In a Nutshell:
A casual coffee drinker will be totally overwhelmed by this machine, and a power drinker may chafe a bit under the limitations of the tank size. However, all in all, it’s a wonder of a unit, beautifully designed, and feature rich. It should come as no surprise that the Gaggia Accademia is an excellent machine. After all, Gaggia has a reputation for quality, and the Accademia is certainly no exception. In this Gaggia Accademia review, we’ll take a detailed look at it to see if it’s the right coffee machine for you.
Brew Quality
Customization options
Ease of Use
Value for the Money
Overall Rating
4.8/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Casual coffee drinkers. Power drinkers may chafe a bit under the limitations of the tank size.
The Basics of the Gaggia Accademia Super Automatic Espresso Machine
The Gaggia Academia comes with a 54-ounce water reservoir and a bean hopper that holds up to one-half pound of beans. This is somewhat mismatched, unless you’re in the habit of drinking incredibly strong coffee. You’ll find that you run out of water well before you start running short on beans in the hopper.
Also, you’ll have to add water somewhat more frequently than you’d probably like. It’s not a major strike against the unit, but it’s worth mentioning. Especially if you’re in the habit of hosting dinner parties or have several people in your home that enjoy custom coffee drinks. The unit comes pre-programmed with seven different coffee drinks, all available at the touch of a button from the moment you plug the machine in.
These can be fully customized, and additional drinks may be added as you desire. This makes the Accademia Gaggia coffee machine a splendidly versatile machine overall. Its rapid heating elements and (mostly) stainless steel construction give it a sleek, modern appearance that’s stylish enough to be a welcome addition to any home kitchen.
Gaggia Accademia Espresso Machine Features
While the grinder is somewhat limited in settings (seven different grind settings, in all), it has enough to please the vast majority of coffee drinkers.
It comes with the added benefit of having a ceramic grinding burr. This is important because metallic grinders can sometimes leave your coffee with a slightly burnt aftertaste that detracts from what would otherwise be an excellent drink. With the Accademia, you’ll not have to worry on that front.
The Gaggia Accademia offers true one-touch, bean to cup processing, and can brew up to two cups of the same drink at a time. The controls and display screen are well-lit, intuitive, and easy to understand.
Programming the machine, either with a brand new drink or tweaking an existing recipe, is a straightforward process you can master in minutes. While some super automatic espresso machines feel like you need an advanced degree to program, this is definitely not the case with the Accademia.
The coffee dispenser is adjustable so that you can enjoy your favorite coffee creation in a variety of cup sizes up to six and one-half inches in height. You can program the coffee output up to ten cups at a time, which is perfect for larger gatherings. Although, again, if you go to the high end of this limit, you’re going to run into the limitation of the relatively small water reservoir.
The pump is rated at 15-bar, which is fine for every sort of coffee drink you’ll want to make. True coffee aficionados will love the fact that this machine features a totally redesigned milk management system. It has a removable carafe designed in such a way that you can keep your milk refrigerated between uses in order to ensure freshness. A small, but significant detail.
One minor gripe about this new milk management system is that the milk doesn’t come out as hot as some users would like.
You can get around this by using the steam wand, but of course, doing so means that the process is no longer completely hands-free. Cleaning and descaling is a fully automated process, and you’ll receive alerts when it’s time for a cleaning.
The only other drawbacks to this unit are all minor things that fall more into the annoyance category than genuine flaws.
For example, the drip tray and coffee residue catchment are both slightly smaller than we’d have liked to see, meaning you’ll have to remove them for manually cleaning fairly often. But again, this is a minor complaint.
Gaggia Accademia Espresso Machine Reviews – Conclusion
Regarding overall rating then, we rate the Gaggia Accademia a perfect five stars for its rich feature set and overall styling and design. We give it four and a half stars for basic components, deducting slightly for the smallish water reservoir and drip tray. Also, another perfect five stars for ease of use and convenience features, for a final rating of 4.8 stars, out of a possible five.
References & Resources
- Gaggia, Official Brand Website.
- List of coffee drinks, Wikipedia.
- The Man and the Machine, Seattle Pacific University.
- Best Super Automatic Espresso Machine, Coffee Forums.
- Super-automatic espresso machine purchasing advice, Home Barista.