Can I get some honest expert advice on my Gaggia?

[MrParticular]

I am a real coffee lover and was given a Gaggia Classic by my parents in law a couple of years ago.

It was great for a while and made truly fabulous espressos with a wonderful crema. But it's now flagging.

I've descaled and cleaned it, following the instructions really carefully and using all the right chemicals that Gaggia approved, bought a back rinse cup etc but after hours of fiddling and rinsing still no joy. It seems like there's plenty of pressure (but I can't measure it) however when the basket is empty I've got a good stream of water going through but when i put coffee in the basket the stream reduces to a pathetic piddle. Help!

Can't help but this happened to mine too. I gave up in the end and bought a Nespresso machine. Though it pains me to say it, they make consistent and much nicer coffee.

Could be the brand of coffee you are using though. Found that changed the tast and crema a lot when using a Gaggia.

I don't have a gaggia, but a similar type of espresso machine, my third one, actually.
I had a lot of similar problems with the Saecos I had before. I did notice that they were very sensitive regarding how finely ground the coffee was, but it just became so hot and miss as to whether I'd get a decent coffee out of it out not, I got rid of them and now have a Gastroback which I'm really pleased with, 3 years and going still strong. I only descale with vinegar, which is what they recommend, and have had no problems with it, regardless what coffee I use (pre ground or getting o my own).

Are you doing anything different? Different coffee? More coffee in the basket? Tamping more heavily?

Is your steam wand still working with plenty of pressure?

Are you using the perfect crema basket or the normal ones?

Have you made sure the basket/perfect crema filter are really clean?

Lots of questions, but if you try all of these things and still no joy, I'm not sure what to suggest. There is a really good coffee site/forum which might help.

www.wholelattelove.com/

I'm not a coffee expert, but I do own a gaggia classic!

Thank you all for your help!

Are you doing anything different? Different coffee? More coffee in the basket? Tamping more heavily?
Same coffee, same amount, same tamping!

Is your steam wand still working with plenty of pressure?
Seems to be.

Are you using the perfect crema basket or the normal ones?
The double shot pressurised basket is the one that we've been using. We lost the the single shot one - I think it got recycled in error! :-(

Have you made sure the basket/perfect crema filter are really clean?
I have soaked it in de-scaler and detergent and washed and scrubbed it but perhaps it's clogged up inside?

We will have another look for the other basket. Is a "perfect crema" basket the standard one that came with the machine? It made a very good crema initially... I see that there are other "non-pressurised baskets advertised online.

Thanks again for your help...

Not sure what to suggest. The perfect crema basket is the one with the little plastic "pin" that sits under the filter/basket at the outlet from the filter holder It's a double sized filter. Lots of people seem to wash the little pins down the sink and prefer the non pressurised baskets, but personally I get a better result with the perfect crema device. If you say it seems to work well without coffee, but not with, I would keep experimenting with how you use the coffee and the baskets.

Good luck, as it seems quite hard to get these machines repaired at a reasonable cost. I bought mine on ebay. It's hardly used, but still cost 90 quid and before Christmas they were going for well over 100. New they are over 200.

Thank you mateysmum.

We found the other basket in the cupboard under the sink! (single shot / for pods). I have tried it and it works fine with an excellent crema, so I'm guessing/hoping it's likely to be a clogged basket problem and not the machine at all. I am ordering a new pressurised basket and will report back!

Glad you got it sorted out.