I bought it for my country house. Having one of the well-known Bulgarian machines, I used to make a not-so-decent cup of coffee. So I decided to upgrade in order to be able to drink something more decent (hot or cold). I agree with the other reviewers that it has a lot of plastic, the extraction time is short, the temperature of the coffee is between 82-84°C, the noise is a little bit more than tolerable, the water tank is relatively small, the on/off button is at the back and the lid barely touches and doesn't have anything to latch onto. So far, so good, after all we are talking about a machine that costs less than 100€! Now let's talk about the result. I was very satisfied! As someone else wrote: it is better than some professional machines. The most important thing: for the first time, I drank from a domestic machine, an espresso that was not bitter or, to be more precise, not too strong and sour. It is important to experiment with the grind size and to increase the water temperature in the boiler a little bit by using the steam production option for half a minute. There is no chance of burning the coffee, it doesn't have enough power to make the water go over 90°C.
Conclusion: it is an honest machine that can make 1-4 cups at a time for a group of people. After all, I am not a coffee connoisseur, nor do I care if it is the perfect coffee. I just want to make a little treat to open my eyes. Finally, use water with the lowest possible hardness to avoid getting too much salt, freshly ground coffee, and when you open it for the first time, start by using the tip of the nozzle (for proper venting) and then do a good cleaning of the boiler with a citric acid solution (commonly known as sour). You will see that the last step removes a lot of residue. Then rinse it well with clean water and you are ready to go.

Value for money with plenty of plastic. It won't impress you, but it won't leave you disappointed either. It makes coffee. We have it in the office and use it daily for about a year now with 4-5 people.

The on/off switch is located at the bottom right, but that's not a problem for us. If you want to place it somewhere with limited space, it might not be suitable because you'll have to pull it forward to open it.

First, you warm up the machine (by pressing the on button) after making sure there is enough water inside, and then you make the coffee. Of course, some prefer not to open it early so that the coffee doesn't burn. These are personal preferences, I don't have an issue with it because it doesn't seem to burn the coffee to me.

Attention, like with all coffee makers, if it pulls in air instead of water, you need to vent it with the nozzle to get rid of the air.
Don't listen to every clueless person who thinks their machine broke due to faulty construction and not faulty handling.

It's worth its money. It makes a good foam and if you choose good coffee, the result is just as good as the professional one. It makes a bit of noise but that doesn't bother me. We got it now during quarantine with my husband and we drink 6 coffees a day. I haven't seen any other worthy like this one. If you like espresso, the strong and flavorful one, get Dimello Red. I make both hot and cold. I haven't used the nozzle because I don't make cappuccino. But it seems to work well from what I see. I had a little difficulty finding that it's a rodella that screws and unscrews, let's say on the side. And if you turn it to the right, the water opens, to the left it goes all the way to the nozzle for frothed milk. It took us a while to realize how much turning it needs, that it takes it all the way and not just a movement to the right and left. But otherwise, it's the best purchase. We've had it for 3 weeks and we've saved the expenses of going out for coffee and we enjoy professional coffee at home.

Update: After 2 years, it's the best purchase we've made. Let it warm up for 5-10 minutes as soon as you open it and put coffee and let it sit for a while to make a better foam.

I have changed 7-8 coffee machines because I have them at home, at work, and at my vacation house. The most expensive one I paid 250€ for, and the cheapest one was 65€. Honestly, the Gaggia Viva is the same machine as the Philips Saeco HD8423, which I have had for 5 years. It hasn't had any issues, but I'm afraid I won't find it again because the model has been discontinued. As soon as I saw the Gaggia, I didn't even think about it. I bought it for 95€ and I consider it a gift. I drink many coffees per day and they are definitely tastier than various well-known coffees that you find everywhere on the street.

When I read negative comments, I look at it to make sure they are really talking about the same machine. Yes, I know that the lid is not heavy, but it does close. Yes, the water level is not very visible, but we are not a coffee shop where we can't keep up with filling water, and anyone with a good mood finds it funny. The most unfair thing I read was about the base, it's not true. Let me also mention my negative point, the power button is at the back, so I have to unplug it every time I finish.

However, the taste of the coffee erases all the negatives and I believe that at this price, there is no other machine that comes close to it. I clean it often, meaning every month I put 1/5 white vinegar in a glass with the rest of the water, turn on the machine, and open the flow so that it goes everywhere. I leave it for half an hour and then rinse it well in the sink and open the flow to let enough water run.

I have a hard toothbrush and before and after I make coffee, I open the flow a little to let water run and clean it. It will save you and you will never drink bitter or burnt coffee again.

The lights may indicate that it has heated up in 30 seconds, but give it another 2 minutes and the result will compensate you.

After a few more coffees, even if you haven't made frothy milk, open the nozzle a little to let it clean itself. It does it good

Very decent.
I have it both in Philips and in Gaggia.
Excellent value for money.

Update 2022-02-10:
For those who mention that the water tank leaks, you simply put it hastily and you are not sure if it is placed correctly (under the small indicator line), causing it to sit crooked on the flange and lose water.

Also, someone mentioned that this process caused a short circuit, etc. Sorry, but it is very difficult for that to happen, as all electrical parts (except the main ON-OFF switch) are in the upper part of the machine and there is no communication between the water tank area and the ON-OFF switch (I have fixed 2 machines). In fact, the space that houses the water tank has a direct drainage hole that leads the water directly out of the machine, i.e., onto the table it sits on, so it does not come into contact with any electrical parts of the machine.

If, occasionally, it spills coffee around the portafilter, which only happens with the single dose filter and not with the double dose, then the rubber gasket under the single dose filter is not properly placed and the small hole of the gasket does not fit 100% into the small central outlet hole inside the portafilter, resulting in liquid escaping around it and then coming out of the portafilter. This happens to me once a week or with every 15 single coffees, and only if I switch between the single and double dose filters. It never happens with the double dose.

Solution without coffee loss: Test the portafilter+rubber gasket+single dose filter set with plain water before placing coffee in the filter, to see if the water runs around it or from the 2 holes of the portafilter (e.g., by heating the coffee cup you will use at the same time), and if it runs around it, then remove the single dose filter, reposition the rubber gasket (so it will sit in a different position) and then reinsert the single dose filter. 99.99% of the time, it will be fine, otherwise repeat the process.

Solution with partial coffee loss: As soon as the coffee starts flowing and you see it coming out around the portafilter, immediately stop the process, wait for 2-3 seconds for the pressure to release, remove and reposition the rubber gasket and the single dose filter along with the coffee, and restart the coffee flow process. 99.99% of the time, it will be fine, otherwise repeat.

It's a bit annoying to experience the above when you simply want a proper coffee quickly and efficiently, but they do not diminish the overall experience of the machine. Having tried a bunch of other machines in a similar price range, I prefer the above issues of the Viva, which have an easy workaround, over the serious problems of other companies that usually end up with their machines being discarded.

It is the 5th espresso machine I own and I bought it because my previous kenwood - delonghi es021, after 3 years, had a faulty boiler. I wanted a relatively affordable and reliable machine because I had problems with all the previous ones and servicing in general is a hassle. So, the gaggia viva is essentially the same as the saeco poemia, which has been on the market for many years and has proven to be reliable. Therefore, whether you choose the viva or the poemia, with a price difference of 100-160€, you essentially get the same machine and coffee quality, with a difference in finishing. So, I consider it a good purchase for this reason alone. As for the coffee, it is quite good, not as good as the gaggia garezza deluxe or the kenwood I had before, but still good. One problem it has is that it has a very strong flow and the coffee comes out in 10 seconds, which as known is not the best for the quality of the coffee, ideally it should come out in 20+ seconds. Also, I have the feeling that the temperature is a bit higher and the coffee comes out at a higher temperature than ideal. This can be fixed if you let it run for a bit before making the coffee. Also, the group is inferior compared to the garezza or baby that I had before. A serious problem that was mentioned in another comment is that the base where you place the cup does not lock, so when you make the coffee, with the vibration, which is quite strong as well as the noise, the base moves outward and you have to hold it in place with your hand, truly unbelievable! Overall, it is a mediocre machine. I hope at least it is reliable and durable because even the kenwood, which seemed much better in terms of quality, was not. It is the noisiest machine I have had. In the morning, if not everyone has woken up, you think twice about making coffee. The milk frother is also difficult because, as with all machines of this type, it is best to remove all the plastic parts and froth the milk with the metal nozzle. The plastic parts get filled with burnt milk internally and never get cleaned over time. The nozzle is very short, so you have to use a shallow container and not a milk jug, which is ideal for controlling the temperature of the froth, as you hold the jug with your hand to prevent it from burning. Also, no matter how hard I tried, the froth came out very thin, but I have an aerochino and I don't really mind.

I replaced a DeLonghi Icona Vintage, which still makes coffee at my parents' house. The taste of the coffee is significantly different. Same blend, same cup. The DeLonghi produces a more watery taste, but it also has almost a decade of use behind it. The coffee produced by the Gaggia is much better.

It heats up quickly, makes some noise, but it's not a big deal.

In terms of construction, it seems cheap. The lid that covers the water tank doesn't latch properly, and you feel like it might fall off at any moment. The same goes for the base for the cup. It doesn't latch, you just place it there. Despite this, it works fine.

It has a window to show the water level in the tank, but it's easy to get confused and think that the tank is full when it's completely empty. I made that mistake once and started it with an empty tank. Then I filled the tank and ran water through it. It took a while to draw and I could hear the pump working dry. However, it managed to work and now it's functioning okay.

The user manual is confusing. It refers to images that don't exist.

Because it makes good espresso and the freddo comes out amazing. It has nothing to envy from coffee shops.

Where it falls short is in the hot milk froth. Here, the old DeLonghi excels by far. I would put in milk and only get foam. With the Gaggia, I put in milk and get warm milk with a little foam. It's possible that I'm not following the steps correctly, but I reread the manual and couldn't figure it out. Anyway, I want more coffee, not to write exams.

In short, it makes good coffee, seems cheap but holds up, doesn't make good milk froth, and the instruction booklet is very makeshift.