I just received a new rancilo Silvia. Previously I was using Ariete Retro', which produced nice espressos with Red Illy ground coffee. The same coffee on the Silvia produces a pale white crema, very disappointing. No matter how i tamp or fill the portafilter, result is always the same, much worst than the cheaper Ariete Retro'! The question is: Can I operate the Silvia without having a coffee grinder? I really don't want to fill up my kitchen with another machine and take the time for grinding. Is it possible to find a ground coffee that works with the Silvia? I thank you for your views.
You can operate the Silvia without a grinder... but you won't get the most out of the machine. Your Ariete probably had a crema enhancing portafilter. The Silvia will be a bit more finicky, since it will rely on your technique.
BTW, if you search for "Silvia" using the search function, you will find tons of posts with recommendations and reasons to pair up a good grinder with the Silvia.
Cheers, Gabe
EDIT: I forgot to welcome you to the forum! :) Here's a post I found that may go into the same question you posted that could help with your dilemma.
Welcome to the Coffeegeek forums Michelangelo! {;-D
You've basically gone from a Chevy Nova to a Lamborghini, & that Lam doesn't even have any rubber underneath on the road! The grinder is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the equation here. As mentioned, I've posted it till I'm blue in the face., & it's been posted about time & time again.., but I'll put a link to what I call Mark P's mantra.
You must have a quality burr grinder if you want good results from the Silvia. Period. Resellers should emphasize that point when selling it.
The Silvia is an excellent machine, but it requires commitment and additional investments in quality fresh-roasted coffee, a grinder, and a decent tamper. Then you will end up looking into how to better manage brewing temperature.
The Silvia is more of a tool than an appliance. Just like a frying pan doesn't cook your dinner for you, Silvia won't make your coffee for you. If you keep searching around Coffeegeek, you will see that you are at the beginning of a journey... should you choose to embark on it!
Yes, CraigA, that's exactly how i feel now. After 3 years with my Chevy Nova I felt I was pulling quality shots from my machine, similar to the one of the bar. And never felt the need to buy a grinder. SO when my chevy started to show same signs of age, and feeling i could be a good lambo driver i upgraded, just to find out that my new lambo does not get her tank filled from the normal pump, but i need to buy a special pump to get the petrol in it. Oh well, now i have to explain it to my wife!!! Thank you for your quick replies, I will read some discussions about grinders and see what is the cheapest available model. Rocky is around 250 EUR here, which is quite a bit, while this gaggia ( Click Here (www.espressocoffeeshop.com) ) is less expensive.
It really is all about the consistancy/evenness of grind that you need (to feed) the Rancilio Miss Silvia with. It's a fussy exacting mistress, but by buying the very best grinder you can afford will pay off with great dividends in the long run & down the road for some time to come.
It's false economy to buy a cheaper grinder thinking it will do the job 'ok'. You will waste money with a cheap grinder (& they will fall apart) & the cost of selling & upgrading over & over again is penny wise & pound foolish.
You get what you pay for, & what might look absolutely crazy about the Prosumer or Commercial grinders really is not., because you're paying for exacting precision build quality in the WHOLE grinder.., the motor, burr set, burr carrier & receiver (solid brass & aluminum versus plastic!)., etc that will last a lifetime.
When I started out, I thought everyone was crazy lol!, at first.. I learned quickly here & bought the very best equipment I could afford at the time (barely), the Rancilio Miss Silvia & Rocky ss doser in May 2001. I wouldn't use anything less than the Rocky IMO & experience as I've "been there, done that". {;-)
I understand your point. The rocky comes in two versions, with or without doser, and i think the only difference is the ability to dose the coffee for you or not. What I don't understand clearly is why the ground coffee does not work. Who Am i with my grinder compared to a big company like Illy? They must use a good grinder and they want to sell their ground coffee so they should make it compatible with most machines, right? Misteries I will understand with time..... Thank you for your help
Ground coffee at the very fineness level to pull shots in the Silvia & any espresso machine for that matter will start to stale within minutes of being ground. Pre-ground coffee is no good because it stales (oxidizes) in an extremely short time period upon contact with air & dries out, & looses its fresh quality & the delicate aromatics that you want to preserve in the shot. The very best way is to grind on demand to preserve the coffee, as it's very fragile in this ground state.
To put it in an easier way to visualize, a whole bean is a factor of 1. The grind required for espresso is on a magnitude of something like one million to that one 1,000,000 to 1, hence the need to grind on demand & NOT to have espresso fineness grind sitting around.. Illy keeps the espresso grind (& whole bean) in an inert Nitrogen pressure canned atmosphere, & that helps to an extent., but upon opening the coffee will degrade very rapidly.., I've heard CG's here (MarkP) say within the hour.
As a Rancilio Silvia owner, I fully concur. You not only need a good burr grinder, you need one that allows you a variety of very fine grind settings. You'll find that beans from different sources will need different degrees of fineness of the grind to get the most out of them. Once you have this dialed in, you will be very happy with the results.
You shouldn't have to spend 250 euro to get a great grinder, but expect to put out at least 150-200.
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