Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

domino · 5 Feb 2009 at 09:48

There aren't many UK distributors for Rancilio, the going price seems to be £375 for the Silvia. It sounds a lot, but IMO is one of the best home machines available. Waaaay better than Gaggia. The brass boiler in the Silvia means 1) it will last longer 2) you get better heat conductivity.

If gdpayne wants a cheap Silvia, then I think stalking ebay is the best bet.

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:07

domino said:
Waaaay better than Gaggia. The brass boiler in the Silvia means 1) it will last longer 2) you get better heat conductivity.

Don't say that, now i want one !

domino · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:23

it maintains steam pressure far longer, too...

*runs*

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:28

domino said:
it maintains steam pressure far longer, too...

*runs*

Pfft......i know, i had to stop and wait for a bit if i warm some milk up.

NickK · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:40

I detect a certain level of GAS here (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

Soon enough you'll all be owning Elektras too.. you know you will .. it's only a matter of time and why fight it!

Siliconslave · 5 Feb 2009 at 10:51

NickK said:
I detect a certain level of GAS here (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

Soon enough you'll all be owning Elektras too.. you know you will .. it's only a matter of time and why fight it!

http://www.adrenalin-junkie.net/pics/coffee/IMG_0517.JPG

damn you - i so want one

Luuuuvly maybe if i can find your upgrade weakness i can pinch your Elektra off you....

domino · 5 Feb 2009 at 11:08

NickK said:
I detect a certain level of GAS here (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

Soon enough you'll all be owning Elektras too.. you know you will .. it's only a matter of time and why fight it!

http://www.adrenalin-junkie.net/pics/coffee/IMG_0517.JPG

niiiice - but how often do you polish it?

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 11:10

I don't think i'd go that far nickk

I know 1 thing i won't be upgrading, my tamper

domino · 5 Feb 2009 at 11:17

Raymond Lin said:
Pfft......i know, i had to stop and wait for a bit if i warm some milk up.

When I first got Miss Silvia after having a Gaggia Classic, I can't tell you what an utter joy it was to be able to get milk straight from the fridge and steam enough for a large latte without having to faff on trying to take the chill off the milk.

xgeek · 5 Feb 2009 at 18:05

Don't have an issue with steam on my classic. The trick is to start the steam a few seconds before the ready light kicks in and then you have copious amounts of steam for frothing milk.

If you wait until the steam ready light comes on then that means the max temperature has been reached and the heater has turned off. The temperature needs to drop a fair bit before it kicks back in again and starts turning water back into steam (dead band range on the thermostat).

domino · 5 Feb 2009 at 18:46

never mind anything else - I'm just impressed with your milk bottle mod!

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 18:54

LOL, very clever, i just lay a towel under it when before i grind.

xgeek · 5 Feb 2009 at 19:12

LOL Yeah. I do a quick 3 second grind to flush out stale coffee. Then empty the coffee catcher into the bin. Do 2 6 second grinds into the cut out milk container and then tip the coffee from that directly into the porta-filter via the yogurt pot. Waaayy less mess that way.

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 19:16

I dunno how many second grind but i've managed to have it set up now so 1 press of that button gives the right amount of grind for a double shot. Few knocks on the side to even it out and then pressed with tamper.

xgeek · 5 Feb 2009 at 19:24

Could not get enough from 1 grind even with the timer set to max. Just found a point where 2 short grinds does the job.

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 19:26

Was wondering what that yogurt pot was for lol

xgeek · 5 Feb 2009 at 19:31

Yeah got the idea from reading up on the WDT method for filling the porta-filter

.

http://www.home-barista.com/weiss-distribution-technique-steps.html

Flibster · 5 Feb 2009 at 20:18

Just tried that method...twice - Utter disaster - ended up with coffee up the wall, a very fast and underextracted pour and a extraordinarily wet puck - when getting it into my knock box it actually splatted across the back of the box.. and some was left behind in the portafilter.

Definately my worst shots in at least 2 years.

Got much better results using my normal method - a 26 second double, no spraying and a dry puck - and this is with a machine that I'm not yet used to.

Raymond Lin · 5 Feb 2009 at 20:27

Flibster said:
Just tried that method...twice - Utter disaster - ended up with coffee up the wall, a very fast and underextracted pour and a extraordinarily wet puck - when getting it into my knock box it actually splatted across the back of the box.. and some was left behind in the portafilter.

Definately my worst shots in at least 2 years.

Got much better results using my normal method - a 26 second double, no spraying and a dry puck - and this is with a machine that I'm not yet used to.

When you say 26 seconds double, is that 26 seconds from the second you press the button to the second you turn it off ? or the moment it starts coming out into the glass to turning it off ?

Flibster · 5 Feb 2009 at 20:54

From switch on to turning it off at the 2oz mark.

Apparently ideal is 27 seconds. I'm usually very happy with 25-30 seconds.