Product Description

With brushed stainless steel housing and sleek brewing controls to match, the Baby Class adds a new degree of elegance to Gaggia’s original design. The Baby Class features all of the high quality components that have made Gaggia a household name, including a chrome-plated brass brew group, a heavy 58mm commercial style portafilter and a three-way solenoid valve. The Baby Class also has a built-in Turbo Frother to take the guesswork out of frothing and steaming. Put it all together, and it’s clear that the Gaggia Baby Class offers the perfect balance between style and performance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31978 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Color: Stainless Steel
• Brand: Gaggia
• Model: 12300
• Dimensions: 15.70" h x 9.60" w x 10.40" l, 17.00 pounds

Features

• Espresso machine with chrome-plated brass brew group and heavy 58-mm portafilter
• 15-bar pump; high-wattage boiler; 3-way solenoid valve; push-button controls
• 60-ounce removable reservoir; can make 2 cups simultaneously; steamer for frothing milk
• Includes single-shot, double-shot, and E.S.E. filter basket; coffee tamper; and coffee scoop
• Measures 10-2/5 by 9-3/5 by 15-2/3 inches

Amazon.com Product Description
Equipped with a high-power 15-bar pump and commercial-grade components, this high-end espresso machine makes it easy to enjoy consistent, great-tasting espresso or cappuccino from the comfort of home. The unit's chrome-plated brass brew group and heavy 58-mm portafilter, as well as the high-wattage boiler with two heating elements, provides excellent temperature stability, and its simple electronic push-button control panel makes operation simple. In addition, the espresso machine accommodates ESE coffee pods, can make two cups simultaneously, and sports a built-to-last three-way solenoid valve that gives the in-house barista a nice, dry espresso puck after brewing--meaning less mess and a quicker, easy clean up. The unit comes with a 60-ounce removable reservoir and a ball-jointed 180-degree swivel steamer that produces hot water for tea, coffee, or soup, and makes quick work of frothing milk, for hassle-free cappuccino and lattes even a novice barista could master. Housed in brushed stainless steel, the sleek-looking appliance will look great on any kitchen counter. Accessories include a single-shot, a double-shot, and an E.S.E. filter basket; a coffee tamper; and a 7-gram coffee scoop. Designed in Italy by Gaggia, one of the most respected names in the industry, the 1425-watt espresso machine measures 10-2/5 by 9-3/5 by 15-2/3 inches.

Customer Reviews

Awesome, classy, great coffee!
The GOOD: Easy to use, looks great, solid, most importantly, it makes great coffee.

The BAD: The steamer falls off all the time, needs better drip tray, bigger than I expected. These are very minor points.

RECOMMENDATION: Definitetly!

This is my first machine, and I've used it daily since I got it a month ago. I've used inexpensive espresso machines and got mediocre coffee from them. Then I used a friend's Gaggia Carrezza, which made great coffee, but looked like plastic. I chose the Baby Class because it's all chrome, compact, and even higher quality. What a great choice.

I got this refurbished for a great price. Actually, Aabree, the seller through Amazon, sent me a Gaggia Baby Twin, which is two grades up than the Class I thought I was buying. I'm VERY happy about that. It's great.

I was making good espresso after a couple shots of learning. Good cappuccino took longer because of the steamer. Firstly, it falls off occasionally, and there's no mechanical way to prevent that. The steamer works pretty well, but it injects more air than I like. I prefer a more manual injecter where I can control the air. Another area for improvement is the drip tray. When startign the steamer, it shoots out several ounces of hot water before you get steam. That's enough to make it hard to remove the drip tray without spilling. The machine also has a drain that dumps into an extension of the tray in back with a much lower lip that the main tray. Water and junk will spill from this extension with very little water in the tray. Now I use another cup for the steamer purge to limit, not prevent, the spillage. Also, the tray doesn't leave enough room for a regular coffee mug, so you have to remove the chome cover to get a large cup under. Now I have to buy capuccino mugs.

I've done a lot of research, and you don't find much tech info, just consumer reviews. Customers say Gaggia is very solid, well built, and makes great coffee--you can trust this purchase decision. I chose Gaggia because it seems to be a great machine for a reasonable price. You can pay more and get a copper boiler and a more snobbish name, but a Gaggia has everything else the pricey ones have and should make great coffee for years.