Gaggia Accademia (Pre 2022) Espresso Machine

Gaggia Accademia Overview

The Gaggia Accademia is a premium Italian espresso machine with features that have been optimized for both specialty espresso and milk beverages. Thanks to its auto-frothing milk carafe, the Accademia can produce a fully customized cappuccino, latte macchiato, or latte at the push of a button. On the opposite side of the coin, the Accademia features a fully manual steam wand and a unique flow rate control valve that can increase or decrease water flow through the puck for extra rich espresso extractions or lighter long coffees without changing the grind settings.

Features and Performance

More heavy-duty than most super-automatic machines on the market, the Accademia’s housing features both stainless steel panelling on the front and painted metal side panels. Full sized, the machine measures 11” wide and 15.2” tall and weighs nearly 40 lbs thanks to its metal construction. Compared to entry level Gaggia machines, the Accademia’s drinks are fully customizable, allowing you to set a unique volume, strength, and temperature value for them. Milk drinks offer an additional set of specifications including milk volume and your desired amount of milk foam. 

In total, the Accademia has 8 grinder settings, 3 strength settings, 3 temperature settings, and 4 milk foam settings. Coffee is ground fresh with a ceramic burr grinder and the Accademia adapts to your settings over time with the Gaggia Adapting System. You can also use the bypass doser to fill the brew group with pre-ground espresso. Lastly, the knob on the front of the machine can adjust the flow of water through your coffee, with a slower flow increasing the intensity and body of your espresso and a faster flow being ideal for lighter coffee. For additional clearance, the spout assembly can be removed to accommodate cups up to 6.5” tall.

Milk frothing is flexible, allowing you to manually froth milk via the steam wand or to simply press a button for the auto-frothing carafe to make a drink with your desired settings. The milk carafe inserts into a socket on the right side of the brew spouts and can be stored in the refrigerator when not in use. For improved user experience, the Accademia is equipped with a dedicated steaming boiler to reduce wait time when heating to steam temperature. Included with the Accademia is a magnetic socket cover that can be inserted in place of the carafe when not in use. Hot water can also be dispensed at any time via the manual steam wand. For easy cleaning, the “milk clean” button can initiate the carafe cleaning cycle at any time.

The Accademia has a modest 54 oz water reservoir, an ample 12.3 oz bean hopper, 20 oz milk carafe, 16 puck dreg drawer and a 10 oz external drip tray. Unique to the Accademia is its actively heated 4” x 6” cup warmer. Users will also appreciate the color LCD display and the suite of maintenance alerts including low water, low beans, dreg drawer emptying, descaling, and milk carafe cleaning.

Why You Should Get It

The Accademia is a solid super-automatic espresso machine with the best of both build quality and features. If you’re okay with a slightly smaller menu of drinks, the Accademia gives you the flexibility and control to craft the perfect espresso or milk drink that you can brew on demand and on repeat.

What’s in the Box

• 1x Tube of Brew Group Lubricant
  
• 1x Bypass Doser Measuring Scoop / Grind Adjustment Key
  
• 1x Pack of Gaggia Coffee Clean Tablets
  
• 1x Water Hardness Test Strip