# New Gaggia Classic owner - baby steps



## abraxas69 (Jan 7, 2016)

I have been brewing coffee for a couple of years now, and finally got myself a second hand GC over the weekend!  Paid slightly over the odds I think, but it was local so not too disappointed in that respect.

Gosh, it sure is a learning curve! But oh what fun!

Results pretty inconsistent so far - best shot was probably the 2nd one I pulled, and I don't have a clue how I achieved it lol.

Just wanted to run a through comments/observations past you all for a reality check that I'm doing things right, if you don't mind.

1. Machine came with no accessories/upgrades whatsoever. I have bought a non-pressurised basket and flat-based 58mm motta tamper - think that's all I need **for now** ? (I am using a Baratza Encore grinder which I know is not ideal - saving up to replace that over the coming weeks/months)

2. Grounds are sometimes wet after a pull - am I correct in my understanding that this isn't necessarily indicative that I'm doing something wrong?

3. And probably the key one - on running a temperature test the water is measuring between 75-80 deg C using the frothing thermometer that came with the machine. However, when measuring a boiling pan of water the thermometer reads 92 deg C max, so perhaps I'm ok and the thermometer isn't great? It looks pretty cheap - worth buying another? If the machine is running a bit cool should I get the thermostat replaced asap, or read up more on temp surfing? From what I've read this isn't an uncommon issue with the GC.

4. Oh, and I'm using filtered water (brita-type). Water is extremely hard where we are so I'm assuming I'm right in thinking the filtering is pretty essential. Not got my head around whether or not to use bottled water yet - that can wait I think!?

Any other tips/comments/questions/answers et al appreciated! I'm reading all the time and sometimes it's difficult to sift out what is relevant to the beginner and that which can wait until I've got a bit more experience under my belt.

Many thanks


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

When you say Brita type, I presume you mean the jugs rather than professional cartridge filters? If so, the bad news is that they do almost nothing to reduce scale as I understand it. You're better off using Waitrose Essential bottled water, Volvic or Tesco Ashbeck. The composition of these is such that they are slow to produce scale bit contain enough minerals to give a reasonable extraction which can boost sweetness. The better news is that a Classic isn't that much hassle to descale.

Don't worry about the puck being wet - if anything it proves that you haven't overfilled the basket. Here is a tip: dose your grinds into the basket and tamp normally. Put a coin (1p or 2p not a quid) on top and lock the portafilter fully into the machine. Don't turn it on! Take the PF out again and see if there's a dent in the dry puck. Ideally it should leave a very slight impression. No dent might mean too much headroom (under-dosed) and if the coin is nearly flush with the puck then you've not got enough headroom for a proper extraction.

Your thermometer is probably somewhat inaccurate. If 92 = roughly 100 (height above sea level and mineral composition notwithstanding) then your 75-80 is closer to 83-88. By the time you're measuring it as it leaves the group it's probably dropped a few degrees so your brew temp might not be far off the nominal 93 (for sake of argument). So unless it's tasting acidic I'd not worry unduly about temperature at the mo.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

What size basket are you using, are you weighing in and out?

Read up on temp surfing.

Bottled water is gonna be better i would say.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Froggy has basically said in 3 lines what I've said in 3 paragraphs LOL!

Bear in mind though that not all bottled waters are remotely suitable - some will turn your machine into a block of solid limescale in no time (ok I exaggerated but I've seen many a bottled water with dry residue figures of 300mg/L and you really want closer to 100. And that's only the TDS aspect - there's loads more to it but that's a whole thread in itself (which already exists).


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## abraxas69 (Jan 7, 2016)

Great, thanks for the quick replies! Fab tip on the coin trick - very useful!

Yes, using the cheap jug water filter things (OH bought it as a "present" lol - oh well, only cost £6 I think). I had thought bottled water was the way to go (have read*some* of the bottled water thread), but got thrown a bit when I read an ad for a machine on here whereby the seller said they'd never put bottled water through it, in such a way that that was a *major* selling point. Thanks for clearing up the confusion, and clarifying exactly why specific brands are the way to go.

Good to hear temp should be ok, that was my gut feeling too (the thermometer being a bit off) but worth checking. I am currently drawing water through the group, waiting for the light to go out, then pulling the shot as soon as the light comes back on. My understanding is this is the most basic form of temp surfing, hope I've got that right!

Oh, basket used is the pressurised double basket that comes with the machine. Dosing at 16g at the moment but will try hotmeal's trick with the coin to see how I'm doing on that score. I have bought a OEM non-pressurised direct replacement which should arrive tomorrow.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

As soon as your new basket comes, throw the old one away, never even look at it again.

Is it a double you purchased?

What you are doing with the waiting for the light to come on is good, if you use the steam wand then you will need to vent the machine after pulling a shot, turn off the steam switch, then pull some water through the group head, it will steam a fair bit, then wait for a cycle or two before pulling another shot.

Water is a tricky one, lots of discussion in the water thread, but for starters i would pick up some ashbeck from tesco and see how you find the taste, maybe some volvic and waitrtose has also been mentioned.


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## abraxas69 (Jan 7, 2016)

Cheers, yes, double purchased. Lol @ throwing away the pressurised basket. I was quite gutted when I realised that was all I had to work with and what that meant! Frustratingly aware I'm doing it all wrong by using the pressurised basket at present, but at least I am aware!









As per my thread title - baby steps! Kinda got the feeling when I was reading about VST baskets and looking at £80 tampers on Saturday afternoon I needed to take a step back and just concentrate on the absolute basics. For now at least ;-)


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

you will want to get a blank basket and some backflushing powder like urnex cafiza sooner rather than later, I consider this essential.


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## yardbent (Aug 8, 2015)

I bought an 18g VST Basket

and an IMS screen.......both inexpensive improvements

I used a 58mm convex tamper @ £20 with no probs

a 58.35 is available from CoffeeHit for £30 - no 'need' to spend £80+

http://coffeehit.co.uk/cafelat-espresso-tamper-5835mm


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Typical temp surf routine for the classic is: Wait for the light to go out. When the light comes back on, flick the steam switch on for 5 seconds. Flick the steam switch off and immediately pull the shot. You don't want to be pulling water through before pulling the shot (unless you've just been steaming milk as Froggy said) otherwise the temp will drop too much when pulling the shot. Probably. YMMV.


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## abraxas69 (Jan 7, 2016)

Great thanks everyone, it's all slowly coming together and starting to make sense (I think!)

Really am enjoying the whole learning experience


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Excellent! Some good advice from (ex and current) Classic owners. Glad it's helping and you're enjoying it. As you can see there are loads of little upgrades and accessories to splash a few quid on when you feel the desire to do so, some more expensive than others. It all helps to get better results which is rewarding and makes the Classic a fun machine to start your journey with. Some stick with it forever as once you've got it sorted it makes good shots - if anything it's wanting to make 2 or more milky drinks in succession that pushes some (eg me!) to upgrade.


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## abraxas69 (Jan 7, 2016)

hotmetal said:


> Excellent! Some good advice from (ex and current) Classic owners. Glad it's helping and you're enjoying it. As you can see there are loads of little upgrades and accessories to splash a few quid on when you feel the desire to do so, some more expensive than others. It all helps to get better results which is rewarding and makes the Classic a fun machine to start your journey with. Some stick with it forever as once you've got it sorted it makes good shots - if anything it's wanting to make 2 or more milky drinks in succession that pushes some (eg me!) to upgrade.


You're spot on there. I'm like a kid in a toy shop at the moment, reading one thread (ooh, I'll do that next), then another (no, I'll do *that*), then another. MrShade's PID has just caught my eye! But got some much needed basic essentials arriving tomorrow (hopefully), so that will push things along for now.

Plus, got a birthday coming up in March. My OH is always complaining she doesn't know what to buy me - going to be no lack of options this year!


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