# Gaggia Classic noob question!



## Zouche (Jan 16, 2011)

Hi everyone!

Been looking around this great site for a couple of weeks since deciding to buy my so far wonderful (used from ebay) gaggia classic... Making 'good' coffee so far, but not great yet. A couple of years ago I was trained to use a commercial machine, so I am hoping to rejuvenate those old skills!

My question today (I am sure there will be many more as time goes on) relates to the pressurised portafilter basket that it seems i have. I was wondering if i remove the rubber disc with the single hole in it and the small plastic piece that goes underneath will it behave as a regular portafilter or do I need to buy a new one? Is this a worthwhile change to make? I am getting good crema with this set up at the moment despite having to use preground coffee and a cup measure as a tamper.... Competition entry coming methinks!

Thanks in advance!


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## Fran (Dec 27, 2010)

I think that removing those extra items will not make the basket act as regular basket. The fundamental difference is that the pressurised basket has a single hole in, as opposed to many.

I changed the basket on my Classic to the standard one, (bought from Happy Donkey), and did not really notice any change to my espresso - but then again, I made the upgrade of only a week with the pressurised basket.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

hi, you really need the standard basket. the pressurised basket, although a good idea from gaggia ( there is a surprise lol), is not a good one. why try to mend something that aint broken.........

regards

mark


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## Zouche (Jan 16, 2011)

Hmm,

Thanks for the replies guys, but now I think I might be even more confused.... My portafilter has the rubber part and the plastic nobble thingy, but the filter basket itself is full of holes. Soooo... what is the difference between the pressurised and non-pressurised baskets? Has the previous owner of mine already changed the basket but left the rubber bit in?

Oh I am confused!!


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

You have the pressurised basket which does have holes but then the plastic doohickey underneath has only one, this is the pressurising bit. The standard basket is a simple metal pressing with holes (more of them) and nothing else.

The pressurised one creates a sort of crema through the plastic bit. with good freshly ground beans you will get a superior result using the standard basket of course as you found out with your barista experience it will take a bit of practise to get the grind, tamp extraction just right. You will kinda need the grinder, tamper and beans though to get there.

Welcome to the slippery slope of home espresso and the wallet bashing involved.

Don


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Both types of baskets should fit the same portafilter, and changing to a standard basket is the recommended option

Sadly, Gaggia has not given me an answer as to why they now include pressurised baskets as standard - despite repeated attempts to obtain this information


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## VTG (Dec 11, 2010)

If I'm not wrong and from what you have described, you should have a standard filter basket and.... it is the inclusion of the rubber disc and black tip that is making it pressurised. In other words, if you can take the rubber disc and black tip out then you would have a standard filter basket, as both bits are optional and doesn't have to be used (as it says in the instruction manual).

I also have a Gaggia Classic and mine came with pressurised filter baskets, but the thing with mine is that the hole underneath is 'built-in' to the filter basket i.e. I only have the black tip and no rubber disc. Somewhat Gaggia decided to stop providing standard baskets and just give 'permanent' pressurised ones and include a note in the box saying so...


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

Is this the basket you have?


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## Fran (Dec 27, 2010)

The pressurised basket has lots of holes on the concave side, but a single hole on the convex side. It's through this single hole that the coffee gets channelled into the plastic 'foamer'.

What I don't understand is how the multiple holes converge into the single hole - are there channels inside the base of the basket? Surely not, as it would be impossible to clean and would get clogged up.... This suggests that only the centre hole is 'real' and the others are just fake 'dimples'.....


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## Zouche (Jan 16, 2011)

BanishInstant said:


> Is this the basket you have?


 Hi there, no that isn't like mine... Mine has a basket full of holes. So, I think that I do have a standard basket with th pressurised element coming in the form of the rubber disc (with a single tiny hole in it) and the plastis bit that sits in the spout hole. From what I have gathered from all of your helpful comments, I think I should perhaps stick with this arrangement until I can get a grinder, I may try it without the rubber bit and plastic though, just to see what happens!

Thanks again for all of your helpful replies!


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## RDW (Aug 26, 2010)

As I understand it, there have have been two versions of this:

(1) Standard basket (multiple holes that go all the way through the metal) + rubber disc + small plastic nozzle = 'perfect crema'. This is the original arrangement, and what the main Operating Instructions still describe:

http://www.gaggia.com/dam/bo/allegati/files/23_classic.pdf

All three components should be used together if you want a pressurised basket. However, the disc and nozzle are completely optional - just leave both out and put the (standard) basket directly in the portafilter for normal behaviour.

(2) Modified basket (only one hole goes all the way through) + small plastic nozzle = 'perfect crema'. This is the simplified but less versatile arrangement currently shipping. Although the main printed instruction book that came with my Classic (last year) described version (1), like VTG I actually got version (2) with an addendum slip that explained the change. In this case, the plastic nozzle shouldn't be omitted or you risk the coffee squirting everywhere when the pump is switched on. If you need a standard basket you may have to purchase it separately (I just got a modified single and a modified double in my box, though I've read elsewhere that at least some US suppliers are including one or both standard baskets as well).

Maybe we should have some sort of FAQ about this - it's obviously a source of confusion. Zouche must have the older version (1), so there should be no problem using the basket without the other two components.


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## Joe Coelho (Jan 2, 2011)

So weird why Gaggia have done this!! I got my Classic 3 years ago, just had a single(Never use!), double(The 1 and only) and coffeepod basket(Still in the box!) !! None of this pressurised nonsense! On top of that they confuse us even more by having 2 versions of this!!!!! Gaggia if its not broken LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!


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## Zouche (Jan 16, 2011)

Thanks for that info RDW, you are correct and I do have the type 1 as you describe... I haven't yet tried it without the disc and nozzle as I am getting reasonable results and want to get a grinder I think before trying to change the method I am using with pre-ground coffee.

Again thank you to all who have taken time to reply and clear up this bit of confusion for me!


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