The Rancilio Silvia, Cheap but not Cheap!
I know this is a lot to spend on an espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... machine…but we need to put this in perspective. What it lacks, like all home machines under $1300 or so, is a separate steam boiler tank. You basically need to spend another $900 to take the next step up from the Silvia in home espresso machines, to light-commercial machines like the Pasquini Livia, Isomac, Wega, Exobar, La Marzocco, etc.
Check out the Rancilio Silvia M Espresso Machine in our Webcart
So I hate to say it, but $715 for the Miss Silvia is a good deal! You can start doing decent home espresso with the Gaggia Espresso at $219, but it doesn’t have this great stainless steel housing and the level of finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We... of the Silvia. The Silvia is a machine you really want to see on your kitchen counter, even when it’s not in use … and that does count for something. It’s one nice-looking box!
You need a good grinder! Don’t let anyone tell you there is a way to make great espresso without a high-quality grinder … it cannot be done. You can start with an acceptable burr mill like the Virtuoso, graduate to a true espresso mill like the Rancilio Rocky or a Compak, or go for the best, the Mazzer Mini. So you need to include a quality burr mill in your home espresso budget. The Miss Silvia in Stainless Steel, including the Rancilio accessory kit (measure scoop, plastic tamperA handheld tool for compacting ("tamping") ground coffee for espresso into a portafilter basket. Tampers should match the size of a machine's basket, with common sizes including 53mm... (not a very useful tamper, but as you will see we take care of that!), single and double filter baskets, user manual with individual factory QC test slip.
Rancilio Silvia Front 
Rancilio Silvia Side View 
Rancilio Silvia We sell the most recent version of the Rancilio Silvia (M), but these images are V3 
Back view of Rancilio Silvia 
Rancilio Silvia accessories and manual 
The front controls are simple, straight-forward, and intuitive. I have added descriptions of each function in green lettering. 
The Silvia has a solid-brass group head, another example of having good metal mass to store heat for proper good espresso results. Rancilio has an easy to replace shower head that screws into the group head, just as your commercial machines have. It’s easy to change and to remove for cleaning purposes. 
The Silvia has a commercial-sized 58mm chrome-plated brass portafilter handle. The handle has a great feel and is really nicely finished. 
A heavy, brass coffee handle is very important since it needs to hold heat (to prevent heat loss during espresso extraction), and the Silvia handle weighs 1 lb. 
Rancilio Silvia filter handle 
The double portafilter is nicely finished and every part is stamped with an identification number, in case you want extras or they wear out (with a filter, that takes a very long time but it does happen). 
Here is the Rancilio espresso accessory kit that comes with the machine. 
Steaming is straightforward, and there is ample steam pressure to do Cappuccini and Latte. With a one-boiler setup like the Silvia, you need to wait to come up to steam pressure from espresso brew temperature, but you need to drop another $900 to get a 2 boiler machine that can do both simultaneously. 
The drip tray is thick 18-8 Stainless and comes in 2 parts, both removed easily. With an eye toward the daily chore of keeping your machine clean, this is such a nice design. 
The water tank is easier to fill in place, as pictured. 
Rancilio Silvia watertank-removed. But you can also remove the plastic liner (the white box in the image above) and take it to the sink to fill it. It doesn’t have a handle though, so I say just fill it using a pitcher. 
Each Miss Silvia comes with an individual test slip from the factory to certify that the electrical components are powering up correctly. 
Rancilio Silvia – ristretto
Tested and Proven
Each Miss Silvia comes with an individual test slip from the factory to certify that the electrical components are powering up correctly. The Silvia is basically a hand-made machine. I have seen complaints in reviews that someone had a fingerprint on their Silvia when they opened the box … my thought is “So What!” Things you buy are made with the labor of others, with their skill and their hard work. Is there something horrible about a fingerprint that reminds you of this fact? I think you should pay extra for a Silvia with a fingerprint … I think the workers should sign each one! (Okay, I am kidding. Sort of. And actually I have never seen a fingerprint on a Silvia).
Results
Here is the shot that results from the little movie of a RistrettoA smaller version of espresso where extraction is restricted is called a Ristretto. While espresso averages 20 ml, a ristretto is 15 ml. being made on my Miss Silvia. (This is a bit over-extracted, with the grind a tad too fine, as you can see by the long time it drips until finally, it starts to pour with the characteristic and desirable “mouse tail” appearance). But hey, it was a really good 1-ounce Ristretto! The coffee was our Monkey Blend, the grinder was my Ditting commercial mill. The cremaCrema is a dense foam that floats on top of a shot of espresso. It ranges in color from blond to reddish-brown to black. Blond crema may be... was very compact, and lasted a very long time without receding …until finally I became impatient and had to drink it!
For espresso the question is always asked: What type of water? Like my regular coffee, I use quality spring water, good-tasting spring water, or filtered tap water … that’s it. Cleaning the Silvia: The Silvia is not a backflushingBackflushing is a process done to espresso machines to clean them, where water is forced back into the machine to flush out coffee residue.: Backflushing is a process... machine. So periodically you can clean the tank and the entire brew system by using Cleancaf. You do this by following the instructions on the Cleancaf box, adding Cleancaf to the water in the reservoir. You can use Cafiza to soak the coffee handle, filters, and other removable parts. But don’t run Cafiza through the tank.
Befriending Miss Silvia:
When you master the true single espresso (a mere 1.5 ounces) and start to enjoy the tiny Ristretto (a very, very short espresso), you will become aware that very small differences in water temperature at the brew head affect the quality of the espresso. Like all home machines, the Silvia kicks on the boiler when it senses a low water temperature (the orange
Orange aromatics and flavors are prized in coffee, whether they take the form of sweet orange flesh and pulp, or orange peel. Orange flavors or aromatics can range... light on the front by the power switch indicates this). It is called a “dead band controller” with the “dead band” being the range in which the boiler is off. This temperature cycling between the low and high-temperature limits of the dead band produces varying brew head temperatures. Water temperature can range between 210 and 240, whereas you want something around 220 at the brew head for good espresso extractionRefers to the process of infusing coffee with hot water. Hot water releases or "extracts" the flavor from the roasted, ground coffee. The term is used mostly with.... (Note that 220 at the brew head doesn’t mean you are extracting at 220, but there is a 20 degree heat loss through the “puck” of compressed coffee grounds.) The good news is that during the shot you only have a 2-4 degree range, so the idea is to start your espresso extraction at the right point in the cycle. There is a simple timing technique you can use with the Silvia to brew in the right temperature range every time. This sounds more complicated than it is. All you are doing is getting the machine to start its boiler cycle, then starting the shot at a prescribed time after that orange light comes on … that’s all. In a nutshell, here is how you do it:
Silvia Espresso technique, Temperature Surfing
- Turn on the machine and let it get to full temperature. (Make sure the water tank is full! always leave it full from the previous session) Put the coffee handle in the brew head to heat it up during this time. My machine takes about 20 minutes to get really hot so that touching the bottom of the coffee handle (the spouts where the coffee comes out) is uncomfortable!
- Now, grind your espresso, dose it, tamp it, and load the coffee handle in the group head.
- With a receptacle under the steam wand, open the steam wand valve and flip the Hot Water switch. I have a 1 quart Mason Jar I leave under the wand permanently.
- When the orange light on the front comes on (meaning the boiler is starting its heat cycle), Do the following: start your timer, turn off the Hot Water switch, close the steam valve.
- After 1 minute has elapsed*, start your shot. Watch your timer for proper extraction time (I shoot for 20-25 seconds). Folks have experimented with varying times; 20, 30, 50, 50 seconds. I like 1 minute after the boiler light has come on, but almost everyone else seems to prefer 40+ seconds.The boiler light should go on for 1 minute to 1:30, so you can also do this without a timer by simply starting the shot as soon as the boiler goes off. *Note – I used to use a shorter interval, but after a lot of testing I like a longer 1 minute +, which according to my thermocouple allows the water to get up to true espresso extraction temperature.
-A variation: I actually do Step 2 during the 1 minute time after the orange light kicks on. I don’t like the coffee to sit in the portafilterThe part of an espresso machine which holds the filter basket, into which coffee grounds are placed.: The part of an espresso machine which holds the filter basket,... any longer than it has to!
-Props to the alt.coffee folks who posted and refined this “temperature surfing” Silvia technique, starting with Greg Scace back in 2000. And Randy. This is basically what we used to recommend with the lever-pull Pavoni machines, and you can adapt this technique to work with other single-boiler home machines.
Hacking the Silvia
You can turn the Silvia into a monstrously good espresso machine by adding a PID (I am told it means either “Proportional, Integral, Derivative” or “Programmable Input Device”) to maintain brew head temperature. You don’t have to … you can use the more intuitive/primitive method above with the same results. But if you are a techie and like to customize, you may really enjoy the process, and the results, of a PID’ed Silvia. This will cost you about $150-$175 to carry out. There are numerous web pages describing this technique. But beware that if you hack the Silvia, you void its warranty! Here are some useful links for hacked Silvia – if you have another Silvia resource people would find useful, please let me know…
- http://www.murphyslawonline.com/silvia.html
- http://www.digidive.com/coffee/index.html
- and Mark Prince’s elaborate, effective Silvia technique -awesome pictures
- There’s a great user-info/FAQ Silvia page at http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/rancilio_silvia/
- Terry Stockdale has advice on PIDing a Silvia as well as plumbing it to auto-fill with water and reset the thermostat.
We are an authorized Rancilio dealer, and provide service for the Silvia. We back up the machine with a 1 year warranty covering parts and repair in case of any malfunction due to defectIn coffee, a defect refers to specific preparation problems with the green coffee, or a flavor problem found in the cupping process. Bad seeds in the green coffee... in the machine. Treat her well and we will treat you well!
We also have a lot of information about making espresso in general on our Espresso Pages
