Thinking of the plunge into a Rancilio Silvia

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Nice. Make the grinder a priority, you're virtually dead in the water without it. The Silvia runs pretty steadily when it's calibrated, but it needs calibration almost every day or least a few times a week. Having pre-ground coffee can be hit or miss. You can always tamp harder...

Enjoy it. Get a quality tamp. Everyone has their little tips on making espresso as well, but that is a different thread.

True to all smaller machines. Temp is key, and keeping the portafilter in the grouphead to warm it and even flushing some hot water over the portafilter is never a bad idea. Not sure I agree with the daily calibration part and that would tend to scare me if I was waiting on my first machine to arrive.

The Silvia has a great brass boiler which blows away the aluminum ones in inferior models and down the road, the PID mod is a relatively inexpensive mod that's worth looking at IF you are having temp issues. It's described here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Modifying_Miss_Silvia

I learned these tips on my old Gaggia, which was finicky, and probably pushed me into an E61 heat exchange model which eliminated those problems but put me in the hole a couple grande, which isn't what I ever wanted.

The owner's manual says 15 minute warmup, but I'd go at least 20.

This is a great little video on temp surfing, which can also be a huge help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Bn5...eature=related

Another thing that can not be understated is the importance of tamping. Gail from Seattle Coffee Gear demonstrates it quite well in this video I feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRsEF...eature=channel