Manufacturer: Gaggia
What is the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe?
The Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe is a coffee machine for those wanting a bean-to-cup espresso, but who don’t want to pay through the nose for it. Although the £399 entry price may appear expensive, it’s one of the cheaper bean-to-cup machines currently available.
It may not have the jaw-dropping features to distinguish it from the likes of De’Longhi, for example, but it’s a solid choice for those who don’t like the idea of a manual espresso machine.
image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/141037174.jpg
Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe – Design and Features
The Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe appears to be a new machine, but it’s largely a rebrand of a Philips Saeco HD8750 from 2014. I'd advise against jumping in with both feet just because you like the Gaggia brand.
It’s a large, very practical-looking machine, with a curved plastic front that isn't tremendously showy.
The Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe comes across as a little more basic than the majority of bean-to-cup machines. There’s no display, just a series of buttons and knobs. So once you've fine-tuned a few settings to your liking, making a cup of coffee is simply a matter of pressing a button. Bliss.
image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/141037424.jpg
Given the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe’s front looks fairly neat, I see no major downside to the lack of a screen.
A rather more serious consideration is how "bean-to-cup" the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe truly is. The basic models simply turns the beans into a cup if the hot stuff – the milk preparation has to be done manually, but it's not difficult. However, on the Deluxe version there's a little steam spout attachment that draws milk from a separate pot.
It's a far less involved system than that on some coffee machins, and a little tacked-on. However, the difference in price between the two models is relatively small too (as little as £20).
While the shape of the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe is fairly tower-like, this height means that much componentry is crammed into a relatively small footprint. It’s big, but doesn’t demand a huge amount of worktop space.
image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/141037634.jpg
How is the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe to use?
The part I appreciate most about the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe is the sheer convenience it offers. Its 1.5L reservoir is large and front-loaded. It’s the silvery part that sits to the left of the spouts. Just pull it out and re-fill. Demonstrating smart design symmetry, the part to the right of the spout is the container for discarded grounds. They’re excreted as little pucks. Clean and compact – simply pull out this right drawer every now and then to fling its contents into the bin.
Following months of fiddling around with machines with rear reservoirs, chosen for reasons of aesthetics, it's refreshing to return to a more sensible front-loading unit.
image: http://img.worldinout.com/img/201512/15/141037594.jpg
The drip tray, too, doesn't rile; it runs the whole length of the Gaggia Naviglio Deluxe. I’ve used the machine for days before it's needed emptying, with the added bonus that actually helps to add a bit of stabilising weight to the machine. Not that it’s worrying light when empty, though.
