Rancilio Silvia Shot Walkthrough

Video showing how to brew a shot on the Rancilio Silvia, including tips on how to "temperature surf" the machine by getting the boiler to cycle to it's top temperature (about 101C with a "float"), then running a bit of water to flush out the excess heat.

Shots pulled are "traditional doubles", pulling 60mls in 28 seconds, using Kid-O from Intelligentsia (I called it Black Cat by mistake once in the vid). Dose is about 17g in a Synesso 14g basket. Grinder used is the Anfim "Best" home grinder, about $420Cdn / $300 US.

PS - because of the white balance (shot under old florescent lights), the shots look blonder in the vid than they are. I'd say the colour in person was a mediumbrown / hazelnut tiger flecks. No blond dotting.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Rancilio
• Silvia
• espresso
• shot
• pull
• temperature
• surfing
• coffeegeek
• coffeegeek.com
• coffee
• grinder
• intelligentsia

[TheBauermv]

Thanks for your detailed instruction video. I will definitely be trying your technique for frothing milk. Have a question regarding the coffee. I haven't had the Silvia for very long and can't seem to get a good tasting shot. It's always very bitter. It seems to pour at the right speed and the grind seems about right. I can only think about the timing for brewing and/or the coffee. Any recommendations?

[CoffeeGeek]

@TheBauermv water temperatures can play a big role with how bitter a shot of espresso can be - hotter water temps = more bitter extractions. That's one possible cause.

[Back2Brent]

Hey CG,

Just got my Sylvia back out and started using again...i have noticed that when running water through the group head, i will often get a shot of water streaming out of to the left, so much so it shoots beyond the drip pan. Any thoughts?

[CoffeeGeek]

@Back2Brent yes - clean the grouphead. Unscrew the dispersion screen, soak it in lots of purocaff, scrub, etc. Clean everything. You've got a clogged dispersion screen.

[natecap]

Hey CoffeeGeek, I love my Silva V3.. but no matter how hot I get the machine I cant get that water to flash steam? I get great, consistent shots of espresso.. but cant for the life of me get that sound at temperature surfing? The atmospheric temperature must have something to do with it?

[CoffeeGeek]

@natecap not sure how to troubleshoot this problem. I suggest visiting CoffeeGeek's espresso machine forum and posting the question there.

[f1lupo]

excellent video..thanks! love my Silvia :-)

[century1981]

Do you let the machine heat up for any specific time? or just until the boiler cycles?

[MrPipes2U]

This is a really great instruction, since it teaches so much - the catchbasin, the easy temp surf (which I haven't quite got in practice yet) and the respectful cleaning. I do the portafilter wiggle every day, per here, and always catch some wayward grounds. Very nicely done.

[818katia]

hi, can somebody help me, my Rancilio Silvia doesn't make good espresso, it comes out like simple coffee from machine or instant coffee! I've seen all the videos about it and tried all the technics but can't find what's wrong, it looks perfect on the outside! Thanks in advance.

[isubtile]

Thank you very much. Great video !!!