The Gaggia Challenge: For the love of espresso

People who spend any amount of time around me quickly become aware of my preference for coffee, especially espresso. People who hung out with me in high school seem to still remember the many, many nights spent at Big Boy, and Dan sitting there with his hot tea in the corner booth with Wes and the gang. My freshman year in college I made the transition to espresso, and later that year—1991 for you historians out there—saw me with my first espresso machine, a gift (thanks R+S!). That little Krups machine made horrible coffee really, but it was hella fun. I was blasting that thing off all the damn time. In 1997, I bought my second espresso machine, also a little Krups job. Again, it made horrible coffee of course, but that much fun for $50 was a deal made in Heaven.

Since about 1999 though I started scouring the website of Whole Latte Love, the best place to buy an espresso machine anywhere this side of the Atlantic. I used to visit their site all the goddamn time. It was awesome. For an espresso lover, it was all drool, drool, drool. I had my eye on one particular machine, The Gaggia Classic.

I waited and watched. I, of course, had a natural reluctance to part with my hard-earned cash. In 2002 I realized that I had waited long enough—if my interest was strong enough to last 3 years of looking, I knew it wasn’t going away. Over Thanksgiving 2002 Whole Latte Love ran a fabulous sale on the Gaggia Classic. They were selling it for the regular price, but were throwing in a free Gaggia burr coffee grinder, several tins of illy coffee, a frothing pitcher, a temperature guage, and a bunch of other extras that didn’t normally come with the machine. So I bought my first “nice” espresso machine from Gaggia of Italy.

It occurred to me recently that next month I’ll have had the machine for three years already. And what’s the word? I love it. It makes fabulous espresso with rich crema. My drink of choice is a cappuccino, whether at home or at a café. I see that exchange rates have gotten less favorable with the euro and the Gaggic Classic and Rancilio Silvia, another machine I considered, are going for $500 now. (They were both $400 three years ago.)

The difference between moving from the cheapo Krups to the Gaggia was like going from a pocketknife to a laser-etching tool. One is cheap and simple and doesn’t do a whole lot. The other is a precision instrument that can work wonders, but takes some time and patience to learn. In my research for an espresso machine, one comment I ran across repeatedly was that moving to a high-end semi-automatic espresso machine takes time. Most people say give it a month. And a month was about how long it took me to consistently pull perfect shots of espresso. But I think it was more like six months when I reached the perfect recipe and felt totally comfortable with the machine.

One thing that I can’t stress enough if you’re looking at good espresso machines is the importance of the grinder. I used the Gaggia MM that had been included in the package, but the grind of the coffee wasn’t consistent. Hence, the espresso coming out of the machine was inconsistent. Sometimes it would be a great shot, and sometimes not so great. I eventually upgraded to the Solis Maestro Plus and have been very happy with it. I know exactly what it’s going to produce, and my espresso is consistently great (in the 20-25 second range with excellent crema). Honestly, the grinder makes a huge difference with these machines. Don’t under-budget yourself and get a cheap grinder.

I definitely worry a lot less about what beans I’m using. The main thing is to use freshly roasted coffee beans, and if you’re ordering your coffee from Italy, you’ll pay a lot more, and it’s a lot less fresh. If you have a local coffee roaster in your area, check them out. We have Cafe del Sol here. They’re good. Think “fresh” for beans, and don’t bother with expensive exotics.

Another thing to consider is the water. Some people will say that the coffee you make is only as good as the water you’re using. I use filtered tap water because the water is over-chlorinated here, but mostly just use water that you like the taste of. I’ve heard some arguments that say that hard water will clog up your machine with residue. That’s probably true.

My love of coffee definitely goes back to my parents. Growing up, I remember my dad always having a cup of coffee nearby no matter the time of day, no matter where he was in the house. My parents still use the same Dutch coffee filter system that they’ve been using since before I was born. To this day, my dad still drinks more coffee than anyone I know. My mom seems to have mostly given it up though.

I still remember the first time I tasted coffee. I was 5 years old, and there was a cup of coffee that had been left on an end table in the living room with just a little bit at the bottom. I grabbed a sip of that then-cold brew and decided it was pretty good. It tasted a lot like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and I had already decided that coffee was an aroma I liked.

Some people grow up with wine at the table. I grew up with coffee, although I didn’t start drinking it until college. I admit to being a CoffeeGeek, and now you know the story of my Gaggia Classic. Wasn’t that fun?

If you’re looking for more coffee fun, read this post I wrote in 2003 called the Soy Latte Challenge where I test several soy milks, and how they hold up after being frothed and mixed with espresso.