Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cross your fingers that you won't need service, February 7, 2008
I received this beautiful espresso machine in June. It is a stunning work of functional art. Out of the box it had two problems: a leak in the boiler water level gauge and the steam valve would not turn off completely. I called the number given for service and reached Importika, the importer of the machine. The people I dealt with were not timely in responses to phone calls and e-mails. I had to be persistent beyond reasonableness to receive the necessary approval to send it in for service. I was told repeatedly that they would notify me when the part arrived from Italy. They never did that. I had to contact them. Then I had to pay $50 for shipping. The only service center that had the part was on the east coast, I live on the west coast. The west coast service center did not have the part. That repair took 3 1/2 weeks from the time it left my door until it returned. In early December the machine started dripping uncontrollably from the showerhead. Again, I had to deal with the same people at Importika. Again, I had to be the one to continually contact them even though I was told several times that they would contact me. They never did. Finally, they told me it had to be sent in for repairs. Since this was the second time it was being sent in for repair in 6 months, I made two requests of them. First, I asked that they send to me a prepaid shipping label, and secondly, that they replace the machine with a new one. These requests, in my experience, are not unreasonable, especially given the over $1,000 price tag. That was at the end of December. It is now Feb. 7 and they have not responded. For the cost of this machine, I expect exceptional service if it is needed. I have NOT received exceptional service. I would not even call it acceptable. The machine has stopped dripping in the mean time and I'm hoping that it has miraculously cured itself.
The machine makes wonderful espresso. I've made espresso for years with other Gaggia machines and it took weeks of experimenting to get the correct combination of grind fineness and tamping pressure. Once I had it figured out, it makes the best espresso I've had from a home brew machine. I use Illy Caffe beans. Using it will build your biceps.
In summary, it's a fantastic machine with a couple of realiability issues and absolutely awful customer service for after the purchase repairs. Cross your fingers that you won't need to do so.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Espresso and Countertop Irrigation, October 22, 2008
I bought this lever machine when my semi-automatic heat exchanger (A Livia 90) had to be sent back for repairs (the plastic water basin had cracked over time and needed replacing) -- I couldn't bear to be without espresso and always have been fascinated with lever machines. The Achille had gotten a good review on an espresso review website for the quality of its shots, but at the same time, some owners were complaining about leaks. I felt I could trust to purchase the machine through Amazon, since Amazon has excellent customer service.
The Achille produces wonderful espresso -- superior in some ways to my Livia. The shots have a pleasant sweetness to them, and the temperature profile of the machine is quite stable -- no sour or bitter shots here, assuming I let it warm up for about a half hour before use.
I did notice that shot quality degraded considerably if I did not tamp the grinds well. But within two weeks of ownership the Achille began leaking over my countertop when not in use. In addition, the knob to the steam wand broke soon thereafter. When I took it off to examine it, it was a plastic knob that did not have a metal sleeve inside -- when closing the steam wand firmly, the plastic inside the knob deformed, causing the knob to no longer function.
Now, there is a certain charm to the vision of making a latte with a pair of pliers while keeping the espresso machine inside a plastic bucket, but I realized that while the Achille produced wonderful shots of espresso, there are several engineering problems with the design of the machine and feared what else might go wrong. Also, reviews here mentioned that the company's customer service for repairs was difficult to nagivate.
My guess is that Gaggia under-engineered certain parts to save money and still be able to afford to manufacture the wonderful aesthetic design. It remains one of the most interesting looking espresso machines I have seen.
I am glad I purchased it from Amazon, as I am now in the process of returning it. I think I will look for a machine that is more reliable. To have it leak dramatically within two weeks of use, at about 6-12 shots per day, seems unreasonable.
It may be the case that by tamping firmly the machine was attempting to pull too much pressure into the shot, and thus eventually leaked, but if that is the case, and one is supposed to only tamp very lightly, I would say this machine produces quite poor quality espresso and is not worth its price. It seems a manufacturer should include some kind of over pressure valve to handle use cases like that. The user manual did not include guidance on the proper tamping pressure (e.g. 30lbs or such).
My older Breville heat exchanger machine, which I have since given to a friend, produced better shots than the lightly tamped shots from the Achille.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beauty machine, very well made, February 24, 2008
Very good machine, very good espresso, you need a lot of practice and patience, otherwise I don't have any complaint.
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