Any one seen, used, or own the Gaggia Achille? - Page 3

[andras]

Hello,

I've been using a Gaggia Achille for one year now (I bought it as a Christmas present for my girlfriend), and have the same experiences. Indeed it is a beautiful machine, and makes perfect espresso. But is DOES leak, and activated the FI-relais more than once. I was frightened when disassembled it and saw the electronic parts covered by water. Unfortunately the service support is virtually nonexistent for these small Gaggias here in Hungary, so I'll bring it to a service repairing professional Saeco machines - I hope they'll solve it somehow.

Best regards:

Andras, Budapest

[whodat]

Update on Achille availability in the US:

From time to time my La Peppina shows its age, so I've got my antennae out a bit.
A few times over the last several months I had tried to find out what was happening with the Achille in the US.
Yesterday I got this reply to a recent email:

"Hello,

You should start seeing the Achilli show up on the Internet in the USA by then end of this week.
Please look at Wholelattelove.com, espressozone.com and kitchen-universe.com.

Best regards,

Todd Salzman
National Sales Manager
Importika/Gaggia USA"

Mr. Salzman types like me!

[Alchemist]

That is wonderful. Although, I hope that they have the leak problem taken care of. That does not bode well.

So, can HB get one for review? Really see what is inside that group, see if it keeps cool, etc.

[hperry]

but if the Achille becomes available this side of the pond, . . .

Hogfire.

Appears that WholeLatteLove and Aabree's both have it as of yesterday or today.

[HB]

So, can HB get one for review?

It'd be nice to see more lever espresso machine reviews on HB. I sent a note to Todd asking if he's interested.

[Hogfire]

Oi everybody,

Yes indeed I awaited this day in anticipation, HOWEVER, i just about had a mild aneurysm when I got a good look at the price! It's way out of my budget, but I'm still keen on hearing about it, and maybe someday I'll spot one for a bargain price (fat chance anytime soon). So, who is going to be the first volunteer at dissection? Probably more luck scoring a commercial lever at a decent price, like that incredible Conti deal some lucky soul on these forums got recently. At any rate, Happy Pulling Everybody!

Hogfire

[whodat]

If you look at the European & UK prices someone in this country is taking a good cut.

[whodat]

:shock: If you look at the European & UK prices someone in this country is taking a good cut.

I suppose that if they are doing a smaller run of 110V models for the US they might lose some economies of scale & that might account for some of the higher price (& then there's the novelty factor in this country).

[Paul L]

Guys, I don't know what European/US pricing you're talking about in general but there would have to be some lame excuses for it. I can't imagine there's a lot involved under the hood, a transformer, plug and a couple of fuses or something like that? I suspect the parts count and cost would be a few pounds/euros/dollars in reality. Factor in the assembly costs and you're still not going to justify a lot surely?

[hperry]

There is a little more information on the Achille at http://www.wholelattelove.com/art...presso_machine.cfm

[whodat]

"Although it may seem to be nothing more than the average lever machine with an exceptionally handsome exterior, a closer look reveals that it's actually a high-powered overachiever that just happens to look like a million bucks. "


And just happens to cost, like, 1,300 bucks.

[hperry]

If it doesn't have anything to distinguish if from a Pavoni or a Micro Casa a leva then it's too much. If it has better temperature control and the ability to refill without shutting it down, maybe there's a reason to position it between the high end of Pavoni/Microcasa. and the Olympia at $2,300. Ultimately, the market will see the value, push toward a lower price, or it will disappear.

[whodat]

On paper it looks like it has all those features.
It certainly looks like a more capable machine than the La Pavonis or Elektra. Those machines seem to run in the <$800-<$950 range if you don't start gussying them up with brass. I would expect to pay a bit more for the Achille.
If you look at European (continental & UK) prices for the Achille & convert to $, you get prices ranging from $750-1080 (most in the $800-900 range) on a casual survey. I will grant you that mods to make it run on 110V may account for some of the difference, and shipping & duties might also jack up the price somewhat, but it still seems that a hefty chunk is being tacked on in the US.
I don't know if this is due to the novelty & the vendors' expectation of pent up demand, or whether there's just a lot more competition among sellers in Europe (since only a couple of sources seem to have it in the US).

[chrispis]

"Although it may seem to be nothing more than the average lever machine with an exceptionally handsome exterior, a closer look reveals that it's actually a high-powered overachiever that just happens to look like a million bucks. "

And just happens to cost, like, 1,300 bucks.

Hi guys,

I'm very new to HB and just about to receive my own Achille any day now. I'm sure I'll need your lights in the process. I am a caffe lover but just a newbie otherwise. I was acquainted with espresso back in 1981 in Calabria, bought my first stove-top macchinetta in Napoli and have been enjoying cappuccinos and espressos regularly ever since. Used a small Krups for a few years and finally decided to start making my own stuff with a manual machine. The Achille was a love at first sight.

I bought the Achille from an italian website I discovered by googling around and their prices seem much more reasonable than what you get in the US.

A new Achille is at 715.51 USD plus 50 euro (~60 USD) for UPS shipping:
http://www.italiankitchenaids.com...etail.php?prod=H-G

I actually bought a demo unit, which they also offer (i.e. units used at some trade show) for 560 euro with free shipping in the EU. The US price is 657.94 USD plus shipping:
http://www.italiankitchenaids.com...=Achille_Demo_Unit

I hope the demo unit was used enough to have the loose screws tightened because I really hate messy stuff like this in new equipment. In any case, the Gaggia distributor in Greece is only minutes from where I live

Cheers,

-Christos
Thessaloniki, Greece

PS: The sales rep's english at http://www.italiankitchenaids.com was totally italiano but they were responsive once tickled.

[cannonfodder]

For $1300 I would get a Micro Casa which is still the best looking machine on the market IMHO.