Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67045 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Gaggia
• Model: 74830

Manufacturer's Description
Gaggia is the best known Italian manufacturer of coffee machines for professional and household use and its name is synonymous with tradition and reliability the world over. The company was set up in 1947 by Achille Gaggia, the man to whom we are indebted for the success of espresso coffee all over the world. It was he who on September 5th 1938 filed a patent no 365726 with which modern steam-free coffee machines may be said to have been born. In 1977 Gaggia began producing coffee machines for the home, launching the Baby Gaggia, which to this day is considered to be the ideal family coffee maker. The designs and technological advances have changed the way the machines look and work but the objective of quality, reliability and the passion for the right espresso everytime has remained throughout Gaggia's history and this is what makes Gaggia legendary.

The Gaggia baby class is a member of the baby family of quality espresso cooffee makers for the home. The Baby class is finished with a stainless steel body which gives the machine durability and contemporary styling. The Gaggia baby class is equipped wth a steam wand in order to froth your own milk for smooth cappuccinos and lattes using the special steamer/frother. The Baby class takes ground coffee or pods.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Awesome price, Awesome coffee - You get what you pay for!
I have wasted a lot of money on coffee makers in the past.

However this Gaggia Baby makes one of the best cups of coffee I have tasted.

It feels well machined and solid from the moment you ease it out of the box. It has a large easy to fill water tank, a cup warmer and looks good as well.

The coffee it produces is superb, good crema layer, (from Gaggia beans ground in a Gaggia grinder!)

I release some hot water to warm the cup before making the coffee.

The milk frother is awesome, creating a nice dense but light foam and heating the milk.

The resulting cappuccino is full of flavour and nice and hot.

It takes almost no cleaning, a rinse of the coffee holder and a wipe of the milk krother is all that is required.

I was so worried about spending so much on a coffee machine, but it is worth every single penny!

Gaggia Baby Class I love it, no wait! I hate it, no I sorta like it
This is a good looking and solid machine. Generally the external engineering is well thought out, everything fits well without any of the awkward fiddling or necessary wiggling about of components that I have found on cheaper coffee makers. Apart from the frothing wand, that is - what were Gaggia thinking? It may seem that it only needs a wipe but when I removed the plastic attachment of the wand and went to the nail breaking effort of pulling off the little washers to check the cleanliness within, oh dear. I don't mean just the plastic extension of the wand that is inserted into the milk as this comes off easily, but rather the retainer that this screws onto. It involves removing two tiny plastic/rubber washers and drop these on the floor at your peril, they are tiny - I have no idea how easy it would be to get replacemts for these. This is the only way to be sure the whole plastic section of the wand is free from milk residue. Ick, is all I can say, thick and sticky, brownish residue in abundance. This spoils an otherwise good coffee maker. Since it is not a cheap item and Gaggia are a reputable manufacturer, surely attention to simplicity in maintaining the hygiene of their machine should have been a design feature.
It does make great coffee, good crema and temperature. Although there is improvement, I am still struggling to get a milk froth that isn't like a dry meringue but from everything I have read about the art of milk frothing it is likely that my lack of expertise is to blame rather than the machine.
Lastly, this is not Gaggia's fault but I got my Baby Class via Garraways and although the external packaging for posting was sound, the Gaggia Box had clearly been opened, was battered and ripped in places and resealed with sellotape, presumably by a four year old as it was so messy and looked awful. This has left me wondering if it had been on display or perhaps been returned by a previous buyer. Since it was a lovely gift from my father I have not made a fuss about this but I would think twice about buying from Garraways in future. In fact, I wouldn't think of buying from them at all if they thought it acceptable to foist this upon a mail recipient.
If a good Espresso is your goal, though, the Baby Class is up to the challenge.

The Best Coffee
I've had my Gaggia Baby Class 74830 Coffee Maker Stainless Steel for about 4 months now. Before that I had only ever had espresso-based coffees in coffee shops, but my Baby Gaggia has transormed my coffee experience.

I have a few tips for newcomers: Tip 1 - try different espresso coffees, they make very different drinks. I prefer Costa's, available from Morrison's and Costa shops themselves. Tip 2 - de-scale every couple of months to keep the flows and pressure right. I use a standard liquid one, and just pump it through bit by bit over an hour, then flush. Tip 3 - keep your coffee well sealed and in the freezer, once pened. I use a plastic clip sealer across the top of the packet. Tip 4 - buy some good quality, traditional espresso/americano coffee cups. It makes a difference, even if just psychological! Tip 5 - enjoy the experience of the making, it's as enjoyable as the drinking.

If you think the machine's expensive - well, it's saving me a fortune in coffees bought out. I prefer coffee I've made myself, and usually forgo a coffee in a restaurant/cafe and head home for a far tastier one. I also enjoy a delicious coffee in place of my evening wine (glass, glasses or bottle...).

I shall never go back!