Calling Qadgop and others from this Silvia putting outoriginal thread. I need an espresso maker desperately and have relocated to the Seattle area this week. I’ve been sans espresso for 4 days, which is probably the longest I’ve gone in a decade.
Anyhoo, how’s Silvia been putting out for you lately? Would you recommend I get this or a different machine? What model do you have?
:eek: I just saw the price.
My moka pot is good enough for me!
And anyone with personal experience on the Baby Gaggia? I have seen it on line for just $350. Seems quite good and easier to operate maybe than the Sylvia…
An unqualified YES! to my Silvia. She’s a little quirky but that’s part of her charm. The precise temperature control post-manufacture add-on is a big plus for me.
I can make a drop-dead great ristretto 3 times out of 5, and 9 out of 10 of my efforts are at least palatable (by that I mean superior to any espresso I’ve ever had at Starbucks or Seattle’s Best.) Rarely do I need to dump a shot.
She’s 10 times better than my previous machines, and I love playing with her.
My Capresso E9 has been working smoothly for four years. Totally automatic and totally awesome. The price was beyond expensive though.
Automatics don’t do it for me. I want to be able to adjust the grind fineness and size at need, vary my own tamp to produce a ristretto or a regular espresso shot, and fine-tune the water temperature to suit conditions. That way, when things are a bit off with my shot, I can work to improve it.
But that’s just me, of course.
I used a Capresso semi-automatic for years, and followed it up with a Starbucks Barista. They could make a pretty good shot, but I found that using them day after day to make a shot or 3 inevitably wore them out in just a few years. And shot quality was much more variable, and I had less control over that quality.
I think you’ve mentioned the Silvia before. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the learning curve on it and how quickly can you produce a ristretto on average?
I’ve got little patience for anything kitchen related but at home ristrettos are tempting.
Steep learning curve, was making decent ristrettos in about 3 days.
I did make use of a scale to precisely measure out the amount of coffee beans I needed. Once I got that (I think it was 17 gm for a decent espresso), I started using a measuring cup that matched that amount. For a ristretto I add about 7 to 10 more beans atop the standard amount I use for an espresso, and tamp it just a bit tighter (I use a tamper that ‘clicks’ at 20 lbs of pressure so I can gauge how hard I’m tamping it).
Finding the right grind only took an hour or two.
So pretty quick I had the formula for a decent drink. My ideal shots brew in about 25 seconds, producing 1 oz of liquid in that time for a ristretto and up to 2 oz for an espresso.
The temperature control lets me make sure the top of the boiler is a consistent 220 degrees, which makes the bottom of the boiler about 205 or so.
Thanks!
Wow, those things are expensive! Sounds delicious though.
Also, China Guy, maybe it’s time you update your location field now that you’re Seattle Guy. 
Nah, it’s more fun to confuse people. 
Do you think you could get one of these out of the Silvia?
Yes you can. I was able to do it even without the add-on PID controller. Took a few passes to learn the “temperature surfing” technique, but after that, I could reliably pull very good shots, with a great shot maybe coming one time out of three.
I haven’t indulged my coffee geekery in some time so I’m not necessarily up on the state of the art, but at the time the Silvia was the *least *machine I would have considered. But whatever you do, realize that the grinder is usually the weak link. You can have a La Marzocco GS3 (my dream machine at the time), but if you can’t get a consistent grind, you’ll be SOL.
Yes, I believe I’ve achieved a few of those. They usually have resulted when I’ve overground just a bit; I end up with maybe 2/3 of an ounce that is to die for.
If I’m trying to make it, I succeed in one of those about one of every 7 or 8 tries.
And pork rind is right; without a proper grinder, I’d be powerless to make a good ristretto.
QtM has it right. I achieve the same results to the same degree he discusses with my Silvia, but I don’t have an after-market temperature device. A burr grinder is 50% of the equation; without one, you will not turn out barista-quality ristrettos.
Also, research some artisan coffee importers and roasters in your city. In Northern California, my favorites are Blue Bottle and Ecco. Lord, Ecco roasts some brilliant single-origin Brazilian coffees! As long as you invested good money in a decent espresso machine and grinder, don’t insult them by running Dunkin Donuts beans through them.
Thanks all. I didn’t realize how important the grinder was to the equation. I’ll have to look further into this.
I’m sure I have not had a ristretto. I would wager a guess this is not something that you can get at Starbucks. 
How does a ristretto compare to a great espresso like what you can get 9 out of 10 times anywhere in Rome? Rome is the only place I’ve been to where I enjoyed straight espresso shots. Ristretto seems like a whole 'nother level but hoping a Doper can enlighten me on a ballpark description.
FWIW:
We looked into espresso machines and, in particular, a Silvia, 8-9 years ago. We realized the pump was too specialized for us, at least, for right now.
So we got a Solis super-automatic.
Six years of daily use later, it began sputtering and we sent it in for repairs.
That was when, while perusing CoffeeGeek, I discovered the AeroPress.
I sent away for it, and we were quite happy with it for a couple months. The AeroPress was not shiny or pretty, the thing is basically a syringe.
However, the coffee that emerged was delicious.
We got the Solis back, it lasted a year or so and began hiccuping again.
The Solis went to the attic, and the AeroPress returned while we kept an eye out for a new machine.
That was two years ago; we’re still using the AeroPress.
Maybe some day we’ll be pulling real shots, but this low-tech item makes high quality coffee.
Anyone know this machine? The Breville Barista Express? I’m sure it’s not as good as a Silvia, but I’m also sure my wife isn’t going to want to fiddle with the Silvia to get those god shots. Also, we prefer cappucino and lattes, and don’t want to buy a seperate grinder.
This looks like I should be able to play around some, make some good milk based espresso drinks, and get some good value. That said, I may regret this and upgrade in the future to the Silvia + grinder.
any thoughts from someone with personal experience?
I have that one, but the version without the grinder. I like it a lot for the price, and the fact that I didn’t want to fiddle with a Silvia. MrRancher will only drink lattes with flavored syrup, so he wouldn’t even notice the difference in quality of the espresso, and this still gives me better than Starbucks/Seattle’s Best. I sort of don’t want to know how much better a Silvia is because I really can’t afford one.
That said, I think a good grinder is worth its weight in gold. I would go with a really good grinder and a lesser espresso machine, but that’s just me.