Silvia - Remote Control -> Steam -> Good Cup!

My Epinions Philosophy
When I make a purchase, epinions is one of my most valuable resources for non-biased experiences and information. When I come here to research a product I read all of the reviews and the product specifications and details on other sites as well. You will find that my reviews try to focus on my personal experiences and research discoveries that I think are not easy to discover through pre-purchase research. This means that my review will not spend a lot of time on basic specifications, procedures or stock commentary that you can read in other places.

Sweet Miss Silvia - Please Say Her Name Right
I love this machine. Miss Silvia knows how to make great coffee! By the way you say the name of this machine as "Ran-chillo Silvia" even though it is spelled "Rancilio Silvia"

I have owned an inexpensive Krupps and recently purchased and returned a Gaggia Carezza. I am not a huge expert, but it's not my first machine either.

More Information
Since I don't generally get into the nitty gritty that you can find other places on the web - here are some helpful resources for finding out basic specifications and such:

http://www.wholelattelove.com/Rancilio/silvia.cfm
http://www.1st-line.com/machines/home_mod/rancilio/silvia.htm
http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/rancilio_silvia/ (Great collection of Howtos and guides on Silvia)

You may also notice that many reviews of other products use Silvia as the benchmark for consumer class machines.

Solid and Actually Quiet By Comparison
First, a couple things to note, if you have not owned an expresso machine the pumps in them are loud. However, Silvia is quieter than either of the cheaper machines I have had experience with. I have heard that the Francis Francis! machines (especially X3) sound like an air-hammer and that is not the case here.

The machine is rock solid. Heavy construction. The only plastic is the reservoir and reservoir lid. I really like the large, square top that most folks use as a passive cup warmer. I use it as a place to store the coffee measuring spoon, tamper, shot glasses and other items.

Got it at 1st Line
I bought my machine at www.1st-line.com and have had good service from them. They (like many sellers) provide a guide on how to use the machine, because as noted in other reviews the provided one is very difficult to follow. 1st Line has a three hold steam tip they promote as well as a special replacement coffee basket (the replacement basket comes with the base machine). In my opinion the three hole tip does not make better foam - I can get great microfoam with the one hole tip. My guess on why this is would be that it is harder to get the milk to swirl with the three hold tip. Since the three hold tip is only $4.95 I would suggest you buy it regardless of my observations because who knows - for you it may make a big difference. If you do get the three hole tip - be careful putting it on. The tip uses a compression fitting to seal and somehow between changing tips my steam wand split right up the threads where the steam tip connects. I have tried to be careful and I think my machine may just have had a weakness. 1st-line is sending a new wand free of charge.

Steaming Baby
I am convinced that the the inability of other machines to create foam has everything to do with not having enough temperature and/or pressure. The employ funky "frothing assist" tips to compensate for this lack. I have been surprised about how having enough steam power give great foam and does away for the need for a special tip.

No gimmicy tip also means easier short and long term clean up - there is not a tip that is constantly getting clogged or has little crevices or sections to hold old milk. This was a main selling point for me because although I like to make a good cup of coffee I don't like 20 minutes of clean up - expresso is already time consuming enough.

Burr Grinder Required
You do need a burr grinder! However, spending another $350 on a grinder is in my mind insane. I have a 6 year old Braun that does the job just fine. Do not use a blade grinder because you will end up blaming your poor results on Silvia and she wouldn't be to blame. A burr grinder is required because expresso machines take advantage of the effect of forcing the water through the coffee. So the compression of the grounds is important and it is directly affected by the fineness and consistency of the grind.

Remote Control Coffee
It takes any expresso machine a good amount of time to heat up - especially if you want good expresso. I'm not the type to stand around the kitchen for 15 to 20 minutes waiting for the the machine to heat up. So I hooked it up to an X10 appliance module. Now when I wake up, I roll over and press a button to turn on the machine. I leave the portafilter in the group head the night before and of course the main power switch has to be on. I also have setup a schedule where the machine is shut off everyday at 3pm in case it is accidentally left on.

Water Reservoir
My only complaint with the machine is the poor reservoir design. I my opinion it is not designed to remove for filling - just for cleaning. There is no handle to pull it out by and the way it fits in to the unit you must get your fingernails under and edge to dislodge it - so it isn't something you want to do regularly with a half full reservoir because you'll have sore fingernails. Another reviewer felt silly because they overflowed their reservoir via the 1/2 slot down the side for the water hoses. I did the same thing and I think it is a poor design. Also, the hose that has a standard square end is a return hose that ejects excess water - so it does not need to be submerged. If you don't know this then it appears you must keep the reservoir more than half full because this hose does not reach the bottom.

The only other small thing is that the drip tray is sharp on the edges from the manufacturing process. I don't expect it to be polished like all the external metal - but it doesn't take much for the company to knock the sharp edges off these trays - I'm going to take some sandpaper to it!

To Party or Not To Party
I have found Silvia does fine making 5-6 double expressos and has enough steam to ready the milk for that many as well. She also does a good job at single cupping!

What Does It Taste Like?
With just 5 days practice I get expresso from Starbucks coffee that tastes just like the expresso Starbucks makes - not every time, but more and more regularly. To do a comparison you must drink straight expresso in both cases or you will be adding other factors such as different milk types or other flavors that get in the way of a true comparison.