The Gaggia Babila RI9700/64 is at the top of the consumer super automatic machine tree at Gaggia. This is the most expensive automatic machine that they have. Although the price is high, you are getting what you pay for – an excellent machine! It comes not only with fully automatic options but also with a manual milk frothing wand, so you can froth milk manually if you desire. Keep reading this Gaggia Babila review to find out if it is the right espresso machine for you.
The Gaggia Babila is fairly slim for a superautomatic of its grade. And it comes with a decent sized water reservoir, ceramic burr grinder, buttons to make eight different types of coffee, and lots of other programmable options. It’s a great choice if you love milk coffee and you want your coffee at the press of a button.
Contents
- 1 Gaggia Babila Review: What do I like?
- 2 Design of Gaggia Babila Espresso Machine
- 3 4 Key Benefits of Gaggia Babila RI9700/64
- 4 Potential Shortcoming of Gaggia Babila Super Automatic Espresso Maker
- 5 Gaggia Babila Review: Is it worth the price?
- 6 Should I buy the Gaggia Babila One-Touch Espresso Machine?
Gaggia Babila Review: What do I like?
Gaggia Babila Espresso Machine
This is our favourite Gaggia espresso machine. It is the top, absolute top, of the super automatic coffee machines. With the Gaggia Babila, you won’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, other than putting in the coffee beans, the water and the milk. With the press of a button, you can have a coffee of basically any type in your hands within minutes.
The Gaggia Babila has the option for manual or automatic milk frothing, which I think is a pretty handy feature. If you don’t know how to froth milk or you’re in a hurry and just want it done fast, the automatic milk frother is the way to go.
Having said that, the option of a manual milk frothing wand is also handy if you know how to froth milk. Why do I like a manual milk frother? It’s because I haven’t yet find a machine that can automatically froth milk as well as a trained professional. And the Babila is no exception here. The foam from the automatic milk frother is acceptable but it’s not amazing.
The Gaggia Babila comes with a burr grinder, which is on the quiet side, and a bypass hopper, in case you want to make a single coffee from pre-ground beans.
It has a ceramic Burr grinder with 15 grind size options and a 10 ounces bean hopper
The Babila has lots of options to choose from. From the grind of the beans, to the type of coffee you want, to the pre-infusion levels, the water temperature, the height of the spout (yes you can fit in some of those bigger mugs under the spout!), and the ability to adjust your flow, the Babila has options for just about everything!
Gaggia Babila has plenty of options
You can also save the options you selected so you don’t have to keep clicking through the menus. This is the sort of consumer focused coffee machines that Gaggia don’t always make. But in the Babila, they show they can when they really focus on it.
With the customer’s convenience in mind, the Gaggia Babila has a number of self-cleaning cycles, making it super easy to use and maintain.
After every use, the milk carafe is automatically cleaned which is a handy feature. The machine will also remind you when it’s time to do various routine cleaning. Like all coffee machines, you will have to ocassionally descale it. And the Gaggia Babila allows you to test the hardness of your water and it will automatically adjust the descaling cycle to take the results into account.
The Babila also comes with a water filter. This will remove the impurities in the water which are the culprit for causing the scale built-up as water is heated. What this means is that you don’t have to descale the machine as often as other machines since the filter will remove the impurities in the water.
As with all Gaggia’s automatic machines, the compact brew group is easily removable for full cleaning. So is the drip tray and water tank.
Design of Gaggia Babila Espresso Machine
Its stainless steel housing made this espresso machine rather attention grabbing. Despite packed with features, it is actually a fairly modestly sized machine. My kitchen is the pride of my home. So I always take into consideration the styling of my kitchen appliances. And I really like the styling of this Gaggia Babila espresso machine.
The Gaggia Babila comes with a 50-ounce water reservoir, a 10-ounce bean hopper and a milk carafe. The water reservoir and hopper are both accessible from the top while the milk carafe is attached from the front.
The stainless steel gives the machine a nice shine and quality, and the machine is generally pretty sleek. I like the ease of the buttons and the fact that the most common and popular options are right in front of you.
When you’re spending this much on a coffee machine, you want something that’s built to last. And the Gaggia Babila thankfully feels exactly like that. I couldn’t find anything in the build that I had any great problems with and I am really quite impressed.
Gaggia Babila RI9700-64
4 Key Benefits of Gaggia Babila RI9700/64
1. It makes great espresso
As always with Gaggia espresso machines, the coffee it makes is the jewel in the crown here. They just know how to make a great coffee, and the Babila is no exception to the rule. The Gaggia Babila will give you almost café quality espresso all at the touch of a button
2. It offers plenty of options and flexibility.
From the grind of your coffee to the water temperature, you can truly customise your brew. I really like this flexibility and although sometimes all this customization can be a bit of a bore (clicking through menus and trying to perfect everything), it really is a worthwhile feature. I mean for this price, you should be able to get the exact coffee you want!
3. It is easy to clean and maintain.
I think this is key for a machine of this quality. It’s not only about your coffee today, but the quality of your coffee going into the future. The Gaggia Babila is meant to last, so it’s helpful that Gaggia has made it easy to clean and keep the machine running
4. It is compact despite packed with features
I know there might be some people who want a bigger machine. But personally, I like the fact that although Gaggia Babila is a bean to coffee machine, it isn’t so big that it’s demanding all of my bench space. It is stylishly designed and will fit in nicely in your kitchen.
Potential Shortcoming of Gaggia Babila Super Automatic Espresso Maker
Rather Costly
Gaggia Babila Superautomatic is a higher end consumer espresso machine. With high quality components and plenty of features, it also doesn’t come cheap. I talk more about this in a short while, but this is an expensive machine!
The automatic milk frother.
I’m kind of splitting hairs, but it’s an expensive machine. So it seems fair to let you know that the foam produced from the automatic milk frother – whilst perfectly acceptable – is not the best.
And to be fair here, milk frothing is a skill that takes a while to master, so it’s probably too much to ask a machine to do a comparable job. But just to let you know the Gaggia Babila is not a panacea of milk frothing.
Thankfully, you have the option to manually froth the milk, and the manual milk wand does a good job.
Other people also viewed:
Gaggia Brera Super Automatic Espresso Machine
Gaggia Accademia Espresso Machine
Gaggia Classic Pro Semi-automatic Espresso Maker
Gaggia Babila Review: Is it worth the price?
This is a top of the line, no expenses spared machine! The question we then have to ask – is if it’s worth it?
And the answer is that, it’s complicated. It will make a great cup of espresso, and it is all automatic. It’s basically café quality espresso, with the option of automatic or manual milk frothing – so far, so good. But is it worth the huge price tag?
As always with the matter of price, it’s going to come down to you. I can say that this is a good machine, and it is. But whether it’s worth the price is totally personal.
It’s like asking if you should buy a Toyota or a Rolls Royce? Both will get you to your destination and they both have the same basic functionality, so it comes down to the details and what you value.
One might drive and look better than the other, but it’s coming in at a substantially higher price. So you would kind of like to see that it has some additional features and value.
With the Gaggia Babila, it’s the same – it makes a great coffee, and is fully automated. But there are other cheaper options on the market that can make a pretty decent coffee and are also automated. But Gaggia Babila is from the famous Italian espresso machine brand which has invented the espresso machine and have made a name for building durable commercial and consumer espresso makers. So, whether this is a fair price will depend on what you value.
Gaggia Babila Espresso Machine
Should I buy the Gaggia Babila One-Touch Espresso Machine?
The Gaggia Babila is a fully automated machine that makes a great coffee. I could basically end it at that, but obviously I would like to give you a bit more information!
If you’re looking for a one stop shop that can make you basically any coffee under the sun with minimal effort, this might just be the machine for you!
There aren’t many more out there that are so automated. AND is a bean to coffee AND is sleek. Really it’s got a lot going for it! The downside, or the biggest thing to consider, is the price. It’s got lots of functionality, and that comes with a big price tag.
The first thing I would recommend doing is estimating how many coffees you buy each week and at what cost. Then figure out the annual cost.
If you’re buying one espresso a week, then obviously there are cheaper options out there. And what’s more – if an espresso is your drink of choice, it’s probably not worth the price of having two options for frothing mik.
If the annual number is getting close to the cost of the Babila, then it’s more than worth considering! You may be shocked at how much you are spending on coffee in a year.
If this is the case for you, then I think you should consider the Babila – think about how much you can save over the lifetime of the machine – don’t forget it is built to last for years! It’s not the only option out there, but Gaggia Babila is definitely a strong contender in its field.
