No! I had this machine, the skeleton is made of iron (the black colored parts), it completely rusted away for me in a couple of years. Very bad design decision on Rancilio.
I moved on from the Sylvia a long time ago. I just love its story (made from the parts bin as a gift for suppliers).
The size is attractive and it’s a little monster in n terms of bang-for-buck. I made ~15k coffees on it and it had one cheap service before it was elevated to ‘The Shelf’ with an Atomic espresso maker.
I don’t have the plus, but the non plus still produces better espresso than I can get from the spots near me. As the proud owner of a 2008 Corolla, I approve.
The Gaggiuno is quite complex; a Shades of Coffee PID kit is simpler if you want better shot-to-shot consistency and don't care much about customizing to the nth degree.
Single boiler is fine if you're making coffee for one or two - any more than that and the overhead of switching boiler temperatures makes the process painful.
I've had mine for about 3 years, routine descale with solution about a year ago, no issues. My water is around 120ppm.
the full on duino mod is way better for one primary reason. power steam or whatever they call the thing they do with the steamer. it takes the sputtery slow and weak steam wand and makes it actually functional.
also the "adaptive" settings you can do on there let you basically never have to "dial in" a shot. throw any random (still decent q and paired with a good grinder) beans on there and you get a shot thats very drinkable. For lattes and stuff where you are hiding the coffee in milk anyway this is like still better than 90% of what you can get from the coffee shop with the 20k$ big iron and 0 effort. and when you do have that special bag that wants the extra attention and straight espresso you've got all the controls and presets and shot tracking.
if you are gonna try and do home espresso you already have an involved hobby, if you are gonna mod your machine you are already pretty hardcore about your hobby... you might as well go all in at that point
The Dedelonri I bought in Vietnam for $20. It’s a Chinese fake of a budget machine. But it has insanely high pressure and produces way better coffee than anyone finds reasonable.
But secretly, I think it’s all just the super fresh high quality beans that you can buy in Vietnam. They cultivate a regional variant of arabica in their highlands. And even using a standard Bialetti Moca cup produces exceptional results with that coffee.
I compared it to my Bambino by trying the exact same ground espresso (Vergnano Espresso Casa and Illy Intenso) in it and it managed to turn multiple cups into barely drinkable mud.
I bought a Sage (Breville) Barista Pro a month before the first lockdown. It was pricey but was one of the best purchases I've ever done.
Still works exactly the same and it's what makes me want to get up from the bed even on Mondays.
The Rancilio Silvia.
https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/rancilio-silvia-pr...
No! I had this machine, the skeleton is made of iron (the black colored parts), it completely rusted away for me in a couple of years. Very bad design decision on Rancilio.
100% stainless steel or bust.
Yeah, that corner rust is a pita. They all do it. I’d put rust converter on it.
“They all do it” - all rancilio silva, not every coffee machine.
Thought to add that context for people unfamiliar with coffee machines.
Good machine, and you can upgrade it with a PID.
And you will have enough money left over to get a great grinder.
I am being told by my local coffee geeks that it's Gaggia
I moved on from the Sylvia a long time ago. I just love its story (made from the parts bin as a gift for suppliers). The size is attractive and it’s a little monster in n terms of bang-for-buck. I made ~15k coffees on it and it had one cheap service before it was elevated to ‘The Shelf’ with an Atomic espresso maker.
I've bought Corollas for less than that ...
I’ve sold Carollas for less.
But, the milage you’ll get on a Sylvia is higher.
My Breville Bambino Plus was cheap and produces a pretty reliable shot.
I don’t have the plus, but the non plus still produces better espresso than I can get from the spots near me. As the proud owner of a 2008 Corolla, I approve.
Gaggia Classic Pro, modded with Gagguino or Gaggimate. Only downside - single boiler.
Agree on the Classic Pro.
The Gaggiuno is quite complex; a Shades of Coffee PID kit is simpler if you want better shot-to-shot consistency and don't care much about customizing to the nth degree.
Single boiler is fine if you're making coffee for one or two - any more than that and the overhead of switching boiler temperatures makes the process painful.
I've had mine for about 3 years, routine descale with solution about a year ago, no issues. My water is around 120ppm.
double agree on the classic pro.
disagree on pid kit only.
the full on duino mod is way better for one primary reason. power steam or whatever they call the thing they do with the steamer. it takes the sputtery slow and weak steam wand and makes it actually functional.
also the "adaptive" settings you can do on there let you basically never have to "dial in" a shot. throw any random (still decent q and paired with a good grinder) beans on there and you get a shot thats very drinkable. For lattes and stuff where you are hiding the coffee in milk anyway this is like still better than 90% of what you can get from the coffee shop with the 20k$ big iron and 0 effort. and when you do have that special bag that wants the extra attention and straight espresso you've got all the controls and presets and shot tracking.
if you are gonna try and do home espresso you already have an involved hobby, if you are gonna mod your machine you are already pretty hardcore about your hobby... you might as well go all in at that point
Prone to scale easily though, I sold mine and planning on getting a manual lever machine as mentioned in another top comment.
The Dedelonri I bought in Vietnam for $20. It’s a Chinese fake of a budget machine. But it has insanely high pressure and produces way better coffee than anyone finds reasonable.
But secretly, I think it’s all just the super fresh high quality beans that you can buy in Vietnam. They cultivate a regional variant of arabica in their highlands. And even using a standard Bialetti Moca cup produces exceptional results with that coffee.
Gaggia.
Delonghi Dedica!
I compared it to my Bambino by trying the exact same ground espresso (Vergnano Espresso Casa and Illy Intenso) in it and it managed to turn multiple cups into barely drinkable mud.
Cannot recommend it, personally.
Breville Barista Express probably.
I've definitely seen these in more homes and offices than anything from La Marzocco.
The fact that it costs a tenth of the La Marzocco Linea Mini helps a lot.
I've got a DeLonghi Dedica Duo which makes much better coffee than it has any right to... And it's very cheap.
Even can adjust temperature and shot water volume...
putting milk in your coffee haha