Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just purchased this machine from Amazon and have been incredibly impressed with the build quality, features, and quality of the coffee produced. You can't beat this machine in terms of the product design, multitudes of modes of operation, and elimination of cleaning chores often associated with fully automatic home machines.
Unboxing the product is your first clue to the level of detail the manufacturer paid to the product experience. As is custom with Gaggia products, this machine was designed and built at the Milan factory -- something that will not escape you from the early moments of opening the box. Once the shipping box is opened, you simply remove the outer box to reveal the inside box, which has two convenient long handles to make it easy for you to lift the machine out of the shipping box. Inside, the sealed inner box contains your unit, with prominent serial number markings on the inner box and the "Made in Milan, Italy" (naturally in Italian) stamped proudly.
You'll be surprised with the highly durable construction, in particular, the stainless steel finish which seems to be impervious to finger prints in my usage so far -- and the high quality hinges that reveal the inner workings of the machine: the brew group, drip tray, and grounds drawer. One unique feature of this machine is that the brew group is fully removable for easy maintenance and cleaning. Given that o-rings over time will break down and are a common service issue on home machines from other manufacturers, the ability to self maintain in your kitchen without needing to pull the machine out or remove it to another location is a plus. Maintenance kits for the o-rings can be found for as little as $9.99.
The manuals are well written and the menu system is intuitive and easy to use. Brew strength can be varied with a simple dial on the front of the machine, and individual settings for each beverage, including coffee quantity, volume, temperature, and milk froth settings, if applicable, can be specified. There's also a coffee chute for pre-ground coffee should you chose to use some for a particular beverage instead of the beans. This gets to the main strength of this machine: it's completely configurable. Many people gravitate to manual machines due to the lack of control over the Espresso pull; this machine not only lets you program it, you can change it easily before every cup without needing to descend into tons of on-screen menus.
The milk carafe is a fabulous feature -- and it's zero mess. You simply pop it in, move the arm over the cup, and select the beverage you want. When you're done making milk beverages, you return the arm to the middle position which activates a steam rinse feature that flushes the milk circuit with steam for cleanliness. Simply remove the carafe to the fridge for safe keeping until your next cleaning!
Another feature of the adjustable brew center is that it can be removed for exceptionally tall cups. Nice for those tall cups in the morning on the way to work!
Since energy consumption is on everybody's mind these days, the unit features a double boiler (one for the brew group, and one for the milk circuit.) There's an optional ECO mode which will automatically power down the milk circuit when not in use -- simply call-up the machine's settings to activate the feature. Furthermore, the unit features an adjustable auto-standby feature which will put the unit into standby mode drawing less than a watt of power.
I couldn't be happier with my unit. The coffee taste, strength, and temperature are perfect. The adjustments are virtually unlimited and you can achieve precisely the results you want consistently. A great appliance for any coffee lover's kitchen!
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Gaggia Accademia Espresso Machine
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