# Finally bought a silvia - suggestions on next steps?



## BillyHoyle (Feb 12, 2013)

So, I finally took the plung and bought myself a silvia. I've wanted one for ages, but i had to make do with my delonghi e330s and a hario skerton for the past few years.

I'm now quite excited about having convinced SWMBO to get a second silvia, which will be delivered within the next week or so, but what stuff would you guys recommend that I buy next?

The grinder will have to do for the next month or so, as I don't really have the cash to upgrade this, unless I see some amazing bargain... But what about baskets, portafilters, tamper (I only have a small which fit the delonghi) etc. would you guys recommend I invest in next?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Might want to think about some scales - Miss Silvia requires discipline to get the best out of her - dosage is critical. Obviously, the plastic tamper is useless - Made by Knock do excellent value for ones. A straight sided basket is worth a look - VST are excellent but pricey. A knock box is useful but not essential - Cream Supplies do a Motta one that's not too expensive. A decent milk jug is a good idea and a temp sensor. I would suggest going for some Temptags - link can be found on this forum. They change colour at the desired temp. Miss Silvia foams milk brilliantly thanks to its 12oz boiler. Finally, get a timer - again Cream Supplies do one for peanuts - helps you keep an eye on shot time which should be around 27 secs.

It may take a bit of time getting Miss Silvia tuned but she can deliver awesome shots. Oh, don't scrimp on good quality beans.


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## BillyHoyle (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks for that systematic kid. I have a scale and thanks for the heads up on the tamper. I live in brighton and there a loads of excellent places to buy beans, so ill Definitely be doing that as well.

I'm still not quite aquainted with all the terminology, could you explain what a knock box is? (Edit: I just found the answer to my question on the made by knock website







)


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Try Small Batch Coffee in Hove or Red Roaster in St James's street for beans, a knock box is for "knocking" the coffee puck out and into a small container, search for Grindenstien knock box on ebay.

I have used my Silvia with the standard basket (double)for 2 years, and have been very pleased with it, I would stick with that for now, and get used to the Silvia in standard form before the upgrade bug bites! And it will!

Do remember that Silvia takes about 50 mins to warm up before using, also make sure the boiler is filled every time but especially after steaming milk

Also check out Gail & Kat's video's on the Silvia at http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com some good things on how to look after her.

If you hit major problems let me know I'm quite local to Brighton!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

mike 100 said:


> Do remember that Silvia takes about 50 mins to warm up before using


Make a timer plug your first purchase

Most Silvias (and Gaggia Classics) take at least 30 minutes

The LONDINIUM I takes a mere 3 minutes plus about another 8 for the group to be fully heated. 11 minutes from cold is the quickest machine I know of.


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

I respectfully beg to disagree with the time it takes to get Silvia up to temp. In my personal experience, it matters little how long I leave the machine switched on if I don't warm the group with generous flushing of very hot water. The boiler (and the water inside it) go up to temp very quickly, but the rest of the machine will not do so on its own.

If I "manually" warm up the head and pipes with flushing I can have the machine ready in approx 15 minutes.


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## IanP (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Billy, welcome to the world of Silvia! A great machine and plenty of sound advice here. There will be frustration and some rubbish shots but that's all part of the fun. Ive had Silvia and Rocky doserless grinder now for over 2 yrs and it CAN produce some consistently cracking espresso. Would agree that running water through the group can speed up warm up times. I have discovered that what all the old pros say about weighing dose and shots over 25/30secs is gospel. I much prefer my VST ridgeless baskets to the standard now. The one thing I would emphasise is temperature surfing as an aid to shot consistency (plenty of vids on YouTube and the Seattle coffee co) and always drawing off some of the boiling water/steam from the group prior to pulling a shot. I think this is one of the main reasons folk feel the need to upgrade from Silvia to a more controllable, temperature stable machine (I'm not there yet but..... well, you will soon read about your new expensive hobby on this forum! Upgraditis is inevitable I fear since we are all pursing the absolute best coffee each of us can make.)

Off to make another double now. You'll soon be pulling shots in a totally different league to most high st chain stuff! Have fun!


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## IanP (Aug 4, 2011)

PS. The best investment other than equipment was a home barista training session on my own set up. Got me feeling confident in the early stages since books, vids and forums are no substitute for professional advice. Plenty of places offer this. I was fortunate to have the best..... Glenn


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## richardblack5 (Jan 7, 2013)

I bought a Silvia recently, also bought an MC2 Iberital grinder which works very well for the money. Also a must is a good tamper, made by knock seems to be good value. Also as said a good jug and temp tags so as not to burn the milk. Great machines once you get used to it. Enjoy!


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## BillyHoyle (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone for your recommendations and offerings of help!

I think ill get some sort of basic timer, probably a tamper from 'knock' and a milk jug for now...hopefully a grinder in the near future, before my arm falls off from using the skerton...


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