Silvia is a bewitching brewmistress!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Solid construction, nice design, powerful steam, makes killer espresso!

Cons: Brass shavings in steam, modest boiler size, very sensitive to bean grind and quality.

The Bottom Line: 
Silvia is a great home machine. Once you get the hang of using it, it'll make FANTASTIC espresso and steamed drinks. You'll also need a good quality Burr grinder.

Author's Review
A little background about my coffee tastes:

I have been drinking coffee for about 20 years, since my teens. In my 30's, I discovered the joys of espresso, and purchased a couple "cheapie" home espresso machines. I was always disappointed. They never made espresso properly. Invariably, these cheaper machines gathered dust and eventually made their way to the Goodwill donation store.

This year, I decided to take the plunge and get a proper semi-pro machine. I did a lot of research, and found out that for price and quality, the Rancilio Silvia is a good buy.

Right out of the box, the Silvia oozes seriousness. I mean, the whole thing is made of plate stainless steel, and HEAVY! A big thing: the portafilter (the handle-cup-thingy which you place your ground espresso into) is virtually the same as the commercial ones that Rancilio sells. In fact, the vendor said a lot of the Silvia components are interchangeable with commercial Rancilio machines.

I have now owned the Silvia for 6 months, and am finally getting the hang of making espresso the way I want it. I had to experiment with varying grinds, tamping techniques, and draw times, but I am now making espresso as good or better as anything you buy at the coffee shops.

HERE'S MY SUMMARY:

o Silvia powers up fairly quickly, which is nice.

o It's somewhat noisy, whether steaming or drawing espresso.

o The resevoir is OK, but could be bigger.

o The boiler is satisfactory, but again, bigger would be better. Steaming milk and switching to espresso taxes the boiler.

o The first week I used it, brass shavings would emerge from the steam wand. This was very disconcerting. I chalked it up to manufacturing left-overs.

o It's built like a tank. The stainless steel finish looks very European and modern.

o Easy to clean and maintain.

o You MUST have a good-quality Burr grinder to get the most out of this machine. The Rancilio Rocky grinder is by far the best choice.

o Silvia's espresso quality is EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to fineness of grind, as well as bean quality.

o It takes a lot of learning to get this machine to make drinks the way you want it. It is more of a craft process, you "become one" with the machine. Not for those people who are into computerized push-a-button type of espresso.