Bella Barista
Nene Court, The Embankment,Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 1LD
Tel: 01933 273275
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© Bella Barista
Page 5 of 8
The built in tamper actually works ok,
but is a little awkward to use and also
you do get coffee grounds on the drip
tray.
I would always recommend you
get a steel tamper for the
53mm basket. The Isomac
ones fit fine.
Steam wand is quite low and you will
have trouble with a Milk jug larger than
400ml (to be honest though you won’t
be steaming milk volumes larger than
200ml
The case should really be about 10 cm longer to have the
steam wand that much higher.
It would also allow you to get a mug under the group, not just
cups!
The brew group is unusual, with a large
brass nut that makes an impression on
the puck. Not sure this affects
extraction, but feels unusual.
Portafilter has to be locked to 5 o’clock
quite firmly to prevent leaks
Small gap in group makes it
difficult to clean gasket area,
portafilter design makes it
prone to grounds going up the
sides of the shower screen
assembly.
There are, however, some
solutions in the BB UK guide to
the Super Giada
No 3 way solenoid Valve
For the techies, this is a special electrically operated valve that
diverts water as required to the group, or steam wand or into
the drip tray. The Super Giada uses other methods to achieve
a similar effect. It does mean you can’t backflush the machine
though.
On the plus side, its one less electrical component to go
wrong!
The water tank is nice quality, but has
no lifting handle, which makes it a little
harder to lift out.
It’s the same tank as used on the Zaffiro and Millennium etc.
At first I thought they had made a mistake, as I can’t believe it
saves any money not fitting it to this model when it’s fitted to
the others.
We will be talking to Isomac about this
The steam wand is a lovely bit of retro
design, but does drip unless closed
quite firmly
This was also mentioned by other reviews on the internet, so
seems to be a common feature with the Super Giada. It’s not a
problem, but strange that it’s confined to this model.
Reasonably heavyweight group head
but shot needs to be pulled at the top of
the boiler cycle. Components and
spares will be specific to the Super
Giada and group type
Group head attached to the bottom of boiler and forms part of
boiler casing (no thermosyphon), will get really hot when
steaming and take a while to cool down.
Metal pin switches are a nice retro touch
and have a good feel
These switch normally, up and down
