# My new Gaggia Classic arrived this morning



## sand133 (Sep 28, 2013)

Ordered from Amazon for £200, arrived this morning, just got it up and running, pulled a shot and made a coffee! WOW what a difference in taste. I buy beans from Union Roasted ( Rogue espresso ) my local coffee uses the same and the coffee is excellent, I always failed to pull decent shots from my previous machine which was a Delongia Icona but the first shot from the classic and I can taste similar notes in the coffee as the shop brought one. Just need to now dial in my grind and wait for my non-pressurised filter basket to arrive

The classic at £200 is obviously still an entry level machine but then again electric pump machines will never come close to the expensive machines like the Rocket one of the reasons why I decided to go for the Gaggia over the more expensive Rancilo Siliva.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

It's entry level at price , but with the right skillz , grinder , technique and of course fresh coffee , it's more than capable of making great espresso!!!! Glad your happy with your choice. If you need any advice etc then please ask away . We promise to be a bit more helpful than the last thread you opened up for comment ...


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Congratulations on your new set up.

A non pressurised basket, fresh rested beans and getting it dialling in properly will make the world of difference. It jumps to a completely different level.

I got though a kilo of beans in no time when I first started. It might be worth ordering a kg of good beans from somewhere like rave. They do this amount for approx £10-£12.


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## sand133 (Sep 28, 2013)

urbanbumpkin said:


> Congratulations on your new set up.
> 
> A non pressurised basket, fresh rested beans and getting it dialling in properly will make the world of difference. It jumps to a completely different level.
> 
> I got though a kilo of beans in no time when I first started. It might be worth ordering a kg of good beans from somewhere like rave. They do this amount for approx £10-£12.


A kg of beans might be a bit too much for me. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house 1 a day in the morning so a 250g of beans lasts me ~14 days

Thanks for your comments guys


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

sand133 said:


> A kg of beans might be a bit too much for me. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house 1 a day in the morning so a 250g of beans lasts me ~14 days
> 
> Thanks for your comments guys


That's what I said when I first got my beginner set-up. I soon realised how easy it is to chomp though a kilo of beans by yourself in a month - especially when it's new and you've got the novelty factor. 1 a day will easily lead to 2 when it's tasting great.

I'm still going through a similar quantities - of not more.

You might want to consider buying a bit more and freezing as it will save you on the postage. You'll be glad you did when your first 250g has quickly disappeared.


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## GS11 (Feb 20, 2013)

Congrats on your new machine sand133

Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed mine:good:

Do you plan on carrying out any mods i.e. silvia wand / opv?


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Yay! Welcome to the Gaggia Club!









Have to agree with the above comments. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and I wanted to perfect my techniques when I first started and ended up going to my local roaster (10mins by bike) once every three or four days to buy 250g each time. Got me fit tho...


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## sand133 (Sep 28, 2013)

GS11 said:


> Congrats on your new machine sand133
> 
> Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed mine:good:
> 
> Do you plan on carrying out any mods i.e. silvia wand / opv?


I will put a Silvia wand on it not sure about the opv, that sounds too complicated and probably screw up the 2 year warranty


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Changing the wand is a simple procedure , just keep the original in case you want to put it back on for warranty reasons . Changing the wand will allow you to learn how to steam and make really tasty milk for your drinks, and if really worth doing to improve your coffee skills and experience . If you haven't already invest In a small proper milk pitcher , temp tags available from glenn ( admin limited in his signature ) ,are a cheap and great way of seeing when your milk gets to temperature without a thermometer getting in the way .they simply stick on the side of the pitcher and change colour when up to temp .

Have fun!


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

sand133 said:


> I will put a Silvia wand on it not sure about the opv, that sounds too complicated and probably screw up the 2 year warranty


The opv mod is really easy, have a look on the video thread as a member has put a short how to video up. I don't think you need to worry about the opv affecting the warranty if there was an issue. You can't look at the machine and know that it's been changed, you can look at the machine and know that the wand has been changed but it's really easy to reverse any changes to both the wand or the opv.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

c_squared said:


> The opv mod is really easy, have a look on the video thread as a member has put a short how to video up. I don't think you need to worry about the opv affecting the warranty if there was an issue. You can't look at the machine and know that it's been changed, you can look at the machine and know that the wand has been changed but it's really easy to reverse any changes to both the wand or the opv.


I have an OPV gauge you can borrow for the price of return postage.



Mrboots2u said:


> Changing the wand is a simple procedure , just keep the original in case you want to put it back on for warranty reasons . Changing the wand will allow you to learn how to steam and make really tasty milk for your drinks, and if really worth doing to improve your coffee skills and experience . If you haven't already invest In a small proper milk pitcher , temp tags available from glenn ( admin limited in his signature ) ,are a cheap and great way of seeing when your milk gets to temperature without a thermometer getting in the way .they simply stick on the side of the pitcher and change colour when up to temp .
> 
> Have fun!


And I really recommend the temptags; with the longer silvia wand, the thermometer has a way of getting in the way.

What pitcher do you use?


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## sand133 (Sep 28, 2013)

Thanks Kyle, I might take you up on your offer on the OPV when I get some time off from work. I have a pitcher it's this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Coffee-Frothing-Andrew-James/dp/B006TFEWW2/ref=pd_bxgy_kh_img_z

and brought a thermometer the other day.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

sand133 said:


> Thanks Kyle, I might take you up on your offer on the OPV when I get some time off from work. I have a pitcher it's this one
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Coffee-Frothing-Andrew-James/dp/B006TFEWW2/ref=pd_bxgy_kh_img_z
> 
> and brought a thermometer the other day.


It's essentially the Rattle Ware pitcher.

I have the same in 20oz.


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## twistywizard (Sep 3, 2012)

Wand and OPV Mod will make big differences and as stated are easily changed back.

Also a second vote for Temp Tags!


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## coffeegibson (Oct 29, 2013)

it's a great little machine for the price!


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## iroko (Nov 9, 2012)

Congrats on your new machine, great choice, enjoy your coffee journey.


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## Nijntje (Oct 2, 2013)

Daren said:


> That's what I said when I first got my beginner set-up. I soon realised how easy it is to chomp though a kilo of beans by yourself in a month - especially when it's new and you've got the novelty factor. 1 a day will easily lead to 2 when it's tasting great.
> 
> I'm still going through a similar quantities - of not more.
> 
> You might want to consider buying a bit more and freezing as it will save you on the postage. You'll be glad you did when your first 250g has quickly disappeared.


Agree totally with Daren ^^^^^


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Do you still want a steam wand Nijntje?


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## Nijntje (Oct 2, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> Do you still want a steam wand Nijntje?


I'm in two minds Coffechap. I'm not sure I can be bothered to send it back to Amazon. I'm thinking I might just change to steam valve myself. Obviously that will cost a little money, but save the hassle factor....


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

Nijntje said:


> I'm in two minds Coffechap. I'm not sure I can be bothered to send it back to Amazon. I'm thinking I might just change to steam valve myself. Obviously that will cost a little money, but save the hassle factor....


Steam Valve comes to £50 inc delivery.

I changed it myself after I got mine.


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

Kyle548 said:


> Steam Valve comes to £50 inc delivery.
> 
> I changed it myself after I got mine.


Where did you get yours from Kyle? I changed the steam valve on mine and got it from mark (gaggiamanualservice) for something around £32-34.


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

c_squared said:


> Where did you get yours from Kyle? I changed the steam valve on mine and got it from mark (gaggiamanualservice) for something around £32-34.


I got it from eBay.

Mmmm, maybe I got ripped off....


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Yep, Mark sells them for around £35 delivered...


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