GAGGIA ESPRESSO machine
The good looking GAGGIA espresso machine had our hopes up. As coffee roasters and coffee students we liked previous reviewers who talked this machine up. The first brewing attempt produced a bland drink with no crema as promised by Whole Latte Love. I then spent an afternoon adjusting variables.
The best espresso is Italian espresso and the only way to get great Italian espresso at home is with a Gaggia espresso machine.
Our coffee is one day after roasting with a fine grind by Rocky Rancilio which cost more than the Gaggia Color. Eventually I took the temperature of the water exiting the brew head. 160 Fahrenheit. Water this cool can’t make coffee by any method. Long conversations with Whole latte Love had them admitting that we knew more about coffee than them. Promises of full refund did not pan out although we did force them into issuing a return shipping label.
Any espresso aficionado knows you must have a good machine to make a perfect cup of espresso. And, not all machines are created equal. The process involved in making espresso should not be left to an inferior machine.