Rancilio Silvia

Love it. Good basic machine with no frivolous bells and whistles but made from commercial components.
Makes very good coffee once you get the hang of it. Easy to maintain too.

Hasn't missed a beat in 12 years my Rancilio Silva matched with a Rocky grinder. Price was $1300 the pair and I can make as good as most good cafes and sometimes better as I use quality milk and beans. Even cheap beans can make good coffee. I have replaced the grinder plates couple of times but not expensive. Do need to clean to look after but the savings making your own are huge.

Bought this machine for my husbands 40th birthday, worked fabulous for 2 weeks and now just sits on the bench because it doesn’t work. Biggest waste of time and money.

7 years old and used twice daily. Have replaced a group head seal - easy to do. Cleaned and flushed regularly. Makes great coffee and simple to use. Drip tray is warped and its a bit noisy - but hey, it's Italian.

-My machine is the V5 with installed PID controller (takes the variability out of both temperature and pouring the shot).
-I've installed the machine in my office and would estimate that it pours at least 20 shots per week with it and I have not had the machine for almost exactly 1 year. I use it with a Breville BCG800 grinder and fresh locally roasted coffee.

I have read some of the other reviews and will comment on some of the items they've raised.

Positives:
Firstly, I was a bit hesitant to spend this much on a machine as an upgrade to my ...

My review relates to the Rancilio V6 (2020).

Per the headline, this certainly is a practical, robust, and no-nonsense espresso machine. You can't go much more basic without getting something that doesn't have a pump (or ended any electrical at all). This machine will certainly win no beauty contests (eye of the beholder maybe?), is noisy, and you really need to drive it properly to get the best out of it. It is, however, capable of pulling some truly exceptional shots of espresso for the truly skilled practitioners - but for the rest of us it ...

Inconsistent is the only way to describe the machine. One shot is under extracted the next is over extracted. At first I joked about the machine being a temperamental Italian but after throwing coffee after coffe down the drain I'm pretty sick of it. I've had many machines over the last 20 years but this is definitely the worst. No other machine can ruin an expensive bean quite like this.
Also in an amazing piece of stupid design the milk wand is too low to fit a milk jug (small one) under so after steaming the milk you have to lift the whole machine to remove the jug, brilliant! If the drip tray is has some water in it beware because at this point the water will spill over your bench.

I have been through a lot of machines in the past year. Coffee has become somewhat a hobby, having started with pod machines, and then moving onto automatic machines and then switching through several manual espresso machines.
As I learned more about the brewing process what I started to notice is the more manual you go, the more control and flavour options you have.

After the fact I can say, learning to brew properly does take a bit of effort, but when you know what your doing you will not go back.

Out of all the machines I have been through...

Very happy with this machine as it came but have upgraded it over the years, including adding a pid controller. It is a genuine Italian boiler based coffee machine and with the right grind makes as good a coffee as you will get. Now over 10yo still going strong. Easy availability of spare parts. Love it.

I have had my Silvia for over 10 years and think it is fantastic. Note that these machines are fully manual and you need to learn how to use them. But once you do, you really can make a coffee as good as any cafe. An added bonus is that parts are cheap and widely available online as they use the same components as commercial machines. If you're reasonably handy you can maintain or fix it yourself. Considering they are likely to still be making Silvia's in another 25 years, it could be the last Espresso machine you ever need to buy! Last piece of advice. You MUST pair it with a quality grinder or you'll never make a decent coffee. I use a Rancilio Rocky.

Produces ok coffee. My grinder passed away, now using supermarket coffee which is no real indicator.
Older version was better. New machine is noisy and build quality is 2 stars max.

Dont know what the family or I would have done without the Silvia during our harsh lockdown!. It produces beautiful shots consistently with my fresh beans that I get from local roasters and independent supermarket. Crema is coppery orange and thick. I grind with the paired Rocky Grinder that has 55 gind increments. I typically grind on the 8th finest setting out of 30 or even finer down to about settng 4 of 55. The milk frothing is superb but you need to use the freshest milk and some brands are better than others. For good textured milk that ...

The base has rust on it. Trying to dry after each use although it is worrying for at 12 months. The machine was inoperable for a week at just 12 months old. It trips as soon as you turn it on. Doing it again at 18 months. I've enjoyed the coffee and steam pressure although it doesn't seem to be holding up longevity wise.

I am completely satisfied with the coffee maker and Rocky grinder. Both machines were easily set up and simple to use. I watched a demonstration of both machines in the shop prior to purchase and duplicated the process at home. Very well made coffee machines.

After having Seaco Esspresso machine, we purchased Silvia Rancilio. It's small Esspresso machine but it serves purpose for many years. We love our coffees and believe this machine is good quality.