The new Pro 2023 or “EVO”, to give it its official title, is fundamentally the exact same machine, with a few relatively subtle upgrades, as explained below.
Features and Benefits
• 2 Litre water tank
• Aluminium boiler with new non-stick internal coating (replaces anodized Alu on 2019 pro)
• All stainless steel portafilter (replaces chromed portafilter on 2019 pro)
• Lead-free brass group with stainless surround (replaces chromed group on 2019 pro)
• Pro steam wand
• New internal structure for easier maintenance
• Simple rocker switches
• 15 bar pump with OPV (approx. 12 bar, but very simple mod makes it 6 or 9 bar)
• 3 way solenoid valve
• Built like tanks!
• Compact: 38cm deep, 23cm wide, 39cm tall
• Standard-sized 58mm portafilter - lots of compatible accessories
New All Stainless Portafilter
Instead of chromed brass, the portafilter is now solid stainless steel, which will please anyone who was concerned about plating flaking off.
New Boiler Coating
It’s the same small, fast heating boiler, but with a non-stick coating instead of being anodized. It’s not a Teflon coating, by the way, it’s Exelia 3010-B242 which I’m told is a very durable food-safe coating used in commercial bakeware.
All Brass Group
Instead of a chrome plated brass, the group is now pure brass, with a stainless steel surround. Again I think some people may be happy about this as, theoretically, plated chrome could peel off over time.
Well OK, when I say this is the original home barista espresso machine, that’s not strictly true.
The first widely available home semi-auto portafilter espresso machine was the Gaggia Baby, released in the late 70s, followed by a number of machines in the 80s including the Gran Gaggia, Espresso, Fantastico & Dandy.
It was the Classic, though, released in 1991 that really caught the attention of the world and attained status as the iconic home espresso machine, a status that it has never lost.
OK I suppose that’s not quite true either. I seem to be lying quite a bit in this product description, sorry about that. Philips took over the Gaggia brand in 2009, and things took a turn with the classic.
It was still the iconic Classic in looks, but many hardcore classic fans were not happy with the post-2009 classic under the shell.
To cut a long story short, they went back to their roots with the 2019 Classic Pro, which was released in 2020, hence the name…
OK I suppose that’s not quite true either. I seem to be lying quite a bit in this product description, sorry about that. Philips took over the Gaggia brand in 2009, and things took a turn with the classic.
It was still the iconic Classic in looks, but many hardcore classic fans were not happy with the post-2009 classic under the shell.
To cut a long story short, they went back to their roots with the 2019 Classic Pro, which was released in 2020, hence the name…
The Pro is much closer to the original, it has the 3-way solenoid valve that many people were distraught over the loss of, and it has the pro steam wand, so no more modding the steam wand is required.
The Evo 2022 model (released, of course, in 2023), if I’m being completely honest, is more or less the same as the 2019 model, they’ve just updated some of the manufacturing processes.
They’re not using anodized aluminium for the boiler, they’ve used a non-stick coating instead. I’m no expert on Alumium coatings, but I think it’s possibly much of a muchness.
They've also moved away from chrome plating, so there's an all brass group with a stainless surround and an all stainless portafilter.
The most obvious benefit of the new model in my opinion is the portafilter, the chromed portafilter on the 2019 was relatively easily marked, while the all-stainless steel portafilter will stay nice and shiny hopefully until 2042.
That may sound far-fetched, but the original portafilter on my 2003 classic is as good as new, as is the classic itself.
They've also made it a bit easier to maintain, and although I think this was an accidental result of making them easier to build, it's still of benefit to the user when it comes to maintenance.
The Gaggia Classic does have a lot of competition these days, but for the price, there are not a lot of machines that really compare with the classic.
The obvious comparisons are the Sage machines, but they’re a completely different breed, it’s like comparing Telsa to Landrover.
Sage machines are ultra user-friendly and modern, the Classic is unruly, about as user-friendly as a housebrick, but once you tame it, it’ll be your friend for decades.
The real contenders to the Classic are the likes of the Rancilio Silvia, ECM Casa V & Profitec Go, and these are all quite a bit more expensive than the classic.
So, overall, if you’re looking for an oldschool semi automatic espresso machine that is built to last and relatively straightforward to maintain, the Gaggia Classic is very difficult to beat at this price.