I have had my Silvia for about three years. I have operated a range of espresso machines owned by friends and family and in my opinion Miss Silvia is the best. It is perfect for making one or two cups at a time but is no good at instantly churning out half a dozen for a dinner party. I like this machine for a few reasons. Firstly, I enjoy coffee. Apart from feeding my mild addiction ( 2 cups per day) I enjoy learning about the detail of what makes a really good shot. Being a manual machine I have taken the happy journey of learning about bean q...Read more

I've owned my Silvia for about 5 years, it's given no trouble, is easy to clean, looks good on the bench and visitors keep asking for coffee! High quality construction (with 1 exception), simple operation and highly reliable. Also parts if you did need them are readily available.

Let's get this straight - this is not a cheap machine but is very good value for money the quality of construction, ease of use and reliability is first class and much better than the whitegood brands. Oh and it pays for itself very quickly if you're used to buying ...Read more

In a nutshell, in choosing a Miss Silvia, you are taking a demanding but ultimately rewarding apprenticeship into the world of espresso. A "semi-manual" enthusiast's machine, it can be hit-and-miss until you perfect the fresh roast, appropriate grind, tamping and temperature control process. Each of these steps are inherent in making a good coffee anyway; it's just that with the Silvia, if you misjudge a step you won't be forgiven, as you would with some more expensive mid-range machines (eg Rocket, VBM to name a couple). What you DO get is a r...Read more

I decided to write this review when I noticed the banner at the top of this page advising that the Rancilio Silvia had been discontinued. Apparently not - it is still showcased on Rancilio's web site, and it is still readily available - thank goodness!
Twelve months ago I discovered a 3-year-old used Silvia going cheap, and immediately pensioned off my old Gaggia Classic. What a difference! Beautiful coffee, heaps of steam, vastly improved milk frothing. The previous owner clearly hadn't bothered with maintenance, and some rust had developed o...Read more

Great machine [3+ years old - not this model exactly, but same stable]. My problem could only be experienced with time and so there is a lesson here. The back-flush discharge sends water into the chassis seam and extensive rust has occurred [remove front panel and observe]. This would appear to be a design problem. I removed flaking powder coating, ground out the rust [used a Dremel tool] and sprayed with black rust eater - 3 coats.

I removed the discharge pipe and fitted a loose piece of pipe over it and then reattached it. Bottom of...Read more

I am a fan of my Rancilio Silvia. Combined with a decent grinder (I have a Rocky) you have an entry level product which takes you into the world of real expresso. Basic set-up, easy to use and works well if you're making one or two cups at a time. (If your smashing out a lot more coffee you probably want to step up to a machine with a double boiler.) The negatives of the unit are: the PID was an add-on & for consistent coffee making the temperature of the water is important (I think the PID should be integrated in every machine); the waste wate...Read more

Decided to purchase the Rancilio Silvia after reading many positive reviews and watching many vids on You Tube. After having used my trusty Breville Cafe Roma for two years this is a huge step up. From my first shot It came pouring out like honey and had a beautiful crema. Milk also froths alot better as steam is so powerful. I seriously recommend this to anyone who is thinking of purchasing a semi auto machine it looks good too a bit retro but I like it. You can tell instantly that its built in Italy as it looks like nothing else I have seen...Read more

My old breville coffee machine died so I went to get it repaired. But after finding out what the cost was and being show all the other brevilles and sunbeams in for similar problems I couldn't see the point in paying for the repair( about half the original cost). After weeks of research, forums etc I decided on the Silvia and glad I did. It makes a great coffee, has plenty of steam pressure atleast 3 times that of the breville and reheats very quickly if making multiple cups. It's not too big and fits on the bench quite well. When comparing th...Read more

The machine will make a great cup of coffee, and I think it goes without saying that you need to Tune the beans, grind and so on. The problem is that the design is flawed with the boiller and while it seems some older reviews have a good experience, we used our machine for about two and a half years before the boiler element failed. Fine, this can happen, so we replace the boiler which worked well for a month, under very careful watching for water issues, and the boiler failed again. The second failure is due to failure of the outer brass co...Read more

Silvia made great coffee while it was working, I cannot be sure if my problem is just bad luck or a more significant quality problem with the boiler (hope is just bad luck). BTW, I was the only operator of the machine and look after her extremely well, certainly is not a case of "operator error."
A great coffee machine if you appreciate good quality Italian style coffee. Easy to clean and to keep clean. External (visible) component as of superior quality.
My machine stopped heating the water after 3kilos of coffee, less than 2 months of use. I ...Read more

Like one of the earlier reviews, our Rancillo Silvia burnt out after one weekend of careful use. the instructions are very poorly written (they're probably great if you read Italian) and the machine complicated. There is a safety fuse, but it didn't work to save our machine. It reminds me of a Fiat I used to own - a lot of style and great fun, but not very well made, and you end up wanting reliability over style - to-day there's no excuse for being able to burn out a boiler without tripping a safety switch.
So now we are having to pay another ...Read more

I bought this machine from these reviews on this site, upon ordering it, they give me a big warning ensure the machine to be primed all the time or it will void warranty, the problem is you spend more time priming and less time brewing, it might be OK for Coffee, but we like Latte's and it seems the 2 functions interfere with each other.
For example if you want 2 Latte's you have to first prime the machine, then make the coffee for both, once done you have to sit them aside, re-prime again and then wait for the steamer to heat up, all while yo...Read more