In a Nutshell:

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a modest-looking mid-range fully automatic espresso machine.

Overall Rating

4.7/5

Benefits

  • High-quality components
  • Easy-to-use design
  • Time-tested espresso making capabilities

Drawbacks

  • Lack of advanced features or bells and whistles
Gaggia Syncrony Logic 74876
Gaggia Syncrony Logic 74876
4.7

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a modest-looking mid-range fully automatic espresso machine.

Check Latest Price

Unfortunately, this product has been discontinued. Check our top picks for the best super automatic espresso machine for alternatives.

If you like your morning cappuccino hot, frothy, and ready at the touch of a button, check out our Gaggia Syncrony Logic Rapid Steam review.

In this article, we show you why this machine is such a great value for the money. Moreover, also how it’s so easy to use, and how it’s able to make top-notch espresso, cappuccino, and lattes.

First Impressions and Gaggia Syncrony Digital Features

From the outside, the Gaggia Syncrony Rapid Steam sports a rather modest appearance. But on the inside, you’ll find a core of solid components that deliver high-quality espresso drinks consistently.

With a built-in burr grinder, automatic milk frother, customizable drink settings, and simple push button operation, making your morning espresso with the Syncrony RS is easy and intuitive. This is a great machine for those who want excellent coffee but don’t want to fuss with complicated procedures first thing in the morning.

Brewing Espresso with the Gaggia Syncrony Logic RS

Whether you like cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, or macchiatos, the key to a great beverage is well-made espresso. Here in our Gaggia Syncrony review, let’s look at how the Syncrony RS delivers shot after shot of delicious espresso rich with crema.

The Grinder

The Syncrony RS features a built-in conical burr grinder that grinds coffee evenly and consistently just before brewing for maximum freshness. 

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The burrs, made of stainless steel, are much more durable than the cheaper alloy burrs found in many lower-end super-automatic espresso machines.

The bean hopper is made of durable ABS plastic and holds 12 ounces of whole bean coffee — around 40 shots of espresso.  There’s also a separate doser for use with pre-ground coffee so you can brew decaf or flavored coffee without changing out the beans in the hopper.

The Boilers

A boiler is where water is heated before brewing. It’s also where you create steam for frothing milk. Stable temperatures are incredibly important when brewing espresso and a boiler’s material has a significant impact on the overall lifespan of an espresso machine.

The Syncrony RS has two separate boilers: one for brewing espresso and one for steaming milk. This is big news for coffee lovers who are often in a rush to get out the door.

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By using two boilers, you can eliminate the wait time for the machine to heat back up after brewing espresso or steaming milk, so making drinks is much faster.

Both boilers are stainless steel lined aluminum with a Thermo-block heating element. While it would be better if the boilers were made entirely of stainless steel, instead of being stainless steel lined, an all-stainless-steel boiler would drive the price of the machine way up.

Having stainless steel-lined aluminum boilers gives you the best of both worlds: a lower price and stainless steel where it matters most.

The Thermo-block heating element delivers consistently stable water temperatures and has a very fast turnaround time. Furthermore, this lets you brew back-to-back drinks with minimal delay.

The Brew Group

The brew group is where ground coffee and hot water meet to create espresso. The Gaggia Syncrony Logic Rapid Steam uses a very simple, straightforward brew group, but one that brews espresso well and is easy to clean. 

Dual boiler system, Gaggia Syncrony Logic Rapid Steam

On the Syncrony RS, you can remove the brew group for easy cleaning. Removing the brew group also gives access to the machine’s internal components for maintenance. Typically, all you need to do is rinse out the brew group in the sink and wipe away any residue that has built up.

Pre-Infusion

One feature that allows the Syncrony RS to brew exceptional espresso is its pre-infusion. Just before brewing a shot, the machine saturates the ground coffee with low-pressure water.

Then, once the grounds are fully saturated, the espresso shot is brewed with the full 8 to 10 bars of pressure. The pre-infusion process helps the coffee extract more evenly, yielding a more balanced and flavorful shot of espresso.

Espresso Customization

One of the best features of the Syncrony RS is its customizable brewing process. Three simple dials give you full control over the brewing process so you can customize your espresso to fit your exact taste preferences.

The dial on the face of the machine controls the volume of the espresso shot. You can brew a shot as small as a 1 ounce ristretto-style shot to as large as an 8-ounce drip-coffee style beverage.

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Two more dials inside the bean hopper give you control over the grinder. One controls the grind size setting with 18 settings ranging from fine to coarse. The other controls the dose size, from 6 to 9 grams.

Once you’ve set the drink volume, grind size, and dose size, all you have to do is push the brew button and the machine grinds and brews your espresso.

Cup Warmer

Go to any respectable coffee house and order an espresso, and chances are your shot will be served in a pre-heated espresso cup. Warming a mug before brewing coffee into it helps keep your coffee hotter for longer. Plus, it just feels good to hold a perfectly warm cup.

The Syncrony RS has a cup warming tray above the brew group that uses the passive heat from the boiler to warm a few small demitasse cups or cappuccino mugs.

Steaming and Frothing Milk with the Gaggia Syncrony Logic RS

One of the most common complaints among super automatic espresso machine owners is that the steamed milk doesn’t get hot enough. Luckily, that’s not the case with the Gaggia Syncrony RS.

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Thanks to an updated milk frother design that features a cyclonic chamber that emulsifies the milk for a longer duration.

The milk steams consistently from 140 to 145 degrees — hot, but not so hot that it scalds the milk or takes away from the milk’s natural sweetness.

The cyclonic chamber in the milk frother aerates the liquid considerably but gives you a rather dense foam, similar to what you’d find in a high-end coffee shop.

Using the Automatic Milk Frother

The milk frother is very easy to operate. Just place the draw tube into a small pitcher of milk next to the machine and position your coffee cup under the milk spout.

When you turn on the milk frother with the lever on the right side of the device, you draw milk from the pitcher into the cyclonic frothing chamber. This is where it’s instantly heated and aerated before it pours into your cup.

To clean the automatic milk frother, use the hot water function to run hot water through the frother and tube into an extra pitcher or cup.

Using the Panarello Steam Wand (Sold Separately)

If you want more control over the milk frothing process, you can purchase a separate Panarello steam wand or a latte art steam wand made by Gaggia that’s fully compatible with the Syncrony Logic RS.

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To use the Panarello steam wand, you must first remove the automatic milk frother attachment and attach the Panarello wand to the spout. A stainless steel milk steaming pitcher must be used in conjunction with the Panarello or latte art steam wand, but you’ll have full control over the milk temperature.

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  • EASE OF USE: In addition to the straightforward brewing and steaming operations, the Syncrony Logic RS features several other features that make the machine a breeze to use, clean, and maintain.
  • PUSH BUTTON CONTROLS: With the Syncrony Logic RS, there’s no complicated menus to navigate, features to learn, or programming to execute. There’s no bells and whistles on this machine. The simplicity of its interface allowed Gaggia to equip it with nicer components — like an upgraded burr grinder and milk frother — while keeping the price low.
  • ADJUSTABLE ESPRESSO SPOUT: The adjustable espresso spout can be moved up, down, forward, and backward to accommodate a range of mug sizes from demitasse espresso cups to large coffee mugs.
  • ROTATING BASE: One of the most intelligent features of the machine is its base. The device rotates a full 360 degrees on a “lazy susan” base. Instead of awkwardly maneuvering it from beneath the kitchen cupboards, you can just spin the machine right where it sits. This does chores like refilling the water tank and bean hopper a thousand times easier.
  • REMOVABLE DRIP TRAY: The drip tray beneath the espresso spout and milk frother is enormous for the size of the machine and features a water level indicator tab so you’ll know when to empty it. The tray fits snug in place but removes easily for cleaning.
  • SPENT GROUNDS DRAWER: There is a spent grounds drawer conveniently located on the left side of the machine. Unlike others, the drawer removes from the side of the machine, so you don’t have to remove the drip tray to empty it. Only rotate the machine to remove the drawer and empty the spent coffee grounds.
  • 58 OZ WATER RESERVOIR: The water reservoir of the Syncrony RS is large enough that you won’t have to refill it every time you want to make an espresso. It holds enough water to brew approximately 30 to 40 shots of espresso depending on drink volume. Again, you can easily access the reservoir by rotating the machine on its spinning base.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Very minimal maintenance is required to keep the Syncrony Logic RS up and running in prime condition.

Other than refilling the water reservoir, emptying the spent grounds container, emptying the drip tray, and wiping down the machine down, the only regular cleaning required is rinsing the brew group.

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Thanks to the removable brew group design, cleaning can be done easily in the sink. Once you reinstall the brew group, you’re ready to brew again.

The only major maintenance you can expect to perform on the Syncrony Logic RS is descaling. How often you need to descale your machine depends on the mineral content of the water you use. There are detailed instructions on how to descale provided with the device, and the procedure is relatively easy.

Final Thoughts on Gaggia Syncrony Logic Rapid Steam Review

What the Syncrony Logic RS lacks in bells and whistles, it more than makes up for in high-quality components, easy-to-use design, and time-tested espresso-making capabilities. So, if you’re shopping for a new home espresso machine, we hope our Gaggia Syncrony Logic Rapid Steam review helped you decide that this is the machine for you.

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