Gaggia is one of the names you associate with espresso and coffee makers in coffeehouses. But there is a useful selection of domestic items as well. Now it has introduced capsule machines that use the ‘Caffita’ system of packaging the coffee. The ideal amount of 8gm of ground coffee is vacuum-sealed in each disposable capsule and the capsule placed in the machine. Gaggia has been receiving awards for its coffee makers for some years now and its Gaggia Baby Class machine won Gold in the Industry Award 2007.
Gaggia Coffee Makers from our Featured Retailers
Finding the website
You can visit the Gaggia website by going to www.gaggia.uk.com .
Finding the section on coffee makers
When you’ve reached the Gaggia home page you’ll see a collection of links with images underneath. There are three links dealing with coffee machines, ‘Domestic Traditional Machines’, ‘Domestic Automatic Machines and ‘Capsule Machines’. The first deals with traditional espresso makers, the second with bean to cup coffee makers and the third with the new capsule machines.
The selection available
Gaggia, as you’d expect offers a good selection of coffee makers. In the Traditional section it features the Baby Class range, a range that has been around since 1977.
There are six new variations on the Bean to cup coffee maker, five in the ‘Platinum’ range and the Cappuccino x Two. There’s a list of previous years models as well.
Gaggia offers a number of ‘Capsule’ machines including the L’Amante range, K-111 and Baby Caffitaly. There’s an Office range as well, that features a larger machine more suited to office use.
Information provided on the site
The Gaggia home page allows you to select three different links, depending on what kind of coffee maker you are looking for. Click on ‘Domestic Traditional Machines’ to find their range of espresso coffee makers. A list of links on the left hand side of the page brings up the individual item. Click on the item you want to look at and this brings up the item page. There is an image of the machine on the left with features on the right. There is a brief introduction and then a bullet list of features.
You need to click on the ‘Automatic machines’ link to bring up bean to cup machines. There is a list of new models and previous year models on the left hand side. And the five models in the ‘Platinum’ series grouped across the page. There is a short bullet list of features underneath followed by a ‘Features’ link. Click on this to bring up a long detailed list of technical data and features for each model in the range. There’s also a link to the high-tech one touch cappuccino maker, the ‘Cappuccino X2’.
Gaggia has introduced a range of capsule machines. You can browse these by clicking on the ‘Capsule Machine’ link. It uses Caffitaly capsules with all the traditional refinements but none of the mess. There’s a link at the top left hand side of the page called ‘Why Pods and Capsules’ that gives you an insight into the benefits of the system. One in particular is that it’s an open system. Unlike Nespresso and Tassimo machines that can only take Nespresso and Tassimo capsules, the Caffitaly system allows any roaster to put coffee into the capsule. And now Gaggia machines – even the 1970s ones – can be converted take the capsules.
Gaggia do a selection of reconditioned models at reduced prices. Click on the ‘Reconditioned’ tab at the top of the home page to look at these.
Where to buy
Gaggia sell from their own shops or from concessions within department stores. Click on the ‘Shops’ link on the home page to find out where they are. There is another link on the ‘Shops’ page that you can click on to find more shops.
Buying from the website
Gaggia has an online shop that sells reconditioned items. To find it, click on the ‘Shops’ link on the home page. Go to ‘Click here for more shops’ and click to bring up the shops list. At the bottom of the page is an, ‘Also check the stockist list’ link. Click on this and on the stockist page click on the ‘See also our online shop’ link. When you’ve made a choice, click on the ‘Buy’ button. This will bring up a ‘basket’ page. Click on the Order via Shopcreator’ tab and follow the instructions.
Finally
Gaggia offer a wide range of coffee makers and you can view them all on the website. There is plenty of information on each item and on the different types of machine available. The section on capsule machines is particularly useful for those who don’t want to go through the ritual of making that perfect espresso. There’s a list of stockists and you can buy mostly reconditioned items from their online shop.