Hi there,
since I wasnt able to find out much about user experiences with the GEE, I thought Id put my own early impression forward for anyone who might be interested in it
Picked up the GEE about 2 weeks ago, so I cant say I mastered it yet. But the shots are improving, especially after picking up a naked portafilter from 9Bar (thanks guys!). Paired with the Breville Smartgrinder it took me probably a good week before -more or less accidentally- hitting a decent grind setting. As a complete newbie to grinding your own coffee I find it extremely hard to figure out how fine the grind is supposed to be - it reminds me of my mum telling me a recipe for pancakes: "Take 2 eggs, flour and milk and mix together". Me:"how much milk, how much flour?" "Oh, youll see..." Needless to say, I didnt. Point is, these things come with experience, which I dont have
yet...
Functionality and steam
Back to the GEE, despite my shortcomings as a barista, the GEE seems to be doing everything its expected to do. Steam power is quick to come on, and as long as I dont forget to purge the steamwand, the steam is powerful and dry and I have never produced better froth/microfoam.
Build quality and looks
The machine seems quite solid, though there are a few niggles that dont bother me too much, but I might someone else to look elsewhere. For example, the stainless steel grill doesnt fit properly onto the tray and shows some early signs of a little rust. Even the steamwand seems to have a little rust going, but I will have a good clean on the weekend and see if its just caked on milk despite my best efforts to wipe and clean after every use. I thought the looks of the machine would bother me, but actually they dont. It feels quite functional, and is most definitely not a shrine to liquid gold...but it works well in our kitchen (especially since its relatively small footprint!).
Ease of use
Its dead easy to use - I had a quick look through the settings, decided all was as I wanted it, and started pulling shots. One thing to keep in mind is that for the steam to be properly primed the dial has to be turned to steam mode and pressed, otherwise one gets very wet steam, well, water. Thanks to the thermoblock (quieter than I expected) I am also most relieved that I cant burn the boiler out while blissfully steaming milk to my hearts content. As a newbie, this is a definite plus! Also, its easy to see when the water tank needs filling up and its easily accessible.
Quality of the coffee shots
You will notice that so far there has been a glaring absence of commenting on the quality of the coffee...since I have only the old Krups with pressurized baskets and espresso at my favourite cafe to compare it to, this is probably only of limited use to other people as it is very subjective. To me, the coffee has improved greatly from the first shot I pulled to the last one this morning - more crema, not as bitter or sour, just generally more rounded, and it blends nicely with the milk. A friend of mine who is way more picky with her coffee gave me an 8 out of 10, but she might have been kind
The one thing I find odd, however, is that in comparison to both the Krups and at the cafe, the same beans seem to produce a much stronger espresso. Stronger not as in bitter, just, like I would like more milk with it :-/ (I do realize that the portafilter came with a double (synesso?) basket, so I have effectively had a doubleshot since I have started using it, but the same applied for the single shot from the spouted portafilter). Not sure where thats coming from - could it be from me aiming for ristrettos and stopping the shot at 18-20 seconds?
Anyways, these are my 2 cents, and overall I can say I am quite happy with the GEE.
cheers
since I wasnt able to find out much about user experiences with the GEE, I thought Id put my own early impression forward for anyone who might be interested in it

Picked up the GEE about 2 weeks ago, so I cant say I mastered it yet. But the shots are improving, especially after picking up a naked portafilter from 9Bar (thanks guys!). Paired with the Breville Smartgrinder it took me probably a good week before -more or less accidentally- hitting a decent grind setting. As a complete newbie to grinding your own coffee I find it extremely hard to figure out how fine the grind is supposed to be - it reminds me of my mum telling me a recipe for pancakes: "Take 2 eggs, flour and milk and mix together". Me:"how much milk, how much flour?" "Oh, youll see..." Needless to say, I didnt. Point is, these things come with experience, which I dont have
yet...Functionality and steam
Back to the GEE, despite my shortcomings as a barista, the GEE seems to be doing everything its expected to do. Steam power is quick to come on, and as long as I dont forget to purge the steamwand, the steam is powerful and dry and I have never produced better froth/microfoam.
Build quality and looks
The machine seems quite solid, though there are a few niggles that dont bother me too much, but I might someone else to look elsewhere. For example, the stainless steel grill doesnt fit properly onto the tray and shows some early signs of a little rust. Even the steamwand seems to have a little rust going, but I will have a good clean on the weekend and see if its just caked on milk despite my best efforts to wipe and clean after every use. I thought the looks of the machine would bother me, but actually they dont. It feels quite functional, and is most definitely not a shrine to liquid gold...but it works well in our kitchen (especially since its relatively small footprint!).
Ease of use
Its dead easy to use - I had a quick look through the settings, decided all was as I wanted it, and started pulling shots. One thing to keep in mind is that for the steam to be properly primed the dial has to be turned to steam mode and pressed, otherwise one gets very wet steam, well, water. Thanks to the thermoblock (quieter than I expected) I am also most relieved that I cant burn the boiler out while blissfully steaming milk to my hearts content. As a newbie, this is a definite plus! Also, its easy to see when the water tank needs filling up and its easily accessible.
Quality of the coffee shots
You will notice that so far there has been a glaring absence of commenting on the quality of the coffee...since I have only the old Krups with pressurized baskets and espresso at my favourite cafe to compare it to, this is probably only of limited use to other people as it is very subjective. To me, the coffee has improved greatly from the first shot I pulled to the last one this morning - more crema, not as bitter or sour, just generally more rounded, and it blends nicely with the milk. A friend of mine who is way more picky with her coffee gave me an 8 out of 10, but she might have been kind
The one thing I find odd, however, is that in comparison to both the Krups and at the cafe, the same beans seem to produce a much stronger espresso. Stronger not as in bitter, just, like I would like more milk with it :-/ (I do realize that the portafilter came with a double (synesso?) basket, so I have effectively had a doubleshot since I have started using it, but the same applied for the single shot from the spouted portafilter). Not sure where thats coming from - could it be from me aiming for ristrettos and stopping the shot at 18-20 seconds?Anyways, these are my 2 cents, and overall I can say I am quite happy with the GEE.
cheers

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