Makes good hot frothy milk quickly. The handle which holds the grinds is nice and heavy (good indicator of quality of machine according to the boss).
Negative Product Points
Unit faulty from the first use. Boxy and old fashioned looking (from female perspective). But partner (da boss) thinks it looks the business - and he's the afficianado.
Detailed Commentary
Having previously been disappointed by his Gaggia and De Longhi coffee machines, I thought I'd pull out the stops and buy my partner a Rancilio Silvia for Xmas (especially after reading the good reviews on this site). Imagine his excitement when he opened the box on Xmas morning. His De Longhi had broken down a couple of months ago and he'd made do with instant since then while researching which machine to buy next. He refused to have his first morning coffee, preferring to wait until he'd set up the machine so he could have a proper latte. Halfway through following the Silvia's set up instructions the machine blew out all the house electrics. The Xmas tree, TV (which the rest of the family were watching) etc all went off. We re-set the circuit breaker not knowing what had happened and he carried on trying to set up the Silvia.... only for the circuits to blow again. We realised with dismay that it was the Silvia which was doing this and packed it away. What a massive disappointment for him and more so for me as this was the 'big ticket' item I'd bought him for Xmas. My Espresso arranged for the faulty unit to be picked up quite quickly (29th Dec) but since then I have heard nothing. I would expect them to replace it with a brand new unit as it never worked in the first place but we'll see. So instead of enjoying first rate crema, lattes etc. over the holiday period we are left frustrated and in the dark. What a big let down.
