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Interesting! When I worked for a coffee roaster, there were two kinds of people looking for the Silvia: home espresso enthusiasts with too much money and cheaps

Interesting! When I worked for a coffee roaster, there were two kinds of people looking for the Silvia: home espresso enthusiasts with too much money and cheapskates looking to add espresso-based drinks to their businesses. I'm glad the poster enjoyed the project, because there's no way on Earth it was worth the money.

criddell 7y ago
It might not have been worth the money, but it's nice that it didn't end up in the garbage.
orion138 7y ago
The silvia is always touted as a reasonably priced machine which can be converted to PID with little work...
alfiedotwtf 7y ago
I know a lot of coffee enthusiasts with Silvias, and they pull awesome shots. It's probably the best entry "prosumer" machine in existence!
Polyisoprene 7y ago
Either a Silva at home or Nespresso at the office has been my daily routine the last 8-9 years. I wouldn’t call the Silva expensive. Probably hard too find something cheaper that feels better, quality wise, than even a Nespresso-machine.
- FroshKiller 7y ago
  I didn't call it expensive, though. I said the people trying to buy one from us had too much money.
detaro 7y ago
So what's the recommendation to get instead, if the Silvia is too expensive?
- sjwright 7y ago
  A teapot. If you can't do good coffee at home, best to keep it as a treat for when you're out.
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    My ordering would be: Stove top > Silvia > La Cimbali Junior > La Marzocco Linea Mini.
  - detaro 7y ago
    Parent categorized people looking at a Silvia as "having to much money", so I would hope they have a similarly good cheaper recommendation.
    - FroshKiller 7y ago
      Yes, not buying a home espresso machine.
- davidgould 7y ago
  Breville BES920 XL. Espresso machine done in a modern way. Dual boilers, three PID controlled heaters (boiler, steam boiler, grouphead). Makes excellent espresso with almost no fuss, very forgiving. You still need a good grinder with stepless control, but other than that it's super easy to dial in. This is my third machine and by far the best. I considered an E-61 machine, but that design dates back to the 1960s and controls temperature and extraction with pressure-stats, cams and rods and thermal mass. The Breville is a modern design in that it achieves these goals with micro-controllers, sensors and actuators. I don't know if it will last the 10 years my Ponte Vecchio spring lever did, but that took a lot of upkeep. The Breville has needed nothing for the two years I've had it so far.
  - ses1984 7y ago
    >if the Silvia is too expensive?
  - 7y ago
defterGoose 7y ago
"Too much money". My Silvia paid for itself vs. $5 coffee shop lattes in under a year.
Grustaf 7y ago
What makes you say that? You can get one for 2-300 euros and it will outlast you since you can replace every single part. I’m pretty sure it’s the cheapest option available if you take a long term view.
- FroshKiller 7y ago
  At the time, you would not have found a Silvia for that price, even used. And we did not sell used Silvias in any case.

criddell 7y ago

It might not have been worth the money, but it's nice that it didn't end up in the garbage.

orion138 7y ago

The silvia is always touted as a reasonably priced machine which can be converted to PID with little work...

alfiedotwtf 7y ago

I know a lot of coffee enthusiasts with Silvias, and they pull awesome shots. It's probably the best entry "prosumer" machine in existence!

Polyisoprene 7y ago

Either a Silva at home or Nespresso at the office has been my daily routine the last 8-9 years. I wouldn’t call the Silva expensive. Probably hard too find something cheaper that feels better, quality wise, than even a Nespresso-machine.

FroshKiller 7y ago
I didn't call it expensive, though. I said the people trying to buy one from us had too much money.

detaro 7y ago

So what's the recommendation to get instead, if the Silvia is too expensive?

sjwright 7y ago
A teapot. If you can't do good coffee at home, best to keep it as a treat for when you're out.
- lostlogin 7y ago
  My ordering would be: Stove top > Silvia > La Cimbali Junior > La Marzocco Linea Mini.
- detaro 7y ago
  Parent categorized people looking at a Silvia as "having to much money", so I would hope they have a similarly good cheaper recommendation.
  - FroshKiller 7y ago
    Yes, not buying a home espresso machine.
davidgould 7y ago
Breville BES920 XL. Espresso machine done in a modern way. Dual boilers, three PID controlled heaters (boiler, steam boiler, grouphead). Makes excellent espresso with almost no fuss, very forgiving. You still need a good grinder with stepless control, but other than that it's super easy to dial in. This is my third machine and by far the best. I considered an E-61 machine, but that design dates back to the 1960s and controls temperature and extraction with pressure-stats, cams and rods and thermal mass. The Breville is a modern design in that it achieves these goals with micro-controllers, sensors and actuators. I don't know if it will last the 10 years my Ponte Vecchio spring lever did, but that took a lot of upkeep. The Breville has needed nothing for the two years I've had it so far.
- ses1984 7y ago
  >if the Silvia is too expensive?
- 7y ago

defterGoose 7y ago

"Too much money". My Silvia paid for itself vs. $5 coffee shop lattes in under a year.

Grustaf 7y ago

What makes you say that? You can get one for 2-300 euros and it will outlast you since you can replace every single part. I’m pretty sure it’s the cheapest option available if you take a long term view.

FroshKiller 7y ago
At the time, you would not have found a Silvia for that price, even used. And we did not sell used Silvias in any case.