Reviewer Photos & Videos
teckleicqAdelaide
- 12 reviews
- 3 likes
Great espresso maker, if you know how to use it properly!
I've had this coffee machine for over 5 years now, and until a few months ago I was wondering why I wasn't getting great coffee out of it, and whether it needed a service, or something.
I googled and watched some video tutorials and found out it needed finer ground coffee in order for it to work at its best and since then i've been getting much better coffee from it.
Fairly easy to clean with the group head, catcher, frother, tray and tray cover to clean after making a flat white, but it is no Nespresso machine in convenience.
Do your research and get to know how to use your Rancilio Silvia first and maintain it with decalcification and cleaning the group head.
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Matt BMelbourne
- 2 reviews
- Silvia V3
- Verified purchase
Solid construction, works well
It makes a good coffee, doesn't have the double boilers that a lot of the newer machines do or the dials and sensors that you could get in a similarly priced machine now.
Simple and easy to use, though you need to let it sit for about 10minutes to warm up, even though it may say it is ready the head and group need to be warm as well to make good coffee. Pressure and temp are good
Cleaning is simple, robust design, mines lasted 5 years.
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LreyPerth
So disappointing...
Purchased this machine because of its fantastic reviews, many of my friends have had theirs for years and very happy. Unfortunately, I have not had this experience and I am obsessive about looking after my machine. In the three years I have had it I have had the element replaced twice.
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Donna ByrneBrisbane
- 3 reviews
- 1 like
Love this coffee machine
Absolutely can not live without this machine, it is a machine that is easy to use and can be easily cleaned. I have had the machine for over a year now and has not missed a heart beat. It still leaves the flavour of the beans at its fullest that delivers you an amazing coffee
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purplethingsGreater Melbourne (Inner), VIC
- 24 reviews
- 1 like
Coffee is a must!
If you are after a coffee machine that is not automatic, this is a good one. It does take a little practice in the beginning to get the coffee the way you like it (trying out different grinds and types of coffee etc), once you are there you can make a consistent great tasting coffee. There is a little work involved in cleaning it, however by taking care of the machine and keeping it clean, the coffee tastes much better.
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hallistick[email protected]
- 8 reviews
Once a fantastic Machine punching above its weight, but new ones iffy. They have trashed the name.
My version from what I'm hearing was the last one of quality. It needs some attention now (perhaps a new element, but hopefully just electrics, will know soon) Turns out Rancilio have cheapened all components to the point where its not really serviceable any more. The replacement element according to the repairer only last a year or so, and they aren't cheap to replace. This downgrading began with my model cosmetically (started using plated plastic instead of the old real metal etc) and apparently continued into the innards now with really cheap parts being used. Why they didn't go with a higher price and keep the quality I don't know but wouldn't now buy another.
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ScepticInaminka
Be very careful of this lemon
Context: Seven (7) home espresso machines since 1982, all Italian, all very satisfactory until this one. This is a clunky, old-fashioned device that is particle-size dependent, utterly dependent upon time-consuming practice, fine tuning, water temperature, and god knows what else. Even packing the basket is difficult, too much grounds and it won't lock into the machine, whoever designed this thing must have hated his fellow man. I've tried seven different brands of coffee beans in a fruitless attempt to replicate what we have been drinking for...Read more
the past 25 years, without success. This machine arrived without a handbook, the Victorian distributor saw themselves as having NO responsibility after the time of dispatch, be very wary of them. I bought a new grinder, tried every possible setting, bought another grinder, no joy. Reviews are headed "If you know what you are doing", "Fiddly and time consuming": Ignore the negative reports at your peril.1 comment
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awesome machine. Get a PID. Patience.
Makes Great coffee .Using freshly ground beans.
Spent a long time trying to get it right. Nearly gave up .
Realised my cheap grinder wasn't helping.
Bought a K-3 Touch.70%better. Added a PID 95%better.
(forget temp surfing).digital scales measuring to .01. 99%better.
the rest is technique. If you spend time tuning yourself to the machine
using, 60mil (double shot basket),25-30sec,92degC as a ''rough'' guide,
and 17.5 grams of coffee you will be happy with the rancilio.
If you want a machine the whole family can use, get one that's fully
automatic. I think rancilio should make a PID mandatory. Most of the cheaper
...Read more
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Fiddly & time consuming
Before buying the latest Rancho Silvia, I read a number of product reviews & almost seemed to say this was a great machine. But I find the relatively small water reservoir, lack of any gauge to tell how much water is in it & the absolutely token drip tray painful features. I also hadn't heard about the water temperature issues until just now & didn't know I had to "temperature surf" to hit the right temp. The small basket is useless, as is the tamper. So all in all, I find the Silvia way too fiddly to be fun. It's a real disappointment. The Rocky grinder is good.
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Anthony GoodwinLong Jetty, New South Wales
- 8 reviews
- 7 likes
If you know what you're doing, this is your best value for money machine
Ok, so I've had mine for a few years now. Use it 2-3 times a day. Invest in a good grinder or you are wasting your time. To get best results, you also gotta buy a thermostat switch unit on ebay. It takes a bit of fiddling, but once on, you have all the control you need. Do your steamed milk first, then switch over to the extraction run water through till you are at 96 degrees celsius. Then pop in your group and run your coffee through.... DON'T leave your machine on, you'll burn it out! Another tip for longevity is to keep your steam wand stationary and the gaskets and seals will last longer.... mine has been serviced twice
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Disgruntled consumer
- 3 reviews
- 7 likes
Great machine straight outa the box
I spent quite some time researching coffee machines in this price bracket and after reading some forums/reviews elsewhere complaining about the Silvia's factory temperature control (hi to all the temperature surfers out there), was a little hesitant in going for one of these machines. 6 months after having forked out $1300 for a V4 Silvia + Rocky grinder I'm happy to report that (once you've spent a few weeks mastering the machine and finding the right grind size + coffee dose - youtube will help you do this quicker) this thing makes excellent ...Read more
coffee every time straight out of the box - full-stop. The times it has failed to do this were due entirely to operator error rather than machine issues (over/under dosing and tamping, incorrect grind size, not bleeding steam/water from lines when needed, etc.) Like everybody else says, the single shot basket is useless, so throw this out and get a decent size one (same goes for the plastic tamper). Spend some time mastering the machine and it will pay for itself in no time.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Domino1352Victoria
- 2 reviews
Had mine for 12+ years
Perfect reliability
No problems with spare parts (only needed a tine spring for steam tap).
Makes 4+ coffees EVERY day.
Pulled boiler apart only twice to descale. Easy job all you need is hex key and screw driver.
(Takes some before photos to, particularly wire locations).
I would definitely recommend!!
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Rocks
- 2 reviews
Problems With My Rancilio
Supposedly the top of the line in home espresso machines, "a highly reliable machine, producing great coffee every time". This is not my experience. An issue with the thermostat on my machine took months to resole. My experience has been poor, both with the machine and the retailer Coffee Aroma.
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MarkMelbourne
- 19 reviews
- 14 likes
Great Machine
Great single boiler machine which is great fun and makes great coffee. Looks great too and has a fairly small footprint so doesn't take up too much space in the kitchen. Has never let me down and other than monthly back flush cleaning hasn't required any maintenance. Overall I am very happy with it & would recommend it as a first serious expresso machine.
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lemWarrandyte
- 3 reviews
- 1 like
Nice machine
Perfect machine for espresso use. It's pushing about 10 -15 espresso's a week for the last 10 years. Needs routine maintenance and cleaning, which can be found easily on the web. Not the machine I would recommend for making cafe latte or cappuccino due to single boiler design. You would need to spend double for a decent double boiler machine.
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Great option
For price and usability you can't do much better. Makes a great coffee. Steam is strong. It is easy to clean. Looks good sitting on the bench in the kitchen. I had read other reviews and was impressed by others thoughts which made it an easy decision to buy this one.
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BradSydney
- 29 reviews
Working flawlessly for 4 years now.
I was a little hesitant at first because at the time $850 was a lot of money to spend on a coffee machine, and I was going through a bit of a coffee phase which I didn't know was going to last. Bought the Rocky grinder as well. I am pleased to say that after 4 years and an estimated 800 cups of coffee, it is still working flawlessly. Produces great espresso shots with crema, and with a little bit of practice you can froth the milk to perfection.
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MattySouth East Queensland, QLD
- 4 reviews
- 7 likes
She works hard for the money
I've had this machine for 2 years making 1 or 2 drinks a day and so far it hasn't missed a beat. It is possible to make espressos better than most coffee shops with the Silvia so long as you get the basics right. ie. Good quality, freshly roasted beans and a grinder that delivers a consistent, fine enough grind.
The Silvia is about as primitive as a pump driven Espresso machine gets. It has a Single boiler, vibratory pump and a thermostat with a fairly large deadband which means you have to "temperature surf" to get the right brew temp. Thi...Read more
s simplicity makes it fairly bulletproof, but there are a few things you need to be careful of. The boiler does not automatically refill, so you have to manually refill it after steaming, using the brew or hot water switch. Turning the heater on with an empty boiler can blow the element. There are also some design flaws. While the panels are stainless steel, the base is powder coated non stainless. The outlet of the three way solenoid sits near the edge of the drip tray, so water invariably drips on to the powder coated base. As a result, I am seeing some blistering of the powder coating due to rust. There are 3 useless items that are included with the Silvia: 1) The flimsy plastic tamper which seems to be a standard accessory on most Italian espresso machines. Throw it out and get a 58 mm steel tamper. 2) The single filter basket (6g). It is almost impossible to get a good extraction out of this basket as it cannot hold enough coffee. I replaced it with a La Marzocco (7g) basket which works way better. 3) The double filter basket (12g). I could get this one to pull decent shots, but I needed to overdose the basket and tamp really hard. I replaced this with a larger 14g basket and things got much easier. Having said all that, there is much I love about the SilviaSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
AndrewMelbourne
- 5 reviews
incredibly reliable - but not foolproof
The SIlvia is a really strong, heavy machine that looks great. Mine has lasted 15 years now and has had two problems in that time - both times boilers burning out or burning out of the heating element. The Silvia is not foolproof and take a deal of practice to get the hang of. They also do not cope with commercial grounds, they really need fresh-ground beans and it has to be a quite fine grind or you get no crema and a fast pour - i.e. the coffee comes through too quickly. The one cup filter basket is also useless....So if you are going to ...Read more
buy it, get a good grinder from Rancilio or I have an Iberital grinder which is slightly cheaper and still fine. Make sure you grind fine enough and get a good metal tamper to properly tamp the grounds in the filter basket. The steamer can make very good quality milk if you are drinking lattes. Worth watching a few 'tips' videos on vimeo or youtube to see how people use it properly. One thing that affects the coffee is if you steam milk first, you need to bleed the steam out of the boiler before making your shot of coffee - or else you will fire hot steam and very hot water through the grounds and make a bitter 'cooked' shot. So better to either make the coffee first and then steam the milk or steam the milk but then bleed the steam out and even run some water back through the group handle to make sure you haven't got too hot water coming through. As I said, it is not so easy, but it can make excellent coffee once you are used to using it, and it is very solid and reliable.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
IngooPerth
- 3 reviews
- 1 like
Almost perfect, for the money
This machine, paired with a doserless Rocky, was my first coffee machine. As a beginner the machine proved very reliable and provided solid performance for many years. Not having all the fancy circuits like many of the more automated machines at similar pricepoints, this machine seems rock-solid and reliable. I must admit that I didn't have it serviced more than once in the 5+ years that I owned it, and it never missed a beat.
I did add an aftermarket PID kit to help with temp consistency...do some research on temp surfing if you're not sure...Read more
what this is about. The Auber Kit that I added also added a few other features like countdown timers and preinfusion, which were nice. The machine has a small footprint which is nice on a bench that is not overly big. However this does mean that both the water tank and the drip tray are quote small and will need frequent attention. If you're only making one or two drinks at a time it won't be an issue, but you do need to keep an eye on both as there are no warning lights etc to let you know about water levels. Speaking of making drinks, if you are looking to entertain and frequently need to make more than one or two drinks, this machine is probably not for you. As a single boiler it is only able to do one thing at a time, make espresso, or steam milk. Switching from one to the other takes a bit of time for the boiler to adjust temp and this impedes making multiple drinks in quick succession. I usually made an espresso for myself, and then a flat white for my white, so only needed to switch from espresso to milk once. While I had the v1 of this product, I believe there were only cosmetic differences between that and later versions. So all limitations would still apply to later versions, but so would the reliability and performance of this machine. I replaced Silvia with an upgrade to a Giotto Rocket Evoluzione (a much large capacity, HX, plumbed machine), and upgrade the Rocky to a Mazzer Mini.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Questions & Answers
Sharonasked
My silvia has started to splatter and spit when I try to make coffee - coffee all over the place - the steamer is fine. Any help?
3 answers
Sound like the gasket in the group head is gone or there is stuff stuck to the gasket so it doesn't form a good seal. Be wary about using it as the boiler has a tendency to bake the electrical wiring loom brittle and if there is water spraying around and it is getting inside the unit you run a risk of electric shock. This happened with mine. I don't trust Rancilio anymore - not the quality they profess to be.
I'd get it serviced ASAP.
Ok I will thank you very much very much appreciated
Sorry espresso machines
Rob_lamasked
I don't seem to be able to get the expresso to creme
3 answers
I will try to help. Its a combination of coffee quality, grind, tampering and water temp temperature. Let's assume the quality is okay and you know how to get the right temperature on the machine. Grind the coffee to the granularity of caster sugar. Fill the basket with 15 -18 grams of coffee. Tamp it down with 30 Pounds or 12 Kilo of hand tamper pressure. Load the group handle and when the light indicator is correct. run the water pump through the coffee for around 30 seconds. If the coffee bubbles through too fast, the grind is too coarse or not enough coffee. If it struggles to drip coffee into the cup, the coffee is too fine or there is too much coffee. Experiment with coarser or finer and tamper pressure. Let me know how this goes.
This might help a little to see the result you should be aiming for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjS8h5DSW3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cdYyrvlWM
Peter S.asked
Where can we purchase the Silvia and Rocky grinder with tamper?
Are they sold as a set?
Any suggestions, I live in Brisbane
1 answer
There are plenty of Australian sources. Here is one https://www.coffeemachinespecialist.com.au/shop/rancilio-silvia-with-doserless-grinder-package/ Google to find others. You my need to buy online. Any Rancilio supplier would have them or could get them. This one is in Brisbane, but you may still need to buy online as it is through ebay. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rancilio-Silvia-V5-Espresso-Machine-Brisbane-Miss-Sylvia-Coffee-Machine-Maker-/172089351293
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Sceptic
I wrote the review that began..."Context: Seven (7) home espresso machines since 1982." Would you like another more detailed review of the Rancilio after a further 3 months of fine tuning and despair?