silvia is a great machine at a good price, which will hopefully keep away the upgrade fever for a while yet
Positive Product Points
Solid construction and Quality Parts, Able to make a impressive shot of espresso, Excellent Steaming Ability, Pleasing to the eye and looks good in nearly any kitchen
Negative Product Points
It would be nice to plumb in silvia as it does use a lot of water and im constantly filling the reservoir but what can you expect at this price range. Also the drip tray whilst a considerable size does fill rather quickly if flushing the group and pf often. I have also noticed that the edges of the drip are rather sharp and i have almost cut myself on them a few times
Detailed Commentary
What can I say Silvia has been a godsend for me ever since the day I picked her up she has not let me down, with consistently good results and solid construction this machine in my opinion blows all others in this price range away.
However there are a few niggles with Silvia as she is a temperamental machine, and demands only the best, if your planning on using lower quality beans and not fresh roast and freshly ground than you will get a disappointing result, you will need to plan on getting a quality grinder if your looking at Silvia, however if you treat her right she will reward you time and time again.
My only major gripe with Silvia is the reservoir and drip tray, I would really like to see someone modify Silvia to be plumbed in (I'm looking at ways of doing this at the moment) with flushing the group and the pf the drip tray fills rather quickly and the reservoir drains at around the same rate however I cant really complain though at this price you cant expect the machine to be plumbed in, on the topic of the drip tray around the edges of the tray itself are rather rough and sharp and could easily cause someone to cut themselves.
On cleaning Silvia I find it rather difficult to remove all the grinds from around the grouphead and the grinds tend to build up rather quickly around the gasket and somewhat difficult to remove.
Even with this few gripes I have never been happier with Silvia's ability to produce excellent results, on the topic of steaming there is no contest, once brought into steam mode and the excess water bled off than Silvia can with a little effort produce excellent latte art quality microfoam.
If your looking for a quality machine in this price range than I say look no further Silvia is for you.
Buying Experience
The coffee company in melbourne went out of there way to help me out and put my machines aside for over a month for me and than gave me discounts on my other purchases, what can i say but top notch service
