Anyone have the Rancilio Silvia?

neonphyter

I recently bought a silvia
which i love, and works well
but i cant get crema out of it, but that will be fixed when i get my grinder
anyway i was wondering how many other people have miss silvia

Ozkoz

"I do" and Love her - The reason for your "crema" problem can be found in so many areas - Fresh Coffee? Grind? Amount of coffee in portafilter - tamp and on and on. A great resource, probably more than you want to know, but will answer most of your questions can be found here; http://www.quiknet.com/~frcn/Coffee/Coffee.html Happy reading and enjoy

FreshCoffee2

The following is lifted from a topic called something like "Question for Fresh Coffee & Ristretto"  which is in the Trade Pages/Section of this site. It was written in August last year, and appears to be directly relevant here. To save you going back, (although if you do you will find the other replies that will add further), here is the cut and paste job: "..... The oft quoted

FreshCoffee2

Ah yes forgot to mention.     A REAL espresso machine vendor will show you how to use your new machine before you walk out of his establishment...not on a demo, on your own machine...that is ofcourse unless a machine is purchased by mail order.     Almost every single machine we sell goes out the door in this way. Everyone gets a lesson on the machine they are buying, they get some freshly roasted coffee ground the right way for the machine so they can go home and enjoy it straight away, and if they have also bought a grinder, it is set up in front of them together with the machine they are buying.     Otherwise, you may as well all go & buy your machines in the box from the a department store (and never know how to use them properly) and eventually lose the expertise that exists in companies like mine to help you with ongoing after sales service with the machine you bought from us, many years down the line.   This kind of service takes time, and time is money so it is a relatively costly way to conduct business however if you wish to invest in your business by way of your clients, that's what you have to do. Just having a dig at short sighted traders who look upon their clients as "oncers", instead of a valable resource to cultivate long term for all their future coffee needs.     Have you asked those who sold you the machine why you are not getting a crema? If not you should...they should be your first port of call for help, and they should be able to help if they know their business properly. Goodluck, FC.

john

The forum is here to help those out there. However, as a vendor of equipment, I am suprised that the purchaser did not get instructions from the vendor. I suggest that Neonphyter return to the place of purchase for some assistance. Last weekend I sold a Giotto and the purchaser (a Forum Member) spent well over 2 hours at my place (and on a Sunday) as we went through the ins and outs. The following is from his email this morning! Hi John,

NeilA

I recently bought a silvia which i love, and works well but i cant get crema out of it, but that will be fixed when i get my grinder anyway i was wondering how many other people have miss silvia

Hi Neonphyter, I've had a Miss Silvia for nearly two and half years now, and it took me about 6 months to get reasonable results... I bought mine from Alan Frew in Melbourne, and even though it was bought by mail, he was very helpful by email and phone in helping me iron out the bugs. As you have said, a decent grinder will make the world of difference, as will fresh beans - but even then, LOTS of experimenting is in order, and a good regime of cleaning Silvia (cleaning the group, backflushing and descaling) will all contibute to her performance... Do let us know how you go when you have a good grinder.. Regards

pab

Backing up Johns comments, the time spent going through all the intricasies of the machine was time well spent. Especially when purchasing an appliance that is also an investment. There is nothing like hands on training!!! Thanks again John!!!

neonphyter

thanks guys the guys i bought was from Coffee and Tea in the Strand Arcade, when i get my coffee grinder it should be all okay thanks guys for the help and ive read so many pages and articles about miss silvia just need to put it in practice