# Rancilio Silvia - Lack of Crema



## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

Hi All

I am new here and looking forward to future interactions.

I had a quick question with my older version (V2 I think) of my Rancilio Silvia Coffee Machine. My shot extraction is under 10 secs and thus I am not getting a good crema anymore. This is including having primed it before, ensuring the water is hot. I also have a Rancilio Rocky Grinder with 30 settings (http://knowyourgrinder.com/rancilio-rocky-hsd-roc-sd-doserless-coffee-grinder-review/)

Despite having gone down to as fine as Setting No. 1 on the grinder, it still extracts too quickly under 10 secs.

Is my pressure to high? What is the ideal pressure setting in bar?

Does my Portafilter basket need changing?

Does the Over Pressure Valve need adjusting? (I know I may need to get a device to measure my pressure, any advice there?)

Thanks for any good input and advice here to get her back to a proper brew again.

Bernard


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

How old are your coffee beans? Where are you getting them from? You say it is now 10s, but what was the timing before? What changed?


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

Hi there

Coffee beans are ones I sourced from Austria when I was there in Aug of this year. Its a 100% Arabica roast but cannot say really how old they are. My machine is about 6 to 7 years old now. In the earlier years I could get an extraction of around 20 secs but recently this is not really happening, so not sure really. I do tend to like experimenting with different coffee roasts though.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

You need to grind finer still...


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

The beans may be stale, if no roast date on them they could have been roasted 1 year ago, preferred time is approx. 1 week to 3 months after roasting. Get more beans and try again.


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

OK, I'll experiment with the beans too and note that, thank you.

I cannot grind finer. From 30 settings, I have now set it on the finest grind, which really should not be the case. This is a fairly decent burr grinder from Rancilio as shown above, so I'm sure I have the proper grind to play with.

Maybe it's also worth checking on any service parts.

Any obvious parts that normally need servicing on these type of machines?


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## GaryG (Mar 1, 2013)

I have a mignon grinder and use a VST basket. I grind finer than a rocky can achieve I use as a starting point 18grams in the portwrfilter and pull 36grams out in 35 seconds


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

That sounds like a very decent extraction Gary. Thanks for that. Is that the Eureka Grinder? What mechanics does it use? Blades or Burr? Do these also make a huge difference? Could you show me a link or example for a VST basket? To get an idea as I am still learning a lot of this terminology. Thanks


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## Cirya (Jan 2, 2016)

Have you managed to get good extraction with this equipment before? How much coffee do you use in the basket? How hard do you tamp the coffee and have you got a correct size tamper? If the grinder is functioning properly, you should be able to choke the machine with the finest grind setting or at least get a decent extraction time even with stale beans.


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

Hi Criya

Totally agree with you. I need to get a proper tamper as still have the original plastic one which I received with the Rancilio machine, however I do compact it very hard when I tamp it. I think I have the 18G basket which I fill around 4/5 full. Hence why it boggles me from the 30 grind setting that at the lowest grind I still have it flowing too fast through


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

Also am reading up on the VST basket which could also be interesting to consider.

Would you know if this would fit the Rancilio Silvia machine? They reference an E61 but not sure what that refers to.

https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/vst-18g-ridgeless-precision-porta-filter-basket.html


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## Covveekid (Oct 29, 2017)

My first thought was stale beans, especially if a light roast.

Are you sure zero on the rocky is where the burrs touch? Maybe you can still get finer?

If youve not done it already, my Rocky benefitted from a bit of teflon tape around the threads - this helps grind consistency and should enable a better extraction.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Generally, a lack of crema indicates stale beans. However, you also have the issue of a fast shot even on the finest grind setting. So it is not straightforward to isolate the problem. Find fresher beans from a reputable roaster to try (best at around 10-14 days post-roast date). If the shots are still running fast, then it is likely to be a grinder issue. I think you would benefit from a stepless burr grinder, such as the Eureka Mignon (as has been mentioned), or even a mazzer mini (if one comes up second hand and at a decent price).

Best of luck


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## GaryG (Mar 1, 2013)

My whole process is here

Help a novice improve (part 2)

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcoffeeforums%2Eco%2Euk%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D40682&share_tid=40682&share_fid=6813&share_type=t


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## RancilioBru (Nov 2, 2017)

Thanks guys. This helps. I'll try some of these tips with my grinder as it would be a pity to have to replace it that early. I'll also try a fresher roast and see what results I get


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Go buy some fresh beans, ideally rested for at least 7 days but no older than 2-3 weeks. Grind these. Report back. There are plenty of speciality coffee shops in London that sell beans, so shouldn't be too difficult to source.

(note: not going to talk about scales, tampers, weighing in / weighing out, how old the grinder is / do the burrs need replacing until you sort the variable of the age of the bean out, otherwise you are going to chase your tail)

John


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## shadow745 (Apr 29, 2012)

Other than having really fresh coffee you might want to check that the OPV isn't stuck closed. If so, it will send all available pump pressure through the puck and can cause fast extractions, channeling, etc. Easy way to do this is remove the tank lid while extracting and see if there is excess flow being diverted to the water tank via the shorter hose. If there is a somewhat steady steam then the OPV is likely not the issue. Also, the Rocky is a very capable grinder and no need to consider buying another grinder when you may just need new burrs. That will bring the grind quality/fineness back up to speed for a fraction of the cost of a new grinder.


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## Cirya (Jan 2, 2016)

RancilioBru said:


> Thanks guys. This helps. I'll try some of these tips with my grinder as it would be a pity to have to replace it that early. I'll also try a fresher roast and see what results I get


While you're at it, thoroughly clean and re-calibrate your grinder. That will help you with fresh quality coffee too as you'll know what is the absolute zero point of your grinder. There's plenty of videos of Rancilio Rocky calibration in YouTube.


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