owningmonkey Senior Member Joined: 9 May 2008 Posts: 10 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 5:06pm Subject: Bought a used silvia
I bought a used silvia (the first one) she said she only used it for a month but its been sitting for a long time. Well when I run blank shots the water smells kind of weird. Hard to describe the smell. Maybe 3 year old coffee? Haha
I was wondering what kind of steps I should go through before I try making some tasty shots.
Starbucks has a new barista brand descaler in the store by me for only 1.99 but I'm not sure if it would be safe to use with the silvia?
owningmonkey Senior Member Joined: 9 May 2008 Posts: 10 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 5:32pm Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
Thanks for the quick reply!
Ill go through some of those steps tonight but the reason I ask about the starbucks brand is because its only 1.99 and I can't for the life of me find cleancaf locally.
Just don't want to run the stuff through the system because of I'm pretty silvia and the starbucks internals are made of different materials.
owningmonkey Senior Member Joined: 9 May 2008 Posts: 10 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 7:10pm Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
I went to starbucks to get the descaler and what do you know on the back of it is says cleancaf! for only 1.99 thats a steal (from the other prices ive seen online)
Ran it through the system once then ran 2 tanks of plain water through. Water smells normal now :)
The tamper that comes with the silvia is a JOKE! its too small and doesnt even cover the whole portafilter.
The espresso came out alright tasting and with very very little crema.. nothing i would invite someone over to try thats for sure.
But in the end it just tastes like strong coffee and with some half and half it tastes fine haha.
Now i need to get a nice grinder and a real tamper!
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 9:41pm Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
What grinder are you using?
If there was little to no crema then: 1- you need to find fresher coffee 2- you need to grind finer [basic rule- grind so fine nothing comes out for tn to fifteen seconds, ten try one click more coarse at a time until things seem right.] 3- yes, you need a proper tamper- even one made from stacked disks of cardboard the proper size will be better then the joke Rancilio sends with Silvia. [it's 58mm BTW.] 4- you need to use more coffee in the basket [fill to overfull, level off across the top, then tamp.] 5- you need to use the double basket and not the single to get started until you get the hang of things [I have never used a single basket in 7½ years!.] 6- read the rest of my website
owningmonkey Senior Member Joined: 9 May 2008 Posts: 10 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 10:59pm Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
Thanks a ton.. that will surely help me.
It is preground espresso :( i guess i should have clarified that instead of just saying a nice grinder.. but a grinder period. I think im going to get the gaggia MDF.
I dont think i was adding enough coffee into the portafilter.. ill be sure to do that in the morning then try and tamp with the piece of junk.
I just need to get the proper stuff.. soon i hope.
TagTeamJesus Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 217 Location: San Francisco, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Silvia with Watlow PID Grinder: Macap MC4; QuickMill... Drip: French press, oui, oui!
Posted Tue May 13, 2008, 11:40pm Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
owningmonkey is a good name.
Do you really own a monkey? I'd like one.
You would probably be better off with the new Le'lit PL53 grinder than with the Gaggia MDF. Gaggia's are stepped, and from what I hear, there aren't necessarily enough steps to really be able to hone in on a bean that well. Stepless grinders like the Le'lit allow you to achieve any conceivable grind because there are no fixed settings, i.e. "steps", to have to choose between. You get infinite adjustability. They make wonderful dedicated espresso grinders, but not really good multi-task grinders for switching between espresso and press.
With the Le'lit at only $239 and the Gaggia between $200-$300, I don't think the Gaggia has any advantage. Check out the Le'lit here:
owningmonkey Senior Member Joined: 9 May 2008 Posts: 10 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Posted Wed May 14, 2008, 1:01am Subject: Re: Bought a used silvia
Haha no i dont own a monkey. I wish! It is an old name.. the owning refers to winning pretty much.
I was actually thinking of getting the Le'lit PL53 but how adjustable it is kind of scares me. Since its not like 1-30 ect. From what i understand there is no numbers and its variable so all the options just scare me. I would only use it for espresso so once i get it dialed in i wouldnt have to change it much, just for different beans.
I have owned nothing but stepless grinders: the QuickMill grinder from Chris Coffee, the latest incarnation of which is being re-designed supposedly. And the Macap MC4. How I love my Macap. Stepless grinders give you the potential of getting lost, I suppose, but not really...I got lost once when I first got my Macap. But I then did one ridiculously simple thing so it never happened again. Once I found my grinder's approximate sweet spot for some of my favorite fresh beans, I simply marked the collar with a thin strip of adhesive. I always float within 3 notches on either side of that mark, and I always, always know precisely where I am in relation to previous days.
In the same way, you won't have a problem with the Le'lit. You could just mark the collar like lots of us have. Stepless gives you the best control over grind size and I think that's a wise investment. Maybe solicit some more feedback on the grind quality on the Le'lit. But, it has the same burrs as the Nemox Lux, which got really high marks in the Titan Grinder Project. Also, conversations I've had with Le'lit owners have been positive about this product. Read more here:
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