Gaggia Titanium

So far, so good – I bought the machine used with almost 4000 cups made on it. I've made perhaps another 1000 cups with no problems, however I used the online servicing tips and have managed to make the machine sing. I have a hard time understanding some of the complaints below as to 'ventilate' and coffee being "too weak" . The writers must be too lazy to read the… Read more ·  1

manual or research the problem online. The machine is 100% programmable and if the coffee is too weak, just program the thing to add less water. Simple. You can make the coffee so strong the spoon will stand by itself, so you can disregard all the comments about weak coffee. As for 'ventilate', it's simple air in the pump which means you need to prime the thing. Happens rarely, but when it happens it's easy to fix. There are videos that show you exactly how on U-Tube. I'm sold on the Titanium, and when it dies, I hope to get myself another Gaggia machine.

November 5th 2018 Update: 15 months later

Just to update my initial review from August 8, 2017 here are the latest details: The machine has now made 6110 cups and is still going strong. It has never stopped working or been taken in for servicing. Like Wisey stated, the water here is also very soft but rather than go to the time and expense of doing a 'formal' descaling, I only descale perhaps once a year and the rest of the time simply let the machine do its thing with ordinary tap water. The Gaggia hasn't noticed that it's being fooled.

Gaggia Titanium – The Gaggia Titanium has been a great machine for (I'm not sure how many) years! I can't find a receipt or other document showing when we bought ours, but the earliest thing I have is an email to Seattle Coffee Gear (where we purchased) with a date of 2008. So eight years on it's been chugging away just fine. Yes we've had to vent air. Took about… Read more ·  1

20 seconds. We lived. Yes, sometimes it says the dredgedrawer is full and it isn't. Somehow we've survived. But it has been making excellent coffees since purchased and hasn't needed any repairs until now. Today the display went out. The machine is still functioning though. Hopefully I can find an easy fix. For the people who say the coffee is weak, try reading the instructions. There are two adjustment knobs in the bin: One for grind size and one for dose. You'll be surprised how a little experimenting can bring you toward that perfect cup. Never had an issue with the steam wand either. Occasionally drips after being shut off but then stops. Again, this machine has been cranking out espresso shots for over 8 years. Only other thing was the brew unit got stuck half-in half-out once, but that was operator error. I didn't have it seated in good and turned it on. A quick look at a Youtube video from Whole Latte Love and I had it up and running again in about 5 minutes. So to repeat; Great machine. Read manual. Clean occasionally (once a week has worked for me). I should have been lubricating the brew unit every so often but never got around to getting a tube. If I ever do, I imagine this coffee maker will keep on going for another 8 years.

Excellent – Much has been said about the 'dreaded ventilate'. Ventilate generally means that there is an air bubble in the line. This appears after cleaning, and also if you let the water tank run completely empty. It has been said by one reviewer that 'once this appears you can say goodbye to the machine'. So, is the machine faulty or are people lazy and/or… Read more ·  2

stupid? I get this message in the above situations, but mine is still going strong. I know this is an automatic machine, but is there really a problem with manually releasing the steam knob and pressing the hot water button to clear the problem as per instructions? Does it need a serviceman to do this? My guess is that in many cases, failure of the user to read and follow instructions, or an unwillingness to do so, contributes to the problem. It's an automatic machine, so it should automatically fix itself, right? Ummm, no. Use your own brain. The machine does not have one. Failure to clean the brew unit regularly can result in the machine flooding, as can using crappy waxed beans which will clog the whole unit. Milk frothing works well, despite some that claim otherwise. But then again, I froth milk, not soy or any other weird or watered-down products. Overall, if you want a machine that thinks for you, is self-cleaning with no input from you and all you have to do is fill the tank, refill beans and push a button for coffee and nothing else, don't buy a Gaggia. Find a nice barista instead. Great coffee, reliable. Just over 2 years old, and has made nearly 6,000 coffees without any problems. A friend's machine has made over 15,000 coffees since new, again with no problems. Milk frothing works well. Does not handle 'waxed' coffee beans well - they clog up the grinder and brew unit (don't see why coffee beans need to be waxed to make them look nice anyway. Who wants to drink wax and who cares if beans aren't pretty and shiny?)

Brilliant machine has been going for 13 years – I bought this machine in 2008 it’s had basic servicing I had to change the electrical brushes on the grinder motor had to change the circuit board but that’s all very minor it must be coming up to 40,000 coffees Show details ·  1

And it just keeps going! – An amazing machine. Bought in 2009 in Australia and came back with to NZ in 2011. Yummy coffee every time. What more can I say. The best investment at the time ($2300) but well worth it! Only concern would be the descaling issue as this seems to have to be done more frequently than I would have thought as our water is soft and filtered. But,… Read more ·  1

putting that aside, its an awesome bit of kit and I would certainly recommend to any likely discerning coffee fanatic!

Very Satisfied with this machine – We purchased this machine about 5 years ago. We were looking for something that was singe serve, that could be used by anyone, and had the capacity for different sizes of drinks and to be able to make capucino. As others have said, read the manual to figure out taste preference -it really does make a difference how you set grind and dosage. I… Read more ·  1

am still learning how to make that perfect cup of capucino-there are so many opinions on the method that it is a little mind-boggling. We did have to get it serviced once but the problem was the operator - we were not cleaning it regularly. As well, if you use oily beans versus dry bean, you will need to clean more often. The only complaint I have is the cost.

6500 Coffee's – Had this unit for 6 to 7 years has been great 6500 coffee and still going strong only need to replace the LCD display as the back light is not working the replacement is $100.00 online I can live without it. I Don't use the steam heat the milk in a milk frother. Good coffee easy to use, still can buy parts maybe on the large size for a small kitchen

Good coffe, but breaks down too often – Makes great coffee; however, the steam wand started leaking within 2 years. Repaired under warranty. It started leaking again less than a year later. Then a seal burst inside the machine and all the coffee it made went straight into the drip tray. I got it repaired again. For $600 they (claim to have) replaced the motherboard (an outright lie) and… Read more

steam boiler! It works again, making great coffees, but the steam wand has already started leaking again. I would not recommend this model. Good tasting coffee. Constantly leaking steam when on, causing a scalding hazard in a home with children. Breaks down too often for such an expensive product.

5364 coffees and 5 years later! – Love this machine. Had no trouble at all. All adjustable to suit strength, size of cup, type of bean used. Can add preground coffee at the front for decaf or specialty blends. When it finally dies, I will certainly buy another (the new model obviously). The steam wand would be the only little downfall, it works, but too short or maybe just hard to… Read more

position. Keeps going and going has been very reliable Not much, all things need to be cleaned and maintained

Not bad, 1600 coffee's and still as good as day one – A good machine, reliable, although sometimes the coffee can taste a bit watery, but I do only use it when I make a Latte or Cap. or long white. Therefor I'm not too fussed. I have a Nespresso Machine for when I have Espresso's. I maintain this machine myself, descale each 2 months, and clean the insides weekly. (just remove EVERYTHING and wash it… Read more

every sunday night after the dishes.. EASY.

No real problems, the most major maintenance was replacing the steam valve, (a 10 minute job) not a bad machine, you just need to care for it a little I guess! Simple to use, reliable, looks good, quick, needs self maintenance, replaced steam valve due leaking water at 1400 coffee's.

Wouldn't recommend this product – When I look at the Gaggia Titanium I really wish I wouldn't have wasted my money on it. The sales person at Harvey Norman obviously had no idea about this product and just wanted a quick sale. I thought it was an Italian "top of the range" coffee machine. The price was $1599 in 2008 and it was on sale for $899. The coffee is weak, similar to dish… Read more

water, even the strongest expresso bean doesn't help make this coffee taste nice. It's also a hassle to maintain and I rarely use it these days. All in all it was a useless purchase on my part, would rather of given the money to charity.

Tasteless, a hassle to maintain and a waste of kitchen space

Constantly at repairers – Got the Gaggia Titanium as a wedding present and have had it at the repairers three times in two years. Replaced the boiler already and the steam wand rarely works properly-always full of air or clogged despite regular de scale. Constant drew drawer full message also despite the drawer not being full. Would spend the $$ on another brand if I had… Read more

the choice as no Gaggia centre in Australia. Neat unit, nice to have te ability to adjust grind and dose. Expensive to repair-have spent over $600 in two years! Constantly some problem

Biggest lemon I ever bought – An absolute waste of money. Bought "on sale" at Harvey Norman - returned for repairs 3 times within the warranty period, which was only 12 months. Now I know why they never tried to sell me an extended warranty on this product. They sell it to you cheap and hope that it does not break down for 12 months. Motherboard died - no power, faulty… Read more

valve - no steam, can't get rid of "ventilate" message. Out of warranty now and will have to put it out on the kerb for rubbish recycling. Biggest heap of junk I ever bought. When it worked made good coffee, but did not work very often. Only got around 300 cups of coffee out of it and had it repaired several times it is junk

Junk – Bought the Titanium 2 years ago and already had 3 visits to "the shop" for repairs. Cannot contact anyone locally to complain. Steamer not that great when it is working. Mother ciruit went when only just over 12 months old, water prump broke as well. Instructions in booklet a total wast of time. Cost of repairs so far over $500. Avoid! Easy to use and easy clean 3 breakdowns, no direct contact availabl with manufacturer

Works great! (?) – Without writing a huge review the machine has worked well. We do use the 'cappuccino' attachment, mainly out of laziness in the morning and because using the standard attachment didn't offer the desired outcome (the one down side I have had). Coffee is hot, option to add small medium or large shots (so if its weak, add something more). To… Read more

anyone that is looking at purchasing the machine, or already has it and is somewhat dissatisfied I would recommend reading the manual properly (or get the pdf online), understand how it works (the fineness of the grind, etc) and then use it... I don't believe you will be disappointed. Reliable, inexpensive, easy to use

Bad – I would not buy a Gaggia again because I don't like that the machine was just out of warranty (57 days) when it came up with the problem "brewunit blocked" and the motherboard malfunctioned. It is going to cost us too much to get the machine fixed. We would be better off buying a new machine. I would not buy Gaggia again as we were told they were… Read more

a top class machine and I thought Gaggia brand would last more than 14 months! Easy to use, makes great coffee. Dredgedrawer full would come up when the dredgedrawer was not full.

Terrible – Do not buy one they are badly designed and very poor quality. You will thank me for not getting it Great Coffee and Creme` Heap of crap. Lasted 6 weeks and about 50 coffee's, then the dreaded ventalate came on the screen. Bought from Grays online who will not give me a refund. Going through Fair Traiding to get my money back.

Excellent – What a fantastic machine. The Crema from this machine is awesome and the program settings are really useful. I love this machine. Have had absolutely no problems with my machine in the 3 years I've owned it. I descale my machine every 3 months and I clean my frother everytime after I use it. Beautiful Crema, Display tells you what's going on… Read more

and talks you through a descale function etc. Programmable level settings, cup heater on top! Stainless steel construction.

Bad – Makes the best coffee, but very dissappointed with the quality of the machine. I will not buy another Gaggia/Saeco. Makes great coffee, Easy to use and looks great. I have had mine for just over a year. First machine did not work on first go and had to be replaced. Second machine worked great for six months then Grinder stopped working. It took 4… Read more

weeks to get the machine repaired under warranty. It has just broke down again and this time it won't rinse and heat on Startup. "Dredgedrawer Full" comes on even though the dredgedrawer is empty.

thought it was great but not anymore – Manual needs to be read thoroughly and if you dont wear glasses you will need to bt the end. Purchased it in Dec 2008 at harvey normans who were hopeless when i went back to ask a few questions. They simply told me they stopped selling it and to contact Gaggia. It was reliable, the coffee taste was ok but rather weak for Italians to drink. Buttons… Read more

simple to understand after reading manual and highlighting each ikon in the book. Dredge drawer continuously came up as full although it was empty, grinder too small therefore held small amount of beans.after Coffee was too weak and never hot enough. Now I cant use it because I cant get rid of the ventilate sign coming up. What does it mean and how do I get rid of it? Nothing written in manual about this.

Terrible – This machine looked amazing in the store. Saw it for $1900, then other retailers selling for $562. What a discount! Well I know why....it is faulty. Spoke to Gaggia repair centre, they put me in touch with our local repair store. Gentleman helpful, he gave me options on how to fix the problem, but nothing worked.The ventilate sign still came up,… Read more

which causes the machine to stop working all together. I returned the machine after 3 days as it stopped working. Store kindly replaced it with another machine, it stopped working also after 4 days.Same prob - Ventilate.. We only made about 12 coffees over that time. Store gave me a refund and said they would contact Gaggia, as many other people had the same problem. "Ventilate"

It is such a shame it has this problem.I hope Gaggia addresses this issue.I ended up purchasing a Breville - very happy! Excellent tasting coffee.

Easy to use Milk frother arm too small

Made bubble bath froth.

Broke down after 3 days, it stopped working. Once you get the "ventilate" message you can say goodbye to your machine - sad but true.

OK – The machines macing exelent Coffee if the are Working but Gaggia or Saeco this Machine comes out of the same Factorie (now owned apparently by Pilips)should get there act together and fix there problems and alsobe more customer oriented. Gaggia alwais had a good name and made good coffee,sowe purchased aGaggia Synchrony Compact.after 11 Months … Read more

the Steamvalve had to be repaired under warranty,after a further 11 months the sane thing happen.We send the machine to repair again,now addicted to good morning coffee we decidet to get a other machine and bougth a Gaggia Titanium,because no two machines can bethe same. Now after 11 months we are in the same situation as the steamvalve was leaking water everywere back to repair ,take out the second machine. to have your morning fix. We wrote E-Mail to Gaggia explaining our probleme ,dont hope for any answer,itlooks as after you bought there Product you are not very importd any more.

Terrible – vety disappointed for the amount of money paid. Made nice coffee when working but milk wasn't very hot or frothy. I did not do my homework...bought on impulse and supposedly good deal. After coming home and researching it I re4alised many other poeple had trouble as well. Next time I will do my homework. It made nice coffee when it worked Don't… Read more

buy one. I purchase one from Domayne. It broke after one week - took it back - I had to chase around where to get it fixed - wouldn't give me my money back and didn't have one to replace it. had it fixed - broke again after one week - I was offered a store sredit but kept refusingt until i got my money back. Very poor service - was told Gaggia has now been taken over by Saeco. saying

Terrible – This machine is a LEMON - the ventilate message won't clear. The Gaggia/Saeco call centre has been next to useless - we are going to take our machine back to Harvey Norman and buy a reliable replacement - it sure won't be a Gaggia or Saeco. I would strongly discourage anyone from buying this machine, especially after reading the other reviews here… Read more

from consumers who have experienced exactly the same problem. Don't buy this machine! Looks nice. It made nice coffee... when it was working The machine now doesn't work after one month of making coffee.

Good – I was concerned with the various negative reviews and bought extended extra warranty. Found this machine very good for the money especially when compared with available competition. Not a single problem (but I had to read and follow the instructions)for almost 3 months and over 300 coffees. Its looks, water reservoir capacity and refillable on… Read more

machine, namy options, good creamy coffee. coffee grinder lid restricts coffee refill, too little clearence of front door

Terrible – The machine is obviously a lemon. You don't have to look too hard to find the same issues, "Ventilate". I just wish I had done a more research to start with. Will be returning for refund. Next machine won't be Gaggia/Saeco. Easy to use. Nice coffee Same issues over and over. The repairer has had the machine longer than I have.

Terrible – we have had a gaggia titanium for 15 months and are on our second replacement machine. They repaired the first machine 4 times and then gave us a replacement which broke after 4 months - the repairers they recommended have hadit for 2 months and say they can't repair it. Gagia no longer exists and saeco have taken over. Saeco say they cannot give… Read more

us our money back and have offered us a saeco machine. Do not buy a gaggia! was good until steam pipe failed 4 times Poor customer service

Terrible – Avoid Gaggia at any cost!! Gaggia is so unreliable and between the 2 machines we had they couldn't even make 40 coffees without breaking down. Harvey Norman have now given us a store credit, so we have decided to pay another thousand dollars or so to buy a decent reliable brand - a Jura or Delonghi. Im looking forward to enjoying a coffee and not… Read more

driving the machine around town to get fixed every sencond week. (I was told that Gaggia is made in the same factory as the Seaco coffee machines, so I would also avoid Seaco too). Makes a good coffee when it works! The most unreliable machine ever! This was replacement machine to our original Gaggia Platinum Vouge which broke down twice and spent more time getting repaired in the 4 weeks we owned it for. The Titanim was a more expensive replacement and this was just as unreliable. It lasted 4 weeks before the steam pressure dropped to about 40% and then I could not get rid of the 'Ventilate' message - and the machine won't do anything untill you can clear the ventilate message.

Bad – Have owned one for abt 15 months and approx 1100 coffees. Failed with "ventilate" problem. Gaggia/Saeco helpline pretty useless. Fortunately under extended warranty, but first fix lasted 1 day. Apparently the "Steam Valve Cam" which controls the steam needle valve prone to failing as its plastic and running in a hot environment ..... Part is… Read more

expensive (for what it is) and then add on a standard "service charge".

Really Gaggia should made such parts from more durable materials such as brass. Water capacity & ability to fill on machine. No inbuilt milk container. Ability to program amount of coffee delivered. Poor manual. Amount of water it puts into "dregs drawer.

Amount of plastic critical components. Potential lack of durability.

Beans sometimes do not freely flow into grinder.

Terrible – Bought this machine on sale. This machine worked flawlessly for 2 1/2 weeks but then we had to take it back as it wasn't producing steam and had the ventilate message appear. Exchanged for a new one and 2 days later took that one back as it wasn't producing steam or hot water. It also leaked the entire contents of the water reservoir all over… Read more

the kitchen bench and floor. Having the second machine break down after 2 days is a disgrace.

What a disappointment this machine turned out to be!

Before this machine we owned a Gaggia Cubika which was fantastic but not an automatic machine so we trusted the Gaggia name in upgrading to automatic (how wrong were we)

If i had of paid the full price of $1899 for this paper weight i would have been very very very disappointed.

Needless to say we ended up getting a Delonghi and so far so good. At least i can make a coffee knowing that i can have hot frothy milk as well.

I wouldn't recommend Gaggia Titanium at all!

Dont waste your money unless you want a very expensive paperweight.

Gaggia need to fix the faults in these machines or stop selling them!

Unhappy Gaggia customer. great looking machine, ease of use, nice coffee when working. the "ventilate" message. unreliable. Leaked everywhere. Steam fault. Hot water fault. Would make a coffee but couldn't froth milk.

Excellent – We love this machine and use it constantly. We have had it for about 18 months and it has been troouble free. Produces great coffee and is very easy to use. The milk frother is also very simple to use and keep clean. Good hot coffee, can alter the bean grind easily, very easy to clean and mantain. Very easy to use and reliable, fair size water… Read more

container and bean holder meaning less frequent filling. The beans (particularly oily beans) can get caught up and need to be moved before they will flow into the grinder which can be quite annoying. Takes a while to do more than 2-3 coffees. It is a little bulky.

Terrible – Make sure you read product reviews and any independent test mags such as CHOICE magazine in AUST first before buying anything.Check that the warranty is 'first 12 month replacement warranty'. These machines should not be breaking down in the first few months as it has for us and others. Thanks 'productreview' website for letting us have this kind… Read more

of community to share our experiences and warn others as well. can fine tune and adjust to suit you. looks good Broke down after 4 months of use!!!!'Dreg drawer full' came on all the time from the very beginning. Pump not working, no coffee coming out. Steamer not working at all, The batch is a DEC 2008 one and I suspect these are faulty ones after reading Miaforest's comment below and others. Loss of confidence in Gaggia. Buyer Beware.

Excellent – I recommend this machine. I have really good experience with it. It has a lot of features but is really easy to use. Great coffee and reliable. My machine has made over 15 thousand coffees without any problems. Easy to clean. The beans don't always flow really well to the "crusher" and I have to poke them.

Terrible – I bought this machine in late Dec 2008. It has been in the repairers twice - once for 2 weeks, then another week. The pump broke, then the steamer broke, now the LCD is stuffed and the DEREG DRAWER FULL comes on when its empty. The GAGGIA rep has told JOYCE MAYNE they wont replace it. Im taking the thing back to JOYCE MAYNE for a full credit. DONT BUY ONE! IT CONTINUALLY BREAKS DOWN