Gaggia Baby Twin RI8159/40 Coffee Maker

Complete disappointment, The steam element stopped working after two months, it was sent for repair under the warranty and was away for 7-10 days.It is now leaking water from the base unit, considering changing for a different manufacturer and model.Would not recommend.

The new Baby range is excellent! However, after giving the Baby Twin a test drive I swapped it for a Baby Class D and was much happier. The problem with the Baby Twin is that it does not have 2 boilers; it uses a heating element between the boiler and the steamer to create steam 'instantly'. In reality this is NOT the case. When you open the steam valve water will come out until the element has reached optimum temperature. This means not only do you have to wait between 10-15 secs for steam but you have to keep emptying the drip tray! Once the steam starts being released it has about half the power of the Baby Class D (the same machine but with a single boiler). My Baby Twin experience was not great....Go for the Baby Class D, it's an amazing machine.

We have had a Baby Twin for nearly four years now and it gets used everyday. It takes a little practice and planning to get your "ritual" right, but once you're there, this machine is a corker. One of the reviewers prior to this claims there is not instant steam, well, I'm afraid in my experience, it's as instant as any (more expensive) units. Obviously you need to clear the condensate in the system, so it will expel 10ml or so of water before the steam gets going, but this only takes 10 seconds.The coffee making itself is spot on. The machine doses well and just makes great coffee.If you're buying this or any other (non capsule) espresso machine, here are a few tips...a) Milk Jug.. Get yourself a nice stainless jug with a "bulgy bottom". This helps get your swirl on, heats the milk evenly and makes getting the right froth simple. Milk MUST be ice cold when you start too.b) Tamping. Gaggia give you a nice little plastic tamper for the coffee (Tamping is squishing the coffee firmly into the filter) but I would advise getting a nice heavy tamper from a specialist. It makes the action easier, and a tad more "tactile".c) Use the right coffee. Illy is best, Red Caffe Macinato and keep it in the fridge. It's not the most popular coffee in cafés in Europe for no reason. Grinding your own (unless you have a bean to cup machine) is all very well, but it's a faff and it's messy no matter how hard you try!d) Pressure! - 15bar in a Gaggia enough, any more is a bonus.e) Infussion - Gaggia's pre-infuse coffee before delivery. This "sets up" up the coffee releasing the flavour better. Look for this feature on whatever you buy, it's important. The Baby Twin does not do this on a "double dose" mind you, you need to do it manually...Good luck!

Nicely built and presented machine, but I have two problems with it. Firstly, there is a distinct oily taste in the steamed milk. Secondly, despite trying several different ways of loading the coffee holder, the machine persists in spluttering hot coffee over a range of 3 feet to either side of the machine. Very messy.

This is my fourth Gaggia machine, I find they work well for a few years then break down. Repairs cost the best part of £100, and as they never seem to work as well once they come back from Gaggia, I tend to simply replace them.I chose this model because of the twin boiler feature, which I hoped would make cappuccinos with relative ease. The machines in coffee shops are able to produce steam and coffee simultaneously because each function has its own boiler.In practice the machine is fairly temperamental and takes a bit of getting used to. There are a few more features on it than on a standard single boiler model, like being able to pre programme the size of espresso it produce - but I can't get it to work!The biggest complaint is the way it produces steam, no longer a question of simply turning a knob but there's a procedure to go through that involves getting rid of hot water, then turning off the hot water button then turning the steam knob. All the lights seem to then come on and the steam knob needs to be turned off - only then is it ready to produce steam.The Twin also has a tendency to produce a lot of excess water and the drip tray fills very quickly. It is the noisiest machine I've ever had with the drip tray vibrating in a worrying way whenever coffee is being brewed.The end result is good coffee but the effort involved seems a little excessive and the overall build quality is somewhat lacking.

This is a super espresso machine, the ability to steam milk and instantly produce espresso is a great feature. The controls are super easy, with single and double espresso buttons which came be preset. The single has a pre-infusion which ensures the coffee is damp before extraction. You also have the ability to manually pull an espresso using the m button. The steam nozzle is excellent and produces consistently good milk but you do have to keep the pin sized hole near the top clean to ensure it works well. Overall it works exceptionally well and looks fab on the counter top. A*

I have had the Gaggia Twin for 5 weeks before the pump packed up. I sent it back to Amazon who replaced it with one that had a broken base. The next one sent lasted just over one month before the milk frother packed in and started flying off every time it was used. There are sime big design faults with this machine, the milk frother only pushes on, therefore it can come off very easy when in use, this can be dangerous and messy. The machine when working makes great coffee, but i do not think it is built to last. I have now sent the machine back and purchased an Ascaso machine so i hope this will be better. Thanks to Amazon who dealt with all the issues in a first class manner.