Gaggia Evolution 74556 Coffee Maker Grey at Shop Ireland

Gaggia Evolution 74556 Coffee Maker Grey

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14 reviews

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Publisher: Gaggia
Release date: 24th February, 2003
Media: Kitchen & Home

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Rating: 4out of 5 - Glen Jones

Wow. What a great machine. Bought ours in the New Year sales 2006. Since then we've been having a cup a day.Only problem is trying to ensure we don't drink too much coffee. Simple to use though the whole making process does take longer than we imagined it would but definetitly worth it.
Crema easy to achieve without the optional extra "filter" and the milk frother produces abundance of froth easily.
The appearance looks smart and contemporary and adds to the overall appearance of our kitchen.

Represents good value for money.

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Average rating - (more reviews)

Rating: - Makes good coffee but.......

I've had the machine for about 3 years now. When it's working, it produces excellent coffee. But it is pretty temperamental. At first it seemed like it was a problem with furring up with scale, and I spent ages using descaler. It worked for a bit, but finally had to be returned to Gaggia who charged £65 or so to service it since of course the guarantee had run out by then. We then made sure that we only used filtered water in it, but after a few months the old problems returned. I spent more hours descaling the thing on several different occasions, and it limped on and off for a while. Now it seems to have totally given up and strange grey bits are coming out of the steam spout. Overall then, not built to last and I shan't be buying another Gaggia despite the fact that when it's working, the coffee it produces is excellent.

Rating: - Don't buy it -

Just bought this so my rating is provisional. The only thing is that it no longer comes with the Perfect Crema Device. Result- little or no crema. Really disappointing. The Gaggia website says it's not necessary if you buy the right coffee. They say any coffee that says suitable for all coffee makers is not suitable. I've been using Lavazza Rossa for years. I had a Kenwood Retro and that produced a lovely crema with this coffee. Basically, the Evolution might be my intro into the highest level of coffee consumption or else it's a dud.

Update on my previous review. My Gaggia Evolution machine broke down after 4 months. Was glad because it gave me an opportunity to return this terrible machine. O-star rating

Bad points -
1. Evolution never produced crema.

2. It is very light-weight and flimsy - the whole machine turns when you insert the handle to make coffee.

3. For some reason when making two cups, they filled to different levels. This meant I always had to pour coffee from one cup to top up the other.

4. The cup warmer doesn't warm cups but this seems to be a given for these machines.

5. Took ages to heat up the frother, by which time the coffee is cold. If you don't wait long enough, you get hot milk but no froth.

6. Coffee often luke-warm.

Good points -
1. Froths the milk well and the frother was the last thing to break down!!!
2. Looks quite stylish.

Conclusion -
Despite my reservations replaced the Evolution with a Gaggia Classic. So far I am really impressed. Good solid machine. Lovely crema. Doesn't take long to heat from coffee to frother. More expensive, but much better than the Evolution, so worth paying that bit more.

Rating: - Good reliable domestic machine

I mostly drink espresso, so Im pretty happy with the machine overall, I agree the manual isnt the best, but with a bit of persistence its easy to put together, making a morning coffee has to be quick in my house as i leave pre 7am.

From when you switch the machine on its ready in about a minute, I prefer using my own ground coffee to using the pods, - so then its just a matter of filling the handle up, slotting it in, pressing a button and im done!

Downsides - does drip quite a bit (but as mentioned - it has a decent drip tray for this), and steam pressure isnt fantastic so i havent mastered a latte yet - cappuccino is not problem though, and you cant really expect commercial-quality steam pressure on a domestic machine for this price.

The machine comes with two handles, one for coffee pods, the other for ground coffee, however you cant easily switch between the two options - it involves tipping the machine upside down, and getting your screwdriver out - and this is where the instructions let themselves down a bit.

For the money im very happy, Ive had the machine for about 2 months and use it daily - no trouble whatsoever. i havent had any of the issues other people mention about blockages etc.

Its stylish, it feels solid, and is good quality.

Rating: - Unreliable and time consuming

Basically don't get this! More often than not it gets air trapped in it (clearly a known fault as the manual tells you how to get the air out) but it adds a few minutes to the process.
Cleaning is required pretty much after every use otherwise it gets blocked. Cleaning is time consuming (needs a philips screw driver!) and it is tricky to put back together. Avoid!

Rating: - Quite Fantastic

Makes fantastic coffee almost as good as going out for a Nero. It does drip a bit and makes some interesting noises but it works really really well. Far better than the high street brands - the investment is worth it for the taste. A tip is to leave the tank in place when refilling - just slide it out a bit and add some water using a jug.

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