sieken Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Atlanta, GA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jan 23, 2008, 9:44am Subject: Gaggia Baby Twin: Temperature, Internals, remorse from the death of my La Pavoni
I've been a lurker on these forums for over a year now, and I decided to make my first post!
I recently changed machines from a La Pavoni EPC-8 manual lever to a Gaggia Baby Twin. This was mostly because I was getting tired of the wide variance of the La Pavoni. True, I experienced my first "god shot" on the La Pavoni, but I can also attest that those were few and far between. I worked as a barista in college, so I have experience with commercial machines, but they paled to the challenge of learning the La Pavoni.
But I did learn it, but my grinder was the Achilles heel (it was a Capresso Infinity - completely unsuitable espresso), and I have since upgraded to a Rocky (unfortunatly, that was after the level broke on the la pavoni from too much pressure on a terrible grind), and with it laid to rest my La Pavoni and picked up a Gaggia Baby Twin. I am not sure if what I am feeling is buyer's remorse, but there some very stark differences (as I would expect). Boiler of the La Pavoni was a champ. Steam was always ready to go, and was perfect. Coming off of that, the Gaggia's thermobloc for producing steam is lackluster at best, and add to that the "TurboFrother" joke of a wand.
I suppose my main question to the coffeegeeks out there is if anyone knows how different the internals of the baby twin are to the Classic. Are they identical, as Gaggia uses the same 3.5oz aluminum boiler in all its machines? And if there are any differences, what is the chance that the baby twin will deliver temperature stability above 195 F? I've only owned the machine for less than a week, but I have yet to produce a shot that isn't slightly sour (grind is perfect, i can only assume it's low temp).
I've read some posts where the baby twin has been seen as a possible alternative to a HX machine. Is that a general consensus, and should I stick it out with this baby twin, or should I look to an Expobar or another La Pavoni (now with a capable grinder), as they are all around the same price point?
frydensberg Senior Member Joined: 3 Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Denmark Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby Twin Grinder: Gaggia Apollo (Quick Mill)
Posted Mon Mar 3, 2008, 6:50am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby Twin: Temperature too low?
Sieken,
I had a Gaggia Titanium but sold it as I wanted to work more with the grind. I bought a Gaggia Baby Twin as I was very satisfied with the Titanium model. I have used it for one month now and I have had begun to think that the water may not be hot enough. I own a thermometer which can measure temperatures by the push of a button. It is very precise. I am yet to produce water at a higher temperature than 70 degress celcius (158F). The coffee is slightly lower when hitting the cup. The temperature of the used grind is also sub 70. I have asked the retailer what's up as everyone who has reviewed the products is very very happy with it. Maybe it is a production mistake, maybe (I hope) it simply isn't better at producing high degree water. Have you had any luck with you research?
Frydensberg (p.s. this is my first post ever i a forum...)
boscoblair Senior Member Joined: 29 Jun 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Cary, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Jul 19, 2008, 7:36pm Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby Twin: Temperature too low?
Funny you should mention this. I have tested my Gaggia temperature (Coffee model) with an accuracy-verified quick read thermometer, removing the shower screen and sticking the measuring end directly into a hole with outflowing water. I, too, have found my readings to be at 165 deg F or below (as low as 158 F). No matter if I turn the steam button on, no matter if I wait 5 to 30 minutes for the machine to heat up. Is this a bad thermostat problem or what? Thanks
pumpkinscastle Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 146 Location: Cincinnati, OH Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Quickmilll Vetrano Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly
Posted Sat Jul 19, 2008, 10:55pm Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby Twin: Temperature, Internals, remorse from the death of my La Pa
The temperatures that you guys are talking about are way too low. You are missing out on the true espresso taste if you cannot get any higher. But I assume you already know that... These small machines always havea high level of fluctuation. I remember when I was still using my Ascaso Dream, that I had to painstakingly temp surf the thing in order not to get any sour taste. The Ascaso at least was able, though, to come up to the desired temp. I assume that lots of this has to do with poor heat retention. The more aluminum or plastic on these machines, the less their ability to hold the temperature well.
boscoblair Senior Member Joined: 29 Jun 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Cary, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jul 23, 2008, 7:25pm Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby Twin: Temperature, Internals, remorse from the death of my La Pa
I tried this new trick that I read on another post. It's made all the difference in the quality of my shots with my Gaggia Coffee. I turn it on, let it heat up, run a blank shot, let it heat up again with the portafilter on. Then I load the portafilter and return it to the machine, turn on the steam switch until the first sound of boiler hiss is heard (don't let the steam light come on!), turn off the steam switch and turn on the brew switch.
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