Coffee Machines

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

230 of 235 people found the following review helpful.
Two machines died within months - but see important updates...
By Mr. R. J. Miller
I got one of these machines as a gift at Christmas. Great coffee until March (3 months) when it just suddenly died. No indicators, nothing. Just a complete failure to respond.Given that Gaggia is generally thought of as a good brand, I assumed this was just unlucky and accepted a replacement.Six months later, in September, it died in exactly the same way. No indication of what was wrong, just a complete failure to respond.Needless to say I won't be risking another one. I've taken a refund and will be looking for an alternative!!It has rather reduced my faith in Gaggia.UPDATE: Thanks to reading another review on here I have given this machine another chance and am now on my 3rd. I decided to do this as I had enjoyed the coffee when the previous machines worked. The thing I learned was about a bit of apparent stupidity in the machine design.The machine will cut out if left switched on for any moderate length of time with the steam button depressed. This seems to be a safety cut-out feature and is no bad thing in itself.What is daft, is that there is a reset button that is not mentioned in any of the instructions and is actually inside the machine, so that some dismantling is required to operate it. It isn't actually that difficult.Just remove the top plate by undoing the two screws that hold it (the obvious warnings about unplugging first and your level of expertise and confidence in dismantling anything apply - as well as the fact it probably invalidates your guarantee!). Once the plate has been lifted off you will see a small switch on the wiring block between the two brown (live) wire connections. Simply press this, reassemble, plug in and, bingo, the machine works again. Why Gaggia (now Philips) make the reset so hard to access is beyond me. Many people, like me, must have returned machines in despair when it was actually unnecessary. Surely not good for their reputation!Anyway, I'm back to drinking decent coffee, will be more careful with the steam button and will know in future what to do if it does cut out.UPDATE2: Now that I know what to watch out for, I've had no problems with my 3rd machine after 6 months and have continued to enjoy decent coffee. I have therefore upgraded my star rating from an initial 1 star to 3. If it wasn't for the issue of a lack of warning about leaving the steam button in and the reset switch being hard to access I'd have given it 4 stars.

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful.
Ciao Barista...
By stylepuppy
I've wanted an Espresso machine for ages but I've always been put off by the rickety plastic feel of most machines in my price range. The Cubix Plus is one of Gaggia's entry-level models but it has a solid and sturdy feel thanks to the metal plate that forms the main body. Admittedly the water tank and drip tray feel a bit plasticky by comparison, but once they're in place you don't really notice this. I like the utilitarian styling too, looking like a miniaturised version of Gaggia's big café machines, and the footprint it requires on your worktop isn't much more than the average kettle. The water tank is surprisingly big too, holding 2.5 litres, some comparable machines only hold half this amount.Making a delicious Espresso is quick and easy, quicker than boiling a kettle and making instant once you get the hang of it. Making the perfect Cappuccino takes a bit more technique and skill but it's fun trying and you can always drink your experiments. The only included accessory is a coffee measuring spoon so you might want to budget for a couple of basic items, if you don't already have them. Espresso cups or glasses to catch the coffee are the most obvious essential, but a stainless steel jug to froth your milk in would be a worthwhile purchase too. Note that the 'Pannarello' steam spout has been designed to tuck neatly under the ledge when not in use and it makes for a slightly awkward design. It's only really usable when you spin it round to the front of the machine, it doesn't project far enough beyond the ledge at any other position, and even at the front there isn't a lot of room for manoeuvre. It might be best to choose a smaller size of jug to use with the steam spout, maybe no more than 0.5 litre capacity.Gaggia also include an alternative coffee filter and adaptor for the Portafilter so you can use ESE coffee pods. I haven't tried this yet, but it would make the process slightly less messy since you wouldn't have to deal with loose coffee grounds, but there's a somewhat limited range of coffees available in ESE pods.All together it's a great little machine, the awkwardly positioned steam spout is slightly annoying but the general sturdiness of the machine and Gaggia's expertise make up for it. Recommended.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent machine
By DICEYUK
After being dissapointed with several so called espresso machines, made by a number of different manufacturers, I finally bit the bullet & forked out for a more expensive option. Brilliant, knocks spots off of all the others I've had - better coffee, more consistent output, easier operation, less mess, bigger water tank, less noisy.