Thread: Espresso Machines

I have been in market research mode for a few months. Currently, I have a terrible Breville that I bought before I knew you had to throw down some dollars to even come close to a coffee shop.

I have had my eye on the Rancilio Silvia for a while:
Amazon.com: Rancilio Espresso Machine - Rancilio SILVIA: Electronics



Espresso drinkers: What is your set up?

I've got a Magimix which makes a fairly respectable Espresso. I paid about £130 (around $200?)

I have that Rancilio, i paid £380 inc p+p, and im waiting for my grinder to arrive, a refurbished Cunill MC5, then hopefully i'll be finished. We have a great coffee roaster in town so top quality coffee can be delivered to your home for no extra cost although im spending nearly £10 every 10 days just on coffee

ian

I had a Rancilio Silvia and I purchased one of those aftermarket PID kits which was very easy to use and regulated the temp very well. It was a nice machine. You absolutely have to have a quality grinder to go with it. I had a Macap stepless grinder.

The only reasons I sold off the Silvia and the grinder were that I kicked the caffeine habit and....used the money to get into a new hobby:....razors.

Chris L

Originally Posted by ChrisL

I had a Rancilio Silvia and I purchased one of those aftermarket PID kits which was very easy to use and regulated the temp very well. It was a nice machine. You absolutely have to have a quality grinder to go with it. I had a Macap stepless grinder.

The only reasons I sold off the Silvia and the grinder were that I kicked the caffeine habit and....used the money to get into a new hobby:....razors.

Chris L

Yea, I realize that even my crappy Breville would probably make decent espresso with a better grinder.

PS:

I just checked out your Flickr pics..

Your backdrop and lighting is amazing. This is razor art.

Espresso purists may cringe at this thought but I currently use the Nespresso Lattissima and absolutely love it. It produces wonderful shots with tons of crema and can put out a latte or cappuccino in 50 seconds with the touch of one button. It has an interchangeable nozzle for hot water for my americanos and 16 varieties of pods which are delivered to your door usually in one business day and at most two. The coffees produced by this machine will blow starbucks out of the water and at less than 65 cents each, will pay for itself in a few months. If you are not an espresso purist give this machine some serious consideration. It is the only machine I will own.

Arock

I'm currently set up with the silvia (you can see its magic in my avatar) & the rocky grinder.

It's a great machine, IF you are willing to spend time learning how to use it, and how it reacts to how you prepare you shot before pressing the button. You can pull a fantastic shot that'll beat the pants off pretty much anything you've tasted before, but you WILL also get shots that'll be worthy of the bottom of your sink. Miss Silvia needs special attention to make you happy, but the rewards are worth the effort.

The Silvia is a good machine to learn about good espresso, but if you're not willing to spend time & put effort into it, forget about this machine, you'll get frustrated and end up not using it.

I've had this machine for a bit over a year, and I still get excited to the idea of using it to make espresso every morning.

DON'T cheap out on the grinder, it's more important than the machine itself. I'm happy with the rancilio rocky, and from what I've heard, anything under that will not unleash the potential of miss Silvia, or any good espresso machine for that matter.

Hope this helps,
Glenn.

I have had the Silvia (with Rocky doserless grinder) for nearly 3 years. I have probably pulled over a 1,000 shots on it. I don't have the PID kit.

To put things in perspective, I think learning to use and maintain a straight is much more involved than learning how to pull great shots off the Silvia -- provided you have a good grinder.

Nuova Simonelli Oscar here.



We have a Silvia in the office, and I thought that it worked a bit slow when you have to froth milk, so I got an HX model, that will allow me to both brew and froth at the same time.

I have the old Silvia (2001 model), with a rather expensive Democa grinder. The grinder is essential, and I would strongly recommend getting a really good one. The Rocky is IMO overpriced. I have a Barista training and am used to bigger machines, so I do notice a couple of shortcomings, but for a home machine that sees less than 50 cups per day, the Silvia delivers excellent value for money. The new design is, however, a matter of taste (read: not mine).

Ah, yes. The new one has the pro portafilter. That is great. But the tamper is still useless. Remember to get a good one. And do buy from a brick-and-mortar vendor. The machine will require cleaning, and its bearings aren't the greatest in the world.

Happy shopping,
Robin