Any coffee making lovers out there?

[gadgetman]

LOL, a layered latte would show it off best

[swedishskoda]

A rather drastic method of improving coffee standards, not commendable but understandable:

Vancouver, BC, yesterday. No one was injuried.

[Royston]

OMG! I tried to impress some dinner guests this evening with a nice frothy coffee, only to find that the Baby Gaggia is Fubared! The water isn't heating properly and the steamer is no longer with us. :(

is it worth trying to repair? Or am I better off just buying a new one? A bean to cup one with several electronic settings?

[gadgetman]

Scaled level probe Royston

[Royston]

Scaled level probe Royston

what does that mean? Do I need descaler? or is it something far more expensive?

[robmawer]

Are you in a soft water area? If so, I'd be surprised if you had an issue with scale, but gadgetman does probably have more knowledge on the subject than me.

That said, for the cost of a pack of descaler (think the Gaggia branded stuff is about a tenner) it could be worth getting some and running it through anyway. I'd imagine getting a Baby repaired would probably not be worthwhile, although Gaggia UK might operate either a well-priced repair service or trade-ins against better machines, so it could be worth trying to contact them to see if they can help.

Rob.

[Royston]

Cheers Rob I'll give it a try. Don't really fancy buying a new un for the amount I use it these days.

[gadgetman]

Does it have a pressurised boiler, or is it heat on demand?

For a boiler, it will fill approx 2/3 with water, leaving 1/3 for steam to build up. Now when the level probe scales, the boiler over fills. Thus less/no steam, and usually the safety valve will pop as the machine trys to heat the water to the 130C the steam will be at which doesnt happen.

If a heat on demand hot block, then the machine mists water in the block. The holes for steam/water are usually 1.5mm-2.5mm in diameter at best. Steam is bad for pulling all the crud out of the water quicker than hot water heating to boiling does.

I'm sure if you google your machine model and descale level probe, you'll find a guide

[Royston]

Thanks for the replies chaps. It is a pressured boiler so Ive been out to get some Gaggia baby descaler and spent a couple of hours pumping the descaler through only to find that there were about three flakes of limescale inside.

The problem is with a relay switch behind the steam button. This button has always been a bit stiff then all of a sudden it started gliding in and out. After descaling I noticed that the temperature light would go out as soon as the steam button was switched on. So I held it in and the steamer worked a treat. Then I noticed crackling and sparking when the steam button was used, along with an electrical burning smell. Bugger.

Anyone got a link to a service manual for a Gaggia Baby?

[robmawer]

No service manual I'm afraid, but it's probably not that complicated inside...

Just went on the Gaggia website to see if they had anything about parts, and it would appear that Gaggia UK is no more and that Phillips have now taken them over. So unless the switch that has failed is fairly generic, you might struggle to acquire a replacement switch.

That said, I wonder if the demise of the UK distributor will have had any effect on the availabilty/price of new machines - there's a Gaggia shop at the outlet village in Castleford (J32 M62), might be worth seeing if they've got some stock they're keen to shift at a highly competitive price.

Rob.

[gadgetman]

Parts are easy to come by if you look on the net

[NewbieVRS]

Same as you, love coffee, had had loads of machines then about 2 years ago we bought a magimix one thats linked to the Nexpresso system

Nespresso™: the Art of Espresso. An exclusive Espresso Machine Range & 12 Coffee Premium Blends

Fantastic, probably averages 3-4 cups a day, never let us down,

2 big pluses

Coffee is in capsules so you can make different strengths/types a cup at a time, ideal when people want different coffees

Machine only needs a thourough clean about 3 times a year & they supply cleaning kits for this.

Capsules are ordered on the web & come the next day, really is a stunning system, fantastic again if you only want one cup, can be made in no time.

Will also do milk frothing etc if that floats your boat,

Stuart

Can't agree enough with this!

My wife bought me one with an "Aeroccino" automatic milk frother - the coffee is absolutely wonderful, and I am the world's biggest coffee snob

[Brimma]

SWMBO bought a Dolce Gusto machine half price before Christmas. Pods are quite expensive at £3 + for 8 drinks, but the Latte Macchiato is pretty damn good

[simonsheil]

My latest toy is one of these.

Very good :yes:

[Aspman]

I've got a Gaggia Classic. I only use Illy coffee with it nothing else come close.

But now whenever we get visitors I get sent off to make coffee. You feel appreciated until you're on the 6th one.

[gadgetman]

IMHO Lavazza is much better than Illy

[All torque]

Me and the Mrs own a large coffee shop (93 covers) We`ve just replaced our espresso machines at a cost of just over £5000 :'(

We use two types of coffee - L'Antico for the espresso based coffees and Taylors Imperial for the filter -

http://www.continentalcoffee.co.uk/page.asp?pid=11

http://www.taylorscoffee.co.uk/lifestyle_cafeimperial.html

[gadgetman]

What machine do you have?

[gilesk]

Nespresso Krups machine, love it.

[All torque]

Two of these -

http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/espresso_tre.html

[Royston]

Well still struggling to get hold of a replacemennt switch for the Gaggia. Tried a couple of parts companies in the US but they don't have the correct type.

So thinking of sticking it on EBay for spares / repair and getting a new machine. I like the look of the Rancilio Silvia V3, gets good feedback and looks a solid industrial strength machine. Anyone on here had any experience of these units?

Rancilio Silvia

[Aspman]

No but it looks good value

http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=RASI

[kit]

just seen this thread...if anybody is looking for a quality coffee machine i would suggest checking with local auction houses for catering auctions I was at one here in Dublin a few weeks ago and and some super duper ones went for 100 euro!!

K:)

[Royston]

Bump! I didn't end up forking out for the Rancillio Silvia. New baby forces fiscal rethink.

I think I've been a bit snobby on the coffee front, "you cant make good coffee without steam etc.." and recently been looking into the Nespresso coffee machines. By all accounts they make good coffee, and don't demand 2 hours prep and cleaning to achieve a tasty good quality beverage. And they're small and compact. And they come with a 3 year guarantee. And they're reasonably cheap.

So Magimix Citiz and milk could soon be taking up worktop space in me kitchen. Any views on Nespresso?

[gadgetman]

But its a pod system rather than a 'proper' coffee machine