Gaggia Carezza De Luxe Espresso Machine, 47oz, Silver

8 reviews for Gaggia Carezza De Luxe Espresso Machine, 47oz, Silver

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Holly K – August 3, 2022

   I got this machine because I am a Barista and wanted to have my own machine at home on days I don’t work. I will be completely honest. No, this does not match the flavor that I get from the $10,000 machine at work (cafés). But it is a super fun little machine that works well if you spend some time trying to use it. The milk wand is honestly great. I’ve made delicious milk numerous times on this and would give that 5 out of 5 stars (just don’t forget to take the panarello steam piece off to clean it each time). The water reservoir is great, and the drip tray is also great. I love how it can be taken apart and every aspect of the tray can be cleaned. Now onto the actual espresso. Because it is a pressurized machine, you don’t need a tamp it will do that for you. It’s not very hard to use at all , you just put in espresso grounds to the top, insert it twisted to the far left, and move it all the way to the right, then let go and it should be around the middle. *My one big complaint is that this machine is limited in the portafilter you can use, because this one is plastic and I’d rather have a higher quality one* Onto the shots. This is definitely a learning game so make sure you don’t put in your fancy pants Hawaiian espresso first haha. I picked some up at a grocery store because I didn’t want to buy a grinder yet and most of them have one. The shots don’t pour amazingly. One side is weak while the other is fine so I’m still working on getting it to be more even. Remember, you need to click the shot button again to stop it the second the shot blonds (because that means it’s just water running through and will water down the shot) This was extremely lengthy but I hope I help someone in the future who is looking to buy a great espresso machine from a real Italian company (+all of the manuals are online for it too!!) feel free to ask me any questions.

2. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   Michael L Goldberg – April 20, 2018

   I have had espresso machines for almost 30 years and drink mostly “lungo” (~90ml or about 3 shots from a filled double shot portafilter). Overall I am disappointed with this machine. I compare this machine to the least expensive espresso machine I’ve owned, a Starbucks “Barista” aka Saeco Via Vapora; that was a much better machine (it lasted 7 years) and I wish I could still buy them. The Saeco was as consistent and as well behaved and reliable as an old restaurant machine I’d had before that. The Saeco had the same automatic portafilter which I personally really like (I know the snobs say these don’t work as well as proper grind and tamp) – take my word for it, it does and it is MUCH easier and more consistent than assuring the correct grind, the right measure of grounds, and a good 30 pound tamp every time; just measure and go!The CONS:This machine is so light you have to hold the machine to insert or remove the portafilter. The portafilter is almost identical to the Saeco but doesn’t work as well; with the stock filter the first two shots give very poor crema (this is probably temperature related since later shots are better). The water tank won’t hold enough water for my wife and I to make espresso for a day and it uses a lot of water for the rinse and a blank shot to get the portafilter hot enough. Another annoyance is you have to remove the drip tray every time you need to fill the water. The automatic off is nice in one way but cumbersome in that I can’t run the machine from a timer. Because I can’t run it from a timer and it shuts off, the cup warmer feature is useless and the portafilter is not hot enough for the first two espresso draws. It uses a “Rinse” feature to preheat the portafilter which helps to compensate for this but that only works the first shot and doesn’t get the filter hot enough. This means our first shots are not as hot as we like and the crema is not as good. This becomes a real pain as we make two then go back 45 minutes later to make two more (one for each of us) and go through this all over again usually for three cups each. The lights and bells are cute but don’t make the machine work any better. The instructions are poor especially for how to use the water tank and the rinse.The Pros:I like to machines appearance. The machine heats very quickly. The removable water tank – once you figure it out – is nice and easy to fill (which is a must because you do it a lot). If you are into cappuccino or latte’ the steamer is fast, powerful and adequate to make a lot of steamed’ milk.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   David – July 18, 2018

   I’m giving this machine five stars even though it has a lot of big problems. The reason I’m giving it five stars though is that it simply makes the best coffee I’ve ever been able to make — and better than most of the coffee I’ve ever had anywhere.Tip: Yes this automatically runs hot water every time you turn it on (in order to warm up the internal parts). But you can disable that permanently or on the fly. To disable it temporarily, turn it on and press the third button from the left so that the light turns off. Press that button again before you turn the machine off. To disable it permanently, don’t press the button a second time.The pros:1. It makes the best coffee I’ve ever made (once I figured out its quirks).2. It can handle the absolute finest grind with no problem, unlike any other home espresso maker I’ve used (Breville and others).3. There is zero leakage. The other home espresso makers I’ve had have all consistently left puddles on the counter. (Electrocution anybody?) This doesn’t leak at all.4. For a home espresso maker, it’s fairly quiet. And the glasses you keep on the warmer won’t rattle all that much. I think that’s because although there’s a lot of plastic, this has a nice heft to it.5. It looks nice on the counter.6. The top cup warmer is large enough to hold four double-wall shot glasses comfortably.The cons:1. The pump is not self-priming. This means any time you run out of water, you will get vapor lock, and you’ll need to re-prime the pump manually. This includes the very first time you use the machine. Priming the pump is tricky, and doing it right the first time is largely a matter of luck. You turn the machine on, then open the hot water valve (push the fourth button from the left, then open the steam wand dial). As that water starts flowing, push the second button from the left to pour hot water through the group head. If you get an error light, unplug the machine then start over.2. Related to that, the water tank is tiny. You’re going to run out of water. And then you’re going to have to re-prime the pump. Also unless you place this in great lighting, it’s very difficult to see the water level.3. To get a good cup of coffee with a nice crema, you need to get the portafilter in at just the right tightness. Too tight or too loose, and it’s wrecked. (The handle should be a few degrees to the right of center, at least on my particular machine.)4. That automatically centering handle does not automatically center. It flings back after you tighten the portafilter, but where it ends up depends on how much you tightened it. So what’s the point? Just extra moving parts to break eventually.5. According to the infomercials I mean reviews of this product I viewed before buying it, you can use any coffee, and you don’t need to tamp. That is wildly inaccurate. Use a very fine grind. Tamp lightly. That will get you the best result.6. There will be a lot of grease in the portafilter and basket when this arrives. You’ll want to wash that out and run hot water through it to get rid of it.7. As others have noted, the instructions are useless. Philips is the owner of this company. You can get limited info from their site. There are third-party sites that have better info for whatever question you have.8. De-scaling is a little annoying. The instructions aren’t clear on some points. Good luck. Oh by the way, that’s what the flashing yellow light next to the explanation point symbol means: Time to de-scale. Not that you would be able to know this from looking in the manual.9. Finally, you’re going to have to play with this a while before you get it to make the coffee you desire consistently. When I first got this machine, I was getting maybe one in three cups with a decent crema. The rest were flat. Playing with the grind, the seal, the tamping, the amount of coffee used and making sure there were no grounds on or near the lip of the basket got me the results I’m now consistently achieving.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Javier Pavón – November 12, 2021

   Gran compraLlevo un mes con la maquina y me ha parecido una gran compra. Crema del café excelente, espumador excelente.Quizás el único “pero” es que se debe tener extremo cuidado para que en la limpieza no hacer tiradero de café ya que en el porta filtros se queda pegado por la humedad y una vez que se seca cae.Se debe tener mantenimiento de limpieza a detalle cada uso.Pero calidad café es excelente.Muy recomendable!

5. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   Ana Job – February 9, 2020

   Poor heater makes it a poor product and a very poor value for moneyWater never gets hot enough to make a coffee. One can put a finger into the “hot” cup the minute it’s made without getting burned. Enough said. Simply not enough power to make an espresso. The steam side works much better, so if you are only into cappuccinos and really don’t care about quality of espresso you could consider it but in that case it’s simply an overpriced frother.

6. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Frank D. – August 30, 2019

   Great little machineEasy to use

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Marco – October 31, 2018

   buen cafebuen cafe, no de todo facil a utilizar en principio, pero luego de bajar un video en youtube, se me aclaro. Tabmein es importante tener la buena mescla de cafe, especial para expresso, ya que el espesor es mas fino.

8. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   Jo – November 11, 2019

   Exorbitant cost to return item.It was a gift which the recipient did not want. I can’t comment on the quality but I can certainly complain about the approximately $50.00 it cost to return!Never again.