Gaggia Classic RI8161 Coffee Machine with Professional Filter Holder, Stainless Steel Body
You Save : £106.41 (35%)
Price : £199.97
Product Description
Treat Your Taste Buds with Over 60 Years of Italian Espresso Tradition
Gaggia is a company deeply rooted in Italian espresso heritage. Yet its coffee machines have evolved over the decades, from the original pressure-generating, lever-activated piston, to the latest fully-automated, bean-to-cup technology which, at the touch of a button, grinds, brews and dispenses a delicious cup of espresso. However you prefer to brew your coffee--whether you want the simplicity of bean-to-cup or crave domestic barista status--there is a Gaggia machine for you.
History
In 1938, Achille Gaggia filed patent no. 365726, an ingenious invention which saw steam pressure applied to ground coffee, so that the water forced through the coffee extracted all its flavours and aromas to create a rich foam crema layer. However, the real revolution came 10 years later when Achille filed a new patent, for a lever-operated piston machine incorporating a spring. This spring provided additional pressure, and this pressure forced water through the coffee in a shorter time, producing a short black espresso in just 15 seconds.
In the 1950s, Gaggia found fame in the trendy coffee bars of Rome and Milan, and most notably in London’s prominent Sirocci in Soho. These coffee bars soon became icons of the '50s lifestyle. With the launch of Baby Gaggia in 1977, the company began producing domestic espresso machines, making the professional values inherent in Gaggia’s commercial machines widely available for use in the home.
.
.
.
.
Gaggia Classic
There's nothing like a good cup of coffee to inject a little luxury into your daily life. The Gaggia Classic RI8161 coffee machine is an ideal introduction into the world of Italian coffee and offers a real hands-on, professional coffee-making experience. The elegantly styled machine brings modern coffee shop looks to your kitchen, as well as coffee shop quality and great taste into the comfort of your own home. The simple-to-use and durable manual machine is perfect for everyday use, combining advanced technology and a classic, compact stainless steel body.
The 1300 watt, 8 kg Gaggia Classic is powerful, yet lightweight. It comes with a 15 bar pressure pump and 1.2 litre water tank for outstanding results. The removable water tank/reservoir and stainless steel boiler ensure that it's practical and easy to clean.
Your choice--ground coffee or coffee pods
Gaggia’s manual machines come with coffee filters for one or two cups of ground coffee, and a special filter for ESE (easy serve espresso) pods. All Gaggia’s coffee machines have two special 'crema perfetta' filters that allow you to use either ground coffee or coffee pods.
Professional filter holder
A manual coffee machine is the most traditional and well-known way to make espresso, using the filter holder and ground coffee. A professional chromed brass filter holder and ring, the same as used in Gaggia’s commercial machines, ensures a consistent temperature throughout the coffee making and dispensing process. The material of the filter is durable and safe to use. It is inert and thus ensures the best results with consistent temperature.
Rotating steamer
The panarello steamer attachment rotates for easy access to froth milk in seconds, and also delivers hot water for tea and other hot drinks.
Solenoid valve
Espresso coffee, originally created in Italy, is made by rapidly forcing water that has been heated to the correct brewing temperature through finely ground coffee beans. The heart of the espresso machine is a precision engineered pump. The pump and water flow is easily controlled with just a flick of the switch. The internal mechanism of the Gaggia Classic is composed of a solenoid expansion valve that allows rapid drying of the interior. Gaggia’s solenoid valve delivers a widespread shower through the coffee, eliminating hotspots which can burn the coffee. Its precise pressurisation ensures no drips and leaves drier coffee grounds after brewing, for easy cleaning.
Traditional frother
The Gaggia Classic coffee machine comes with a traditional frother. The higher the fat content in the milk, the denser the froth will be. The 'turbo-frother' will give you perfect, creamy froth, but just a tip--don’t let the milk come to the boil! It may require two or three attempts to become an expert barista, but you will be successful at frothing milk if you give it a chance. Just swivel the turbo-frother steam nozzle slightly outward so that you can get the frothing pitcher under the nozzle without knocking the base of the machine.
Important to know……
1 . The taste of your coffee depends on the characteristics of the beans from which it is made, the type of bean, and where it was grown and processed. Coffee beans that are roasted for a longer period of time and at higher temperatures will be much darker in colour. Darker beans will produce a richer cup of coffee than lightly-roasted beans.
2. A variety of dark roasts are available from which you can choose to brew your espresso. Each of these roasts is a blend of coffee beans that are roasted at a specific temperature producing a specific type of flavour. There are also decaffeinated beans that have had up to 98% of their caffeine content removed. The next time you purchase coffee for your espresso maker, experiment with one of the many kinds of coffee on the market. You may just find that it tastes better than the blend you have been using.
3. A fine 'espresso grind' for pump-driven machines must be used. Be sure to ask for this when buying coffee or when having beans ground. Do not use a blade-type grinder because it makes too much coffee dust and produces an irregular grind.
4. The mark of real espresso is its dark colour, rich taste and the light brown, natural froth called 'crema' in Italian.
5. Cappuccino is simply a combination of espresso and hot, frothy milk. Cappuccino is usually topped with cinnamon, nutmeg or cocoa powder.
6. Espresso coffee should be served immediately after it is made.
7. Espresso should be served in 2 to 2½ oz demitasse cups. A 4 or 6 oz cup or glass should be used for cappuccino.
8. Ideally, coffee beans should be ground immediately before using. Remember, it must be an 'espresso grind' for pump-driven espresso machines.
9. Ground coffee tends to absorb food odours, so it’s best to store ground coffee or whole beans in an airtight container in your freezer.
Box Contains
Customer Reviews
This is a brilliant coffee machine - other machines I have tried do not produce really hot espresso, but this one does. It froths the milk beautifully and I love the silicone pipes that you can see through the water tank. This tank comes out really easily so it's extremely easy to clean. The milk frother gadget is by far the easiest to keep clean of all machines I've had (and I've had a few, believe me). In addition, this is an incredibly sturdy, well built coffee maker. I know it's expensive but the expression 'you get what you pay for' certainly springs to mind here. Don't go for cheaper alternatives - they are not worth it.
I never ever drank coffee, its not that I disliked like it, its just that I could not bear the insipid freeze dried stamped on by a chap in size 12 boots while wearing a white paper shower cap variety produced in a facory somewhere in ultra sterile conditions, about as far from the bean as its possible to imagine in my mind.
Then I discovered this machine. OK it definatly looks good, not a machine to hide away in a cupboard after a couple of uses, not something to kick yourself once a week for buying, not once you have tasted the coffee it produces. Now I have people calling in for coffee and I can tell its a pleasure because a second cup is seldom refused, I am almost never asked for tea. My machine is on all day just longing to be pressed into service.
The machine feels good to use it is solid and heavy in a way that makes it feel like a proffessional machine and yet takes up little space on my work surface. Once you get the hang of it (and it is honestly not difficult) making coffee becomes a pleasure and I like the feeling of being in control that I probably would not get from a fully automatic machine, there is something pleasurable about tamping down the coffee and letting the coffee flow until you feel you have enough in the cup, great crema comes as standard if you use your coffee while it is still fresh in the pack. The milk frother produces superb results.
I use Illy coffee and while I did buy a grinder I seldom use it, I admit I am lazy but I find this brand of coffee is ideal in its grind and flavour and I love the airtight tin in comes in. If you keep this machine de-scaled, about once every 3 months in hard water areas, I recently discovered citric acid from the chemist (food grade) that costs around 79p a box which does the job quickly and effectively you should have no problems. Keep the shower head clean and give the steam attachment a rinse after use or the milk will clog it, then off you go.
I promise you will never look back, one bonus will be that as your kitchen fills with the aroma of fresh coffee and you take your first sip of the day you will be transported to a pavement cafe in Florence and that really is... priceless.
Amazon are offering these machines at great prices and ours arrived in two days, great service.
Related Product
0 comments:
Post a Comment