Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

My husband and I returned from our second trip to Italy in April and hauled out the small Krups espresso machine with the hopes we could brew some espresso like we had enjoyed daily on our trip. Well, after a few tries, we remembered why it had been put away, it stinks!
I started researching espresso machines on Google and Epinions and decided on the Rancilio Silvia. It sounded like a machine that would produce the kind of coffee we looked forward to every morning and afternoon in Italy. It seemed pricey, but we figured it had to be worth the entry price since the reviews were all over the top.
Let me back up a little, prior to ordering this machine I had taken a trip to a local store and ordered a machine from them and while there, I picked up a Cuisinart burr grinder and a small thermometer in preparation for the espresso machine's arrival. When I learned that machine had an aluminum boiler, I cancelled that order and then ordered the Silvia.
The machine arrived and there was no doubt it was very well made, everything was made of excellent quality, heavy-weight materials. It lived up to its commercial ancestry, so this was good. We watched the video and were eager to begin.
We went through the machine prep and were ready to start brewing the magic elixir we missed and were craving. We got out our timer so we could gauge whether or not we were getting the proper 20-26 seconds of extraction time. Nope, ours was rushing through in 12-14 seconds. We got out the bathroom scales to make sure we were applying the desired 30 pounds of pressure to the grinds. Nope, we had been applying pressure in the 15-18 pound range. Mystery solved, so we put the filter holder with coffee on the scales and tamped the coffee down until the scale registered at least 30 pounds; gave a twist to finish it off as directed; cleaned the rim and installed the filter holder in the machine to brew the coffee. It produced the coffee again in 12-14 seconds. Something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark!
The instructions tell you the two most important elements in brewing just right espresso are the proper grind and the proper tamp. Since we had our tamping down pat (no pun intended), it had to be the grind. We abandoned the new Cuisinart burr grinder and pulled out the old Krups mill grinder, you know the $12 one everyone has somewhere in the kitchen, and we went to work. We discovered we could get the coffee beans ground to a much finer texture with the mill and we tried another batch. This time we had perfect espresso, got the crema on top and it took 25 seconds to extract two one-ounce shots. I finally felt the purchase was validated after all.
Now to tackle the foamed milk!
We had a stainless pitcher on hand from the former Krups days, we found we were great at producing hot milk, but could not get one small bit of anything near foam. We decided that pitcher was too wide, we needed a more narrow pitcher like the one in the video. We purchased a new pitcher, not quite as narrow, but more so than the one we had. Another batch of coffee (again perfect!!!) and still no luck with the foam. So we were enjoying the lattes, but were still wanting the Cappuccinos.
My husband viewed the video again and decided the tip of the steam nozzle had to barely touch the surface of the milk. He experimented a few times and was successful in creating a beautiful foam. I still cannot do it! Let me give you a tip, don't expect to be able to reheat the unused portion of milk the next time, you will get lumps instead of foam. My try at being economical, but what the heck, it seemed like a good idea.
On a recent trip, I stopped at a coffee vendor at an airport and ordered a Cappuccino thinking I would get to enjoy my morning cup and will never do that again. After knowing how the process works and that it takes one ounce of coffee to create a true Cappuccino that then has one ounce of steamed milk and one ounce of foam, I realized that the 50-gallon sized paper-cup things they serve are so far from reality that there should be a law against calling them Cappuccinos! My three-ounce Silvia Cappuccino is a mini Italian vacation that I enjoy twice a day. It is to be savored, as they do in Italy, in a porcelain cup with a silver spoon while you stand or sit at the coffee bar. This American paper-cup version while on the run is a very poor imitation that amounts to no more than some kind of coffee with lots of hot milk and tiny plastic stir sticks.
An interesting bit of trivia we learned in Italy is that Italians never drink Cappuccino after 11:00 AM, it is a breakfast drink for them only. But, I still love it after dinner as it serves as a grand way to top off a meal with the feeling you just had a dessert too.
Ah, the ritual part. You have to love the ritual or you will hate anything other than a fully automatic machine. To make a batch of espresso, I assemble the following: beans for the grinder; the bathroom scales (I assume this will soon be put back in the bathroom); the thermometer for the milk pitcher; the tamper; the coffee scoop; two shot glasses that have been warmed; two cups that have been warmed; the pitcher with milk; a cup for extracting the condensation from the steam valve; the proper filter for two cups. (If making only one cup, I need the single-cup filter and a measuring cup that has a one-ounce mark instead of the two shot glasses because this filter basket has two spouts that are too far apart to extract a single-shot into a shot glass. It needs a single-shot basket.)
Once all my equipment is lined up, I grind the beans; fill the single or double filter with the proper amount; tamp the ground coffee with 30 pounds of pressure and twist to finish; wipe off the edge of the filter basket and insert it in the machine. (One trick we have learned is to foam the milk prior to making the coffee; it will hold its foam for the short extraction period and works better than drawing off the coffee and having to wait for the machine to heat up enough to foam the milk. The coffee cools off while you are waiting to make the milk but the milk stays fine while you are waiting to make the coffee.) Then foam the milk and set it aside. As soon as the main light goes off, you are ready to brew the coffee. We set the shot glasses (or measuring cup) in place and press the brew button at the same time we start the timer. It should take a moment or two for the coffee to start coming out and it should take about 25 seconds to reach the one-ounce mark. Pour the shot into a real cup and add the steamed milk, foam and sugar if desired, or drink an authentic espresso instead.
I have come to look forward to the ritual as much as to the coffee; it makes the coffee become a true reward.