The Next 8 Things You Should Do For Coffee Machine Success
the coffee making process. A good choice is a bean-to-cup machine, such as the
Manual milk frother, which means it is still possible to create some beverages in a more manual and creative
way. Naturally, this style of machine is also generally a lot cheaper than the fullyautomatic
type.
Build quality
Plastic, it is still very well made and feels robust. Ironically, it's not the most exciting
Looking machine and I think it is a small utilitarian, but it's not offensive and it is small
Everything important is accessible
from the front of the coffee machine, including the used coffee grinds drawer and the
You can fit a filter to the water tank, which I recommend to prevent
Making coffee
This is one of the simplest machines to use to make a coffee. First you pour the beans
Into the hopper on top, which can take up to a normal bag of coffee at a time. Next, you
machine to heat up after you turn the power on.
From here, there's just a choice of which button to press, with dedicated buttons for a
cup button. After that, the Naviglio grinds the beans and starts pouring.
Espresso was not quite to my taste, but the Naviglio does have some adjustments
available, including adjusting the grind and using the front coffee strength guide. A finer
grind lets the coffee be compressed more, increasing the strength and bitterness; a
Looser grind lets water pass through quickly, making the coffee weaker and more
watery. I found that adjusting the grind to the finer end of the scale did the job for
me. I had to use the plug-in tool to make the adjustment, whereas Plenty of bean-to-cup
Machines have a built-in dial. The biggest annoyance of having a separate tool is
having to somewhere to store it where you won't lose it.
There's also a coffee strength dial on the front that lets you manually set how strong you
want your coffee. I found that option two was best for the Expert Reviews test beans
And my personal preference.
With the settings the way I wanted them, the shot of espresso produced was very good.
It was delivered at a temperature of 68C, which is just about right. A thick, oily crema
sat on top, with the shot itself dark and intense. I got the full flavour from the test beans,
Although some of the small subtlety is missing, but you have to spend more than twice
This money to find espresso noticeably better. Long coffee was dispensed just as well,
maintaining its heat. Should you find that the long button isn't quite long enough, you
Can override the default setting so that the Naviglio pours for longer, or you can use the
hot water button and dispense hot water via the steamer wand instead.
Milk drinks
If you want to froth milk and make different styles of drink, you need to use the manual
steamer wand. As this machine has a single boiler, it takes the Naviglio a little while to
get up to steam temperature. There's also no dial or tap to control it, so steam is
dispensed at a single, constant speed. It took a little bit of practice with this system to
Get milk the way I wanted it, but using a milk thermometer in a jug, I soon had the rich
And fluffy milk that I desired. The quality of the resultant latte was very good indeed.
Maintenance
Fortunately, the Gaggia Naviglio is not an annoying machine to use, with only a small
amount of water venting when the machine is powered on and off. Apart from this, you
have to empty the coffee grounds drawer and drip trays when full. I recommend giving
Them regular cleans to prevent mould build-up. The Whole brew unit can also be
removed from the machine, following the clear instructions in the manual, which should
Be carried out once a month or so. You'll also need to descale when the light turns on, using
The simple instructions, descaler and dedicated descaling mode.
Conclusion
At this price, the Gaggia Naviglio is a hard machine to beat. Actually, its closest
Competition is the Gaggia Brera, which is extremely similar in operation and produces very
similar espresso. However, the difference is that the Brera is a dual-boiler machine, so
It's ready to produce steam at any time. Is that worth an extra #100? I don't think so.
As it stands, the Naviglio is well-priced, makes very good espresso and is Easy to Use,
making it excellent value. Yes, you can get bean-to-cup machines that are better and
Have more configuration options, but they're a great deal more expensive as you can see from
my regularly-updated best coffee machines article.
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