Rancilio vs Gaggia

FransJacques

With Christmas coming up I've been on the hunt for a nice machine for my lady friend. Being italian and a former chef she's somewhat picky about her coffee.

Anyone have any experience with the Rancilio Silvia or the Gaggia Classic?

Or even better ever seen/compared both?

But of a long shot I know but can't hurt asking. Thanks for any opinions.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

jibberjim

It's not the machine you need to worry about but the grinder...

I certainly like or Silvia though.

teagar

I thought Phillips bought up the cadaverous corpse that was Saeco/gaggia earlier this year?

disgruntledgoat

Whilst I had a lower end Gaggia, it was fairly poor, noisy and broke down after a year. Just soes you know.

couldashouldawoulda

I got a Slivia and my bother a Gaggia Classic. Both are going strong after years of daily use.

When buying mine I did some research over on coffee geeks and these 2 were the clear favourites at the time. imo both are very good single boilers - so its a tough(but good) choice!

I'd prefer the coffee and cappuccinos from the Silvia - but my brother uses different beans & grinder so I cant do an exact comparison. If it got nicked - Id buy another Silvia although there doesnt seem to be as many stockists.

And do budget for a burr grinder - even a starbucks barista (£40ish) is better then pre ground coffee ime.

alfablue

Agree, grinder is important.

As for the Gaggia, for the price its okay and can make decent coffee (I have one), but the boiler is small (has to reheat before I can finish a cap) and the frothing nozzle is rubbish - I use it without. You can upgrade the nozzle with a Rancillo one (about £27). Reading and learning about making coffee drastically improved the performance of my machine - well, the coffee output anyway (for example, correct grind, correct tamp, 30 minutes pre-heating etc), so none of these are "idiot proof".

I haven't used the Rancilio but all reviews rate it as better than the classic and so I would spend the extra given the choice again.

Gaggia are still available in some online stores. Saeco has now been acquired by Philips (omg :twisted: ). I would be surprised if the brand was not resurrected.

The Gaggia is available for about £250 (e.g. Amazon), whereas the Silvia will cost you around £400, so pound for pound the Gaggia is probably reasonable, but if you spend about £600 for a Silvia plus good grinder you will probably have a great setup.

guinea

Hmm - sorry for the thread hijack.

My gf has been given £400 from her sister to buy a coffee machine for her xmas.

What's the best machine you get for that kind of money?

Since it's a kitchen gadget, it absolutely has to look cool. She likes the older looking enamelled models. To be honest, this is almost as important as the taste of the coffee it produces.

alfablue

guinea wrote:

Hmm - sorry for the thread hijack.

My gf has been given £400 from her sister to buy a coffee machine for her xmas.

What's the best machine you get for that kind of money?

Since it's a kitchen gadget, it absolutely has to look cool. She likes the older looking enamelled models. To be honest, this is almost as important as the taste of the coffee it produces.

FWIW if you are talking about the Kitchen Aid brand, my son has a poor experience of their stuff for reliability (he's a chef) - of course they may do better in a domestic setting. As for the coffee makers I am afraid I haven't a clue as to how good they would be, but instinct suggests that the best coffee won't come from products that focus so much on image.

Aggieboy

I've had the Gaggia classic for 3 years this Christmas, and can't fault it. As a Christmas present from my wife, the surprise was spoilt somewhat as we boarded the ferry to France and she remembered she'd forgotten it!! Couldn't even give me the other presents wihout spoiling the surprise as it was the grinder and espresso cups
I agree re the grinder and have this one http://www.cookware-online.co.uk/shop/coffee-makers-espresso-cappuccino-machines/coffee-grinders/dualit-coffee-grinder-255011.html?shopping

teagar

Surprised on-one's mentoined a bean-to-cup machine?

All this faff about grinders.

Makes a lot less mess too.

pedylan

I've had a Gaggia Classic for about 10 years and it has never broken down. I bought it for good home made espressos which it does very well at the rate of two cups per coffee fill.

I would not rate the frother - I've tried a variety of milks with differing fat content and never got anything better than sludge. So cappuccinos aren't great in my opinion, which makes it a basic machine with basic functions for the money. Definitely think it's worth looking elsewhere then, as well as at gaggia.

I use the Gaggia MM grinder which is excellent for espresso to cafetiere and has been in daily use for 10 years.

I've been dropping hints about a stove top espresso maker this Xmas, would sit well on top of the log burner. I expect I'll be out buying one in the Jan sales if my previous hints are anything to go by.

pedylan

teagar wrote:

Surprised on-one's mentoined a bean-to-cup machine?

All this faff about grinders.

Makes a lot less mess too.

The ritual, especially at weekends, is as important as the taste!.

Gazzaputt

I had a Gaggia Synchrony Compact and was glad I took out the 5 year extended warranty. New boiler twice, pump, casing and grinder.

Just bought a Gaggia Baby Compact which so far seem to be an excellent machine.

Gaggia is now under Philips ownership and I've been told there are no Gaggia units being imported.

nickwill

I've had a Gaggia Classic for 8 years, and it has been brilliant, even after being used several times a day during that period. It repays regular maintenance. I strip down and clean the head (I think thats the term) about once a month to keep things up to scratch. To me the fact that it is user serviceable is one of the strengths of the machine.
The frother works if used with care, but will never match a commercial machine.
As has been said the quality of the beans and the grinder are critical.

FransJacques

One question on routine maintainance: when you unscrew the head on the machine, do you ever actually find much in there? Or is it just ritual/preventative?

In terms of use I generally pull 2 shots each weekday morning - 1 for me/1 for her - and we have 4 on Sat and 4 on Sun - 1 each when we first get up then 1 each post-lunch before heading out for the day - training/socializing etc. So use I guess is medium to a little less than medium?

I have no burr grinder but live close to Monmouth in Borough Market so I don't mind passing by to collect 100grams of their finest grind (espresso grind) when needed. They always try to up sell you - "Hey, buy 500 grams!" - but I decist knowing that I don't want the stuff to age in the bag too much.

I have the bottom of the range De'Longhi (Caffe Treviso) at the moment so hope this is a step up in performance - given all the art to brewing, I don't think the step up will be automatic. When well tamped with fresh coffee and temperature surfed, the Caffee Traviso machine actaully delivers some good crema and flavour, but I can hear that little pump really straining - the finest ground coffee comes out in dribbles. A cafetiere grind comes out like a fire-hose.

nickwill

When i do the strip down/clean, it's usually because the coffee is coming out very slowly. The perforated bit with the holes is usually beginning to clog!

Scrumple

Gaggia Classic for sale, stainless steel, as new.

PM me.


I have only put it up for sale as the wife bought a plumbed in one and she wont have the thing in the kitchem any more.

You do need a decent grinder, mind, or a good coffee roaster who can grind fine.

Open to offers.

bompington

guinea wrote:

Hmm - sorry for the thread hijack.

My gf has been given £400 from her sister to buy a coffee machine for her xmas.

What's the best machine you get for that kind of money?

Since it's a kitchen gadget, it absolutely has to look cool. She likes the older looking enamelled models. To be honest, this is almost as important as the taste of the coffee it produces.

Stovetop espresso + £390 spare bike

Aggieboy

FransJacques wrote:

One question on routine maintainance: when you unscrew the head on the machine, do you ever actually find much in there? Or is it just ritual/preventative?
.

I do the same as Nickwill. Behind the perforated plate you unscrew is just the ends of the waterpipes. I also run through a descaling solution every six months or so.

Stewie Griffin

bompington wrote:

guinea wrote:

Hmm - sorry for the thread hijack.

My gf has been given £400 from her sister to buy a coffee machine for her xmas.

What's the best machine you get for that kind of money?

Since it's a kitchen gadget, it absolutely has to look cool. She likes the older looking enamelled models. To be honest, this is almost as important as the taste of the coffee it produces.

Stovetop espresso + £390 spare bike

Stovetop pot & £390 for upgrades to current bike. Do you really have to wait 30 mins? Feck me I will be asleep on the kitchen floor .

DaSy

pedylan wrote:

The ritual, especially at weekends, is as important as the taste!.

If you like the ritual, try a La Pavonni Europiccola!

I've got the Kitchen Aid burr grinder and Europiccola, and once you eventually master the machine, it does make a great espresso. It normally requires a skin sacrifice though, you have to be scalded, it's the law...

couldashouldawoulda

Stovetops - I've got 5. Since Silvia - they sit in the cupboard and grow mould. It depends on what you're into. Bikes - great: buy some fancy brakes or SRAM XX. Cameras - but a dslr. Coffee - but a single boiler. Really into coffee - buy a dual boiler. etc.

However - if I'm buying something for the SO (as per the OP) then my interests take a back seat. Totally. I even buy handbags for her. Possibly they add up to more than all my bikes.

C'est la vie / l'amour.

mrushton

There are a couple of websites that are worth looking at www.anothercoffee.co.uk may be one.
I have a Gaggia Classic and it's been fine but probably needs a new seal and showerplate. if I was buying again I'd possibly go for the Jura bean-cup machine at £600 as it had some excellent reviews. Of course if all you want is espresso then a stovetop pot works fine. The capsule machines work well and are less messy.

marin_maniac

I've had a Gaggia Classic for about 3-years. I love it to bits and (touch wood) has never really let me down.

If I had the money again I would deffo try the Sylvia. If you look at a lot of the Yank espresso forums, they can't get enough of them.

FransJacques

marin dude, how do you get your beans ground? yourself or do you buy pre-ground?

thanks. killing myself looking into the £60 Dualit burr grinder - seems to be the tool to start with

j0hn_d

I've had a Sylvia for 9 months or so and it is brilliant. It replaced a Dualit that broke after two months, and only ever made luke warm coffee.

I couldn't recommend the Sylvia highly enough.

But you do need a good grinder to go with it.

hopper1

Sorry to bump this, but I'm after a quality coffee maker, too.
The results here, are so far, inconclusive!
Anyone else want to chip in?
All I noted was that the Sylvia's RRP was almost £300 more than the Gaggia Classic :shock:
So... is it really that good?....

antikythera

I went through this 12 months ago, with endless web surfing, forums and store visits. In the end the Silvia (with the Rocky grinder) came out as the best for my needs. And after a year of continuous use, it has failed me.

I don't have experience using the Gaggia, but up close the Gaggia models I'd seen had a lot of plastic. Even the face plate would move when depressing the buttons. The Rancillo on the other hand is rock sold fully aluminum chassis.

Ultimately for me, the best measure is that when I make a cup of my favourite blend it tastes almost identical as when it's made in the shop (Flat Whites, near Berwick St. markets, London)

I would recommend these guys if you go down the Rancillo path: Drury Coffee

jibberjim

antikythera wrote:

I went through this 12 months ago, with endless web surfing, forums and store visits. In the end the Silvia (with the Rocky grinder) came out as the best for my needs. And after a year of continuous use, it has failed me.

don't you mean never failed you? Otherwise tell us how it failed!

Our Rocky and Silvia are still flawless producing great coffee.

antikythera

Doh! my bad, yes your right it has never failed me :oops:

FransJacques

Holy sheit, i've seen the grail - and it's an Italian stainless steel box which delivers black liquid!

So after all the hubbub, I got the Gaggia Classic as the Rancilio wasn't available in time for Christmas. The Classic cost me £260; vis-a-vis the bottom of the line De'longhi I've been practicing on since August it's like lugged 531 with 27 x 1" steel wheels vs my R3 SL with Ardennes!

Start with the size of the filter holder, it weights about 2 lbs. It's also full size at 57 - 58 mm vs the crapy Alu thimble on the De'Longhi. The first shot produces so much crema I thought I was makinga hot chocolate! Flavour was good but I want to do a proper side by side comparison.

I was glad I spent a few months with the de'Longhi to sharpen my skills at grinding and heating the brew group, learning to temp surf the boiler etc. It's a good machine to really hone the skills on as it's rewarding. The Gaggia is almost too easy but will hopefully take me to new places. Not used the steam wand yet as i don't take milk in my coffee.

If you have £300 to spend - get the Clasic and a Dualit/Barista/Solis grinder to start. That's my 2p.