Here at Gaggia UK Direct customer service is our absolute top priority which is why we have an almost 100% five-star rating on Trustpilot and are immediately accessible on the phone or by Zoom on the internet.

When you contact us you come straight through to a member of staff – no voice-activated messing about pushing this button or that while listening to some terribly tinny muzak. Some businesses make it difficult to contact them but we couldn’t make it easier.
It’s called good old fashioned customer service although it’s absolutely harnessed the technological era too.

For you can phone us or contact us immediately on the internet via Zoom so you can also see a face as well as hear a voice. But it’s far more than that. It also means that if there’s something about your coffee machine you don’t understand or you think there may be something wrong with it our highly experienced engineers can immediately join the call, see your machine and talk you through how to solve the problem.

The vast majority of issues are sorted this way, saving wasted time and expense boxing up a machine and sending it back to us.

Gaggia UK Direct managing director Raj Beadle says: “Most things that customers contact us about are quickly and easily solved and often it’s just a case of showing them how to do something with the machine themselves.

“We will help any Gaggia user, whether they are in the UK or elsewhere in the world. Since we introduced the Zoom service we are helping people from all over the world who come on Zoom to meet us.

“That forever customer care is there even when the warranty has run out. It’s the best in the business and we have many testimonials from thankful customers.”
This special customer service helps everyone – the customer, the business itself and the environment.

As Raj says: “We used to get around 1,500 machines in a year for service, upgrade or repair but that number has now been halved, saving customers lots of money and their machines needing to be packaged up and sent on expensive, often needless, journeys back to us.”

But don’t just take our word for it. We have almost 700 reviews on Trustpilot with 98% giving us a five star rating.

Aaron Dawson wrote on April 30, 2024: “Absolute outstanding customer service. Bought a machine from them a few years back, had an issue today with the steamer not working correctly. Called them up and within a minute I was on a Zoom call with two amazing guys who talked me through how to fix it and within five minutes it was working again! Absolute five star service and I’d go on to say the best customer service I’ve ever experienced.”
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Gary Clarkson wrote on May 20, 2024: “Great company and the UK office is one of the best after care services by any company in the world.”
David Perren wrote on May 14, 2024: “Wouldn’t go anywhere else for Gaggia kit. Why? They couldn’t be more helpful with queries and after sales service. Delivery times are excellent. My advice, deal with the best forget the rest.”  

We look forward to speaking to you!

Gaggia celebrates 85 years this year. 1938 - 2023.
To mark 85 years, we have introduced the GAGGIA Classic in GOLD. This is a limited edition model and is currently available on our website. Don't miss out.

Q : How long does it take for the machine to heat up to make your coffee ?

A : The boiler is fitted with two thermostats which control the temperature in the boiler. When you press the ‘on’ switch, the boiler starts to heat up and will get to the initial temperature of 70degrees in about 50 seconds. It continues to increase in temperature up to about 90 degrees, in another 20 seconds, and the thermostat will switch off and it keeps it within the 70-90 degrees level. To be able to make the coffee, you need to make sure that the filter holder is warm as well. The most effective way to do that is to run some water on the filter holder when the temperature reaches 90 degrees, ie within about 80-90 seconds of switching on the machine. Then you are ready to brew.
 
The other thermostat is for steam. When you switch on the steam switch, it will take a further 30 -40seconds to get steam. You can start steaming even before it reaches full temperature.

Viale Premuda, Milan, 1930. Achille Gaggia works as a barista in his family’s coffee shop, named “Caffè Achille”.
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He is a tireless and committed worker, trying to satisfy his demanding clients.  At that time, coffee was made by “column-style” machines that produced a bitter, dark, and burnt beverage, that was not highly appreciated by people. Achille, who has always been fascinated by the engineering and functioning of the machines, decided to study a way to improve the taste and texture of coffee, experimenting in his family’s coffee shop.

With the support of Antonio Cremonese, an engineer, Achille could perfection his idea to enhance the process of making coffee.

He developed a prototype of espresso machine that used the pressure of hot water instead of steam, that was used back at that time. With that system, hot water passed through ground coffee at a high pressure, extracting coffee oils and making a drink with a rich aromatic body and a delicious taste, with a layer of hazelnut-colored cream on top. Achille deposits the patent n.365726 on Sept. 5, 1938 for what he called “Sistema Lampo” (Lampo System).

 It was thanks to that invention that the famous and beloved Italian espresso with “crema naturale” (natural cream) was born. It is called “natural” because it naturally originated from the passage of hot water under pressure through ground coffee.

Read more....

STORE COFFEE IN A COOL DARK PLACE
Our coffees have a best before date on the bag, usually they have best before date of about 18 months after production date. Once opened, the coffee will deteriorate rapidly, unless you keep it air tight and in a cool dark place. My advice is to keep it in the bag it came in.  Take out the air, by tightly squeezing the air out, and then keep it tightly wrapped with a rubber band.
 
You can also get resealable bags which have a valve. The advantage with the valve is that, it lets gasses out but does not allow air to enter. The original bags, the coffee comes in, has that valve for that purpose.

 STORING COFFEE IN A REFRIGERATOR ?
In my opinion, storing coffee in the refrigerator is not a good idea, because, it can absorb smells from other food items in the fridge and also give out coffee odour for other food products in the fridge. If you are keeping it in the fridge, make sure that you wrap the airtight bag in more wrappings before you put it in.

STORING COFFEE IN A FREEZER ?
If you are going away for a long period of time, it might be worth putting used beans in an airtight bag, with plenty of wrapping and leaving it in the freezer. Once you take it out, you need to dry it, of any moisture before using it. You can also leave un-opened bags of coffee this way.
 
STORING COFFEE IN A TIN ?
Leaving coffee in tins is not a good idea either, as there is an amount of air in the tin that you cannot take out. It is the air that does most of the damage and therefore the following advice is a good starting point :
 
1.          Buy only what you need for the month or two. If you do not need too much, you can buy them in small pack sizes. Eg 500g instead of 1kg.
2.          Store the unopened or opened coffee in a cook dark place.
3.        Un-used coffee beans should be in a bag [ preferably with a valve], with air squeezed out of the bag and wrapped with a rubber band
4.          Keep as little coffee in the bean hopper as possible
5.         Ground coffee once opened should be used within about 7 days. Always keep it airtight.

Harmony in music comes from a collection of elements combined with balance, a perfect equilibrium that expresses itself in a sort of musical alchemy that requires knowledge and sensitivity.
The pleasure coming from executing and the bliss originating from listening are the emotional responses to this balance. It is not easy to find, but the protagonists of this story committed to this challenge. The EVE Ensemble is a group made up of three youngsters: Elena Poleni, a cellist, Elena Vittoria Vincifori Troili, who plays violin, and Virginia Genovese, soprano, who first met at the Conservatorio Gaetano Donizetti in the city of Bergamo.
Elena Poleni wanted to study piano at first, but she was immediately caught by the rich and mellow sound of the cello. She thinks of herself playing harmoniously with other musicians, more than solo that, she says, “doesn’t fit her personality”.
“Music makes me feel good” – she tells us – “To feel the instrument, to have it in your hands, it is a satisfying physical sensation”.

Between rehearsals, to balance the efforts, commitment and dedication, there is always time for a break, to rejuvenate with a nice espresso or with a warm and creamy cappuccino. So, this moment becomes an occasion to meet, socialize, know each other, and personalities and attitudes get together in harmony.
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Further to my blog about the new 2023 Gaggia Classic, please find a video review by 'The Home Barista'  - an accurate and useful explanation. Thank you Anthony.

I have written a blog on this subject before and I felt it was time to give you an update on my thoughts. More and more people are getting modifications done on the Gaggia Classic, as people learn more about the benefits of controlling every part of your brewing process.  We have started to work with a UK company who do these fittings. They buy the machines from us and modify them and give their own warranty on the machines and the parts they fit. 

I therefore felt confident on referring people who come to our website, to go to The Home Baristas website to get more information about modifying the Gaggia Classic. Anthony who runs The Home Baristas is very knowledgeable about the Gaggia Classic and has worked with us in the past two years.

He sent me a picture of the Gaggia Classic 2019 version with the PID and Guage fitted. I must say, it looks fabulous. Why not click on the picture and get more information from The Home Baristas Website.
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