For the family Christmas vacation to the beach, I was trying to think about an option to packing up the SJ and Oscar and loads of home roast. My wife and sons (out from college) like cappas, and while I normally drink straight shots I also like cappas. So, I pulled out the old Gaggia Coffee, bought some *$ ESE pods and tried them out.
As a straight shot, was very much like I have gotten at at *$ shop, i.e. undrinkable. As a cappa, was very much like I have gotten at at *$ shop, i.e. ok. The family liked them so all I brought on vacation was the Gaggia and we got more pods locally. Very convenient and good enough for the group.
My question is about the extraction using the pods. There is no restriction at all, as soon as the vibe pump ramps up the flow starts. Very minimal crema. Is this normal? I think I have the correct filter, but the pod filter and single shot filter seem almost identical.
My youngest son took the Gaggia and remaining pods back to school with him and is using it. I am happy that he is taking an interest in espresso, and he knows the difference between what he is making and what I make him at home. I just want to make sure I have set him up correctly. Hopefully he will retain his interest and I can upgrade him to my SJ and Oscar. But wait! If I do that then I will have to upgrade also! Must start shopping soon!

It's my understanding that espresso crema is only created by fresh coffee. I think that the CO2 content of the beans heavily influences the amount of crema that is produced. It sounds normal to me that preground pods would be stale enough to create very little crema.

Hopefully he will upgrade to proper espresso soon!


Oh, and did you replace your Le'lit PL53 with a SJ? Your profile information confused me.

oconee wrote:I think I have the correct filter, but the pod filter and single shot filter seem almost identical.

I cannot speak for your specific model, but other pod adapters I've seen have a different basket and block/dispersion screen that are designed to clamp the pod securely, presumably to reduce side channeling. For example, from Nuova Simonelli Oscar - is this diffuser for pods or grounds:

Regular dispersion screen:


Pod dispersion screen:

I had a special pod handle for my machine.

You twist the handle(just the part you hold) and the pressure builds up
and then you can untwist it slowly and control the flow.
This gave me much crema but it was very blond.

The shots tasted awful tho.

I ended up using the rest of the pods through my normal handle and
single dose basket. No crema, but "drinkable".

Thanks for the replies. I checked the instructions for the Gaggia Coffee again and the single basket is also labeled as the pod basket, and that is the basket I am using. I can't stuff two pods at the same time in the single or double basket. The instructions do not reference using a pod, only that the single basket is described in the parts list as: 1 cup filter (or coffee pod). I was really wondering about others using pods in other machines. Griff, I do not have a special portafilter or position on my machine, but thanks for the insight.
Dan, thanks for improving my labeling. I am the one who uploaded the pictures of the oscar pod screen. I don't see anything like that for the Gaggia, even on Wholelattelove. As long as my son is satisfied at this point, I'm happy. I hope that as he tastes other espresso (he goes to Octane Coffee sometimes) he will realize he can do much better. Right now the convenience is important. As always, this site is a real good source of info. I did search for the answer but did not find exactly what I was looking for.

What I meant is - there exist a whole portafilter just for pods.
Handle/basket and all in one just made for pods.

It is expensive and I found it worthless, just to warn you if you happen
to see one and think "yay this looks like what I want"

I returned mine to the seller.


I also couldnt fit 2 pods in the single basket.