4 replies to this topic

[Gomez]

Husband wants a fancy coffee machine, he drinks espresso and I like the other stuff based on espresso -

I want to get him a really good one, not one with "pods"

Any good suggestions?

Thanks!

[Orik]

This:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item2c521b6b7c

The one I have at the office is getting close to espresso number 10000 and is still going strong. The one at home isn't used much since we got Abraco.

[Behemoth]

yup, that's what we have too. It gets a hell of a lot of use and in the three years we've had it all we've done in terms of maintenance is change the gasket (5 euro) once.

[Anthony Bonner]

same here. Its great.

[Behemoth]

After having our Silvia in the shop 3 or 4 times over the past two years with a burnt-out heat element and nobody being able to tell us what was wrong with it, we finally decided to put the thing up for adoption, and upgraded to a Bezerra BZ09. I still think the Silvia is a fine machine. We may have just gotten a lemon, and even then it gave us six years of very good espresso with very heavy use. I would still recommend it to anyone who loves good espresso but is not a member of a two-really-way-too-obsessive-compulsive-coffee-fiends household. Just try to get it from a dealer who is willing to guarantee repairs.

We switched to the Bezerra in the end mainly because it is covered for repairs by a reputable dealer in town. They also carry Silvias but don't guarantee repairs because their experiences with the manufacturer have apparently been pretty spotty. But beyond that, this machine ended up being a major upgrade, much more than I had expected given the difference in price. With the Silvia I had to temperature surf and while it was possible to get a great shot when planets were properly aligned, with this machine the temps don't cycle so it produces beautiful thick crema every time. Plus it has two heating elements so I can froth milk in parallel, meaning I can caffeinate my houseguests several times over in the time it used to take me to pull my first shot with the Silvia. And since the temperature remains stable, and is switched on by a lever rather than a dial, the steam is more consistent and easier to control so I get microfoam each time. Ferns!

It did take a few tries to get it right though - it froths a cup of milk in less than 12 seconds, so that took some getting used to. (I still need some practice.) All in all, the extra $$ may not be worth it for everyone -- the Silvia was already plenty flashy -- but damn, this machine is really fun to use. Actually, considering the Bezerra is still under $1000, it's not a bad deal at all for the quality, if you're into this sort of thing.

This is what a not particularly spectacular cappucino attempt looks like -- this would have been as good as it gets with the Silvia.