Great machine: looks good, tastes good, and is easy to use
Positive Product Points
I love my Classic. I was very luck to pay such a great price for it. This is my first espresso machine, so I don't have much to compare it to, but my espresso has been good and is getting better with each use.
Negative Product Points
It was a little overwhelming to start because they give you some extras that I have found unnecessary. The booklet was ok --somewhat confusing -- but the cd was much more informative. My first few espressos were ok ... a little plasticy tasting. Also, I often have to put my lattes in the microwave after a few minutes because they don't come out that hot.
Detailed Commentary
Initially, the Classic is easy to use. You can easily make an ok cup of espresso without understanding all of the things that you can do with your Classic. The booklet and cd really do help your espresso go from good to great. That being said .. you can have a good cup with little work, but the Classic offers a lot of room for improvements to make great espresso.
I have had to do and I still am doing a lot of homework and have learned a lot of mistakes that I was doing (like my shot glass was actually 2 oz, so I was making a quadrouple .. yikes!). I also wasn't letting the machine and my cups heat up properly. That being said, my espresso was never awful, and after a month, it is actually quite good and some are great.
Some pearls I have learned: let it heat up for awhile get a better tamper! don't use the crema device ... it never worked and made a mess Get a lot of paper towels for messes when you begin. Just go for it at first to understand how the thing works, then sit down to learn the instructions for improvement on the cd and in the book.
The cup warmers don't do much .. better to heat them in hot water. The solenoid valve is nice .. the espresso has a nice puck when you are finished, which makes things easy to clean. The machine looks good and is heavy! I have not had any problems with rust yet It's also tall, so check your space to make sure it will fit.
I don't know whether it is better to spend the extra bucks on this machine as compared to the Gaggia Espresso for example. I chose not to, but got one anyway, and I would never want to to swap it. However, I don't think the solenoid valve is worth the extra $$$, but then again, this is the only machine I have owned.
One thing that has been great is that it comes with some preground espresso .. great to try to get the feel of the machine and the tamper before worrying about the grinder.
Buying Experience
Wonderful! I ordered the Gaggie Espresso and they sent me the Classic by mistake! My Gaggie Espresso went to someone else, so hopefully they could exhange theirs with the classic, but I was very happy that they let me keep the Classic. They have friendly customer service, though a lot of their products are on backorder. One qualm ... I wish they wouldn't use the styrofoam pieces (ghost pooh).
