Gaggia 90901 Platinum Swing Up Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island

Comment: Purchased from Whole Latte Love / IMPORTIKA in March 2009 - STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY
After about 5 months of usage the machine started leaking water from underneath. I called in for warranty service and was advised to drop off the machine to my local authorized repair center. The repair center has replaced parts and charged $100.00 stating this is not warranty covered. They have never informed me until after the fact. Apart from that, they also damaged front panel, all scratched up and said that I did it during time I was using it. I contacted Whole Latte Love and GAGGIA distributor - IMPORTIKA. Importika denied warranty, said it was normal for any superautomatic machine to leak water after few months - part of wear and tear. I was also told that it might have been due to me incorrectly attaching milk island. I don't own or ever used milk island. Tech could not believe when I told him that.
Importika/Whole Latte Love initially said they would look into the matter and never did anything, never contacted me back.

-The machine makes good espresso. Steamer is rather weak and the frothing attachment is horrible. If you are serious coffee drinker, like lattes, know anything about microfoam and would like to make it with this machine's steaming ability - FORGET IT (no, it's not that I don't know how). You can make hot milk with some foam on the top.
-Coffee beans container is not air tight around the inlet for ground coffee, as a result air gets it and contributes to coffee getting stale if left for longer period.
-Click wheel works good.
-Constantly need to refill water container, empty drip tray
-Only 10.5 g max ground coffee per cup. Perfect shot has 7 g. So not even close to make 2 shots once, unless you hit button twice to make 2 separate shots.

WARNING: I would strong avoid buying any espresso machine (or anything for that matter) from Whole Latte Love or Importika (pretty much same company). Do your own research. Very deceptive business practices. They would not even post my review. Ordinary review, nothing inappropriate or anything like that. Also, Whole Latte Love advertised full warranty (not limited) but would not honor the agreement.

Comment: After using a semi-automatic espresso maker for a few years with ok but inconsistent results, I put it away in the garage and started just going to the local coffee shop for my latte fix. Recently, I decided to try a super-automatic espresso maker for the quality and convenience. I read a lot of reviews, and thought about different manufacturers and models, including Jura Capresso, but eventually I decided on this Gaggia after watching videos of it in action on another website (Wholelattelove).

The machine was easy to set up and I was making espresso in no time. Ater using the Gaggia Swing Up for a few weeks all I can say is WOW. This is one product that lives up to its billing. No buyer's remorse on my part.

There are a lot of really good features on this model but the most important thing to me is the quality of the espresso. I'm not exaggerating when I say it makes absolutely perfect, beautiful espresso every time. I've used Lavazza Super Crema, Lavazza Qualita Oro, and Illy espresso beans so far and all have made great espresso with gorgeous crema. This machine also makes a great long coffee for the travel mug.

The steam wand is easy to use with a frothing pitcher and thermometer because the wand swivels, making it easy to get the pitcher out from under it. I liked the milk island at first but cleaning it is a little tedious and it started to leak after I mistakenly put the pitcher on the stand without the plastic housing. Oops, my fault. So now I just use the steam wand exclusively and I'm still completely happy.

The menu is fairly intuitive and it is programmable if you choose. I also like the ipod-like wheel but the next model up, the Platinum Vision, has a touch screen which some people might like better. Another thing I like is that the machine swivels making it easy to put in the beans even though I have the machine on a counter with a cabinet above it -- this swivel feature does not make the machine unsteady or wobbly at all. So far, cleaning has been easy and the machine tells you when it is time to empty the grounds drawer and put in water. One other feature worth mentioning is the tray which lifts and lowers electronically -- at first I didn't think I would use this much but it is nice to be able to raise the tray closer to the espresso dispenser when using espresso cups and lower it when using a mug.

Yes, it is a lot of money to spend on an appliance but I've already saved money by not going to my local coffee shop a few times a week so I figure I'll eventually get a good chunk of my investment back. Now if I could just stop drinking more than one latte per day...

Comment: Well we tried the Gaggia Titanium and we did not like it at all (too loud, too big, odd settings).. This one, the gaggia Swing up is PERFECT! We can do Ristretto (tiny concentrated espresso). Noise level is very good. and the machine is too big at all! The only small minus is that the water tank coud have been a bit bigger but it would mean a bulkier machine (can't have it all). Access to the tank and the coffee dumps is very easy (much easier than the titanium model). I highly recommend it! oh I almost forgot the milk island attachment is SO good too! THe milk is froth to perfection, easy to do a creamy hot chocolate with it in less than a minute!