19 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Silvia is a bewitching brewmistress!
Date of Review: May 15, 2005
The Bottom Line: Silvia is a great home machine. Once you get the hang of using it, it'll make FANTASTIC espresso and steamed drinks. You'll also need a good quality Burr grinder.
A little background about my coffee tastes:
I have been drinking coffee for about 20 years, since my teens. In my 30's, I discovered the joys of espresso, and purchased a couple "cheapie" home espresso machines. I was always disappointed. They never made espresso properly. Invariably, these cheaper machines gathered dust and eventually made their way to the Goodwill donation store.
This year, I decided to take the plunge and get a proper semi-pro machine. I did a lot of research, and found out that for price and quality, the Rancilio Silvia is a good buy.
Right out of the box, the Silvia oozes seriousness. I mean, the whole thing is made of plate stainless steel, and HEAVY! A big thing: the portafilter (the handle-cup-thingy which you place your ground espresso into) is virtually the same as the commercial ones that Rancilio sells. In fact, the vendor said a lot of the Silvia components are interchangeable with commercial Rancilio machines.
I have now owned the Silvia for 6 months, and am finally getting the hang of making espresso the way I want it. I had to experiment with varying grinds, tamping techniques, and draw times, but I am now making espresso as good or better as anything you buy at the coffee shops.
HERE'S MY SUMMARY:
o Silvia powers up fairly quickly, which is nice.
o It's somewhat noisy, whether steaming or drawing espresso.
o The resevoir is OK, but could be bigger.
o The boiler is satisfactory, but again, bigger would be better. Steaming milk and switching to espresso taxes the boiler.
o The first week I used it, brass shavings would emerge from the steam wand. This was very disconcerting. I chalked it up to manufacturing left-overs.
o It's built like a tank. The stainless steel finish looks very European and modern.
o Easy to clean and maintain.
o You MUST have a good-quality Burr grinder to get the most out of this machine. The Rancilio Rocky grinder is by far the best choice.
o Silvia's espresso quality is EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to fineness of grind, as well as bean quality.
o It takes a lot of learning to get this machine to make drinks the way you want it. It is more of a craft process, you "become one" with the machine. Not for those people who are into computerized push-a-button type of espresso.
Jetblack Espresso
