit burr grinder set on the finest setting.
There's your problem. My Dualit is [u]very[/u] sensitive to the beans being used. My best results have been with Sainsbury's espresso beans, straight from a fresh packet. Oddly, the worst were beans direct from a local roaster, which in theory should be the best!
I have a Dualit grinder. There are instructions on t'internet showing how to modify it to enable it to grind finer. If you're using yours on the finest setting then you might want to try mucking about with it so that you can try going finer. I did. It's easy and works.
fresh tin of illy
oxymoron.
it was probably many weeks or months since the roasting date (which they don't print on the tin)
There is almost no point in trying to fanny about with fine grinding and getting a good crema if you are ignoring the rest of what a good espresso should be. Get a stopwatch, a decent tamper and a lined shot glass and get calibrating.
Ball park figures for a double is 16g of coffee tamped (you need to work that out for pressure - no torque wrench tampers for heavy handed) and the pull should take about 20 seconds and yield about 85ml or just under 3 fluid oz. Too short and not enough flavour, too long and too bitter. It is very easy to get too fine a grind if you don't do the rest of the stuff mentioned. Vary the grind to get the 20 seconds and 85ml.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Looking like a wee Guinness during a calibration.
Hora, did you ever manage to get a decent crema from your classic? I have one and I'm struggling, tips please!!
For one thing, if it's a recent machine it will have replaced the regular filters with a Crema Perfetta filter and one for using those branded pods.
If you've got these filters, stop using them and get a standard filter instead.
Better still get a bottomless portafilter.
The Crema Perfetta stuff is basically there to allow you to use rubbish coffee from supermarkets and badly ground coffee. It's a pressure based filter and does a poor attempt of a crema and taste is not really much better than a £50 plastic machine. Oh and the other filter for pods, which are just stale ground coffee in a pod for an excessive price.
I'm very new to all this but already realised that grinding is key. Good quality burr grinder is essential, if not more so than the coffee machine. Good dosing and tamping techniques, and when using a Classic, it's a manual machine mostly that needs you to time shots and be careful with the temperature.
If you can get past the posh bloke, this video is a good guide to making coffee with the Classic
It's best to keep fresh roasted beans in the fridge and grind them on demand with a burr grinder. I'm lazy and in general use freshly *opened* tins of Illy.
Two things stop my G Classic from making good crema:
- coffee is too old (solution is drink lots, or throw away once the tin is "off")
- coffee not tamped hard enough (get a metal tamper, the plastic one that came with the machine is difficult to tamp hard enough with. Tamp so hard that the machine has to really work to push the water through, it should come as a really slow stream, almost breaking into individual drips.)
Oh, it's good to either wait for the head to get properly hot. Or at the very least run a load of heated water through it empty before brewing.
Perhaps descale occasionally depending on your water.
Certainly unscrew #44, #45 (in the diagram below) to clean behind occasionally.
hth
Tamp so hard that the machine has to really work to push the water through, it should come as a really slow stream, almost breaking into individual drips
Read my post on time, quantity and grind. You get them all right and you get good coffee. Ramming it in there with too fine or too coarse a grind just gets you no coffee or brown water.
wot he said ^
get a decent grinder.
get a decent tamper
use good coffee, this is not available from a supermarket or a foil sealed tin but from a coffee merchant where they roast/blend their own beans and can tell you the roasting date when asked (or it's stamped on the bag)
learn how to use all of the above, it's not difficult to find the sweet spot of grind/tamp/dose to get coffee that's streets ahead of costa/starbucks/stove-tops/tassimo etc.
Got a good grinder that can choke the machine, got a decent tamp, got a different basket. Think I'll try different coffee.
I can't get good crema either from my Gaggia Dose. I've moaned about it before.
I've used all kinds of different coffee, all sorts of grinds and tamps. I've had it spurting through and dripping through. All these things make big differences to the coffee but NOT the damn crema.
My parents' Cuisinart gives tons of lovely crema no matter what they do. Supermarket ground coffee, no problems. My previous cheaper machine also gave loads of crema.
This leads me to conclude it's the machine - or at least my particular one.
if it's a recent machine it will have replaced the regular filters with a Crema Perfetta filter and one for using those branded pods
Hmm.. mine came with a small and large filter and one for pods - is that what you are talking about?
if your basket looks like this:
[img] 
[/img]
then bin it. it's the 'perfect crema device' and is designed to get crema from crap coffee, the best basket to use is the double basket, looks like this:
[img] 
[/img]
Oh I have that second one you post. Still not impressed so far. I found there was some adjustment in my OPV, so I tried lowering the pressure and it made it worse. I was in the process of trying to raise it with a shim on the spring and I broke it.
my opv was the opposite way to what the forum said, then it broke and I got a new machine
It was the opposite way? Meaning what? The pressure was too low?
I think it said clockwise to lower pressure, mine was anti-clockwise.
Seen [url= http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=a-gaggia&gclid=CJae3KngnawCFZJc4Qod7F4sAg ]this[/url]?
Anyone want to buy my classic 🙂
where can I get a replacement basket from? I have the crap perfect crema device that just blocks up with limescale/coffee particles over time.
Talking about Gaggia Classic I think I need to de-scale mine soon ... 🙄
www.happydonkey.co.uk do replacement baskets/filters.
I strongly recommend getting the bottomless portafilter however. Excellent coffee and crema and pretty too as it pours out. Many of the coffee sites recommend the ultimate is to go 'naked' 😀
They also do grinders, tampers and coffee. Plus you can get a backflush basket, which is basically a basket with no holes to clean through the machine. Check if it's okay to use on your machine, but should be okay on a Classic.
And also for good coffee, try www.hasbean.co.uk
Descaling, I live in a hard water area and use filtered water which will help avoid build up. Occasionally you may need to go through the descale process though but should be less frequent. Filtering is also useful if you have high chlorine water to get rid of the nasty tastes from it.
Happy Donkey do the Rancilio steam wand for the Classic, as requested by Mastiles a few days ago. [url= http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hdr0001.html ]Clicky[/url]
They also do a splendid grinder (Iberital, that dispenses a measured freshly-ground dose into your portafilter) and a whole bunch of other good stuff, including rather fine beans.
Is it just me who finds all of Hasbean's beans a bit bitter?
@molgrips - The new crema basket could also look like a double basket with pattern covering the whole base. The give away is there's actually just one tiny hole in the bottom side and that plastic thing used in the portafilter.
The new models will also have an extra leaflet with the instructions stating that the baskets have been replaced by the new ones.
Whilst the Classic is a great machine, this is the worst thing they could have done to the machine really. Though I suppose as these are sold in high street shops (I got mine from Argos!), then you're going to get a lot of people non the wiser just popping into the supermarket and getting pre-ground espresso coffee or even just picking up filter coffee! These gadgets make a half arsed attempt at giving them something resembling coffee.