It’s nearly two years since I bought my last espresso machine. It was a bit of a rushed purchase, as my old one had developed a serious leak, and there was no way I was going to do without my regular dose of proper coffee. And it’s done quite well, really, but it’s beginning to show signs of wear. The buttons have become a bit wobbly, and it struggles to push the water through the coffee grounds some days. Getting an authentic crema on my espresso has become a bit hit and miss, which isn’t all that good. But it does make perfectly drinkable coffee[1], so it’s definitely got some more life in it.

However, its wobbliness did raise the dreadful thought that it might decide to stop working altogether, which would be Very Bad indeed. And so I devised a Cunning Plan. I decided to get a newer, shinier and generally better machine and put the old one aside as an emergency backup.

As this wasn’t an emergency, I took the time to do some research. I looked around at what was available locally, and wasn’t impressed, so I resorted to the internet thingy. After much searching and reading, I decided that what I wanted was a Gaggia Baby Class D. Gaggia because, well, it’s pretty much the definitive name in espresso. Baby because the “Baby” range is the upper end of domestic machines – quite seriously a class above my Cubika. Class because the “Class” range have more metal and less plastic about them than the current standard Baby range. And D because that means it’s a semi-automatic machine – you can set up how much coffee you want in a shot (with two buttons available for different size shots). Once you’ve set it up, you just press the button once to have your coffee delivered to your cup – with the Cubika, I have to press the button to start, and press again to stop.

So, I looked around for a supplier. Lots of people had it listed, but not in stock. Prices varied widely. Eventually, I found Caffè Italia UK. They had it showing as in stock. Their price was significantly lower than anyone else I’d seen, and they were offering free stuff – 500g of coffee, two cups and some descaler. That looked like a good deal, so I ordered it.

Delivery took a bit over a week, which is a bit longer than I’m used to, but there’s a good reason for that – it came direct from Milan! It arrived today, well packed and in perfect condition. First impressions were good – it’s an altogether more substantial machine than the Cubika, and the brewing head (or portafilter if you want to be posh) is a seriously solid bit of metal – it feels much heavier than the one on the Cubika, and looks more like the kind of thing you see in a coffee bar.

The water tank is a much tidier affair – it sits on top and feeds downwards through a filter rather than through an awkward pair of tubes. It’s the same kind of thing you find on Gaggia’s fully automatic bean to cup machines[2], and much more convenient.

Setting up was simple – fill the tank, switch on and run some water through it. Then I had to fit the appropriate coffee holder into the head – it comes with filters for one shot, two shots, and for pods – and allow it to warm up. Once that was done, I added some coffee and pressed the “program” button until it flashed. Then I pressed the first coffee button which started delivering espresso into my cup, and pressed it again when it reached the right level. Job done.

And it delivered a very fine cup of espresso indeed. Nicely full bodied with a proper crema, just as it should be. After that, I tested one of my new cups – nice things, plain, simple and perfectly formed. I put in the two-cup filter, added some coffee and pressed the magic button twice. And I got a lovely double espresso. Nice.

[1] Provided I use Illy coffee, which is a wee bit more expensive than the average…
[2] I had one of those – nice, but prone to developing leaks. Not to mention being seriously expensive