karmadog Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Miss Silvia Grinder: Rocky Vac Pot: Bodum Drip: Cuisinart Roaster: Waiting until summer
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2007, 2:20pm Subject: Re: Has anybody purchased the new Starbucks Sirena?
I was the one who started the thread. I decided against the Sirena ultimately. I went ahead and purchased a Rancilio Silvia instead ... I wasn't sure what the Sirena quality was going to be like, and I found a great deal on a Silvia/Rocky doserless combo.
dlbarista Senior Member Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 6 Location: NYC Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2007, 3:46pm Subject: Re: Has anybody purchased the new Starbucks Sirena?
It's a Saeco-made semi-auto double-boiler unit. They're pushing the looks of it, as the box was designed by the BMW Design Group (located in the USA). Is it any good? Who knows.
cedartoo Senior Member Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Pacific Nothwest Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Nov 27, 2007, 9:32am Subject: Re: Has anybody purchased the new Starbucks Sirena?
I purchased the Sirena two weeks ago and it is going back as soon as I find a replacement.
Things I hate about the Sirena
Water reservoir is too small and inconveniently located.
Very sloppy cover over the water reservoir that does not fit well.
Designers clearly chose form over function in many areas. I don’t think that would be the prevailing philosophy at BMW where this thing was supposedly designed.
Portafilter has a rubber gasket/stopper with a plastic insert to create back pressure crema.
Too slow to initial heat, especially considering it has such a small boiler (I was told it had a separate heating plate for the steam/hot water, which I doubted at the time but I was told this nonetheless).
Interminably long wait between cycles.
Huge temperature swings during cycles (small boiler with no pre-heater).
Lack of pressure release and drainage in the portafilter leaves a soupy, drippy and potentially explosive mess.
Tepid espresso!
Ridiculous frothing-aid nozzle which creates a coarse froth at best
Steam wand shoots lots of water into the milk and it drips milk after I remove the pitcher.
Extremely flimsy drip tray grill.
Plastic drip tray has a clumsy design which is difficult to set correctly with cheap plastic holding posts that move around when positioning the tray making it even more difficult.
Drip tray is too small.
There is no accommodation for continuous flow of water through the portafilter except by holding one of the buttons which will reprogram it to give that amount in the future.
Temperature gauge has marks but no numbers. I can’t tell what it actually means in centigrade or Fahrenheit.
After it comes to temperature in steam mode it requires near immediate action or it reverts back to espresso mode. If it was faster to come to temperature I might be willing to stand there and wait but I have many things going on, then if I don’t hit that thirty second window, I have to start over.
Things I like about the Sirena
It looks nice and the smooth edges make it relatively easy to clean.
The steam wand has great range of movement.
The programming could not be easier.
The chrome-plated brass portafilter feels very substantial.
In short....It should be back to the drawing board on this one. At least wait for Sirena 2.0
Posted Tue Nov 27, 2007, 1:55pm Subject: Re: Has anybody purchased the new Starbucks Sirena?
She's a lot about looks; a flashy gal. More resources devoted to looks than to delivering quality goods. Costs as much as a silvia or venus.
If they ain't saying how big the boiler is it must be tiny.
Make mine big, brass, with a good OPV and a pump fron the netherworlds ;-))) I don't care if she is boxy if the espresso is great, and I rarely need steam tricks.
Is there anybody out there who thinks this thing can go toe to toe with even a solis sl70.
One day Americans will learn the difference between looks and performance; fantasy and reality.
ElGreco Senior Member Joined: 3 Dec 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Toronto Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Sirena
Posted Mon Dec 3, 2007, 10:21pm Subject: Re: Has anybody purchased the new Starbucks Sirena?
Just purchased it yesterday at the employees discount. I am still trying it out (trying to find the right grind etc). So far what I can say is that the machine makes wonderful foam. Someone posted that hot water does come out of the wand sometimes prior to steaming the milk. I have experienced the same thing, but not enough to water down the milk. I find the machine comes up to temp relatively quick. I have to agree with the fact that the cover on the water reservoir is very flimsy. Will keep you posted...
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 