The Isomac Super Giada has a normal selling price of $399 USD; as of this writing, 1st Line has it on sale for $349, though this is subject to change.
For all our product testing, we use coffee exclusively from Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters in Chicago, home of Black Cat Espresso, and dozens of unique and high grade specialty coffees. CoffeeGeek highly recommends Intelligentsia Coffee as your coffee source online. |
|
Isomac is a brand that has come from nowhere to highly recognized in the last two years. If you read CoffeeGeek Forums, talk about Tea this, Millennium that, Zaffiro here, Relax there... it's all about the Isomacs these days.
You may also be fooled into thinking that Isomac is synonymous with big ticket machines, but they do have a range of machines available, from under $300 on up past $1,500 and more. One of these machines is the Isomac Super Giada, priced at between $349 and $399.
The Giada is a machine that incorporate some practical functionality with aesthetic appeal, sometimes getting it right, sometimes missing the mark. We noticed certain things right out of the box with the machine that appealed, including the visible pressure gauge, the all stainless steel body, huge drip tray and reservoir (for a machine this size), and the general "serious" appearance of the model.
But some things didn't appeal right away - for $400, the machine includes a less than professional 53mm cast portafilter (spouts are part of the casting, not screwed on), and the cutesy yet user unfriendly steaming wand. At least it doesn’t include a froth aider, and the filter baskets are "traditional style", so that's all good.
The machine has a claimed 5oz (140ml) boiler, but does not have a 3 way solenoid pressure relief valve that other machines in this price range have. It has hot water delivery via the steam wand, three thermostats (one for brew, one for steam, and a safety shutoff thermostat). It weighs roughly 16lbs empty, and holds a 3 litre reservoir inside.
We received this machine quite some time ago, but had to put it aside to deal with other machines coming through the pipe; but we're ready to give the Isomac Super Giada the full test experience, stacking it up against other machines in this price range, including the Rancilio Silvia, Innova Arc and Dream, and others.
For our first look, we'll give you the out of the box thoughts and our first week's worth of testing, including some initial observations about brewing quality, steam ability, and overall usability of the machine. As always, this is a First Look only, and is not to be confused with a full review - anything and everything we write about this machine may change between now and the Detailed Review.
With that said, enjoy the rest of this First Look! Read More...
|
