Gaggia Cubika

easy to use, looks incredibly cute on the worktop.

Extraordinary machine, really worth it

Brilliant little coffee machine. I received it as a wedding present, and although we don't get to use it much, when we do it always makes wonderful coffee.
It's easy to use (though a bit noisy)

The only downside is that the coffee never seems to be hot enough. This seems to be a problem that others I've spoken to have had with home espresso machines, so it's not just this one. Also, I do like my coffee searing hot.

The best coffee on the planet now comes from our kitchen! Gaggia make real coffee machines for serious espressaholics. This model harnesses the Gaggia expertise and puts it in a compact, good-looking, kitchen benchtop unit that won't break the bank. We did loads of research before buying and have been so pleased with it. We've had it 4 years and DH has now bought another one for his office as he loves it so much.

Ours has a brushed steel finish and looks fab in the kitchen. If you or your OH are inclined to be a bit serious about your coffee, you will love the opportunity to perfect your home barrista skills. It incorporates proper manual controls with full 15 bar pressure chamber. With a bit of practice you can make the perfect crema on your espresso, as well as cappucinos, lattes and flat whites using the milk frother attachment. Like most home machines, it is single chamber which means there is a delay between making the coffee and frothing the milk, but the integrated cup warmer means this isn't a problem.

It takes ground coffee or pods. We found the results became quite spectacular once we started grinding beans at home fresh each time.

In summary, if you want to be serious about making real coffee, but want a compact home machine, you won't beat this one for features, performance, and price.