Less than I had hoped for

I've had my Gaggia Classic for nearly two years after having purchased it through Amazon and getting an Amazon-sponsored discount off of the $500, don't-bother-looking-around-it's-the-same-everywhere price. As this is my first home espresso maker, it certainly took a while to get the coffee grind and volume right. Even then, I have discovered that it's extremely sensitive to the type of bean. (I've been using Peet's Major Dickason's Blend lately, which I like a lot.) I've also discovered that the retro KitchenAid burr grinder is a steaming pile -- I'm using a Baratza Maestro Plus now, which seems to do the job. Anyway, I chalk all of this up to my own inexperience.

The Classic does have a very strong pump -- it was pretty much the only game in town in this price range two years back -- though I think there are other options these days. However, I do find a few things about the machine to be inexcusable. First, it is loud. When pulling a shot, I sometimes find myself standing as far away from the machine as I can get lest I go deaf. And it's not just the pump that's noisy; various parts of the housing rattle, too; holding your hand firmly on the top of the thing seems to help.

My second gripe is the quality of construction. The housing is stainless, but there are lots of edges on the machine and I've scratched myself more than once. The portafilter and brew head seem well-made, but the other plastic pieces and metal components feel cheap -- like something made in China, not something made in Italy (lesson: never assume) -- and two of the screw heads have rusted. The frothing wand feels like it might break off at any moment. And all the plastic parts as well as the cup warmer (polished steel) scratch very easily. I'd expect a lot more for $500.

Finally, the frothing wand (which is hard to clean, by the way) and the steam control knob are on the same side of the machine, which means you basically need two right hands to froth milk. They could have put the wand on one side and the control on the other, or they could have put the control in the front like most professional machines. The folks at Gaggia seem to have gone out of their way to make milk frothing frustrating. The quality of the froth seems okay, but it's nowhere near as thick as you get a good (read: not St*rbucks) coffee shop. I'm still willing to assume that's my fault, though.

In sum, I'm baffled as to how some Gaggia product manager could have looked at -- much less used -- the first Classic that came off the assmbly line and thought, "Well, there's a job well done!". That they charge $500 for the thing (NO DISCOUNTS) only adds insult to injury. I don't think I'd consider another Gaggia.