Quote:
Originally Posted by mosesbotbol
Nice. Make the grinder a priority, you're virtually dead in the water without it. The Silvia runs pretty steadily when it's calibrated, but it needs calibration almost every day or least a few times a week. Having pre-ground coffee can be hit or miss. You can always tamp harder...
Enjoy it. Get a quality tamp. Everyone has their little tips on making espresso as well, but that is a different thread.
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True to all smaller machines. Temp is key, and keeping the portafilter in the grouphead to warm it and even flushing some hot water over the portafilter is never a bad idea. Not sure I agree with the daily calibration part and that would tend to scare me if I was waiting on my first machine to arrive.
The Silvia has a great brass boiler which blows away the aluminum ones in inferior models and down the road, the PID mod is a relatively inexpensive mod that's worth looking at IF you are having temp issues. It's described here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Modifying_Miss_Silvia
I learned these tips on my old Gaggia, which was finicky, and probably pushed me into an E61 heat exchange model which eliminated those problems but put me in the hole a couple grande, which isn't what I ever wanted.
The owner's manual says 15 minute warmup, but I'd go at least 20.
This is a great little video on temp surfing, which can also be a huge help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Bn5...eature=related
Another thing that can not be understated is the importance of tamping. Gail from Seattle Coffee Gear demonstrates it quite well in this video I feel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRsEF...eature=channel