Chelle
User
Coffee Lover
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Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/17 09:02
In my quest to find the perfect home machine, it seems I'm back to square 1 again.
I owned a Starbucks Barista for a couple years. It served me well, and made great shots. When it came time to upgrade (last Christmas) I got swept up in the super-automatic hype. I was disillusioned by the convenience factor, and had dreams of waking up, pushing a button, and coming back a few minutes later to a perfectly brewed latte. I was hesitant to give up control of the shots, but decided to give the Gaggia Syncrony Compact a chance. BIG MISTAKE.
At first, after having a semi-automatic for so long, I rather enjoyed the convenience of pushing a few buttons. I was even willing to overlook the fact the shots were mediocre, and definitely not to the standard of which I was used to. I've had some issues with it, and soon realized it was a needy little thing. Very temperamental, I'm constantly having to trip the censors because it just loses its mind. Last week a plastic part broke in the brew group when I was taking it out to clean it, and it's not been working right since. With some manipulation, my husband rigged it to where it will work long enough to brew a shot or two, but then it craps out again. I need to pack it up and send it back to Gaggia to have it repaired under warranty, and I'm going to be without it for weeks, if not longer.
Honestly, after 5 months of having this machine I'm ready to just cut my losses, bite the bullet and buy a real machine. I don't want to see another super-automatic again. If I had 5K to spend on a really good one, I'm sure it would do better, but I don't, so I'm not even going to mess around with them.
Before I bought the Syncrony, I was also looking at the Rancilio Sylvia/Rocky combo. This is the one my husband wanted to go with. I should have listened to him. (hindsight is 20/20, isn't it?). I know this is a very highly rated machine - but is it the best bang for my buck in this price range?
I'm also looking at the Gaggia Classic. I guess the thing that scares me about the Silvia is the need to temperature surf. That's a whole learning curve I'm not sure I want to embark on. Just that one extra step that makes brewing a good shot too much work, lol.
My husband is soured on Gaggia because of the superautomatic plastic thing we have in the kitchen right now. But I know Gaggia has been around a long time, and have a good reputation in the industry. Like I said, I don't think you're really going to get a good consumer class superautomatic under $1000, no matter who makes it.
I think I'm leaning more towards the Gaggia Classic, but I didn't exactly make the best choice the last time 'round. I really want to get it right this time.
Any thoughts/experience/advice would be most welcome!
Michelle
Ontario, Canada
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