Nostalgia With The Gaggia Espresso Machine
If there’s one thing the Gaggia brand could be proud of, it’s that it was able to find a great niche in the market by pioneering the technology for espresso machines. For those who don’t know the difference, an espresso machine is a different type all together. Espresso in itself is a very delicate thing. Because of the concentration of strong coffee, the espresso becomes the base of drinks like lattes, macchiatos and mochas. Proper pressure has to be placed in order to provide the right extraction of the grounds for the precise concentration to come out. The dissolved liquid should also be consistently thick all around, and the distinctive crema has to come out. A crema is the reddish-brown froth that floats on the surface of a good espresso brew. Crema was actually discovered because of the inventor of the Gaggia himself who tried to invent a spring-powered vertical piston for fuller espresso bodies. He later found out that with finely ground and consistent coffee particles, a concentrated ‘short black’ could be made in 15 seconds or less. This helped in the pressure of the machine which made crema.
Gaggia became famous foremost for its espresso machines invented by Achille Gaggia in Milan, Italy. The very first Gaggias were very much the same as other machines in the market back in the 1940’s. He then patented his spring powered ‘espresso machine’ in 1947. Back then, the act of making an espresso is called ‘pulling a shot’ because the machines had levers that had to be pulled for extraction.
Its class and elegance continues to live on today. Gaggia continues to make lever espresso machines like the Gaggia Achille. There is nothing quite more compelling to a barista or its spectators than the act of pulling the lever, putting full concentration on the act, and then coming out with an elegant drink worthy of praise. A digital push button simply doesn’t cut it. The sense of performance isn’t there.
The Gaggia Achille is a 17” tall by 22” deep machine that is heavier compared to its automatic counterparts. The heat exchanger it comes with allows continuous shots being made without overheating. There is a cooling flush that has to be used for every extraction though. The user can also have the option to have a single basket that holds 8 grams of coffee or the double basket that holds about 17 to 18 grams. This kind of machine is really for the more experienced coffee lovers, if not the more nostalgic ones. The shots made on this machine can be the most satisfying because it pulls out a thick, warm consistency of milk and 100% crema.
The more modern espresso lovers without time to concentrate on their brew, wanting to have it instantly, will be glad to know that Gaggia has semi-automatic and fully automatic machines in tow for them. The Gaggia Classic and Gaggia Baby class is an ideal twosome for the home. It is one of the most reliable units when it comes to espresso machines, being around for more than ten years and comes with a brushed stainless steel body that gives justice to the word ‘classic’. For the fully automatic with easy to use controls, Gaggia has Gaggia Titanium, Platinum Vision, Platinum Swing, Titanium SS, Platinum Vogue and others.
When buying an espresso machine, it’s best to get the brand that started it all, Gaggia.