Gaggia Carezza ?

[waltfb]

Hey guys,

Is it true that the Gaggia carezza uses the same pump, boiler. portafilter and ? as the Gaggia coffee and some of the other lower priced Gaggia machines?

Is there any good reason not to buy one for a newbie to espresso?  I can't justify a more expensive machine right now. Also I have heard that some of the new Gaggia machines have the same boiler as the Sarco Aroma which allegedly has a bad reputation.  Is that true? The Saeco Aroma is going for ~ $135 on e-bay right now.

Thanks,

Walt

[John F]

Hey guys,

Is it true that the Gaggia carezza uses the same pump, boiler. portafilter and ? as the Gaggia coffee and some of the other lower priced Gaggia machines?

Is there any good reason not to buy one for a newbie to espresso? 

I think all Gaggia internals are the same as is the Kitchen Aid Pro line double boiler machine.

The only reason I know not to buy one is that you might want to upgrade later.

I can tell you that if you plan on making back to back drinks with the Carezza you won't be happy with it, if you plan on learning to pour art it will be harder, and the drip tray sucks.

If you want a beginner level machine that is capable of pulling a good shot (that you are willing to work for) it can do that.

[Tex]

Hey Walt,
Some will tell you that I know a few things about Gaggia's. Check out the link in my sig below to the Gaggia User's Group for more info about that.

FWIW, there are now two types of Gaggia's; 1) brass/aluminum boiler with external heating elements, and 2) all s/s boilers with internal heating elements. That's because Saeco bought out Gaggia a few years back and it looks like they're considering transitioning all Gaggia machines to the cheaper stamped s/s boilers. That's what Saeco uses in all of their semi-auto line of home machines.

If you can get one of the older, brass/aluminum boilers then do so. They're excellent machines that won't set you back very much money, and in stock form they're capable of making good espresso.  Plus there's a wealth of info and help available that make modifying these machines worth your while. If you're a DIYer and have a bit of electrical experience you can mod these machines to the point where they'll make coffee that'll compete with machines costing thousands more.

Good luck!

Hey guys,

Is it true that the Gaggia carezza uses the same pump, boiler. portafilter and ? as the Gaggia coffee and some of the other lower priced Gaggia machines?

Is there any good reason not to buy one for a newbie to espresso?  I can't justify a more expensive machine right now. Also I have heard that some of the new Gaggia machines have the same boiler as the Sarco Aroma which allegedly has a bad reputation.  Is that true? The Saeco Aroma is going for ~ $135 on e-bay right now.

Thanks,

Walt

[thejavaman]

I own a Carezza and I would definitely recommend it as a beginner machine.  Like John said, it's not the type of machine that will bang out shot after shot.  However, it will produce good espresso with a little time, effort and a decent grinder to pair it with.

[mp]

Hey waltfb ... I will not add anything that the others have said on the Carezza.  What I will say is it depends on what path you want to take.  If you are going to take the path where you want to persue the art of the finest espresso pull available then yes this is a great starter machine.  If you just want a machine where you don't have to worry too much about the fineness of the grounds and if you tamped enough, or if the level of the coffee is the same height on the whole of the portafilter then consider an espresso machine with a pressurized portafilter such as the Seaco Aroma you mentioned.  This is a very forgiving machine and it does not require you to have or learn the ritual of pulling a professional espresso shot.  I can vouch for the Saeco as my sister has one ... not the Aroma but an older one and it pulls a very decent shot albeit not good enough if you are one of the purest like most here at the GCBC. 

With the Carezza the first thing that you will need to buy is a great Italian grinder to gets the coffee beans fine enough to produce the sought after "crema".  With the Saeco it is most forgiving and will produce crema with less than perfect circumstances.  You can get either one of these for about the same price.  The upgrade path to the Carezza would be headed to either PID modifications as Tex mentioned or up to a HX (Heat Exchange) unit or double boiler which now go for over ! G.  The upgrade for the Saeco would be a superautomatic and they start at about $600.00 and up.

So my friend ... the direction in path is up to you.  Which road will you choose?

 

[Tex]

...the first thing that you will need to buy is a great Italian grinder...

I'd like to expand on what Mike said, "It's impossible to make top quality espresso with preground coffee. An espresso grinder is the key to making quality espresso & there's no way to achieve satisfactory results without a good one."

[John F]

It's impossible to make top quality espresso with preground coffee.

I see it's time to drag out my absolute favorite coffee youtube. 

Kills me every time at 0:39

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmNarR3DaE[/youtube]

[Tex]

What a hoot! I'd never seen that video before tonight. After I'd looked at it again I realized that's probably what the business end of my Aeropress looks like, except I use fresh roasted, freshly ground coffee.

I see it's time to drag out my absolute favorite coffee youtube. 

Kills me every time at 0:39

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmNarR3DaE[/youtube]

[MMW]

Kills me every time at 0:39

Is that espresso or shaving cream? 

[John F]

Is that espresso or shaving cream? 

Either way it's good for 100 laughs.