Gaggia Velasca Prestige One-Touch Coffee and Espresso Machine

Gaggia Velasca Prestige Overview

The Gaggia Velasca Prestige is an Italian made super-automatic espresso machine that delivers some of the best features in espresso brewing and milk frothing under $1,000. With a 10 setting ceramic burr grinder and the inclusion of optional pre-infusion, it can extract nuanced shots with ease. For milk frothing, the auto-carafe can make cappuccinos and milk foam at the push of a button and features tasteful stainless steel accenting and a handle for easier docking with the machine.

Features and Performance

Few if any super-automatic machines under $1,000 can pull a shot quite like the Velasca Prestige. Every shot is ground fresh by the burr grinder which can be set to one of 10 degrees of fineness. Then, you can refine your coffee further with 5 strength settings between extra mild to extra strong, 3 temperature settings, and the option to pre-infuse your coffee for richer extractions. To ensure perfect dosing, the Gaggia Adapting System uses a learning algorithm that updates the precision of the grinding cycle based on your selected strength and your coffee.For strictly coffee drinks, the dedicated espresso and espresso lungo buttons will brew your beverage on demand. You can also program your desired volume for these drinks by pressing and holding the button while brewing. Pressing the buttons twice will grind and brew two times in a row for extra strong cups or for serving multiple people. To brew with pre-ground coffee, simply press the aroma strength button until the scoop icon displays on the screen and load coffee into the machine via the bypass doser.The Velasca Prestige’s auto-frothing milk carafe puts cappuccinos, milk foam, and the unique “baby cappuccino” at your fingertips. Touches like stainless steel accents or magnetic locking arm elevate the experience of frothing milk with a premium look and feel. The cappuccino and milk foam are fully customizable, while the baby cappuccino is a small and quick shot of espresso with a dollop of foam similar to an espresso macchiato. A carafe quick clean button makes rising and cleaning a breeze and you can store the carafe in the refrigerator when not in use. Also included is a hot water spout that fits into the socket when the carafe is removed.A final touch that rounds out the machine is the 8” x 3” cup tray that can comfortably fit around 3 espresso or 2 cappuccino cups. The Velasca Prestige has a 54 oz water reservoir, a 10.6 oz bean hopper, a 17 oz carafe, 4.5” brew spouts, a 2 cup tray, a 10 puck dreg drawer, and an 18 oz drip tray with a water level float. The blue LED screen is clean and easy to read and the extra large buttons make interfacing with the machine a snap. Maintenance alerts keep you on top of filling the reservoir, bean hopper, emptying the dreg drawer, cleaning the carafe, and descaling.