Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, Platinum

Description – Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, Platinum

Combining advanced technology with ease of use, the fully automatic Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island  grinds the right amount of coffee, doses, and brews, all at the touch of a button. This unit’s innovative Espresso Plus System allows you to adjust the strength of coffee from mild to strong, making an wide variety of coffee drinks. You can even use preground coffee [decaf or flavored are most popular for preground]. Whether making an Italian “ristretto” or a long coffee, it maintains a unique creamy finish. The drip tray can be raised or lowered electrically, allowing the use of different cup sizes. This unit’s 15-bar pump provides plenty of water pressure for authentic espresso extraction, while its stainless-steel rapid-steam boiler system reduces the time between coffee and steam delivery to just a few seconds.  The exclusive steamer swivels 180 degrees and produces hot water for tea, coffee, or instant soup, and makes quick work of frothing milk for cappuccino and lattes even a novice could master.

The Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island  features a touch-screen digital LCD control panel with programming information and alerts, an 8-4/5-ounce bean hopper with adjustable ground-coffee levels from 7 to 10-1/2 grams, and a built-in ceramic burr grinder with adjustable grind settings. Other features are a 57-ounce removable water reservoir, a pre-infusion option, an Aqua Prima water filter, a stainless-steel heated cup warmer, the ability to make two cups of coffee at the same time, a Gaggia Milk Island accessory connection, and a removable brewing unit for easy maintenance. Constructed with impact-resistant ABS plastic with a stainless-steel-finished front panel, this attractive appliance adds a sleek look to the décor of any kitchen. Designed in Italy by Gaggia, one of the most respected names in the industry, the 1500-watt espresso machine measures 14-3/5 by 12-3/5 by 16-2/5 inches.

More features included: Time/Date settings (Set the machine to turn on up to 3 times a day, 7 days a week. For example, Monday–6am, 12pm, 6pm, Friday–6am, 1pm, 9pm and Saturday–9am, 6pm, 10pm. Stand by mode with 4 different settings. Adjustable clock by hour, minute and AM/PM. Adjustable date format– For instance, set differently in Europe than in the United States.); Machine Settings (Programmable display to read the way you’d like it—choice of 13 languages, and adjustable contrast for the display to appear lighter or darker. Sound settings– turn the sound on/off. If on, it will beep when it is ready for use. Cup warmer–3 options: always on, always off, off while in stand by mode. Water settings include–Rinse on/off, water filter on/off, water hardness 1-4 [machine comes with a test strip and instructions]); Maintenance Settings (Counts your shots. Cleaning cycle–In this setting, the machine asks if you’ve added the cleaning tablet before running it. Descale cycle–Before running, the machine asks if you’d like to run the cycle in case you’ve selected it in error. Lock display–an option given to allow the owner to clean the menu screen without accidentally selecting a beverage.); Special Settings (Factory Settings–allows you to reset to all the original manufacturer settings.)

Features of the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, Platinum

  • Automatic espresso machine with simple touch-screen controls
  • 15-bar pump pressure; stainless-steel-lined boiler; built-in ceramic burr grinder
  • Bypass doser for preground coffee; cup warmer; removable brew group
  • 57-ounce removable water tank; Pannarello steam wand and Milk Island included
  • Removable water tank with capacity of 7-18 cups
  • Built-in water filter
  • Cup warming plate
  • 1500 watts power
  • Measures 12-3/5 by 16-1/3 by 14-4/7 inches

Review of the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, Platinum

Owners rave over the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, calling it the “best purchase we’ve made”, and saying  “This thing is amazing”, and “I have been extremely impressed… I cannot recommend this enough. Excellent product !! “. They love the many different drink options and quality of the coffee drinks produced.  They cite the ease and speed of operation, the ease of cleaning, and the way the milk steamer & frother functions. They also like the water purifier and the movable drip tray to accommodate different drink sizes.  One owner says using this machine is “actually kinda fun! With one push of a button, you have a professional quality espresso in less than a minute”, while another sums it up as  “almost like the coffee shop!… a real treat!… you will really love this machine.”

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Functionality:

Owners love the speed of the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island saying it goes from completely off to drink ready in about 1 minute. This machine has three drink options: espresso, coffee, and long coffee. It allows you to control the amount of water, temperature, aroma, flavor, and strength and is programmable to your favorite combination, at which point brewing your favorite is just a simple button press.

Owners also love the way the milk frother/steamer works, saying that the wand is very easy to clean (though the frothing unit itself a bit cumbersome to clean), the steam comes quick and stays consistently hot, and you can steam milk fast enough to make yourself a cappuccino in under 2 minutes.

They cite all the programmable features of this machine, from a program that can remind you when you should descale, to programs for wake up and power off times. They say it also has lots of prompts to let you know when to empty something, or add water, or attach the milk island.

The water purifier is also a feature owners appreciate, as well as the fact that refilling the water tank and removing spent grounds are very easy. Owners also say that the coffee bean grinder is quieter than a lot of others out there.

One owner sums it up well with “It works great, the espresso tastes great (better than what I can get elsewhere), I LOVE the milk island because it foams the milk exactly the way I like it, and the temperature is perfect for both. So far it’s been easy to care for, and I am loving waking up, stumbling to the machine, and pushing a few buttons.”

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Complaints:  

Owners say the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island doesn’t give a low water warning before you start to make a cup of coffee and that you find out in the middle of brewing, but can’t add water without starting the brew cycle over again…which means you have to check your water level before you brew. Owners also find the frothing unit cumbersome to clean and one owner feels that the container sizes are too small. A few owners had issues with Importika’s customer service but all felt that customer service at Amazon was very good.

Suggestions:  

One owner says that seating the milk island can be a little finicky and suggests you lean on it while rotating the carafe to be sure it seats well. Owners also suggest cleaning the milk island carafe thorough each day is important to prevent it from “gumming up” and not foaming the milk very well any longer.

Another owner couldn’t figure out the touch screen error “prime water circuit” but eventually found that turning down the strength control knob from full-on strength corrected the issue. She said “It must provide some back pressure, and the knob was at it’s strongest setting. Apparently, it had completely shut off the machine’s ability to emit coffee, and the “prime water circuit” was it’s way of telling me that. Once the strength knob was backed off a little bit, operation returned to normal. ”

The Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island is quite a large unit and takes up quite a bit of space on the counter. For most owners this isn’t an issue but it is something one should be aware of when purchasing.

Durability/Longevity:

Owners say that the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island is quite sturdy and that the touch screen works well. They say it can stand up to a lot of daily use without malfunctioning. One owner reports purchasing her second Gaggia after having her first Gaggia for 8 years before it broke down. Another owner says “after a year it still performs perfectly, cleans easy and froths easily. A consistently good espresso, capa, even american coffee. No problems at all.”

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Value:

Owners of the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island feel that this machine pays for itself in approximately 3 months to 1 year, depending on how much coffee one drinks and how many visits to Starbucks, etc. are skipped now due to the convenience & quality of this machine. One owner says “a Starbucks latte costs roughly $4. A homemade latte costs $0.40”. Another owner says “We drink a lot of coffee, between us 5 – 7 cups each day; we were spending $1.37 for each cup with Nespresso and now it’s around 20c per cup….We estimate that the machine will have paid for itself easily within the year compared to our previous coffee bills.”, while yet a third owner says that this machine “has successfully put a stop to our Starbucks trips. We finally figured out we could buy our beans and syrup from them and have figured that this machine will have paid for itself in less than a year.”

Summary:

Owners of the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island rave about it. They say it is like having a coffee shop at home but saves money compared to all the coffee shop visits that they can now skip. They love all of the variety of functions it provides, the quality of the coffee, and the ease of operation. One owner says “I own french presses, vacuum pots, Chemex and a Technivorm. The Gaggia could easily replace them all”. Another says that this machine is “everything we expected and more” and that he “would highly recommend.” Based on the rave reviews from current owners, we have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending the Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island to anyone who desires coffee shop quality coffee within the convenience of their own home.

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1 Comment at "Gaggia 90951 Platinum Vision Automatic Espresso Machine with Milk Island, Platinum"

stamp price October 13th, 2011 (#)

i love your blog, i have it in my rss reader and always like new things coming up from it.

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