This is an outstanding coffee machine but has a couple of dumb oversights. First, this is "5 stars" as far as the coffee making ability goes. Best, most flavorful espressos/americanos I've had on any machine (including Solaris, Krupp) I've ever had. So why only "3" stars? A couple of dumb oversights that are so obvious yet unfixed and part of the design by a manufacturer that, supposedly, is a well-known, long-standing Italian coffee/espresso machine manufacturer., that they need to get dinged a couple of stars. None of these oversights impacts the quality of the cup of coffee you'll drink, but just "be aware." First and foremost, as others have commented on (and equally found annoying) is the dumb design of the water reservoir. You will need to have a flashlight placed next to the machine. The reservoir is pointlessly and counterproductively, a very dark grey-brown color, which, tucked under the overhand of the bulk of the machine, means that you absolutely cannot see the water level in the reservoir. The only way to see the water level is by using a flashlight to shine into the reservoir and watch for the movement of the waterline. Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! it absolutely needs to be clear!! Why isn't it?? Next, and related to the first is that the inside (or back side) of the reservoir is lower than the front (or outfacing side). That means you have to be very careful not to overfill, the front, or you'll have water running out the back. Complicating this further is that there isn't any water "line," just large letters saying "max water', which gives a bit of a wide variance as to where, exactly, is the "maximum water line." Third is the unmentioned/undetailed function of what I'm going to call the "pressure spit valve" on the left of the unit under the drip tray. There is no description or even reference to it in the instructions but after seeing water shoot out of the same place every time I shut off the coffee run, I had to assume that it was somehow related, and probably was a pressure release mechanism of some sort. Would be nice to include this in the instructions? Any cleaning or maintenance requirements? What? What? Tell me! It's a little messy, but not certainly not bad. Fourth, the "steamer" function is weak, cool, and short-lived. If you are going to make a cappuccino or otherwise need to steam milk, you'll be disappointed as the pressure doesn't last very long - maybe 2 coffee cups worth of milk in a steaming tin - and it isn't very hot. (After making 2 cups of steamed milk for hot cocoa for the kids, which initially came out reasonably hot and strong, there wasn't any steam left for my cup! ) The steam just trickled out, useless, then just stopped. Now we get to a very peculiar phenomenon because even waiting for a long period of time (10-12 minutes+) between "uses," the steamer function never regained its original strength or heat and the steam just drizzled out of the nozzle and fizzled out completely in less than a minute. This was the case all three times I used it. Assuming somewhat logically, that there is a "steam tank" that has to build up pressure and heat, it could be understandable that once this "tank" is empty, it requires a little time to build up again. Fair enough. But how long then? Longer than 15 minutes? An hour? 3 hours? But in any event by then it should come out at the same heat and pressure as the first time. But it doesn't. And annoyingly, this function also is barely mentioned in the manual, so I have no idea. Fifth, there is an extra piece - it looks like it could be another kind of steamer nozzle - but not only isn't it described anywhere in the manual, but it isn't even referenced as an included piece in the exploded diagram. So, all these annoying oversights from an allegedly "famous" specialized manufacturer of espresso machines makes one wonder if these guys drinking something else besides espresso when they designed this machine and wrote up the instructions, or is Gaggia just living on a past reputation? The machine seems well-built and solid enough, and as I've only had it for a month, I cannot attest to its durability. However, I have used Krupps and several Solaris (Swiss) machines for many years- an average life of around 8-10 years, so I have some basis of comparison in terms of design and output flavor. At the end of the day, if you are willing to put up/adapt/don't mind these annoying design flaws and shortcomings, in terms of its the basic function of making a darn good cup of espresso/Americano, this unit does its job and at the price point, is worth it.
