I highly recommend the purchase of this machine. Great reliability, easy to operate and at a very reasonable price.

Right out of the box, the Espresso feels cheap and flimsy. No metal in sight, and the machine (in my case the Dose) looks like a big ugly hunk of plastic. The steam control knob feels like a child’s toy and is so poorly mounted on its stem that it feels like you could twist it off. The water reservoir is a skimpy 42 ounces, and the alleged warming plate is ugly white plastic and produces markedly little warmth. This by far is the ugliest appliance in my kitchen and is also among the most expensive. Most importantly, the machine weighs only 10 pounds, which makes tightening the portafilter a chore as you have to pin the machine down to keep it from tipping over or just being shoved around the counter.

The mechanicals inside appear to be solid, and the portafilter is sturdy and serviceable. The boiler appears willing enough, though it is really tiny, and the steaming wand is excellent. The dosing function on my Dose model appears mainly useless, as my brewing results worked better with manual operation, and this pointless features adds about $50 to the price of the base model. Eyeball your cup’s fluid level and save $50. No three way valve, but the filter puck is reasonably dry and easily emptied.

Now the real problem – if you plan to use your own beans for this, you need a $300 grinder from Gaggia. That’s it, end of story. My $90 Capresso Infinity after much experimentation with tamping and grind proved incapable of making anything other than sludge due to the non-pressurized portafilter. I called the vendor up and their service staff informed me (in a sympathetic and polite manner) that the Infinity simply couldn’t produce a consistent fine grind. Even the popular Baratzas (in the $100-$200 range) can’t produce a “Gaggia grind” without being disassembled and modified by the user. (This is true – check the Baratza website FAQs). Upshot: nothing less than a $300 grinder can produce home ground coffee for this machine.

The vendor told me to try pre-ground espresso, and sure enough the commercially ground coffee I tried was much much better, but this means dealing with a short lifespan and keeping the coffee in an airtight container in the freezer. Even after trying that, I found that the pre-ground produced nice crema only when very fresh, like 1-2 days, and generally not after it came out of the freezer. If you don’t mind running off to a local store for a small dose of commercially ground coffee every day, this is your machine. Or you can buy a grinder that costs as much or more than your Gaggia machine does.

Anyway, the disappointment for me here was not necessarily that the machine has such extensive “special needs”. If it was elegant and solidly made, I would still give it a pass, though maybe not for me personally as buying $600 worth of home espresso equipment is beyond my budget. However, even if we factor out the demanding grind requirement, the flimsiness of this machine and its ugly plastic frame simply is unacceptable at the $250-$300 price point. A Saeco Aroma in the same price range is made of metal, has a bigger steel boiler, weighs 30% more, and uses a pressurized portafilter that works nicely with less finely ground coffee.

The Gaggia has a better reputation for durability, but the new Gaggia Espressos look like they are made on the same assembly lines as Saeco’s (the companies are commonly held) with the main difference being the portafilters, so I have little reason to assume that this cheap plastic eyesore will prove any more durable than a comparable Saeco. The Aroma is much easier to use, does not need a grinder that costs as much as it does, IMO is more attractive, and is at the same price point. I don’t know why anyone would buy one of these Gaggias. Maybe if you have an expensive grinder, and your old espresso machine died, and you need a cheap replacement? Whatever. I am underwhelmed.

The Review: This is a serious coffee machine. It’s “commercial quality” so it’s heavy (almost 50lbs) and very well built. It takes up some counter space (mostly depth) but it looks elegant and is easy to keep clean. The portafilter (handle with basket for coffee) is very sturdy and fits snugly. It has a useful ready gauge and simple buttons (as noted above) for on-off and start-stop.

Now the important stuff: It makes great coffee consistently. I moved up to this machine from a Braun pump espresso machine. This one has better pressure and temperature. I used to brag about my Braun machine because it was inexpensive and made consistently good esperesso. The first shots I pulled from this machine made me realize that I didn’t realize what I was missing. If you know how to make espresso, this machine lets you pull easy, consistent, and quality shots.

Another great feature of this machine is the continuous steam and hot (very hot!) water outlet. If you’ve ever had trouble steaming milk on machine you’ll be impressed and maybe even surprised at how well this works. The machine also recovers well and quickly after you pull shots or use the steam wand.

The tanks is removable and holds a lot of water. It’s easy to fill in place as well. You can leave this machine on all day if you like (it’s designed to work that way) and you might want to if you’re like me and drink too much coffee. The reason is that it can take a little while to warm up if it’s been off for a while. That’s probably the only thing I’m not fond of with this machine. First thing in the morning it can take a while to warm up (5-10 mins). This makes sense given the size and build of the machine. It simply takes time to warm up to the proper brewing temperature. However, I had gotten used to a machine that only takes a couple of minutes. So, my new morning routine includes going down to turn on the machine and coming down after my shower for my great coffee!

If you’ve never had a pump machine before, you may need some practice, but I think this is a good machine to learn on (due to its consistency). Just remember to follow the instructions (especially not to overfill the filter) and adjust either the grind of your coffee or the pressure of your tamping to get the desired results.

I hope this is helpful to you if you’re considering this machine. I’d say it does well or better to other machines in this price range. It’s a definite step up in quality and build from the machine’s you’ll find in the $500-1000 price range. It’s a complete improvement in machine and coffee from pretty much any machine under $500.

One last comment, Pasquini has been excellent and very responsive to questions. I’m very pleased to see them here on Amazon.

Good luck with your quest for great coffee…I found it with this machine!