Gaggia Cadorna Prestige Automatic Espresso Machine

An outstanding upgrade to our mornings

So far the Cadorna Prestige has been an amazing replacement to our Gaggia Platinum Vision. The customizable drink menu is outstanding and the ease of use and cleaning for milk drinks is superb. We love using the machine. Hopefully it will last as long as the Platinum Vision did, which was around 13 years!

Overall a quality machine worth the price

Makes a really good flat white and cappuccino. My favorites so far. Love the display and button texture when selecting/modifying ratios. The puck disposal bin is great, way better/cleaner than other brands. Cons: Americano is disappointing very weak. The actual "coffee" selection is better than the Americano. Not a fan of the grinder adjustment. Very loud when grinding and frothing but the frothing is quality.

It's only been a 1-2 weeks since we received the Cardona Prestige but some "initial" thoughts / impressions from a person who's moving from a Gaggia Titanium after 13 years of use to the Cardona Prestige: The Good: - Shipment - arrived on schedule - User manuals - significantly improved - Familiar components to our older Titanium, i. e. the Brew Group (preventive maintenance & future parts replacement & repair should be the same) - Coffee Brew - still an excellent brew - Style (Looks) - it'll be a personal preference. Not my first choice, I prefer more of a stainless look but this machine's style works. - User Interface - ease of use - Alert & Functional notifications - improved - Water Tank - positive on it being front loading, however the downside when compared to the Titanium is it's reduced capacity. - Coffee bean container lid & Drip tray grid - design & more importantly the fit is significantly better (tighter & less rattling) The Bad:: - Cost - for the build quality, the high cost is questionable. - Functional & Operational Design Negatives: (1) the Expresso tray & Milk Carafe cannot be used simultaneously due to space conflict, (2) physical foot print, (3) for lower cabinets, the machine should have designed with a moveable base such as a Lazy Susan (older Titanium models had one). - Build Quality - is questionable. (1) the Titanium's build is significantly better. For the Cardona, plastic is used so longevity will be a question especially for the components which are heavily accessed / used, e. g. the water tank (pulling out & inserting), the hot water dispensing spout, (3) front panels do not sit flush, i. e. , the water tank panel is not flush to the body of the machine (1/32" off) while the opposite site of the machine's panel is flush to the body of the machine, etc. - Operating costs - possibly higher due to the need for consumables, i. e. machine's water filter which. We have a home water filter so we'll determine whether the added machine's water filter is needed or not. - Noise level - still extremely loud when in use. Items we knew we'd lose by switching which we wish we still had - the frothing wand and steamer control. This new machine does it all, but having the granular control was nice and it may just be a matter of us getting adjusted to the "new world!" In summary, our initial impressions may change after more use but the new Gaggia machine still makes a great brew which I guess is what's most important! Fingers are crossed!