Is the Gaggia Titanium Worth the Money?

Consumer Reviews of the Gaggia Titanium

The following reviews were compiled from Amazon.com, WholeLatteLove.com, CoffeeGeek.com, Buzzillions.com, Epinions.com, and RecommendedBuys.co.uk.

There seems to be a love-hate relationship that many owners have with their Gaggia Titanium espresso machines as you will see when reading the following reviews. Everybody loves the espresso drinks that the machine is capable of producing, but hate the fact that the machine is not very reliable and is prone to leaks and other problems.

To help you gain confidence in your purchase decision this site has collected what we believe is an extremely honest and proportionate collection of purchaser critiques for the Gaggia Titanium Espresso Machine.

We think you’ll agree with us that reviews expressed by genuine owners of the Gaggia Titanium are the very best source of truthful, reliable feedback, which you will find invaluable when selecting a home espresso maker of your own.

By doing the research and collecting a number of reviews for this popular, simple to operate, and handsome looking espresso machine, we hope that we can help save you endless hours of time searching the online market place yourself to be able to collect this information.

Review By J.B. Kelly

This machine replaces a semiautomatic Delonghi, which, I thought, was decent. Well…after using this for 3 weeks, I can honestly say that my old machine was barely competent. The Gaggia Titanium is a wonderful machine. Not only is the espresso excellent but the panerella wand makes awesome froth and the thing looks great. It’s fully programmable and, once set, it’s just a matter of pushing a button to brew a delicious espresso – every time! It warms up in UNDER A MINUTE, has a large bean hopper, large water reservoir, very cool blue lcd display…i can’t rave enough. I’ve had no problems at all with this machine and I recommend it heartily.

Review By Kurt D. Fenstermacher

Believe me, I thought long and hard for paying over a $1,000 for a coffee maker. The very idea struck me as a bit outrageous, since I’ve never paid more than $50 for a coffee maker before, but now I’m glad I did. I looked at several espresso makers, ranging from the simplest (and cheapest) to the mid-range machines on up to this beast, the Gaggia Titanium. I finally decided to take the coffee plunge and figured that I could always return it if my wife (“the decider”, as I like to call her) vetoed the purchase.

I ordered the Gaggia Titanium during my Amazon Prime trial, so it was shipped overnight for just a few dollars and arrived on a Monday. We had house guests at the time and while one didn’t drink coffee, the other considered himself a hard-core coffee purist (he even has a roaster at home and buys his beans green). I noticed right away that the machine was packed well, which is always a good sign. I had the machine out of the box, read through the directions, and started brewing coffee in about 15 minutes. Wow. This was easily the best coffee I had ever tasted, with none of the bitterness I usually associate with espresso (at least with espresso I’ve made).

The machine produces four different beverages: espresso, “regular” coffee, caffe lungo, and hot water. (Caffe lungo, as it turns out, is literally “coffee long” and is similar to espresso, but with more water passed through for a longer brew time. While I’d never heard of it, it’s now my wife’s new morning beverage.) There’s also the frothing wand and the cappuccinatore, which is an attachment that replaces the frothing wand specifically for cappuccino. While others have mentioned never using the cappuccinatore, it’s all I’ve used so far and I’ve converted at least two strict coffee drinkers to cappuccino lovers.

My second (after the cost) biggest concern was that I’d been told that super automatics are a pain to clean and that it would be more hassle than it’s worth. As it turns out, the Gaggia Titanium’s not the hard to clean. The dreg drawer (which holds the “hockey pucks” as my friend calls them) sits inside the drip tray, which easily slides out after you unlatch the door. The Titanium’s blue display will let you know when it’s time to empty the drip drawer. (It’s not clever enough to know if you empty the dreg drawer in between these warnings, but if you empty it on your own schedule, you simply pull out the drawer for 5 seconds and slide it back in.) For the drip tray, there’s a red plastic float that rises up as the tray fills to let you know that it’s time to empty the tray.

The most difficult part to clean, which isn’t all that hard, is the brew unit, which processes the coffee as it comes out of the grinder (or from the ground coffee slot, if you choose to use your own ground coffee). You have to unscrew a couple stainless steel plates and brush the unit (with an included brush). In short, cleaning a super automatic is no more of a chore than cleaning the separate appliances (coffee grinder and drip/espresso maker). One minor annoyance is mentioned on an orange sheet packed in the box that says that “oily” beans can clog the grinder and there’s an 800 number to call for suggestions.

The only problem that I’ve had is that the beans (Starbuck’s Caffe Verona) don’t fall into the grinder properly and so every few cups the Gaggia Titanium reports that the beans are empty even when there are beans in the hopper. Reaching into the hopper and pushing the beans around fixes that problem, but the rep at the 800 number reports that the oily beans will cause a buildup in the grinder and offered to send instructions on how to clean the grinder, should that become a problem. (It hasn’t been for me yet, but I’ve only had the Titanium for a week and a half.) The suggestion I got from the 800 number was to let the beans sit on a baking sheet for an hour or so before adding them to the hopper and while this hasn’t eliminated the problem of the non-empty hopper, it has reduced it.

One more tip: if you don’t have a grinder, consider buying one (I bought the KitchenAid KPCG100NP Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder, Nickel Pearl from Amazon and have been very happy with it). Sometimes (especially in the evenings, I’ve had requests for decaf and I’d rather not try to empty the bean hopper and grinder. Instead, you can add a scoop of ground coffee and press the “pre-ground coffee” button to tell the Gaggia Titanium to use your ground coffee rather than grinding it fresh. (I suppose you could also buy already ground coffee, but if you’re already spending over $1,000 on a coffee maker, what’s a grinder?)

The bottom line: if you spend more than a few bucks a day on coffee, you can justify the cost and you’ll wind up with great coffee. I suppose it’s some measure of how much we enjoy the coffee that with three coffee drinkers, we’ve brewed just over 120 “coffees” (an espresso shot-sized measure of all three coffee products) in ten days. There’s no question that this is a 5-star product.

Review By mister bob

this is my second fully automatic espresso machine; my first was saeco magic that was retired after it began to incessantly leak. i knew that saeco and gaggia were the same company, and the saeco served me well for nearly 9 years with no service whatsoever (although it was a minor repair i found out later) but i wanted to get a newer, more attractive machine, so i spent time looking into this gaggia.

i actually didn’t purchase this machine here, but on eBay, but in the past year the price has gone done so you would do best to get it here. the machine i bought on eBay was brand new, unopened (and at the same price they sell it here) and with factory warranty. this is a beautiful piece of equipment, but if you need to save money, the gaggia titanium (without the SS suffix) is $200 cheaper and identical, just doesn’t have the stainless steel side panels.

i gave it only 4 stars as it exhibited “issues” just 3 days out of warranty; it appeared to have started leaking. after a quick search into “authorized” repair centers and reading through the nightmares of some people, i found a local repair shop that was able to fix the issue in under a week. apparently, a fitting for the steam boiler was malformed, causing it to leak. the issue was fixed quickly (and for less than $100) and since then, the machine has been making dozens of cups of espresso a day!

the espresso is rich and HOT (being able to set the temperature on this unit is a great thing that a LOT of units don’t have) and cleanup is fairly simple. i haven’t had the “ventilate” issue that i have seen others write about here. one annoying feature, is that the energy saving feature REQUIRES that you set a turn on/turn off time. and every time the unit turns on, it uses some of the water in the tank to rinse the brew group. normally, not a big issue, but since the water is drained into the pan beneath the unit, you DO have to remember to empty it. while this unit is SO smart…it doesn’t know when the pan is full (save for a pathetic little manual indicator) and if you aren’t careful, you may end up with murky coffee water all over the place! if you use your machine as often as i use mine (daily), you’ll make a note to empty the drain pain every couple of days.

occasionally, the machine will report that the dreg drawer (where the used grounds are deposited) is full, when it actually isn’t. best thing is to just empty it and replace the drawer…everything works fine.

i didn’t use the wild looking frothing accessory…the actual metal frother that you see on the front of the unit works wonderfully, is easy to clean, and best of all, since the unit has 2 boilers, there’s no waiting between brewing espresso and steaming milk…it does dispense nice HOT water as well…

and lastly…the grinder. i know that some people have had issues with it not feeding the coffee properly; this is mainly when the machine is new. once the oil from the beans have lubricated the unit, it is less of a problem. although i found a tip online that said to remove the small cap over the grinder (just try not to stick your fingers in when it’s on). i did this to my unit, and have rarely had a problem since…

all in all, a great unit. expensive, but when you weigh it out, i’ve made over 1000 cups of espresso in this machine in the past year. at starbucks, that would have been anywhere from $2500-4000…so it paid for itself in short order

addendum: a year later and 1000 cups more and still going strong! no further issues with leakage. make SURE you decalcify the unit per manual instructions…with over 2400 cups made you can only imagine the money saved at the coffee shop i highly reccommend lavazza super crema beans for this machine…

Review By Atman

I should’ve known better. I initially purchased a Gaggia Titanium SS for myself because of Gaggia’s supposed excellence in the espresso device market. I’ll have to admit, the machine looks beautiful and when it works its awesome. However, after about 2-3 months of use, the machine started to leak in the inside upper-right corner. Puddles and puddles of water on my counter top! If that weren’t enough, the increased humidity and steam from leakage caused the digital display to appear distorted and fuzzy! If that weren’t enough, I keep on getting a “Close Door” message even though the door is closed! I’m not finished! The grinder adjustment knob doesn’t work! I have the grind set at the finest setting and I’m getting coarse coffee grinds!

I called Importika to get this machine serviced and spoke to a “Sally” who takes care of service related issues. After 1 month of emailing and phone calls, “Sally” never gave me a “Return Authorization” which is required for machine to be sent back. She just ignored me. I gave up on this company and decided to get it fixed at a different company.

Save your money! Get a different brand! Do your research!

Review By alicat

I just purchased the Gaggia Titanium, and boy, what a machine! This thing is idiot-proof, not to mention it looks great on my counter top! I was so impressed by the styling, that I didn’t pay attention to the actual “function” of the machine at first, but when I did, I was in awe! Never having used a super auto, I was used to an old Krups I had purchased at a flea market that actually worked once every other blue moon! So using the Gaggia every morning for my cup of joe made me feel like I was in heaven! The speed of making a latte in the wee morning hours is unbelievable, and the machine’s ability to automatically froth my milk for me really makes it a breeze! I highly recommend this machine to anyone who is looking for an easy to use super automatic machine.

Review By S. Hunter

I read the reviews and the only concern I had (other than the price tag) was that I would get the dreaded “Ventilate” message.

I didn’t. Setting up the machine was relatively easy. The only pesky issue (and this still remains) is getting the front panel on. For some reason, it’s a struggle to get it back on. (The only I reason I take it off is to empty the ground coffee box.)

My first latte was so good. My second was even better.

It is a loud machine when it makes coffee so I can’t use early in the morning because it would wake the wife and kids.

I purchased the Lavazza coffee beans with it, and that is one smooth creamy cup of joe.

I’ve had the machine since 6/4/08 (today is 6/16) and have not experienced any badness with the machine (knock on wood).

Review By A. Urban

I ordered this machine for my wife after reading dozens of reviews and and positive feedback. We followed the instructions explicitly and created one cup of coffee. After that the machine said “ventilate”. We followed the procedures for ventilating the machine and it seemed to correct itself. Went to make another cup of coffee and it said “ventilate”. This time it would not fix itself. I tried to perform the ventilate process and it would simply spray hot water out into the tray. Turn off the knob and “ventilate” comes back up on the screen. Turn the machine off and turn it back on, “ventilate” came up on the screen.

We called Amazon and they sent us a replacement a few days later (thank you Amazon). Unfortunately, this one I did not get cup one out of the machine. It read “ventilate” as soon as I turned it on. The difference is with this one no water would come out at all.

Gaggia provides no customer support so you are on your own with this unit.

Review By peejbob “Pjb”

Excellent machine but be ware you MUST keep this machine clean at the steam/hot water nozzle.

If it gets blocked the first thing it will do is ask to be ventilated .. then the pressure cut off switch may ‘pop’ and the machine may seem to lock up – there is no auto-reset and the pressure switch must be manually reset inside. It’s not worth £s sending for repair – but not really a user fix. so be warned – keep your nozzles clean!

Review By M Lee

The machine was very easy to use, did everything that I wanted it to do and more. First time that I used it, I got the “ventilate” message. I followed the instructions and got it fixed. We used it every day for five weeks, sometimes multiple times a day. Then, on week five, I got the “ventilate” message again. I tried to clear as per the manual, nothing worked. I called customer service at Importika and of course they were closed. I had to stay home from work the next day to call Importika again. The woman in their service department was very nice and talked me through multiple ways to fix it, still nothing. I bought the machine through Costco, so Importika told me I could return it there, or pay to have it shipped to them and repaired. I liked the machine enough that I considered shipping it in for repairs, but I waited a week to get the return authorization Email, and by that time I had already returned it and ordered another brand machine. Loved the machine, but wish it had been better quality. To spend this much money and only last 5 weeks is ridiculous.

Review By A. Momon

No more Starbucks! This machine will pay for itself within a year since I’m saving over $30 a week by not buying coffee and lattes from stores. It’s extremely easy to use; press OK to start rinse cycle and warm up machine (takes around 10 seconds), press small, medium, or large for the size of coffee (press twice to make it a double!), use the frothing wand to warm up milk if desired. Entire process takes about a minute to complete.

Review By So

Purchased and received machine from WholeLatteLove. First espresso was made perfectly. Trouble began when we attempted to use steam/hot water. Machine immediately said “close knob”. We closed the knob and the machine said “ventilate”. We read the instructions and manually primed the water pump with the cheap, plastic, ill-fitted primer they sent with the machine. This worked. The real problem arose when the machine asked us to “ventilate” every time we initiated the steam/hot water. We had to manually prime the pump over and over and over again. The company took the defective machine back but asked us WHY we did not want another one to replace it. Go figure. Would not recommend this machine to anyone.

Review By Gregory Cremer

My first super automatic espresso machine was a Saeco Incanto Classic, which I got for Christmas in 2005. 2 years later when my son was moving out he wanted one for his birthday so I bought him one as well. Shortly after that, and after having 3 years with zero issues, I traded up to a Saeco Incanto digital. I had that machine for 3 years and decided to move up. I read all the reviews on the Gaggia Titanium and even talked to a factory rep and decided that this was “the one”. After receiving it the first observations were not pleasant.

1) Water tank has a removable lid and a handle that falls inside where the water is. First of all, the lid was a pain in the a$$ to get on and off, and who wants the handle where peoples hands have touched, inside the water tank?

2) There is a second lid over the bean hopper “to keep the beans fresh”. Sounded like a good idea to me. Only thing is I never had any issue with bean freshness with my single lid saeco, so didn’t see it as a big deal. The 2nd lid (the sealing lid) on the Gaggia Titanium is a huge pain in the a$$ to get back on. After a time I just threw it in a drawer.

3) And this was where I really got upset. The biggest selling point for me on the titanium was the double boiler system that meant zero wait time for steam. Well, it took LONGER for the titanium to make steam than my saeco by far, and even when it produced a full head it wasn’t as good. The panerello wand did a lousy job making foam, and the foam attachment that came with the machine worked great…sortof. It would fill the cup with watery milk for the first half and then after dinking around with it, it would finally make foam for the last half.

4) The door to the brew group and dregs drawer was more difficult to open, and then scraped the drip tray with every open and close.

5) The coffee spouts were set so far back under the face of the control panel that it was difficult to tell if the cup was correctly placed under it unless you bent over and looked under it. It also denied me the honor of using my favorite cup, because there was no way to get it under the spouts. Not so with my Saeco.

The only two things that I did like about this machine was that it did heat up faster than my saeco, and it was a little quieter. Other than that, it was a huge leap backwards in design and quality so far as I am concerned.

Review By Sean Henahan

Major problems with the setup. Further research shows many complaints about the steam wand/ventilate function. Don’t wast your time or money!

Review By Peter Charter

I have been using Gaggia Titanium for about almost 10 month now (making about 6-8 cups of coffee per day). Everything works perfectly so far. I only regret not purchasing stainless steel option (extra $200), because dreg drawer made of plastic (painted titanium gray) is already showing wear (missing bits of paint) even though I only hand wash it (but mostly just rinse it, really).

Review By cannnuck

Over the years I have purchased 5 machines….one for each of my homes, and one for each of my sons. All were digital Trevi machines no longer made. This machine has some nice improvements, but it took some adjustment to get there.

The interior design is a definite improvement, and after a month of use I am very pleased.

Unfortunately in the meantime I have fixed my Trevi….but I still use my Gaggia (I think this is actually a replacement machine as the Trevi is no longer available).

Review By the mommy

I have owned a previous Gaggia super automatic and really loved it but then a kitchen fire destroyed it. I purchased this one because it was most similar to my other and I LOVE this one more. It froths milk quickly and oh so creamy without having to move my cup up and down. Also like the Energy Saving stand by mode it goes in to automatically. Would definitely recommend this machine.

Review By WBS77

My espresso-brewing journey has taken me from the mostly manual Capresso 121 to the fully automatic Solis Palazzo then to the largely comparable DeLonghi Magnifica. Now, it is the Gaggia Titanium.

Why the Gaggia? Still looking for a fully automatic that lasts more than 18 months. (What should one expect for close to $1,000? – the inexpensive Capresso still goes strong while the leaking DeLonghi and Solis clutter a back shelf in my garage.)

Will it be the Gaggia that lasts more than a year and a half? Time will tell and I will be back here to report. My guess, though, is “no” as, on the inside, the Gaggia looks almost identical to its cousin the Solis Palazzo.

My observations after two weeks of use (and lots of experience with roughly similar machines):

First, some curious comments by others that might scare you off. No need to be. Yes, machine arrives with a few coffee grounds in the innards. That’s not a sign of a refurbished machine. As was the case with the other automatics I have used and as is explained in each case in the operating manual or among packing materials, these machines are all factory tested with real coffee prior to clearing quality control.

And, while on a RTFM rant and given comments here by colleagues, the Gaggia does not weigh or otherwise measure the contents of the bin for the grounds. It counts the number of uses. And, it does not know when the bin has been emptied. Do, as the manual suggests, regularly empty bin and tray and, yes, the “bin needs emptying” message is going to come on even when it does not need attention.

The most important concern: can you get a shot with proper extraction and good, thick crema? Certainly as well as any other automatic I have used. Must have the proper basics, of course: freshly roasted beans. Then must really tinker with the coarseness of grind and quantity of grounds controls to get things right. Little adjustments make a big difference. And, must readjust to suit changes in roast or bean. Easy to get complacent once you have it right. Study that flow into the cup with each new bean/roast: not too fast, not too slow.

The Gaggia has the grind/quantity dials inside the roast bin. The DeLonghi had the quantity knob on the front of the machine, a real convenience in tweaking to get the flow/extraction just right.

On the other hand, the Gaggia is the first machine I have had that let me pick water temperature. Higher setting was, for me, just right.

Does allow selection of three size levels – quantity of brew, (not number of shots). I got to like the ability of the DeLonghi to give me a double grind at one push, something the Gaggia does not do. But, doing it twice probably gives more consistent shots.

DeLonghi allowed brew quantity to be set by a dial, allowing much finer gradations than do three buttons. But, each button can be independently set to your needs and I am finding it to my liking. No longer do I want a shot, push the button, and too late realize that the knob on the DeLonghi was set by a prior user(probably me) to yield a full cup of coffee.

Swivel base is convenient. Particularly since normal clearance between counter and cabinet does not allow bean hopper to be fully opened (to refill or adjust knobs). No harder or easier than any other I have tried when it comes to cleaning the innards.

I do like the free play provided in the steam wand. Far more swivel than others I have used. Hated the same in the Delonghi which could only swing out but not up. Steam pressure and quantity are both sufficient.

Makes froth for a European-style cappuccino effortlessly. Not sure why they pack the gizmo (cappuccinatore) for this purpose as any facility at all with a steam wand does the trick (and the cappuccinatore has lots of parts to take apart and clean after each use).

Cappuccinos are fine in the afternoon or evening. But, how about that morning latte? Or, if you prefer, as do I, a cappuccino made with microfoam? Out of luck as the machine comes out of the box. But, so too with the others I have used.

Solution, short term, is to cover the pin hole at the top of the wand fitting with a piece of scotch tape. Can stretch milk for the morning latte. With air intake disabled, hovering the wand tip just at the surface (with a bit of subsequent tamping) yields a micro foam that will allow a lighter afternoon drink (but, got to be more skilled than I am to get micro foam of a quality to support latte art).

Why worry? Taste comes largely from our olfactory senses; the volatile chemicals that give a properly roasted bean real varietal flavor, once brewed, reside in the crema; and micro foam pours through the crema, floating it to the surface where it can hit our nose (rather than burying the crema under froth).

And, finally, I have had no problems with bean feed (although given reviews here, I do periodically stick a finger in the hopper and knock the beans around a bit – have to have something to do while waiting for the brew cycle to conclude). And, no indication of any “ventilation” problem. My machine did come with an extra tool should that problem arise and instructions so complicated I sincerely hope that the problem does not occur.

Review By online for everything

Well, I have to add my 2 cents about WholeLatteLove. Not customer service oriented AT ALL. Still waiting for a call-back from two days ago. Not holding my breath. And, not my first customer call to them about different topics either.

Aside. I have owned the old Gaggia Syncrony for three years. It just died after making 4000 cups of espresso. Actually, it busted a water line. The dilema is finding someone competent enough to fix it without breaking the bank or buying the Gaggia Titanium.

However, I would definitely upgrade to the Gaggia Titanium if I cannot get my Syncrony repaired due to excellent experience we have had with Gaggia.

ALWAYS clean the frothing nozzle after each use! Highly recommend Gaggia.

Review By Petal

After reading the reviews carefully, I decided on a Gaggia Titanium, which hubby purchased. I’m so glad we opened it before Christmas. It had been damaged in the shipping and had old coffee grounds in it. I was obviously sent a used and returned open box item from Amazon. The door mechanism was flimsy and the right side of the machine was twisted and off kilter and the “undamaged” side was not much better in terms of alignment. The plastic casing felt cheap and the design seemed awkward. The water fill was in the back and since I planned to put the coffee on a counter with its back to a wall, filling would have been very unhandy (although the water reservoir is very large).

I was very disappointed. Perhaps if it had not been damaged I would have not been so critical about the “flimsiness” of the design.
Amazon was WONDERFUL regarding the return. UPS picked up the machine the next day at no cost to me and our credit card was credited about 2 weeks later.

I didn’t make a cup of coffee with the machine so I can’t speak to its performance.

I immediately went to Bed Bath and Beyond and looked at the DeLonghi ESAM 3300. I liked its clean lines, and although its facing is plastic, it was beautifully aligned and attractive. I loved the handiness of filling and cleaning. I purchased it on Amazon for $250 less then the Gaggia (it doesn’t have an LCD display and other bells and whistles)and I am very happy with it.

Review By John Leonard

Have owned this machine for almost 2 years.  Purchased from Whole Latte Love.  After 9 months machine started leaking water all over my counter, called WLL customer service was told to send in should be returned in 6-8 weeks.  Sent machine away, was not returned for 3.5 months.  Very disappointed for a machine at this price point.  I have nothing good to say about WLL customer service, tried to speak to managers and they would not let me, sent emails, not returned.  There was no explanation for the delay but to tell me parts come from Italy and they take awhile.  As many machines as WLL sells and knowing how long it takes, one would think parts would be in stock/on the shelf.  It’s not like my machine was the first to have this problem.  WLL was not sympathetic in the delays and took no responsibility.  Do NOT be sucked into their low prices as I did, the service leaves much to be desired.  I am submitting this review as my machine is acting up again when trying to froth milk.  I hope it’s not going to go down again.  As consumers we have choices and when you spend this kind of money on a machine you expect it to perform like the price you paid for it.  And when it doesn’t all I expect is to be treated fairly and efficiently.  Heck WLL didn’t even throw in a pound of coffee for my delays.  As I said they didn’t care.

Do I like this machine??  I love this machine, but am always worried when it hiccups.  My wife and I drink 2 espressos a day, so the machine pulls 8 shots/day.  I don’t think that’s extreme and when it works it’s great.  Best espresso I’ve ever had (use Peet’s Espresso Forte).  Starbucks can’t touch the mocha’s/lattes prepared by this machine.  I live in a rural area and the closest Starbucks is 40 minutes away.  That’s the reason I invested in the is machine.  Completely satisfied until I had to deal w/ WLL.  I will always question what to do if the machine fails again.  I was so disappointed by the lack of concern that I don’t want to go through it again, nor do I think I should when I paid the kind of money I did.

Review By Ron Gibson

LOVED the coffee that this unit produced until about week eight, when it started leaking water/steam profusely inside the unit, despite meticulous daily/weekly cleaning on my part. On a VERY expensive unit this should not be the case after only about 250 pulls. Could be a fluke, but I see others have had leak issues with this model also, so rather than have it repaired, I opted to return it for a refund. Decided to take the money and buy a Jura instead. Only problem is that I am having serious Expresso Jones while waiting fot the Jura to arrive…..

Review By Beau Raines

I was excited when I discovered the machine on my doorstep after being without espresso while waiting for this replacement for my Jura-Capresso E9.  I brought it in and started opening it up and found another box wrapped in air bags.  I opened that box, and there was another labeled box inside that one.  I wasn’t sure if I should expect another box, but I found the machine packed in Styrofoam shippers.  It was awkward to get it out of the box (I ended up cutting open the bottom tape and lifting the box off) but that’s all there was too it.

I put it on the counter, pulled a few strips of tape off and was ready to get started.  The manual is multi-lingual and each language’s section isn’t too long, so it took a little while to find the English section (imagine that, it wasn’t first in the Italian made product’s manual).

I filled up the good sized water container and started to prime the machine.  It took several tries to get the pump circuit primed, longer than the manual implied that it would.  I dumped in some beans into the hopper and pressed the button.  It whirred and clicked and clacked and pumped out the first shot.  It was actually quite hot, hotter than the shots from my E9, though very good for the first shot.

The menu is simple to navigate through, readable on the blue illuminated display.  You can set the current time, start-up/shut off times, and how long until the machine goes into an energy saver mode.  You can also control the temperature of the water and the exact size (hold the button until your cup is filled to your liking) of the shot.  Out of the box, the shots are close to 2 ounces, which seems a little big to me.

The water container looks like it will take a filter, though I cannot find anything in the manual about it.  Out of the box, it comes set to the highest water hardness setting and will evidently alert you to de-calcify after 3 or 4 months.

The brew unit is removable and should be washed at least once a week.  Taking it out is simple and it is a quick wash under hot water.  There is some thick grease lubricant on the brew unit, for the moving parts, which I wonder if it will need to be replaced after some time.

The grinder and machine (tamping, maybe) seem loud, but have yet to have woken up my wife, so it must not be “that” loud.

I’ve used the machine for about two weeks now and really enjoy it.

Review By Tom Gielink

We wanted a small neat looking machine that would make good coffee with little fuss or hassle and that is why we settled for the Gaggia Titanium.

Another reason for our choice was that many of the internal components resembled the Solis we had previously, that served us well for 9 years.
As Gaggia was the innovating company for Industrial Coffee machines it influenced our final decision.

The early problem of Steam failure was very annoying, but we figured it could happen with any product.

Media World in Italy were helpful but Gaggia, now apparently owned by Saeco are a bit slack to say the least.

We have waited 5 weeks without getting the machine back.

I would have pressurized the dealer for a new one, but figured if there was a production fault it may be on all machines, so better to have a proper repair.

Review By Michael Evans

These are early days for me with the Gaggia Titanium and super automatic coffee making in general but I’m already impressed with the machine and how simple the thing is to use!  Out of the box the single cup setting delivered too much (water) and not quite enough coffee but I’m trying new settings everyday and I’m pretty sure I’ll have it perfected this weekend.  WLL shipped me a nice big bag of Lavazzia “Super Crema” coffee with the unit but I’m not really liking the taste, the beans I get from Whole Foods here in NYC are much better.

So far my Titanium does not leak and is very consistent from shot to shot.  I will update this review after a couple of weeks of regular usage.

Review By Elwood Blues

After 3.5 years and over 5000 shots (yes, it has a counter) dispensed without ANY problems, I can say I have never owned a better super automatic…. (DeLonghi, Saeco, Jura)
With pre-infusion set to long and the grinder set to 0 (I know they tell you in the manual not to go lower than 2….), using Lavazza Super Crema (hard to beat, and at $15 per Kilo….even harder- I think the extra little bit or Robusta in this blend works well with the super automatic), I got the extraction time up to 26 seconds (18 w/o counting pre-infusion) – not bad. There will always be a price for convenience……

nice crema, though it does not support a teaspoon of sugar for a second….. who came up with that, anyways?

Always set your water level to extra hard and descale often….. it will expand the life expectancy of the machine – best de-scaler on the market: Durgol

Steam is good – takes about 10sec to produce steam, enough to ‘warm up’  a cup. I ‘retro-fitted’ the turbo frother with the Saeco Panarello w/ the tip removed – nice micro foam, not on the fast side, though. On lazy days it is still the microwave and the little Ikea-frother (it will last about 3-4 months, but at $1.99 a piece, you can replace it many times….)

Review By Simon Byrne

Having worked our way up through steam powered then mid-range single boiler manual machines, we decided to look at double boiler machines.  We looked at various machines including Gaggia and Rancilio models, got hooked on the idea of grinding fresh beans (and so looked at a range of burr grinders).  Then we decided it might just be easier to go for a fully automatic machine.  If they’re good enough for Starbucks and Pret a Manger, we thought they’d probably be good enough for us!  And a whole lot less hassle as well.  Despite enjoying the art of creating a good espresso shot, sometimes pressing a button seems much more civilized.  :-)  We certainly drink a lot more coffee now it is so quick and easy to make good espresso.

The design and aesthetics of the machine are very good overall, with just a few niggles as discussed in the negative product points.  However the proof is in the pudding, or the coffee in this case.  The machine makes fantastic espresso and we now couldn’t live without it!

Review By Richard Henry

Overall a great machine.  I did my research on this website before I bought another machine, given my negative experience with Starbucks’ Saeco Digital Italia machine.  I use my machine quite a bit.  I am the sole coffee drinker in my house right now, but when my wife and I entertain the Gaggia gets a marathon work-out.  I’ve never had this machine give me any issues and it has never let me down like the SB machine did.  Once in a while, I have to recalibrate the dose volume of liquid shot.

I’ve saved a lot of money ($$) since making my own coffee in the morning.  I rarely go to Starbucks anymore except to buy beans.
I’ve been very pleased with the quality of construction and the quality of espresso drinks it continues to produce.  I’ve never had anyone complain about the quality of their espresso drinks.  I plan on doing a follow-up review at the one year mark.

I vacillated back and forth over getting the Gaggia Titanium and the Titanium SS model.  I discovered the ONLY difference is that the SS has an all stainless steel construction;  other than that they are identical.  The SS ads more weight and was $200 more in price.  If you don’t care about that feature forget about the SS.

I’m slightly concerned to learned that Saeco has bought Gaggia, but that’s the way of the corporate world…big fish swallowing the smaller fish.

Review By Max Kirsch

Bought this machine as a refurbished (returned within 30 days, or so they say), and enjoyed it for the first six months or so.  Was worried about the construction–the door is cheap with single clasp, and there is a lot of thin plastic.  I was right.  To the day when the warranty ran out, the machine fell apart.  The steam nozzle/joint began to leak inside and then just gave out. I bought a separate frother (Xpress Frother–another story, don’t), hoping that I could just use it and the brew group and feel satiated. Then the door would not stay shut and constantly showed the “close door” message, which means the only way the machine could be used was by holding the door shut.  Then it refused to rinse or descale, and is now basically useless.  Whole Latte Love refused to stand behind their product, and insisted that I send it back and pay for the repair (this is not a light machine).  On principle, I refused to pay for a repair on a $900 machine that fell apart after six months.  Starbucks would be cheaper.  I tried to put a reasonable review on their site, which they would not publish.  It means that their reviews cannot be trusted.  All said and done, I feel as although I was ripped off.  I am back to the Rancillo Sylvia, which I never had a problem with, and which makes superior espresso anyway.  A very disappointing experience.  Buying one is asking for trouble.

Review By Chris Brown

I bought the Gaggia Titanium after a few months of agonizing over which machine to buy. I was leaning towards a semi-automatic but my wife choked at the idea of grinding, pressing, feathering the pressure and all the “chemistry” that goes into making a single shot of espresso. So I gave her the option of buying a fully automatic, with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be like the local barista shops. She agreed and after even more research, we chose the Gaggia Titanium and bought it through Whole Latte Love. We called on the phone and placed the order quickly. In two days the machine was on our counter and ready to go.

Unpacking the machine and setting up is easy, but the directions must be followed. There are certain parameters that must be entered in the digital control panel that determine how the machine best functions for water hardness, water temperature and sleep mode.

After a couple of weeks of use, I was going to write a review but decided to wait. It has now been about one year. I write this with much experience with the Gaggia Titanium.

The Control Panel: This is one of the best features of the Gaggia Titanium. It tells you everything: when to refill the reservoir, refill the beans, clean the dregs drawer, and when to de-calcify. The brewer will not function until you’ve performed the required command and over the last year has not failed to tell the truth. Sample read outs: “Refill Tank”, “Descale”, “Refill Beans”, “Clean Dredgedrawer”, “Sleep”, “Flushing”.

The bean hopper: It appears to hold about 1/2 lb. of beans. It needs to be refilled frequently if you pour double or triple shots. The beans also stick to the sides, requiring me to manually settle the beans towards the grinder.

The Grinder: The internal grinder is adjustable and we set it on the finest grind possible. It produces very fine grind, but not the same as a “pro” espresso grinder. The grinder produces a consistent volume and fineness of grind every time, as measured by the size of the puck (yes, I poke at them to see what’s inside). It’s loud, but no louder than any other grinder.

The Reservoir: The water reservoir contains enough water so that once it is empty, the dregs drawer must also be emptied. This is based on single shot cappuccinos, not espressos, double or triple shot drinks. Refilling the reservoir is based on the amount of water left in the container.

The Brew Group: The brew group is plastic and metal. It slides out easily for easy cleaning. This should be checked every time the dregs drawer is emptied. This is where many people get turned off on this machine. Gaggia spent plenty in design and looks, but seemed to skimp on the brew group. Could it have been better? Yes, but the dang thing is already very expensive.

The Coffee: There are three selections available: small, medium or large. What this varies is the amount of water pushed through the coffee. The coffee does not vary in volume with this setting. The only way to increase the amount of coffee is with a knob located in the grinder area.

With a “small” setting, a standard shot is poured. It is nothing like a “pro” shot, but it has a good flavor and good kick. When the other two settings are used, the coffee tastes watered down. This is actually a good thing when someone want to add cream and sugar (i.e., not an espresso drinker).

The Steamer: The steamer works very well and cleans very easily. Once a shot has been poured, the steamer is immediately available because this machine has two boilers.

Final Cut: This machine is perfect for the person who doesn’t want to fuss over their cappuccino making. Everything about it is easy to use. It will not make pro-barista quality shots but it will make very good cappuccino.

My wife serves cappuccinos to her weekly gals’ gathering and everyone enjoys the coffee from this machine. Last week I offered to sell it and get a “pro” machine and she said “No”. She likes the simplicity and is satisfied with the quality of the brews.

Review By Weathertop

After several wonderful years with a Gaggia Coffee, I decided to stay with Gaggia when I began shopping for a super automatic.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the results, but I’m left with a better sense of appreciation for the fine folks at Whole Latte Love and their great customer service.  More on all these details appear below.

I settled on the Gaggia Titanium SS as I found, as have others, that the Titanium is one of the few super automatics on the market with an all metal housing.  You’ll read this same observation in many places:  ”How can anyone spend thousands of dollars on a super automatic with plastic housing?”

And, it is a thing of beauty.  Externally, the SS is picture-perfect with stainless steel on all sides and most of the top.  The only visible areas that are plastic are the door for the bean hopper, the drip tray and the water tank (but this is only visible from the sides).  I can attest that the blue display does look very neat in a darkened room and the unit looks great with the included Gaggia Senses cups sitting on top.

My SS arrived in only 3-days after my web order.  Setup was mostly painless, although the manual that Gaggia produces for this machine (and others) had only a slim English section.  Frequent references are made back to diagrams in the front inside cover, which necessitated a bit of page flipping.  After a couple of false starts, and my own concern that I could harm the machine with unintentional misuse, I tossed the manual aside and called WLL for a brief run-through of the setup where the manual was lacking and was up and running in minutes.  So far, so good.

The crema made by this machine was by far the best that I’ve had after years of running my older Gaggia Coffee and was much better than $Starbucks and most of my local coffee houses.  This is a key observation so let me say it again:  The crema on this machine was better than my years at my semi-manual machine (but, maybe this says that I always made poor espresso manually <wink!).

Noise from the internal grinder was acceptable, although it can wake light sleepers elsewhere in the house.  Frothing results were much better than I expected – lots of micro foam.  However, in order to gain more lateral motion for the frothing tip, it is ncesssary to flip up a plastic door near the steam arm.  I am left with a concern that this plastic door could melt after repeated contact with the hot frother arm.  But, during my use of the machine I experienced no issues with producing very drinkable milk drinks from the first attempt onward.  I never felt the need to break-into the included frothing aid from its plastic bag.

So, after all these praises, why the lower rating?  One word:  Leaks.  With every coffee that I brewed, I found 7-10 tablespoons of coffee under the unit.  At first, I thought that these leaks were attributable to user error.  However, after a growing mess on the counter and discovering that others have had leaks with Gaggia/Saeco brew groups, I called WLL for help.  My conversations with WLL Customer Care and Technical Support led to a realization that an issue was present with the delivery of coffee from the brew group.  Coffee from this unit is delivered through a plastic tube that is fixed to the inside of the front door, allowing it to exit through the dispenser on the outside of the machine.  Somewhere, among these parts, only a portion of the brewed coffee (and water, when rinsing) was being delivered.  Some coffee was being blown, under pressure, against the inside of the door resulting in a mess with each brew, that would then find its way through knocked-out, machined gaps in the drip tray, resulting with a mess with each brew.

Other quibbles:  While the machine is externally metal, it is internally plastic.  Plastic brew group, plastic delivery system, a plastic door lock to hold the door closed, and plastic dispensing system (hidden behind a silver finish).   Much of these plastic parts are fragile and do not strike me as hardy enough to last more than a year or so (if that).

I tried several experiments with WLL on the phone in attempt to isolate the leaking problem.  But, as time wore on, I was faced with the prospect of returning the machine for warranty repair or returning it for a refund under WLL’s 30-day guarantee.  Sadly, I opted for a refund, due to my increasing confidence that the Gaggia Titanium had a fundamental design flaw, esp. as many others have faced the same issue on many of the Gaggia/Saeco units.

WLL refunded my full purchase price (minus shipping), which I’ve applied toward a Jura S-7 Avantgarde.  Yep, this machine is very plastic-y looking, but it is a sealed unit that never requires a brew group manual rinse.  It also seems much more solid and the crema matches the crema of the Titanium.

Review By Colin Chan

This is the top of the line “you beauty” Gaggia super-automatic espresso machine. Although I know that no super-auto can and will beat a pf machine, this does a good consistent job of producing a  shot.

I mainly make cappuccino’s so taste-wise it’s not noticeable that quality is down.However the machine set on maximum dose is not adequate and I find that I have to consistently use double dose on everything. The machine does produce adequate crema and the steaming of milk is good.

Cleaning the machine is easy, thanks to the group assembly being removable(similar to other SAECO machines), However, the clasp that holds the front door of the machine is a joke and only just catches. This machine will not work and displays a door open message on the LCD panel if the front door is ajar (Have to push the door closed again). Annoying!!

The Dreg draw will activate a message “Empty Dregs” when full and will de-activate all functions until this is done. I thought this was a good feature until I found out that this can occur with anything from 2-8 pucks being created.

The drip Tray is a bit of a joke as it is too shallow and a little red indicator that is supposed to rise when full is virtually useless. If I were to wait for the button to rise, then the tray would be so full that I’d make a helluva mess trying to remove it. I now just religiously empty the tray and rinse after each use of the machine.

The cup warmer (Top of the machine) is not really a dedicated cup warmer at all and only relies on the heat generated from within. Read-Useless!!

At about 800 shots (internal counter) the machine started to leak from within. OK so it uses a little more water and I have to mop up afterward. I can live with that. At about 1000 shots the group mechanism has jammed in eject-the-puck mode and begins it’s cycle from there!!  i.e. the machine is useless as its intended use.
The machine is currently back with authorized repair people under warranty. They have had the machine now for 5 weeks!! This may only be an Australian problem with time delay for service. (This machine really is Italian. Like A Ferrari. More time off the road than on).

In terms of super-automatics, this machine does the job well. Quick coffees in minimal time. But the price to pay is in quality of taste. I can still make a better shot with a PF machine.
However this machine does produce a better coffee than local stores around my area so it is good (or are my local stores that bad?) Am I disillusioned by super-autos? Not sure. Maybe my unit is a dud as I can’t compare with other reviews on this unit.

Review By Wiley Hodges

I really like the Gaggia Titanium. I bought one to replace my aging Synchrony Compact, and it has been a worthy replacement. I would still love to see more solid construction, but I haven’t had any reliability problems with this machine in over 18 months of use. Espresso quality is good, though not to the same standard as you might get from a prosumer semi-automatic machine. Steaming is easy and I get consistently wonderful results.
Review By Andrew Falbo

Great Machine, Great coffee. We have had our machine in use for 2 years now in our shop. It has brewed over 13,583 coffee’s in that time. We have really done nothing to this machine except clean it on a weekly basis, and use bottled water to fill the water tank. All in all a great machine.

Review By Gordon Groff

1 year later – I wanted to offer a review of our Gaggia Titanium, but just never got around to it. Having “graduated” from a Rancilio Silvia/Rocky grinder manual espresso maker setup, I was concerned about how durable a modestly-priced super would be, but am quite pleased to report that a year later, it has performed flawlessly. I was also concerned about espresso quality – having been involved with “spirited” debates with coffee aficionados who insist that my old manual setup was “far superior” to any super auto machine. I guess we are not “geeky” enough to experience this for ourselves. After dialing in our preferred settings, our Gaggia super has consistently delivered better shots than we were able to pull from my Silvia. With a fraction of the work and mess involved! My only negative is that sometimes the beans hang up in the hopper depending on how oily our dark roast beans may be. The same thing used to happen – even more often in my Rocky grinder. You can’t beat the convenience. Just push one button, and you’ve got your perfect shot. My reason for revisiting this site now is that we’ve gotten a motor home and can’t bear to leave home without our expected level of wonderful coffee every morning. I went out and got one of those Keurig pod machines for our RV. It’s good, but not up to our Gaggia brew. At $.50/cup, it’s expensive coffee too, compared to our Gaggia. So- I’m back – shopping for another Gaggia Super for our home on the road. Anyway- sorry it took so long to leave feedback here, but maybe having over a year of good experience under our belts is good to share about.

Review By Daryl Richman

Previously, I used a manual Krups and then for 9 years a Saeco Magic DeLuxe (until the grinder stopped working). I’ve had the Gaggia Titanium for just less than a year and just over 1500 coffees. I drink about 4 coffees a day, either espresso or crema coffee, black. I’ve been using Caffe D’Arte Capri (medium Italian espresso roast) for about 15 years now. The Saeco was a trooper. I would guess it made about 10,000 trouble free cups for me. But the Gaggia Titanium is better in many ways, though there are a few usability details where it’s not as good. For guests that want milk in their drinks, the double boiler is great. Essentially no time spent waiting for the machine to heat up to steaming or cool down to coffee making temperature. In general, the machine heats up quickly, and the adjustable stay-hot time is a nice feature that allows me to get a couple coffees in the morning and then only heat the machine when I want a coffee in the afternoon or after dinner. The controls become familiar after a while, but I have to say that the markings on the doser and the grinder are not intuitive and I have to resort to the manual to make sure I turn them the way I want to adjust it. BTW, putting those knobs in the bean hopper, and the indented tops, means that they both tend to trap a bean or two in them. If you’ve owned an Italian machine before, you know what to expect with the manual. The translations are sometimes odd. Even the ordering of the sections doesn’t seem very intuitive. But if you look closely at the drawings and squint at the text, you’ll figure it out. The Saeco grinder had no finger guard in the bean hopper, and gravity was always sufficient to bring all the beans into the grinder, so there was never a need to stick my fingers in there. The Gaggia has a finger guard, which impedes the beans from flowing into the grinder, so you have to push the beans down into the grinder every second or third cup, which makes the finger guard necessary. Sort of circular logic here. The machine is neat and clean to use, and easy to clean up, with its smooth surfaces. The water reservoir is easy to remove and replace — never fill it to the level of the swivel handle, though, or it will leak. The lazy susan moves easily and allows good access, but I removed the swinging cover over the bean hopper because of clearance problems with my cupboards. The machine counts the number of coffees you make and *requires* you to remove the drip tray and “dreg drawer” after 14 coffees, regardless of whether you’ve been in there and emptied it early. (The Saeco attempted to determine how full the dump bucket was by weight, and it held more pucks.) Cleaning the drip tray and bucket are easy, but the even the mildest scrub sponge will take the silver paint off the plastic drip tray, so beware. And handle the door latch with care, it’s just a piece of plastic you’re bending. Descaling is easy, as the machine has a program for doing the routine. You do need to be around for about half an hour, but you don’t have to monitor the machine much. That’s so much nicer than having to do it manually. BTW, I’m on a well and have moderately hard water, but I only need to descale about every 3-4 months. Finally, how about the coffee? It’s heavenly. The crema is rich and thick. The espressos are hot and full of body. I attribute some of the good flavor to the fact that the machine rinses the brew group every time it goes through a full warm up, so you don’t get any old oils left in there to get rancid. Adjusting the shot size is the same as on the Saeco (which I believe the Gaggia is based on, studying the way the brew group works) — hold the button until you get the volume you want, and the machine remembers it after that. Being able to turn up the temperature is also an advantage, though even the default setting is hotter than the Saeco was. I haven’t had any of the problems others have mentioned; no leaks, no repeated “Ventilate” messages, no need to prime the machine. But when the 2 year warranty is up, I’m going to cut off the finger guard in the bean hopper.Review By Melinda Slawson

Great machine, especially for the price. The Gaggia Titanium has a lot of nice features you normally only see on the more expensive super automatics – two boilers, active cup warmer, stainless steel, etc. And wholelattelove price matches, so there’s no reason not to buy it here. The customer service is unmatched. To respond to the reviews I read before purchasing: 1. Primer. I did not have to prime my machine (though I have others in the past – its normal),but it does come with a primer pump now just in case. 2. Instructions. The instructions are not so great, but they are adequate. Further, this Gaggia works almost exactly like the Saeco it is replacing so chances are if you’ve used a super before you wont need the instructions much. 3. Plastic cover. I do not see any “cracks” on the clear plastic cover over the buttons. The machine is very nice looking and the only other plastic is the bottom of the drip tray and the water reservoir. 4. Gravity feed grinder. I have never used a gravity feed grinder where gravity didn’t need a little help. Espresso beans are oily so you’ll need to push the beans down occasionally to help them. You can tell by the sound if the grinder is getting the beans or not. 5. Steam wand. The steam wand is quite nice, a little nicer than the one on my Saeco Vspresso was. It comes with something called a cappucinator you can use instead but I haven’t tried that out. 6. Espresso quality. Perhaps as some say you can get better espresso, but this produces a fine beverage and I have no complaints at all with regard to the coffee. It always takes a little tinkering to get the settings dialed in to you own likings, and using a different bean often means changing the grinder settings. 7. Water filter. This is the only downside I’ve come across. There is no filter on the market right now that fits the water reservoir. Apparently Aqua Prima changed the filter design just enough so that it doesn’t fit the Titanium. No idea if this will be remedied. So, definitely use distilled water and make sure to descale. I received mine with no problems right out of the box and couldn’t be happier with the product, price and service. Plus, two pounds of free coffee that will probably go into my zombie survival food stash. (If you’re fighting zombies, you’ll definitely need coffee right?)

Review By Henry Schindler Jr.

Had for about a year now and is used at least twice a day. After dialing it in, makes fine espresso. Making latte is a breeze and is much better than shoppes like Starbucks or others since you make it to YOUR own tastes. Also, the money saved per cup pays for the Gaggia Titanium in no time!! The only complaint is plastic finish around the drip tray wears and flakes off. Not that big a deal, but it detracts from a beautiful machine otherwise.

Review By John Holthaus

The unit makes incredible Latte’s. Bought in March and used regularly for 5 months after first descaling. Grinder / Brew unit malfunctioned and is now in for repair. The sales staff at Whole latte have been helpful thus far and hoping unit will be repaired to original condition.

Review By Jon Einersson

I´ve had mine (Gaggia Titanium Plus) for 4 years and 6000 cups. Never had any problems.

Review By Minette Ramos

I own this machine for about 5 years now. We used to spend at least $10 daily at the local Starbucks until we bought this machine. The quality is even better than Starbucks! Grew up drinking coffee in Spain and we were ‘in pain’ trying to get decent coffee in the US. Our machine has dispensed over 14,000 cups to date and still going! Will buy this again if and when our machine dies.

Review By Jerry Kruse

Overall, an excellent machine. Very easy to use. Very, very easy to clean. Great coffee with excellent crema. Easy to froth milk. Needs to be descaled often, even when doubled filtered water is used. If not frothed frequently, the steam cycle becomes unreliable, with intermittent bursts of steam. It is of utmost importance to keep the panarello wand clean, with the pore open and the inner plastic piece pushed all the way down.

Review By Allen Roberson

The long features list, push-button ease-of-operation, low maintenance, and excellent brew quality make this a brilliant machine! The menus are easy to navigate and the machine is programmable to almost any specification. After days of research, we decided to make the Gaggia Titanium purchase but, did so with a gulp; it’s not cheap. However, we would do it again without any hesitation. We’ve had this machine for about three months now and have logged over three hundred coffees/espressos. It has seamlessly integrated itself into our daily lives. Best of all, the espressos taste as wonderful today as they did on day one.

Review By Cynthia Ferguson

I love my machine and have had it 4 1/2 yrs. now. Would buy it again. It was much more expensive when I bought mine. Good price now.

Review By Brent Healy

We got the gaggia titanium the end of DEC. 2008 and fell in love with it from the start.We have never had any leaks or any problems at all we are up to 3875 total coffees made and it works just as good the day we got it.

Review By Todd M

I have had the machine for just under two years and it works flawlessly. It looks great and makes a great shot. The controls are adequate and the steaming power is second to none. It is loud after grinding when it is presumably is tamping the puck (3 loud clunks). It really couldn’t be any easier to use. I make 2 double lattes every morning and it takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish – mainly because of the steaming power. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a great espresso with an easy, no mess brewing experience.

Review By John Leonard

I have owned my Gaggia Titanium for almost a year now and love it. So simple to use and so little maintenance. I have descaled it about 4 times, clean up the dump box, drip tray and wand after every use and it always performs. My wife and I make 4-6 espresso’s per day 7 days a week. The ease of use and flawless performance would make me spend the money again. Well worth it!

Review By Mark Peterson

This is our second super automatic and I am very happy with it so far. No complaints. The Capresso that we had before finally “bit the dust” and it was time to find a new machine. It makes good, flavorful, coffee with a nice thick crema. We did have to prime the machine right out of the box, but we have had no more issues with it since.

Review By Julie Weiss

Just got my new Gaggia Titanium 3 days ago. Worked right out of the box. Easy to set up, easy to program and makes the best espresso (after drawing 3 practice shots) ever. Still learning how to get the most out of this baby, but so far, so good. Excellent frothing! I will post again at 1 month and then at 3 month intervals.

Review By Linda Gandolfo

This machine is not only gorgeous, but it is a workhorse! There for us every day. This machine performs for us daily and guests are always impressed. There are no guests that have a better machine.

Review By Gregg Pelliccia

This is the machine I dreamed of owning during a 16 month deployment to Germany. As soon as I got home, I bought it and it has performed flawlessly since! That was over three years ago!

Review By William White

This machine has worked flawlessly since I bought it about 6 months ago. Coffee quality is good, although perhaps not superb. Steams milk extremely well.

Review By Lee Roquet

I thought after 2 years of constant use I needed to post another review on how great our little Gaggia machine has performed. We just hit 5400 shots and the quality and the quality of the coffee is outstanding. My wife and I both have a double shot each day, the only way to start the day out right, and the machine has never once had an issue. We are very happy with the quality of this product and would recommend this to anyone looking for a nice machine to standout on your counter top.

Review By Janet Ross

After a year of waiting I finally convinced my husband to get an espresso machine. I wanted a super automatic, and after extensive research decided on the Gaggia Titanium. It has a relatively small footprint, but has all the features you’d expect in this top of the line machine. It makes wonderful espresso and crema coffees. WOW what a pleasure it is to wake up in the morning, push a button and have the coffee of your dreams at your fingertips! This machine produces amazing coffee, cup after cup. Each with a head of crema that is to die for! I am totally happy with our choice. Maintenance is very little. Rinsing out the removable brew group each week and you’re done. It’s just that easy!

Review By James Light

They say that certain scents or tastes transcend time–my first cup from the Gaggia Titanium took me back to our favorite cafe in Italy where we lived nearly 10 years ago. It was that good. It did take some trial and error to find the perfect grinder and dosing settings, but this is to be expected with any automatic machine. We have had the machine for 3 months now and it has worked flawlessly. I thought long and hard about the semi- vs. super-automatic decision. I made the right choice with the super-automatic, no doubt about it. Just pushing a button and getting a perfectly consistent cafe every time is truly a pleasure. Others have commented on the quality construction and beautiful appearance of the machine. I have to agree. It looks as good as it works.

Review By Kim Keinath

I am very happy with my new machine. It took several cups before I adjusted the grind and amount to my liking. Also I had to commit about 20 minutes to sit down and figure out how to program it because the manual, like others have noted, is somewhat lacking. But it is so FUN to just press a button POOF… and get a good cuppa. The machine itself is substantial and classy looking, not plastic and chintzy like some of the other reviewed super automatics. I think I made the right choice and I have been looking at these coffee machines for quite some time before I decided to spend the moolah. I’ll let y’all know how much I still like it after a year.

Review By Lawrence Weider

Overall, I have been extremely happy with the Gaggia Titanium. It has been very reliable. It heats up in 1-2 minutes and makes tons of steam for lattes etc. I only drink lattes (not espresso) so I am not the best person to comment on the finer points of the espresso flavor, but it is at least as good if not better than the other machines I have used. I returned the Jura F7, because I couldn’t get it to froth soy milk. This is no problem for the Titanium. Also, WLL’s service is the best. I replaced the brew group improperly after cleaning one time and the WLL staff emailed me step by step instructions that allowed me to fix the problem. You won’t get that kind of service from a retail store.

Review By Ash McClellan

I admit it…I am a newbie to the world of home espresso machines. My wife and I are passionate about our coffee, and we were sick of paying $$$’s to enjoy our habit. We decided to take a leap into home espresso machines. I researched various web sites for 4-6 months, read countless reviews, and decided on the Gaggia Titanium. We wanted something in all all-metal housing that would be reliable, make a great shot, and look good in the kitchen with our other stainless appliances. We decided to go with the Titanium, after reading the favorable reviews on this site and others. We live in Fredericton, NB, Canada where there is not a lot of selection for anything over a few hundred dollars. Our local kitchen store sells Gaggia products, so they were able to order one from Montreal. I was excited when they called and said it had arrived. Out of the box, it is a beautiful machine. The cracks around the buttons that have been mentioned repeatedly were present, as expected. Not a big deal. The metal and plastic that make up the cover of the by-pass doser had come apart…not a big deal, and fixed with a bit of epoxy. I plugged it in, and…nothing except a message to “fill water tank”. It was full. I emptied it, refilled it, took the brew unit out, reinserted it, etc. Nothing! I returned it to the store, where my local guy called Montreal, and they said they would get back to us. I emailed Gaggia…nothing. I emailed WLL, and got a response within 2 days (Thanks!). I had wondered what a small magnet in the bag with the brush and scoop were for. Apparently, the magnet interacts with the water sensor, and it needs to be inserted into the reservoir. This was not in the directions/manual, and I’m not sure how Gaggia expects one to be aware of this. To any event, the advice from WLL was correct, and I was happy my machine was saved. Unfortunately, the cap which keeps the magnet in place would not stay in place, and the magnet would float out repeatedly. The solution from the Gaggia distributor in Montreal was to wrap plastic around it, and jam it into place. A band-aid solution for a machine that cost, here in Canada, $2100 taxes in. I did this, and then started pulling shots. I enjoyed the espresso, but, with each and every shot, the machine leaked water all over my floor and cupboards. I just returned from my local store minus this piece of junk. Perhaps this one was a lemon, but it left me with a negative impression of Gaggia. Other issues: – the beans do not fall into the grinder as others have reported. My local French Roast is a bit oily, but still… – The door which covers the beans sticks to the lid which is underneath, and comes off often when you open the lid to replace beans or, to stir them (see above) – When I first opened the main door to check out the brew unit, it fell off

Review By R.K.Bailey

Pros: Durable, Exceptional Espresso, Feature Rich

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: It’s worth the investment if you are looking for exceptional espresso drinks on a daily basis.

We had previously owned both of the Starbucks Automatic Espresso machines (non-digital and digital), both of which were produced by Seco, both of which had problems. The non-digital was replaced under warranty twice due to leakage problems, the digital one once. Most recently, the steam arm simply broke off, and Starbuck’s no longer carries the line and gave us a full refund.

We really struggled to find a good quality replacement. Found what appeared to be a good one, but got it home and discovered it was all plastic. So, we began scouring the net for reviews, etc. and ran across the Gaggia Titanium – it lives up to its hype:

-Quality – metal housing, good and solid

-Quiet – grinds, pours, discards MUCH quieter than either of our previous models.

-Exceptional Espresso – while we were without our favorite machine, we went back to a manual, relatively inexpensive machine and the quality of the espresso pour was immediately noticeable..bitter, etc. The Gaggia Titanium pours a rich, smooth, exceptional espresso

-Feature Rich: even comes with an attachment to automatically steam your milk and dispense it into your cappuccino cup if desired. The “manual” steamer that comes with it produces nice, thick, rich steamed milk easily.

Review By Mullberry Man

Pros: Good, fast espresso and lattes at the touch of a button.

Cons: Short lifetime; poor Customer Service; clunky Italian Post WWII industrial design.

The Bottom Line: I expect a $1,500.00 espresso machine to last longer than two months. And for that amount of money, the dealer should replace it as quickly as possible. Buy locally.

Maybe the Gaggia Titanium I bought only two months ago isn’t as bad as the Customer Service at Whole Latte Love. It died. All of a sudden one Monday morning when I needed coffee. It doesn’t power up at all. I called Customer Service at Whole Latte Love expecting that they would send a new machine out since mine was only two months old. No way. They said they would send me an email detailing how to send the machine to them and that I needed to get a number that they would send in a separate email. I responded to the email and finally got my number THREE DAYS later after many calls to them. They tell me the repair will take three weeks. THREE WEEKS? That’s how long I am supposed to go without my brand new, expensive espresso machine? They told me I was responsible for packaging, shipping and insuring which cost me $160 alone. (UPS requires expensive, insured items to go overnight or Two-Day.) I still called and harassed Whole Latte Love about the situation and they finally agreed to make it a “hot list repair” (24 – 48 hours) I called Gaggia and got no action from them either. The moral of the story is this: When you buy an expensive espresso machine, buy it somewhere near your home – like at a Williams-Sonoma, who have excellent Customer Service and are known for replacing things – no questions asked. As far as the Gaggia Titanium is concerned, my machine is still being repaired. I will never do business with Whole Latte Love again and I doubt I’ll ever buy a Gaggia. Good machine while it lasted but I expect more than two months out of a $1,500 espresso machine. What really hurts is that when I called Whole Latte Love for the initial purchase, I knew nothing about Gaggia and the salesperson talked me into buying one. My suggestion: Avoid both companies!

Review By HotShotBot

Pros: Beautiful, lots of intuitive controls to fine tune your coffee, durable stainless steel.

Cons: Have some patience, making coffee is an experience not dealing with a crying baby.

The Bottom Line: If your looking for a super Super Automatic espresso machine, this is one that you should highly consider.

I have owned the Gaggia Titanium for 2 years and have 5200 cups. I am not sure how I was able to consume so much coffee, but perhaps it was because it was so good! My preferred drinks are flavored lattes and my husband drinks espresso’s and lattes if I feel like sharing mine. Having used so many other machines in the past and my Jura S9 that we have at the office, I have used no other machine that I have so absolutely feel in love with. First, it has lots of stainless steel which I have not been able to find on other brands. I love stainless steel. It feels so much more substantial then the Jura S9 (which is like $700 more) and is not laden with gimmicky frothers that pop off, are hard to clean or hard to use. Simple and fast and being a twin boiler machine it make me happy. If I used my toaster this often I would have expected it to blow a fuse and if I can get a fancy vacuum cleaner to last more then a year I would be dumbfounded. The Titanium gets more use then any other appliance I have and has not failed me. If and when it does, I will happily get it fixed or buy another.

Review By Blackbeard

Pros: Makes good coffee when it works.  Love the steamer  good looks easy to keep clean

Cons: Way too sensitive on types of coffee beans.  Water pump not reliable.

The Bottom Line: We never know when we have company if we can offer our guest coffee or if it will let us down once again.

When it is working it makes good coffee.  Unfortunately the machine is very very sensitive to its internal settings.  The coffee beans get stuck in the grinding mechanisms, and it is not just a simple fix to get it unstuck or cleaned out.  Our machine has been back to the repair shop at least 8 times for this simple little quirk.  We have tried different coffee beans including the light roast that are recommended, but had the same result every time.  The water pump has been replace 2 times already and is making  a lot of noise even since it has been replaced.  The store were we bought the machine at has been diligent and the repairs we done for free, but our warranty is over and we are afraid of mounting repair bills to keep us in our coffee ritual.

The plastic lid that covers the coffee beans is hard to fit into place. It takes a lot of fiddling to get it to fit together and to close the lid properly to keep the beans sealed and fresh.
The water tray is also very sensitive and need to be emptied frequently.  We will probably buy another machine, and it won’t be a Gaggia.

I will not buy another Gaggia Titanium Espresso Machine

Review By Amber Powell

-Expensive: yep, both should be worth it in the long run. If your household is purchasing two cappuccinos per day, 5 days a week …do the math!

Review By Mar 1223

Pros: Good coffee and very convenient

Cons: Maintenance and support seem non existent.

Purchased ours about a year ago from Whole Latte Love. The machine was great when it was working – but after about 1000 cups it has started leaking everywhere. Contacting Whole Latte Love has not been a pleasant experience and after a week we’ve not been able to get through to anyone. It’s a shame they don’t have more info on how to repair it and where to get the parts. I’m dreading sending it back for weeks.

I strongly agree with another poster here…….buy it locally.

Review By Pattimb

Pros: great coffee when it works

Cons: not reliable has a known flaw which is not addressed by the manufacturer expensive

I bought this machine for a seasonal home. I used it for a total of 3 to 4 months in a 13 month period. Just off the 1 yr warranty period (I bought it 1 month before they switched to a 2 yr warranty) it started leaking. There is no service center in Hawaii so I brought it back to Vancouver, BC for repair. Because it was a US machine I had to go to the back of the line for repair (6 weeks) and it cost $185 to fix. The repair shop knew exactly what was wrong as it seems that this is a common problem. Very poor quality for the $1600 price tag.

Review By Jsavopou

Pros: Beautiful looking machine, rapid heating and steam production, lovely coffee

Cons: Doesn’t give the impression it is built to last

I was very excited to receive this wonderful looking machine as a special treat for my wife and I. Unfortunately it has turned out to be the usual love-hate relationship one experiences with Italian machinery.

After about 80 coffees in about 25 days after purchase, the machine began to leak water from its steam wand even when just requesting a coffee with no steam. The problem compounded to leaking water from the top right hand side that would accumulate in a puddle beneath. You can also hear hissing from the steam chamber.

The manufacturer responded to my complaints early and offered to pick it up. But really after spending 800E this is not a good start.
Italy-outlet.co.uk, the retailer are presently blanking my e-mails

Review By Vickie Batie

Pros: i managed to get 4 cups of coffee out of it.

Cons: dreadful after sales service. machine not fixed. very expensive. head office don’t want to know.

I live in France and bought this machine in Italy. It has broken twice. I have had 4 cups of coffee from it. To get it fixed the first time I have had to take it to the UK at my expense as there is no service centre in France. I have just plugged in the machine after it has been “fixed” and it has the same brew unit fault. I am still waiting for Gaggia Italy to contact me or return any of my calls. this is a very expensive machine that obviously has a huge design fault. They offer a European warranty! but you have to take it to your nearest service centre!!!

very poor after service would never buy Gaggia again.

sorry nothing good about it, oh just 4 cups of coffee in 3 months!

Review By Carl Conlon

Pros: Great coffee (espresso and latte).

Cons: reliability (or lack thereof).

When this machine works it is excellent, however in an 18 month period it has broken down 4 times. Luckily it comes with a 2 year warranty, but I dread to think what happens then. It has leaked, required a new brew unit, steam valve assembly amongst other failures.
Review By John CM

Pros: Mmmm.

Cons: Breaks, stops working. Started breaking down very soon after purchase

It has been hard to look past the constant breakdowns – buttons not working, steamer breaking down, grinder stopped grinding…

I have hated the whole experience.  Gaggia importers have been unsupportive, and just say hey we’ll keep on fixing it.  But why should I have to put up with a dud product, and not get what I paid for.  This is not a cheap machine – top of range when I purchased.

And stupid me I got two of them, and yes both of them have had problems!

Review By Unknown

Makes a great cup of coffee but the steam unit has failed on a regular basis since purchase. Everything else works fine. Spent £180 less than six months ago and back to square one. The auto concept is great but they are high maintenance. I would forgive that if it was reliable. Delighted we kept the old filter machine which is now pressed back into service. I normally check reviews before I buy. I didn’t this time and regret it. Problem is , how do you go back to so so coffee???

Review By Unknown

Bought this coffee machine  over a year ago, it was fine to start with but then electrical problems started, we sent it back to (then) Gaggia at £100+vat, it took over a month for it to be returned with even more problems, on phoning them advised to send it back AND PAY AGAIN! Have given up with it now and certainly would not recommend it to anyone….stay clear of Gaggia.

Review By Unknown

Gaggia Titanium Espresso Machine  is ok when working. Mine has been back 3 times for repairs. Gaggia uk are frustrating as they always try to charge when machine fails even if still under warranty. The girl who answers the phone at head office is laughable… totally useless. Good for a laugh though. Told me not to let my children touch any buttons once! Asked 6 months ago if i could get it serviced, she said NO too busy sorry. “OK can i book it in then i said. No sorry it will be ages. Great customer service. Easy to see why they have gone bust.

Review by  David Campbell Bangor

Have had my machine for 3 months great job ground or coffee beans all great good steam as well.

Review By Chris

I’ve had one of these for 3 years without any problems. The coffee produced is great. The only downside is that I now drink far too much coffee.
Rating:

Review By Jackie Wright

lovely coffee, we have had many problems with this machine. The first one had a total electrical failure. The replacement one has been faulty several times. The machine has been back to Gaggia for around four months since we bought it in September 2007. And Gaggia has tried to say it was our fault when it certainly was not!

Review By Ron

Like the previous reviewer I had a few problems. The steam valve leaked and was subsequently replaced with an improved version. The steam nozzle needs to be cleaned regularly as milk tends to clog the very tiny vent hole which prevents the frother working properly. The hole is on the outer sleave at approximately the same position as the o ring. Other than that adjust to taste. If it ever fails I will buy another. The coffee is almost as good as my Gaggia Classic but a lot easier to produce.

Review By Mark

I was initially quite impressed with the Gaggia Titanium – looking smart and making a decent cup of coffee. Unfortunately the relationship has soured. Within two months the grinder packed up and it had to be sent backafter making 200 coffees – it was missing for over a month and then Gaggia tried to blame me for damaging it. After several exchanges made very hard by the difficulty of actually speaking to anyone in the service department it was finally sent back working and strangely seemed to be better than before giving a much stronger cup of coffee and much drier dregs. But now after about 500 coffees the steam boiler is failing and it’s impossible to froth milk. I really don’t think this is acceptable for a £600 machine excluding coffee and brewing – costs that’s more than a pound a cup in depreciation. I can’t recommend the machine or Gaggia

Review By C.J.

Pros
* Brews quickly
* Commercial grade
* Easy to clean
* Easy to use
* Good flavor
* Large water container

Cons
* Beans must be very dry

Follow directions, and you will make great coffee.

If you need assistance there is a tech number that will walk you through your problem.

I ordered espresso coffee beans, and found out it is not OK to buy just any coffee beans, because this is a fully automatic machine, and oily coffee beans will clog the grinder. The coffee that was recommended was Lavazza whole bean.Great beans!! We were not espresso coffee drinkers my wife and I. But we went through 90 cups in 3 days with the help of our friends. We bought it for cappuccino and it was great. Froth was excellent, and then we made espresso and to our surprise we liked that as well. We were not espresso drinkers before. This machine lets you easily host.

Lots of luck

Review By Big Bird

Pros
* Brews quickly
* Buy it
* Commercial grade
* Easy to clean
* Easy to use
* Good flavor
* Great
* Large water container

Cons
* None

With a little practice you will have great coffee.

My wife and I were not espresso drinkers, we liked all the other coffees this machine makes, but now we also like the espresso. This machine will pay for itself, in less than a year if you enjoy great coffee.

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