Posts Tagged ‘Rancilio Silvia’
Lifestyle – The Business Woman
You are a take charge woman who has a vision of what needs to be done and how to do it. You a quiet pride in what you know you can accomplish without making a fuss about it. You know exactly what you like and don’t like in the way of dress, food and what you beverage you want to drink. Tea or coffee may be one of those drinks, but needs to be exactly how you like it.
Tea can be a warming drink that you may like during the day. In the morning and evening you prefer a great tasting cup of coffee. Just one cup that you can make how
you like in on your espresso machine. Or, you may prefer one cup of French
pressed coffee. The tea and coffee keep you going by giving an energy boost with a tad bit of sugar or cream. A Rancilio semi-automatic espresso machine suits you will.
The Right Coffee Maker for your Cup of Coffee
Rancilio Silvia and Rocky Grinder Saeco Incanta Coffee Machine/Coffee Grinder
The Right Coffee Maker for your Cup of Coffee
Are you the person who believes that the coffee maker or machine is not enough for your cup of coffee?
Many believe that the only way to get a great cup of coffee is with freshly ground coffee beans. There are grinders that come as a separate unit, but are sold a unit, such as the Rancilio Rocky (Doser or Doserless) and the Rancilio Silvia. There are other machines that come with a built-in coffee grinder. These include the Bosch Benvenutos and Saeco Incanto, Odea, Royal and Talea machines. These options create more choices for your perfect cup of coffee.
Last, but not least, is a coffee roaster. A friend of mine roasts a small amount of “green” beans with a small bean roaster. She and I agree there is no better tasting coffee than fresh roasted, freshly ground coffee beans in our favorite brewing machine. Again, with all these choices you need to keep your budget in mind.
Next week, I’m not sure, but I have some ideas.
Redesigned Rancilio Silvia V3 Espresso Machine
Care of the Redesigned Rancilio Silvia V3 Espresso Machine
Under normal household use we recommend descaling, i.e. decalcifying, your household espresso machine at least once every 2-3 months. This removes minerals from the inside of the boiler and the interconnecting tubing. This will minimize problems and maintain durability. It will depend on the type of water you use and how many cups you brew. Using filtered or bottled water does not reduce the need to descale your machine. The minerals will also degrade the integrity of the boiler, decreasing its capacity and jeopardizing your warranty. The same is true if you use vinegar or lemon juice to clean your machine. If you have a reverse osmosis filter, or use distilled water, you will not have to decalcify.
We recommend Cleancaf for descaling the Silvia or any espresso machine you may have. Cleancaf descaler comes in the 3 per package size and by the case. We also recommend that you consistently clean the machine by removing all the old coffee and coffee oils. Tomorrow, how about something new?
Rancilio Silvia
Around January of 2010 the Silvia Redesigned V3 Espresso Machine will appear. The newest features include a plastic guide around the steam wand knob so the meal body doesn’t cut in the knob and an adjustable overpressure valve. You can also adjust the amount of excess water pressure by bringing out the PV and tightening the nut. Some recommend doing this with the V512 pressure gauge.
You can now get this espresso machine with an optional stainless steel base. I recommend the two drawer so that you can have accessories in one and use the second for a knockbox of old grinds from your portafilter. Another great feature is a rubber protector on the steam wand to prevent burns.
It has some of the same reliable components in the rear and boiler front view along with a grouphead dispenser (holds your portafilter during brewing), steam nozzle, steam valve and chrome filter holder constructed of press forged marine brass.
The “new” Silvia has three thermostats: coffee, steam, and safety. The coffee one is not adjustable; if you want a higher temperature you’ll need a higher temperature thermostat. The three way solenoid valve opens after you depress the coffee switch, which may cause water to run into the drip tray. The specifications for this commercial quality machine are many. You’ll see what they are on Monday with a preview of the Silvia V3.
Rancilio Silvia
The Rancilio Silvia changes in 2007 continued into 2009 with new features. These included a new drip tray, a new OPV (adjustable pressure control) valve, an upgraded boiler and even a new pod adapter kit. So what were the consumer reports on these changes to the Silvia. The Rancilio manual is a good one and comes with the espresso machine. The updated portafilter is a full blown commercial one today. The service and offerings are always great. The following are customer reviews between 2005 and the first part of 2009. Where are the worst ones?
“I have owned several different espresso machines in different price ranges. I doubt there is a better machine out there!”
“Providing a neutral recommendation as there is nothing to say bad against the machine per se, except that it takes a lot of practice to do it right”
“After lots of online research, I settled on the Sylvia. I was a little scared of all the reviews on coffee-geek websites which warned that you have to be a jedi master to operate it: fine-tuning the perfect grind, applying just the right amount of tamping pressure, etc. But I’ve been living with it for a week now, and I’m perfectly happy with it.”
“Miss Silvia Rocks! If you want a consistently great espresso – this is the best. The Rancilio Silvia is a fantastic espresso machine and with a little practice and some high quality beans – you can make better espresso drinks at home than in any espresso shop in your town.”
This last review says it best. The consumer gave it a one star. See what he said next. “We tried to use our Rancilio Espresso Machine this morning and it would not heat. I am reserving judgement as to whether I will be able to get this thing repaired under some kind of warranty.
Update: I talked to someone at the company and he told me about taking off the lid and pushing the red thermal reset button. that was the problem. I have not had any problems since. This has been very reliable since then. If I knew how to change the stars, I would change it back to 5 stars…”
What were the Rancilio Silvia changes in 2009? See what some of them are tomorrow.
Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine
The Silvia, which was introduced as a prototype in 1997, was something the company didn’t initially intend to sell. But sell, it did; becoming the best selling espresso machine at a cost of over $300 ten years later. It even sold more espresso machines than the commercial market. Fan “club” websites sprung up all over the web. Many of the enthusiasts and consumers were surprisingly knowledgeable and understanding of the machine. Some of them were the first people to add PID (temperature control) to their Silvias. Two men were the first to show the espresso industry the way to temperature stabilize these commercial machines. Today, one company that is involved in PID technology has privately honored these early technical developers.
Today the Silvia has changed a lot, but has also remained the solid basic machine in other ways.
What changes happened by 2009? I will talk about that tomorrow.
Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine
Rancilio Silvia
Since I have decided to talk about the Rancilio Silvia, I thought I would look at its history. I was surprised to learn that Rancilio products have been surprising the commercial and household espresso machine market since 1927. How have they stayed in the front line for so long? It has been by sticking to their initial premise of never-ending research and remaining in close relationships with their vendors and customers. Today Rancilio espresso machines and grinders are one of the best known and highly regarded in the world.
The Silvia was first introduced in 1997 as a prototype that was gifted to Rancilio’s best importers and vendors. What happened next? Find out in tomorrow’s blog.