From Profitec Go to Gaggia Classic Pro V2: My Honest (Downgrading) Review 

I've lately been pondering between these machines (especially given the new Classic Evo Pro) and both your video but also the great discussions in the comments has been really helpful. So, thank you to everyone here!

We love ours! As good as, or better than - any espresso or latte - from any machine - from any franchise coffee - we have ever tasted! Your summary comments about features and builds and fiddling for coffee hobbyists is right on! Thank you!

you share a lot of great tips thanks a lot i really enjoy all the video!!

I got the Gaggia as my first machine after debating whether to spend more. Your video convinced me. Thanks. I’ve also replaced the gasket and the little screen and picked up a bottomless portafilter. Voila!!! Crema and delicious shots by the end of day 4. I remembered that years ago I worked in a restaurant and did cappuccinos … so the milk frothing has been easy- nice dense milk for my wife’s cappuccinos!! It’s a fabulous little machine and contrary to what I’ve seen and read about the steamer needing to be tricked to get full steam, I do not have that issue. I have played around with opening the steam a quarter turn for the first 4-5 seconds to do pre-infusion but I’m not sure it makes much difference. I think some folks get a little carried away. 😂😂

Nice video. I am sure you feel a little bad for the gasket thing. But this shows how real people really use it. Thanks so much.

It’s fascinating. Different things for different people, that’s what happiness is!

I got a used Gaggia Classic for $300 and love it. I spent about $250 in upgrades (gaggiuino) and now it's wonderful for dialing in a variety of coffees. These are simple to service and very reliable.

Very interesting and informative, thanks. And I love your cat :) Is that a Siberian?

Excellent video, thanks a lot! Yesterday I ordered the Classic Evo Pro 2023 in lobster red, it will arrive tomorrow. I hesitated picking the older version in lobster red, which was still available according to the official importer. Maybe it turns out to be the wrong decision, to pick the new one, for later versions are not always better. However, let’s find out.

Great video. 👍

Great video and those upgrades are amazing recommendations, easy to install and cheap to buy. Everyone that owns a Gaggia Classic Pro should buy these

I’ve got both machines and am happy with both. I think the little more than double the price of the Go is worth it if you’re interested in trying different coffees, especially lighter roast coffees. If you have a coffee bean and grinder combo that you’re happy with and not thinking of changing then you’ll be perfectly fine with the Gaggia. One upgrade that is not mentioned in this video is the very easy swap out of the stock 12 bar spring with the 9 bar (can be bought from Shades of Coffee in the UK). The stock spring is over-sized in order to work with the pressurized basket, but assuming you’re never going to use the pressurized, then I think the most important mod to the Gaggia is the 9 bar spring. In summary, both machines are great value, and for me, a person who is always interested in trying different coffees, the built-in PID of the Go makes it a more desirable machine for me. The Go also has a much bigger water tank, much bigger drip tray, much better and fully articulating steam nozzle and many automated features that the Gaggia does not provide.

Thanks for the review. I'm thinking of buying GCP for $300 used and just want some decent espresso. Will I be OK with just OPV spring mod and no PID mod?

It’s funny, because I had the Gaggia Classic Pro and I thought after a few days I’d upgrade it to the Profitec Go even though I had no problem with the Gaggia at all, as you mentioned it heats up very quick and gets to steaming temperature quicker. The Go is very nice, heavy and good quality materials, but yeah the drip tray is flimsy they only put two tiny spot welds to hold the driptray, which can easily break if exposed to moisture for a long time. I actually kinda regret the purchase after I realized how long it takes for the Go to warm up to steaming temp. Then I ended up selling the go as I wasn’t drinking coffee for a while, but after a some time I started missing this whole home barista thing and had to buy something for a low-ish price as I can’t spend much money right now, so I ordered a new Gaggia Classic as I was actually very happy with it. Also wanted to add a PID to it, but can’t fork out 220 for a PID kit, so I found a video where they explain how to get everything for a DIY PID kit, so it only costs an extra 60 euros to make that happen. Really looking forward to using the Classic again. Also found that the Go’s pump was louder than the Gaggia, even though it’s supposed to be quieter, the tray and the watertank cover rattled a good bit on the Go and when I turned it off, it even did an annoying clicking sound every now and then, even after a few hours until I opened and closed the steam knob. After all, the Go wasn’t a bad machine, had it’s cons, but I’m not in the position to buy one for more than 2x the price of the Classic and don’t feel the need for it.

Thanks. Very useful.

I was looking at the Go and was going to get it but after seeing this I realized I don't really care anymore. I'm not really an espresso snob so the Gaggia classic would fit my needs just fine. It's a shame the Go had a failing component 6 months in. Thanks for helping me decide that Gaggia would be the better (and cheaper) choice!

Thank you for this amazing reality video. Gaggia is gem still.

Great video about this great machine! Regarding the overflow tube, you could just pull it down until it passes the metal grid. It worked for me. No need to buy a silicone one.

@Li Reviews Gaggia Pro without Gaggiuino, ito + leva! (or some similar espresso controller with PID, pressure control, gravimetric dosing etc) would be pretty hard to pull good consistent shots (from time to time you may be able to make one, but for sure it will not be consistent). If you went for the Profitec and the Ceado grinder, then you definetely have the budget for such a controller. I have installed ito + leva! 3.0 on mine and I am telling you, it is a must. Great upgrade to do. Highly recommend it.

Fair enough if you prefer the GCP but it's undeniable the Go is a superior machine.

Terrific video, very helpful. Thank you.

I just bought an Evo 2 weeks (??) ago and I love it. Took me a little to get my grinder fine enough but the taste of the same beans I used before with my old All in One Delonghi is like day and night. Better than any coffeshop (most of them) because the baristas are overworked and do so many espressos that they stopped caring. Maybe I am wrong but how much better can a coffee be between my Gaggia and an $1500 machine? I don't really do milk so that has no importance to me. My palette is maybe not good enough for fine nuances but it just can't be $1000 (or more) better.

It would be interesting for you to make a comparison to the Breville Bambino. Though I can find comparisons on RU-vid, most videos sound like infomercials. You give an honest critique. Thank you.

what is the next upgrade machine if you have to upgrade? which one?

Is that dripping steam wand a weak point of GCP? I wonder how many of you faced the issue. Bought a brand new GCP this year. Dripping occurred immediately after removing the box. Gone for a fix (all this happens in Europe). The after-fixing note says that the steam valve was replaced with a new one, but it keeps dripping again, straight from the service. Now it is again in Gaggia's workshop. Very dissapointing.

hello li, I bought my gaggia Classic pro 2019 a month ago and I bought the 8mm gasket and it was too small for it I changed it to the blue 8.5 and it fit me well

What shower screen is it I believe you said ims I have the gaggia classic evo pro

Did you sell the GO? I'll buy it from you. I have the GCP and found the whole experience extremely frustrating. It requires too many mods (a PID is a must) to get a decent shot.

is it necessary to get the PID? how much a difference it makes to an average espresso drinker (medium to dark roast)?

I worry about that boilergate with particles in my drink. Should that be a concern or have they rectified it before reselling bought boxes ?

Are you planning to mod it further, 9 bar opv spring, PID, dimmer?

Thanks for the review brother. Now please tell me the cat is ok haha

Nice job.

@ 15:53 You mention “Blue” Group Head Gasket but printed description calls out for “Red” Gasket?? Great vid. Lots of useful tips & info

Hi I enjoy your videos. I have a question. is this worth it or should I purchase something better.Modified Gaggia Classic Pro Evo w/Upgrade Kit for Brew, Steam, & Flow Control + 2 Puck Screens, WDT Tool, and Keychain, Pull $2000-$3000 Quality Shots with your Gaggia, Pro-Level Espresso Upgrade Kit

Nice video. Thank you for your review. What do you about in the future, upgrade from Gaggia Classic Evo to the Silvia Rancilio V6?

I trust a man who uses a Ceado grinder and understands that piece of equipment is more important than the espresso machine itself.

Hello, is the filter basket from the B70 serie or the B68? Can you please provide the first three characters of the model number? Thank you.

I bought a Gaggia Expresso machine about 8 months ago. It arrived but did not turn on. They send me a replacement unit. It came with a leaking pump. Amazon send me a third one (frustrating as hell). The third machine´s wand only worked for about a week. My wife decided to go with the Classic Pro V2 which has NOT had any problems so far. So you can talk until you are blue saying that the Gaggia is a better machine but we know better.

Just got a Profitec Go for my parents after the old Breville Infuser croaked. A much steeper learning curve, but the shot quality is a noticeable improvement in spite of all the purging and manual stuff you have to do. I was leaning towards an Ascaso, but there was some debate over the failure rate. I did check out Profitec unit throughly for defects and a loud pump. Everything is amazing so far paired with a Mignon Specialita. We have a 3-year warranty as well.

Im interested to know, besides the long temp start up, the drip tray break, from a pure shot quality. Which one create the best shot?

do you still recommend the red silicoane gasket? Or why do all the sets sell with the blue?

Do you think it is worth it upgrading from the Gaggia to the Profitec Go? How about the Profitec 400?

I was about to buy "GO" but had the same worries. Thank you for clarifying. Now I will be getting GCP evo :)

Congratulations with your new Gaggia. I also have a gaggia pro. I upgraded it to ABS low drip tray, steam tip to single hole, 9 bar spring, silicon seal , lumina shot timer( very important ) and lastly added digital thermometer for boiler ( big help) . I don’t feeI need expensive espresso machine anymore. The only bad quality part is its rubber feet. It leaves black mark on white counter top. It is really bad quality .

It's all of preference GCP its good on its way , on it's price range its unbeaten . The Go its also a solid machine with Good futures good to have both A great machine . For Me as not as lover of milk drinks i will skip this and a get flair 58+ its around 500-600$ and really solid manual machine for espresso . Very informative video keep up the good work

Your cat is Awesome!! ❤❤

Do you have a link to the milk cup?

Oh boy, my Profitec Go will be here this week. I’m going from a Delonghi Dedica to the Go. Is your main concern the heat up time?

What I do wonder about is the proper silicon ring to use in the Gaggia: today I mounted the red 8mm thick one you concluded upon and compared it with the original rubber ring from Gaggia. The new one is exactly 8mm thick, but the Gaggia one, measured with a precise digital caliper is 8,36mm thick, very close to the 8,5mm value of the blue one you mentioned before. Now the grip points much more to the right than before. So all in all my conclusion is a 8,5mm thick ring may after all be the correct one to mount and I will order it too and see what happens in my case. Adding 0,14 mm seems hardly relevant compared to subtracting 0,36mm.. 😮

Let’s say my budget is around $1200. I’m planning on getting the Proftec GO as well as the Baratza ESP. People say I need to spend at least 50% of my budget on the grinder which doesn’t make sense because I just want something good enough for taste and the rest of the money goes into the ease of use and practicality (Like the PID). I just want delicious espresso without temperature surfing and all that but if I spend more on a grinder the best I can get is a stock Rancilio Silvia because a PID kit for that costs $200 with shipping for me anyways (Why is Auber PID so overpriced???). I would appreciate any advice.

not the Gaggia Evo ????

What about boiler aluminum vs brass?

GCP steam pressure is....ok. I don't have the V2, but I did the OPV mod and it sucks. 100mL is WAY too small to expect any kind of decent steam pressure for enough time to make a drink. I am constantly priming the boiler for more water before each steam and sometimes mid steam. It's annoying and it throws off the texture

This review seems biased against the Profitec Go. The GCP is $425, the Profitec is $999. You said it is 2.5 x more expensive, yet you immediately start spending $$$ on upgrades on the GCP which adds cost and hassle. You need to add in all the costs and voiding your warranty by the hacks. Did you include all the extras you had to buy? And the health concerns about repeatedly drinking 200 degree water out of an aluminum boiler?

You should just use a smart outlet plug, you can set your espresso machine to turn on every morning at 7 am (or earlier if needed) so it’s ready when you wake up!

Is that a Classic Pro or an Evo with the coated boiler?

Well. This is really not a review but personal preference. In reality, 1. of course there are diminishing returns. That goes so far Bambino/Bambino plus can be easily good enough for the most people (if they aren't able to find any difference in taste between different beans, and especially if they are using only dark[er] roasts). But GCP is extremely hard to use with more difficult light[er] roasts. It is doable, but with a lot of experimenting with temperature surfing etc. 2. contrary to what is broadly believed, the pressure is not that important variable, it is possible to use e.g. flow control or optimise grinding instead (don't forget OPV sets MAXIMUM POSSIBLE pressure, not the pressure obtained in reality). But it is good to have one more variable to ... control, thus eliminate :D (and there are peer reviewed articles about this!!!) 3. on the other side, temperature control is more or less a must for lighter roasts (that's why I wouldn't buy machine without PID) 4. dual boiler for home, really? you was complaining about Profitec Go being "resource hog" for several ml of water consumption you considered "surplus". My dear, feeding 2 boilers costs MUCH more. You need dual boiler only if you need brew and steam simultaneously, and that's in commercial setting. At home, I wouldn't care. If waiting 7-8 min instead of 3 was a problem for you, any dealing with milk steaming in such a hurry you will probably avoid. When I am in a mood to play with milk it is usually when I have enough time for such playing. In the evening. And of course, dual boiler would have similar if not longer warm up time. With the system used by Turin Legato/MiiCoffee Apex, most of the hassle with single boiler is effectively solved. By the way, that's way better than GCP, close to Profitec Go (but instead of pressure regulator, this one uses flow regulation). For me, it is this one or Profitec (or Lelit Glenda or Grace with PID). By the introduction of Legato/Apex/whatever is its name, GCP is pointless choice. At the Profitec level, you have temperature stability of 200-300 ml boiler (instead of 80 in GCP), solved the problem with heating up to and cooling down from steaming temperature, PID and pressure (or flow, with Legato/Apex) control. That's really all you need and anything above that is pretty hard to justify, but you need these things for more difficult beans and even if you can find workarounds without them, it can be hard. By the way, grinder. You shouldn't go much below DF54 (Fellow Opus can be considered minimum) but also there's no point going anywhere above DF64/64V. Grinder is not universal saviour, but it is substantial part of the process. Above those DF64 and Profitec Go levels, it is usually a placebo effect. I don't really believe people can taste what I am unable to differentiate between by using GC or HPLC and NMR.

A modded Gaggia might be a nice thing especially if you are used to your routine. The big BUT against a Gaggia for me is the aluminum boiler - yes there are no 100% conforming studies but first researches have shown that aluminum is unhealthy and could cause/increase long-term health issues. That's why I will go with the GO.

You should purge out of the steam wand so it cleans it

43:45 makes me laugh, trying to get any molecule of milk LOL...

I want to do the opposite. :) Get a Profitech Go, or a Silvia Pro X. Something like that. Not crazy, but PID, compact, dual boiler, not sure. I like the Gaggia, I can do with a bit more comfort.

Small aluminium boiler vs big eco brass boiler with PID. I own the go and owned the classic. I completely disagree .

Can you give a link to your grinder? Thanks

Profitec GO is the better machine in pretty much every way. If heat up time is that big of an issue, buy a $10 smart plug. I dont understand the logic here, but to each their own.

Was that a cat at 2:37 😂

You have saved me from getting the Profitec Go. Like you I don’t have time and don’t change the beam once I find something I liked. The GCP that is.

The Go is so much more attractive. The Gaggia just looks nasty to me I’d hate to see it on my kitchen bench every day.

In conclusion the machine needs to be modified with a PID for it to actually perform extremely well

Hope you join the Gaggiuino Later

Leaky steam valve is something I’ve had over the whole lifespan of my classic pro :/

Tell me you’re an addict without telling me you’re an addict. Can’t keep yourself busy for an extra 3 minutes of warm up time lol

Thanks for the video! It's great to hear different perspectives. My bank account would love to settle for the Gaggia but I want to avoid having to switch in a few months/years if I can't ride the wild GCP. I'm no expert so I'm concerned of not being able to dial coffee and get consistent results... that's what I got from my research at this point. Regardless of the time to heat the boiler, what's the downside on Profitect from your opnion? I couldn't understand from your video what the downsides of profitec are. What I've heard from people with Gaggia for years is that: 1. The lack of a PID is an issue for increasing the variety of types of beans (since light vs dark roasts require different temperatures) 2. The milk foam isn't powerful enough to offer great texture The two above are my 2 main reasons to eventually go for Profitec (still deciding). I love light roasts and most reviews say Gaggia can't help much with those because of the limited temperature settings.

It's an entry machine, upgrading from this you will get better an easier routine.

Upgraded to the gaggiuino and the machine becomes equal to a $3000 machine

If you have your Gaggia ready in 4 minutes to brew coffee, you must be on some very dark roast. It is still cold.

I could be very interested if you wish to sell your Profitec Go ;)

Have you seen the listings/rumours of a 2023 model of the Gaggia Classic Pro with an improved group head and a coating inside the boiler? Make sure to check if that nano coating is compatible with your cleaning chemicals 😉 Anyways....it was fun to see you almost exploding of excitement....getting back to your old machi.....baby 😃

180 ml aluminium boiler from Gaggia 😃 Or 250 ml brass boiler from Lelit Anna and bunch of other italian coffee machines Boiler size matters!

El problema de las Gaggia es que son muy inestables,la temperatura autentico punto debil,hay trucos para mejorar eso pero de hacerlo ,la maquina te durará 2 dias

Snob. That's the keyword. Thanks for the video.

OKay

Profitec, GO-a way 😂

Gaggia makes GREAT espresso machine… (IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING).

I find that CAT to be VERY distracting - well no one said you were a pro video producer - right?

Have been using the Profitec Go for some months but my experience is rather dissappointing. As for the outer parts being assembled in a very poor and cheap way. The waterreservoir is cramped within the body. The lid of the waterreservoir is sitting losely on top of it. Very annoying. Driptray is very wacky. Sharp corners everywhere. During use very noisy and rattling everywhere. Pid not located at eyesight. A dedicated hot water switch is lacking. Definately not high end at all. For nearly a 1000 dollar I am expecting a decent machine. This one definately isn't. Full of shortcomings and annoyances.

Gaggia Classic needs at least 150-20min untill it is properly heated. These 3-4min are wayyyy off.

This video is so biased towards gaggia. Avoid the Evo at all cost. Don't Trust their "Gaggia Inspected" replacement. The replacement I had the pump was rattling like crazy, the shower screen was spraying all over the place, and even after 10 cycles I was still purging what ever cleaner they ran through the machine. The gaggia parts were tossed into the box which had holes in the packaging. And the worst part, I was still getting black specks in my water

How can you arrive at such an illogical conclusion? SMH.

I just purchased the gaggia classic pro prestige. Sylvia Rocky grinder. Should be arriving soon. Upgrading from a Delongi coffee and espresso combo. Really looking forward this experience.