The Gaggia Classic. A little legend of home coffee making. After breaking Sunbeam and Breville coffee machines in a little over a year, I decided to go for a simple, elegant, repairable and modifiable machine. And boy, am I ever glad I did.

I purchased my Classic nearly two years ago and it is pumping out about eight perfect shots of coffee a day. It hasn't missed a beat.

As with any coffee machine, your results will only be as good as your grinder allows. Buying a great coffee machine but a poor grinder will only allow poor coffee t...Read more

I was apprehensive about buying my first coffee machine. I love good coffee, but didn't really know how to make it or what to buy. After some research, I decided to pay a bit extra for the Gaggia Classic and am happy that I did. Friends comment that it produces wonderful "crema". I am just happy to be able make a great flat white every time.

I have had no problems with coffee spurting out from underfilling. The frothing wand works easily to produce steaming, frothy milk. I do agree with another review that the milk jug can't fit under the f...Read more

This is great little machine and I should stress that it makes fantastic coffee but it does have a few annoyances that is worth considering especially if you don't have much experience making coffee.
Pros-
Easy to use for the most part

Looks great and doesn't take up a heap of space

Really does make awesome, awesome coffee. Both my wife and I have worked in many cafes making coffee and this really does compare with a professional coffee and depending on the cafe makes better.

Cons-
There is a switch that allows you to either expres...Read more

This would be a great espresso machine, but for a fundamental design fault. Unless you pack the coffee holder really tight with coffee it spurts coffee everywhere except the cup. You then spend the next 20 minutes wiping coffee off the surfaces of everything in your kitchen. I have had the machine for almost a year now and about a third to a half of the time I have this problem and it really annoys me. I have complained about this to the shop where I bought it and, although the staff there have been helpful, their basic message is that it is my...Read more

We've had our Classic for over 6 years now and it's still going strong. It takes plenty of abuse, and makes at least two coffees everyday. You do the maths, that's about 4000 coffees. Occasional service and descale every now and then, can't complain!!

It's a perfect, good quality starters machine. The group handle is heavy and brass and solid. And it has a nice simple interface.

Invest in a good grinder and you will be rewarded. The rule that coffee snobs go by is that you should spend as much on your grinder as your machine. We were usin...Read more

Bought a brand new one on eBay for $400 including shipping from the UK, much cheaper than Aus retail stores. All that was needed was an adapter plug to fit in our sockets ($5-$15). Keep in mind that purchasing this way usually means no warranty but some sellers will offer one.

This machine makes excellent coffees and is very simple to use. The second coffee I ever made using this machine was as good as the majority of cafes in Sydney, and that was using cheap supermarket coffee. With a grinder and quality fresh roasted beans this machine can...Read more

I love my little Gaggia Classic. It fits perfectly in our small kitchen as it is really compact. It produces a great shot once you have got the hang of it and it's not too hard to figure it out. Just make sure that you turn off the steamer before you make another shot as you are unable to use the steamer and make coffee at the same time. Made this mistake once and ended up with a burnt coffee.

The steam wand is useless, but we will replace it for a Rancilio one. Not sure why they sell them like that??

It heats really well and can produce...Read more

I had been trying to talk my husband into buying a new coffee machine for a while, but as over the years we had purchased a number of these that just ended up staying in the cupboard he was reluctant to spend money on another one. I did plenty of research and finally convinced him that the Gaggia classic had plenty of good reviews and we decided this would be our Christmas present to each other.

We love our coffee and both like a very strong cup. We have been more than happy with this purchase, we are able to make our coffee just to our ta...Read more

The old 'You get what you pay for' doesn't hold true here. An expensive unit that doesn't quite match the quality of the coffee it makes with the price is costs.
Makes a good coffee with the double group. Simple to use with no electronics to breal down which make it reliable. Easy to clean with removable reservoir and drip tray. 17 bar pump prssure ensures great crema if the coffee is good. Nice and compact, fits in any nook and cranny in the kitchen/bar area.
The single coffee group makes an only half decent coffee. Cleaning the machine can be...Read more

I've got the machine for about 3 years now and still makes perfect coffee every shot pulled. I have made some modifications to the steam wand by removing the stock "panarelo" and replacing it with a $20 wand from Coffeeparts.com.au and now I can texture the milk to make the best rosettas and hearts. Steaming is a bit tricky as you have to time when the boiler is on (this is when the boiler ready light is off). I normally pump water into the boiler, count to ten then start steaming the milk. It takes about 30 seconds.
Every week I make sure...Read more