Gaggia Classic Pro Evo settings for espresso
Espresso machine Gaggia Classic Pro Evo Grinder Niche Zero (standalone, not built-in) Roast date
Your recipe
- Dose
- 18g
- Yield
- 38g
- Time
- 25–32s
- Temp
- ± 93°C
- Grind setting
- setting 15
- Basket
- To the rim
- Tamping
- Firm, level
- Grind setting
- setting 15
- Shot time
- 25–32seconds
Freshness of your beans
Your beans are in their peak window. Most of the CO₂ has left the beans, which is why your espresso runs nearly the same every time. You don't need to change anything. Use the starting point for your grinder's setting below as it is and only adjust by taste.
This is your tailored dial-in guide for the Gaggia Classic Pro Evo, matched to this bag of EasyEspresso coffee beans. The steps below move with whatever you choose above.
Tip: a scale around €15 is the biggest step toward better espresso.
How to set up the Gaggia Classic Pro Evo for espresso
One time only, before your very first cup
Getting your Gaggia Classic Evo Pro ready to use
Brand new out of the box? Then the water circuit needs to be filled first. Also do this if you haven't used the machine for more than two weeks.
- Take out the drip tray, pull the drain pipe down and lift out the water tank. Fill it with cold, fresh water. When you put it back, check that the silicone hoses are hanging in the water and aren't kinked anywhere.
- Switch the machine on with the on/off button.
- Without the portafilter, press the brew button and let about a cup of water run through the group. If nothing comes out, open the steam/hot water knob so the pump can push the air out through the steam wand.
- The first time, run a full tank through the steam wand and then a full tank through the group.
From the factory, the portafilter holds a ‘Crema perfetta’ basket with a separate frothing jet device underneath. That's a pressurized basket for pre-ground coffee. For our EasyEspresso coffee beans, which you grind fresh yourself, take it out together with the frothing jet device. Put the regular two-cup basket in the portafilter instead. Never use a regular basket with the frothing jet device, or a pressurized basket without it.
Which baskets and accessories should you use?
You get pressurized baskets for one and two cups, a regular one-cup basket (also for coffee pods) and a regular two-cup basket. You use the regular two-cup basket. If it holds less coffee than the 18 grams in this recipe, choose the size of your basket under ‘Your basket’ at the top. Dose and yield then adjust automatically.
The tamper that comes with the machine is plastic. For better, more even tamping, buy a 58 millimeter metal tamper.
Let the machine warm up properly
Switch the machine on and lock your empty portafilter into the group head straight away, so it warms up too. Give the Gaggia at least fifteen to twenty minutes. The coffee temperature light comes on earlier, but the group head and the portafilter aren't properly warm yet at that point.
The coffee temperature light is on when the boiler is up to temperature. It keeps switching on and off, because the machine is holding the water at temperature. You only use the steam temperature light in step 7.
Just before you brew, run a cup of water through the empty group. This rinses away old coffee residue and brings the group up to temperature.
A fixed routine for the right temperature
The Gaggia has a simple thermostat, so the temperature swings a little. That's why many owners use a fixed routine, also known as ‘temperature surfing’. Run water through the group until the coffee temperature light goes off. Wait for it to come back on, wait another ten seconds or so, and pull your espresso. That way you brew at roughly the same temperature every time.
Does your Gaggia switch itself off?
Yes. The European version switches itself off after twenty minutes without use. Just turn it back on with the on/off button.
Set the grinder to setting 15
The grind setting is the most important setting for your shot time and your taste. For our EasyEspresso coffee beans, start at setting 15. That starting point adjusts to the roast date you enter at the top. According to Niche, espresso usually sits between 10 and 20, and the middle of that range is a good place to start.
You set the grind by turning the funnel on top until the white dot on the black bezel lines up with the right number. Clockwise is finer, anticlockwise is coarser. The Niche is stepless, so you can also set it between two numbers.
Note: only adjust the Niche when there are no beans in the funnel. If you go a lot finer after grinding coarse, run the grinder for one second for every ten marks you turn.
Today: use the starting point above as it is.
This is completely normal: beans bounce up and down in the funnel while grinding. That's fine and has no effect on your coffee.
Are the numbers still right after cleaning?
After cleaning, the numbers may have shifted a little. Screw the funnel down finger-tight until the white dot lines up with the calibration mark. If it doesn't line up exactly, turn only the black bezel. Then turn back to your own setting.
Never grind at the calibration position. The burrs touch there and you'll damage them.
Weighing and grinding
The Niche Zero grinds exactly what you put in. So you weigh the beans, not the ground coffee. Hardly anything stays behind in the grinder.
No scale? Grind a generous amount of beans and fill your basket until the coffee sits slightly domed, with a small mound in the middle. With this grinder a scale is extra valuable, though: you decide how many beans go in, and with 18 grams of weighed beans you're right every time.
Weigh out 18 grams of beans in the grind cup that came with it.
- Pour the beans into the funnel and put the grind cup underneath.
- Close the lid. The grinder won't start with the lid open.
- Flick the switch up. When the sound of the motor changes, the beans are ground. Let it run a few more seconds, then switch it off.
- Place your portafilter upside down on the grind cup, flip them over together and tap the cup empty into the portafilter.
Tips against static and clumps
Especially with darker roasts, ground coffee can be static, so it sticks to the cup. Tap and shake the cup a little before you flip it. Many people also add a drop of water to the beans before grinding. That helps against static. Just make sure no water gets into the funnel itself.
Have a WDT tool, a little tool with thin needles? Stir the coffee gently with it before tamping. That breaks up the clumps.
How do you clean the grinder?
Unplug the grinder first. Unscrew the funnel about five turns, lift out the outer burr and brush away the coffee residue. Never use water, rice or cleaning tablets: they damage the burrs. After a deep clean, grind one dose of coffee and throw it away, then check the calibration.
Distributing the coffee and tamping level
Before you tamp, you want the coffee to sit flat and evenly in the basket. Tap the side of the portafilter a few times with the palm of your hand so any gaps disappear.
Rest the portafilter on a flat, sturdy surface. Take the tamper, keep your wrist straight above it and press down evenly until the coffee stops giving way. You don't need to press hard. What matters most is that you press level and use the same force every time.
Common tamping mistakes
The most common mistake is tamping at an angle. If you press harder on one side, the coffee ends up sloping in the basket. The water then takes the easiest route, through the thin side. You get an espresso that tastes sour and bitter at the same time.
With the small plastic tamper it's hard to tamp level and right up to the edge. Loose coffee then stays along the edge, and the water runs down along it.
Pulling the espresso
Lock the portafilter in firmly until the handle points straight towards you. Put your cup underneath and press the brew button. Press it again when you want to stop. The Gaggia never stops by itself: you decide when the espresso is done.
Start a timer as soon as you press. After a few seconds the first drops appear, turning into a syrupy stream that looks like honey. After about 29 seconds, press the button again.
Put your cup on the scale and zero the scale. Press the brew button and start your timer at the same time. When the scale is a few grams short of 38 grams, press the button again. A little more drips through afterwards, so you end up at around 38 grams.
The Gaggia has no pressure gauge. So you steer entirely by time, the amount in your cup and taste. Keep a close eye on the stream: a thin, syrupy stream is good. If it gushes out and turns pale quickly, you're grinding too coarse.
This is completely normal: after brewing, water and a little steam come out of the drain pipe into the drip tray. That's how the machine releases the pressure, which keeps your puck dry. A little more also drips out when you take the portafilter off.
How high is the pump pressure?
The American version of the Classic Evo Pro is set to 9 bar from the factory. Gaggia doesn't say anything about the European version, and according to owners the pressure is higher there. If you want to know for sure, measure it with a pressure gauge portafilter. A 9 bar spring is sold separately.
Taste, judge and adjust
Always taste your espresso on its own first, without sugar or milk. Give it a good stir with a spoon, because the top and bottom layers of an espresso taste very different. Then ask yourself what you're tasting: does sourness dominate, is there an unpleasant bitterness, or is the flavor full, sweet and balanced?
Only ever change one thing at a time, and start with your grind setting. Only adjust the amount of coffee or the temperature if you can't fix it with the grind. That way you know exactly what each change did.
| What you taste or see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The espresso tastes sour, sharp and thin, and the shot runs faster than 25 seconds. | The water runs through the coffee too quickly because the grind is too coarse. | Grind a tiny bit finer. |
| The espresso tastes bitter, dry and burnt, and the shot takes longer than 32 seconds. | The water runs through the coffee too slowly because the grind is too fine. | Grind a tiny bit coarser. |
| The time is right, but the espresso tastes watery and weak. | There isn't enough coffee in the basket. | Check that you're really using 18 grams, and add a little more if not. |
| The espresso tastes sour and bitter at the same time, and the stream runs unevenly. | The water finds an easy path through the coffee (channeling) because of uneven distribution or tamping at an angle. | Pay extra attention to distributing and tamping level in step 4. |
Measuring with a refractometer? With 18 grams in and 38 grams out, a good espresso sits around a TDS of 0.1 to 0.1 percent. That corresponds to an extraction of 18 to 22 percent. If your extraction is lower and the espresso tastes sour, grind finer. If it's higher and the espresso tastes bitter, grind coarser. In the end, trust your taste: the meter helps you understand what you're tasting, but it doesn't decide for you.
What does the puck tell you?
After brewing, a puck of spent coffee stays behind in the basket. It tells you less than you might think. Whether it comes out wet or dry mostly depends on your machine and says little about the taste. If your espresso tastes good, there's no need to worry about the puck.
Do look out for small holes or cracks in the puck. They show that the water found an easier way through in one spot. You'll taste that as an espresso that's sour and bitter at the same time.
Write down your settings
Pulled a shot you love? Write down the grind setting you used, how much coffee went in, how much espresso came out and how long it ran. Note the roast date of the bag as well. With the next bag you can start from that setting and you'll be dialed in much faster.
Steaming milk
Fill the milk jug about a third of the way with cold whole milk. Cold milk gives you time to create fine, glossy foam before the milk gets too hot.
The Gaggia uses the same boiler for coffee and for steam. Press the steam button and wait fifteen to twenty seconds for the steam temperature light to come on. Hold the steam wand over the drip tray and briefly open the knob to blow out the water. Small jets of hot water come out first; that's how it should be.
Hold the steam wand just below the surface of the milk, to the left or right of the center of the jug, so the milk starts to swirl. You'll hear a soft hissing sound: this is where you're adding air to the milk. Keep going until the jug feels as warm as your hand (about 35 °C). Then push the wand a little deeper, so you stop adding air and the milk just keeps spinning. Close the knob as soon as the jug is just too hot to hold. The milk is then about 55 °C and at its sweetest. Don't steam for longer than one minute at a time.
Switch the steam button off again. Then, without the portafilter, run a cup of water through the group. This cools the boiler back down to espresso temperature and refills it. If you skip this, your next espresso will taste burnt.
How hot can the milk get?
Like your coffee hotter? Steam the milk two to four seconds longer. Don't go above 65 °C: beyond that, the milk gets thinner and loses its sweetness.
Keeping the steam wand clean
Purge the steam wand briefly after use and wipe it straight away with a damp cloth. You can unscrew the tip to clean it properly. Dried milk bakes onto the wand and can block it.
Cleaning and maintenance
Knock out the puck right after use, rinse the basket and lock the empty portafilter back in. Every now and then, brush the shower screen in the group clean and then run water through. Wash the drip tray and grid regularly.
Descaling: every two months
Gaggia recommends descaling the machine every two months, only with Gaggia descaler and never with vinegar.
- Pour half a bottle of descaler into a full tank.
- Run part of it through the steam wand and part through the group.
- Let the machine stand for twenty minutes so the descaler can work.
- Run the rest through, then flush with four full tanks of clean water.
Are the baskets clogging up?
If the coffee runs through poorly even though your grind is right, soak the baskets in boiling water for ten minutes. Gaggia also recommends cleaning tablets.
This guide is written for the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro (European model RI9481) and the EasyEspresso coffee beans from Easy Beans Company.
Frequently asked questions
Where do these settings come from?
The machine specs, such as portafilter size and temperature control, come from a specialist retailer and were last checked on 4 September 2026. The grind-setting starting point above was separately verified against the manufacturer itself, with its own verification date of 27 July 2026. The dose of 18 grams and the yield of 38 grams were set by our barista for our EasyEspresso coffee beans.
Do I need a scale to make a good espresso?
No. Fill the basket to the rim, tamp firmly and watch the color and thickness of the stream: that's enough to get started. A scale makes your recipe more precise and repeatable, which is why we introduce it at the "With a scale" level, but it's not a requirement for pulling a good shot.
My espresso has no crema, what am I doing wrong?
That happens to everyone occasionally, and it's rarely on you. A thin or pale layer of crema usually points to beans that are a bit older, or a shot that ran too fast. Check the roast date above first, and grind a fraction finer if the shot is still running fast.
Why 18 grams and not the size of my filter basket?
The dose belongs to the bean, not the machine. Our barista set 18 grams in and 38 grams out as the ratio that gets the most out of our EasyEspresso coffee beans, and that ratio is the same on every machine. Have a smaller basket (14 or 17 grams)? Pick your basket under "Your setup" above: dose and yield then adjust automatically, with the same ratio.
Can I set the water temperature on the Gaggia Classic Pro Evo?
No. This machine has a fixed thermostat, so you don't set or read the temperature yourself. From the factory it sits around 93 °C, which is fine for this coffee. Flush the group briefly right before you brew, so the water is up to temperature. Beyond that, you steer by taste with your grind setting and your yield.
Does my water make a difference to the taste?
Yes. Water that's too hard makes your espresso flat and also scales up your machine. Filtered water or bottled water with a low mineral content works best.
Why does this recipe differ per machine?
Every machine has a different grinder, portafilter size and temperature control, so the same coffee needs a different starting point on two different machines. That's why we build a dedicated, verified recipe per machine rather than giving one general piece of advice that's not quite right for anyone.
Does the grind setting change as my beans get older?
Yes. Freshly roasted beans up to 6 days past the roast date want a slightly coarser grind, in the peak window of 7 to 21 days you use the base starting point, and beans older than 21 days want a finer grind. The freshness block above calculates this automatically based on the roast date you enter.
Should I adjust multiple settings at once?
No. Always change one variable at a time, usually the grind setting, and taste before going further. That way you know exactly what effect each change had.
That's it. From here, it's your recipe.
Print this page or bookmark it. If the age of your beans changes, open it again and the freshness advice moves with it automatically.