Hi,

it's going to be my first espresso machine, and I don't have that much money so I want to make sure my choice is the right choice!

I found a Gaggia Classic (not the pro and I don't know yet the year of fabrication but will soon) opened box which makes it the same price as the breville infuser.

I have the impression that people find the Gaggia better in build quality. I prefer the design of the Breville but that's the least important criteria for me.

I would like to know which one has the best steam milk capability (I think for the Gaggia I will have to replace the wand for a rancilio Silvia) and the best capability when it comes to espresso shot of course!

I'm a little bit worried also with the Gaggia because I see a lot of people that "upgrade" their machine with mod like PID etc. I understand that's nice features to have but I really don't think I'm going to do that much myself

PS: I'll just do espresso for myself, and I'm gonna buy the Kinu M47 or the Bplus Apollo (idk if that's help)

Thank you!

And does the upgrade from a gaggia classic to gaggia classic pro is worth the extra bucks?

Up

I know a lot about the Gaggia, nothing about the Breville, so it's hard to compare. I think many people are in a similar situation and also unable to compare.

I think the Gaggia is a great machine for the cost. I don't know if it's particularly great, but it is great for the cost for sure. It was my main machine for less than but almost 10 years.

The Pro looks nicer but I would not spend the extra $100 for what it offers, not if I was on a tight budget.

Hope that helps.

Squall wrote:And does the upgrade from a gaggia classic to gaggia classic pro is worth the extra bucks?

I think the main selling point of the pro is that it has a "normal" frothing wand so you don't have to upgrade to a new one if you want to do latte art


Randy

I've not had either machine. But, I've had other SBDUs and I've had several Breville Baristas (Infuser with added grinder). I think you need to ask yourself what you want to do. If you just want to push a button and get coffee, then the Breville has some ability that makes this easy. The Classic, on the other hand, is probably what you want if you like to tinker with your shots (timing, temp surfing). Also, the Breville machines are notorious for not having parts available when you need them; this is offset by mostly excellent in-warranty service and sometimes good off-warranty service. At the risk of sounding trite, the choice you present is rather apples vs oranges, as these two machines are very different. The Classic is a 'proper' boiler machine (OK, so it's a really small boiler ), whereas the Infuser is a thermocoil machine. They both make espresso, but quite differently. Edit: I forgot to mention that if milk foaming is important to you the Classic would be the better choice.

I have had a Gaggia Classic for 9 years or so and have pulled hundreds of shots. I've worked on it, lowered the pressure, replaced the pump (easy,) solenoid valve work etc.. I have a love/hate relationship. For what you pay (love,) hell it works. Temperature control is junk. Boiler is small. I don't know why it doesn't come with the 'latte art' wand. When the original broke we replaced it with that product and it is better--so I don't know if you necessarily have to go to a Silvia wand --all disclaimers apply--I've never used that. Having said all that I have pulled some good shots, -you do have to surf. I see why people would PID theirs. I've also used a friends and pulled good shots (she's had hers for 9 years--did no maintenance til I got my hands on it she uses it daily and hasn't had to replace the pump and her pressure was correct--go figure.) I use mine for DW's steamed milk at this point.

My experience with Breville is limited to monkeying around with a friend's Barista Pro (again all disclaimers apply--it was one morning, it was not the infuser etc.) I don't know how this compares with the infuser on specs. There were some things I did not like about the Pro--the toy pressure gauge did not have numbers--maybe there was a reference chart in the manual but come on now really? The steaming of milk seemed a bit more labored than the classic (you might want to check boiler size) The pro has the built in grinder and I wondered about the specs and quality of that. Having said all that I was really surprised with the quality of the shots. Excellent? No. Palatable, for sure and my friend had commodity beans.

I don't know what I would do if I was in your shoes. I wish I took over better beans when I was at friend's Breville--and my grinder. I think your answer might come to you more easily if you were able to play with them side by side with your grinder and your beans. Good luck.

slipchuck wrote:I think the main selling point of the pro is that it has a "normal" frothing wand so you don't have to upgrade to a new one if you want to do latte art


Randy

If that is the case I would look at the price to do the upgrade yourself. I think I paid 15 bucks for the 'Panarello latte art' wand and the steel ones are about ten bucks more.

both are great machines.

the gaggia classic is a single boiler without a PID. this means that you'll get inconsistent shots as the temperature is not stabilized. you can temperature surf to manually stabilize temps or add a PID. but imo, if you're gonna add a PID, the classic isn't worth it, this enters into the crossland cc1 territory which has a PID and pre infusion and programmable shot timer. same goes for silvia. if you're gonna add a PID to gaggia classic or silvia, you might as well spend more and get a crossland cc1. the panello wand sucks, and most people replace it with a v2 silvia wand instead. the gaggia classic and silvia are manual on/off. and the crossland has a programmable shot timer. so the classic has a lot of room for inconsistency due to user error.

the infuser is a thermoblock (aka tankless water heater). it has a PID and allows +-2/4 temp adjustments to the PID. it will produce stable shot temps with minimal effort. but it comes with a 54mm portfilter which is hard to find accessories for (ie bottomless or funnel). the steam is a bit weaker than single boilers. the infuser has a programmable shot timer. and offers a super simple way to get consistent shots with minimal user knowledge.

i believe that for beginners unsure about espresso or just trying it out, breville offers great price for value with the most amount of features.

and as always, the grinder is more important.

thirdcrackfourthwave wrote:I have had a Gaggia Classic for 9 years or so and have pulled hundreds of shots. I've worked on it, lowered the pressure, replaced the pump (easy,) solenoid valve work etc.. I have a love/hate relationship. For what you pay (love,) hell it works. Temperature control is junk. Boiler is small. I don't know why it doesn't come with the 'latte art' wand. When the original broke we replaced it with that product and it is better--so I don't know if you necessarily have to go to a Silvia wand --all disclaimers apply--I've never used that. Having said all that I have pulled some good shots, -you do have to surf. I see why people would PID theirs. I've also used a friends and pulled good shots (she's had hers for 9 years--did no maintenance til I got my hands on it she uses it daily and hasn't had to replace the pump and her pressure was correct--go figure.) I use mine for DW's steamed milk at this point.

My experience with Breville is limited to monkeying around with a friend's Barista Pro (again all disclaimers apply--it was one morning, it was not the infuser etc.) I don't know how this compares with the infuser on specs. There were some things I did not like about the Pro--the toy pressure gauge did not have numbers--maybe there was a reference chart in the manual but come on now really? The steaming of milk seemed a bit more labored than the classic (you might want to check boiler size) The pro has the built in grinder and I wondered about the specs and quality of that. Having said all that I was really surprised with the quality of the shots. Excellent? No. Palatable, for sure and my friend had commodity beans.

I don't know what I would do if I was in your shoes. I wish I took over better beans when I was at friend's Breville--and my grinder. I think your answer might come to you more easily if you were able to play with them side by side with your grinder and your beans. Good luck.

Nice detailed reply... Guess I'm an espresso junky as the name implies. I've had my V1 Silvia for just 2.5 years and have extracted over 5,000 doubles. I consume about 2/3 of what I create.