# Silvia Dosing Techniques



## SNOBOL (Sep 5, 2013)

Hi, Firstly I have to say a big thank you too some very helpful people on this forum, I bought my Silvia a few weeks ago & soon learnt a new grinder would follow as my Krups Grinder just wasn't up to the job ! A Eureka Mignon soon followed & now sits proudly on my Kitchen worktop beside my Silvia. Now my Question is That I have the original Silvia Double shot basket that came with it but am a little confused with the science (Quantity of coffee I should be using) is it just down to the more coffee weight in beans or ground the longer/ larger your of Shot of coffee ? or is it the same shot just stronger & the timing of your shot or is it just down to your own personal taste - Can anyone help me with my Silvia Dosing.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Yep.

Dont fill the hopper with beans. Get a set of digi scales (£4 eBay) and pre-weigh your dose before grinding. 15-18g depending on basket size. Shove weighed beans in grinder and grind and pull. Adjust grind fineness to give you nice 25 sec pour whilst keeping dose the same.

When you've got a hang of it you can play with different doses to see what taste you like

Remember to temperature surf the Silvia or youl get crap shots.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

SNOBOL said:


> Can anyone help me with my Silvia Dosing.


You need scales as suggested above. Use 18grm as a stock dose to begin with. Your aim is to achieve about 30-45grm output in 27 secs. Use the scales to weigh an empty cup and, after pulling your shot, weight the shot to get an accurate feel of output. Don't be tempted to adjust dose weight until you've nailed consistent output - then you can begin to play around with up and down dosing. Don't forget the best feedback is your nose and sense of taste.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

As above.... also chuck the single basket in the bin. - it's rubbish (IMHO.... I couldn't get anything decent from mine when I had a Silvia). The double is good, if you need a smaller basket consider a 15g vst...


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

I only ever used double baskets with my Silvia. Single baskets were a whole new ball game & gave a very inconsistent result.

If you can weigh in & weigh out using a double basket the best results will probably only produce around 25 grams(or less) of liquid anyway


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## soundklinik (May 31, 2013)

I am in the same shoes as you, but have a few months head start.

What helps, (along with the above tips) is to get a decent amount of quality fresh beans to experiment with.

At least you know it's not the bean.

Install PID, you won't regret it, temp surfing gets old really fast. I never understood why they put a cheap thermostat on an expensive machine...

Espresso is good extracted only between ~90-95C. More than 95C=bitter, less than 90C=sour.

The thermostat shuts off at ~110C...i think, that's why most people get pid

I don't know your grinder, but on my Rossi 45, I adjust between 1-3 clicks depending on age of beans (1-8 days) and humidity. But I roast my own.

Honestly, I am still far from having perfect shots (every time), but when they are good, makes me happy to own a great, overpriced espresso machine...

+1 on single basket...it's a disaster


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

I don't know what you have specifically, but the standard Rancilio supplied Silvia double basket takes 15gm (at least that's what came with my V3).

I agree that the single basket supplied with the Silvia is not very good. If you want to experiment with Singles, get a LM or VST 7gm basket. It takes a little bit of practice but you can pull great coffee with it. I use it most of the time.


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## AussieEx (Jul 10, 2013)

Agree on the LM single basket, which I also find vastly better than the supplied single. Though I'm still experimenting with mine and tend to get wet pucks from the (post-VST) LM single. Need to adjust grind I think but just haven't got around to it yet. Consistency is so much harder with singles than doubles.

++ on temp. surfing. Not even worth trying without it, but from what I've read the V3 is vastly better than earlier ones due to a lower thermostat cut-off (I've read it's closer to 100C on the V3 vs. 110C on the earlier ones).


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## RASD4651 (Apr 15, 2013)

Mate if you want smaller cups of coffee then stick with the single basket don't throw it in the bin. If you can master single baskets you can do anything. It took me a while but you can get consistent shots. I have calibrated my Silvia with a pressure gauge. They are usualy set to 10 bar but this is too high. I altered mine to 8.5 bar and you don't get the rush of water through the coffee so a better extraction is achieved. I overdose my single to 9.5 grams of coffee because of the shape of the basket. If you buy a VST basket you can use 7gr and get a perfect shot every time. The other thing I do is grind finer and tamp lighter than the recommended 30lbs of pressure. I have recently switched to only buying fresh beans which is also a big factor in getting a consistent shot of coffee. I have got scales and a timer and a shot glass with espresso measure lines on it. I would recommend all these if you are just starting out it'll help you get the best out of your machine. I have had my Silvia since February and I am still practicing. I am lucky I have a friend who is a top Barrista who has given me some training. If you get the chance to do some training it'll come at a price no doubt but would be worth it.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Having a handy barrista chap on hand is always helpful


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