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I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.....

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  • #76
    Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

    After reading feedback from other Silvia owners I purchased a Synesso double ridgeless basket (it holds 20g) and a Pullman tamper fitted to the basket, this improved my shots markedly.
    Once I sorted out the proper dose and did it consistently and perfected my tamp pressure and technique, I got consistently good shots, but if I rush and cut corners invariably the bad shots re-eappear. The PID has taken the temp surfing variable away for me which is a big help.

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    • #77
      Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

      Im happy to see another CoffeeSnob guided along the path to experiential bliss... Keep at the milk texturing, itll come. I found using water in the jug gave me a 3-D perspective of what was happening to the milk.

      Hi Rocky (welcome to CS). To help answer a few of your questions:

      Larger filter basket: shooting doubles (14g+) is much easier than singles - deeper puck density to play with.

      Grind: changes dramatically depending on the bean blend, age of beans, style of beans (real vs decaf, origins/seasons).

      Repeatable method of filling the basket: using weight scales vs volume in the basket - when learning, using scales is invaluable. As Greg mentioned, it removes one variable (which you can play around with later of course), and allows you to focus on distribution and tamping.

      Tamping: variables in pressure applied give different puck densities therefore different extraction times. Variables in tamper-to-basket size affect channelling/gushing. Variables in tamper angle make for an under and over extracted coffee in the same cup - keep it flat and it preserves the even puck density and gives consistency through the flavour profile.

      All the best on your CS journey!

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      • #78
        Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

        Ive finally mastered nice shots with my rocky / silvia as well, repeatable about 90% of the time.

        Grinders stays set on 10 with a firmish tamp, ive found that if I groudn it fine to the point of where I was in ristretto territory and then backing the grind off a bit gave me very repeatable results as less could go wrong with judging the tamp pressure

        Ive found the tamping mat I bought to be rather handy too

        Ive also found to get some decent foam (im new to microfoam on a real machine) that if I open up the steam more than I think I need and put the tip lower into the milk I tend to get a better swirl action and im less likely to make a mount everest capp... last thing I want...

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        • #79
          Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

          Take away the steam variable and always open it fully.

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          • #80
            Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

            Originally posted by Intellidepth link=1218326035/60#76 date=1221396720
            I found using water in the jug gave me a 3-D perspective of what was happening to the milk.
            I reckon this is a good way to see whats happening.... Even easier if you can grab a glass beaker or jug and can see whats going on from the side. Something like one of these but 500ml...

            Mal.

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            • #81
              Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

              Hi Rocky. This whole coffee thing can be quite stressful cant it! Intellidepth pretty much summed up everything perfectly

              Larger filter basket: I used to have water POURING through the basket. The extra coffee gives a much more forgiving work environment.

              Grind: The grind is the place I now do 95% of my changes. Im still concerned that my Rocky is a little odd as I have to grind on a setting between 3 and 5, any more and the shot simply gushes through in a matter of seconds.

              Repeatable method of filling the basket: This allows me to concentrate my experimentation to the grind. If I can manage to get the exact same amount of coffee in the basket each time then any changes in the grind are directly reflected in the shot. Varying the fill every time changes the dynamic of the whole process, so it is hard to know what changes have caused which outcomes.

              Tamping: Im still working on tamping! My biggest problem is getting the coffee in the basket flat. Sometimes Ill empty the basket 2 or 3 times until I get a good result. The Pullman tamper is great here as the guide lines let me see how Im doing.

              I only drink milk based coffee, I find straight espresso too harsh on my stomach. The funniest thing at the moment is the fact I always pull a double shot due to the size of the basket. Im now drinking twice as much coffee in each glass simply because I cant bring myself to throw the second shot away. Its funny how quickly you become used to the increased amount of coffee!


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              • #82
                Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                Originally posted by gjws link=1218326035/80#80 date=1221450410
                Im still concerned that my Rocky is a little odd as I have to grind on a setting between 3 and 5, any more and the shot simply gushes through in a matter of seconds.


                Mine is exactly the same. I spent a lot of time trying to make it work on coarser settings to no avail. My shots are fine at the lower settings so Ive decided to stop worrying about it and just enjoy the coffee!

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                • #83
                  Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                  Rocky should be able to easily choke Silvia-- that is, the grind should be able to completely stop the flow of water for an extended period of time. if it cant I would say that either your technique is lacking, the grind is not fine enough, or there is something wrong with the grinder.

                  Dose and distribution is important with any espresso machine, but Silvia is quite sensitive to those factors. Tamping, as long as it is done so that the coffee is level, matters FAR less. Anything between 15 and 50 pounds should work fine.

                  As for the grind fineness, the numbers on Rocky are relative to any one Rocky grinder only. Even finding the so-called "Zero point" is fairly meaningless. The upper hoppers rocking movement is such that you can change the grind by lifting or tilting teh hopper. When it is grinding beans the burrs are about one grind setting click coarser than when the grinder is empty and at rest.

                  I would say if you are filling the portafilter properly without clumping and tamp, then can lock the PF and remove it and it shows either no marks or the slightest impression from the center screw you are OK. After that, if you cant continue to grind one click finer at a time to get a good extraction, there is definitely something wrong. remember that Rocky tends to create a fairly dense grind, so after filling the portafilter, using the WDT (stirring the coffee to break up clumps and evenly distribute the coffee) is an excellent method. then level the coffee off and remove just a but with a crooked finger. Tap the PF downward on the counter a few times to settle and level the coffee as well as enhance distribution, then tamp away.

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                  • #84
                    Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                    Originally posted by gjws link=1218326035/80#80 date=1221450410
                    Hi Rocky. This whole coffee thing can be quite stressful cant it! Intellidepth pretty much summed up everything perfectly

                    Larger filter basket: I used to have water POURING through the basket. The extra coffee gives a much more forgiving work environment.

                    Grind: The grind is the place I now do 95% of my changes. Im still concerned that my Rocky is a little odd as I have to grind on a setting between 3 and 5, any more and the shot simply gushes through in a matter of seconds.
                    Id have to say your rocky probably hasnt been zeroed correctly. What you can do is remove the hopper (this will require you to remove the bean guard by unscrewing the 3 screws), give it a good clean and then adjust the hopper such that
                    the "true zero" is accessible. Currently I think your true zero might be at -5 or so which you cant turn to because there will be a screw (possibly bent) to prevent you going past 0. I define my true zero at where the burrs just touch and you can hear that when you activate the grinder. Currently, my true zero is 3 and most of my grinding is done from 11-14.

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                    • #85
                      Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                      Thanks for the Rocky tips guys. I might pull apart he grinder tomorrow and have a look around. Randy I can choke Silvia completely so maybe I should stop worrying about the number and just be happy that my coffee is quite good.

                      Ive also got a stepless grinder I purchased years ago on eBay, it may be time for me to dust it off and have a better look at it. The grinder was one of my first ever purchases in eBay, shortly after the purchase of my Bodum Granos. It looked quite small in the photo but when it arrived I found it was a full size grinder, even bigger than some of the ones Ive seen in cafes so housing it in the kitchen has never been an option....

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                      • #86
                        Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                        Originally posted by gjws link=1218326035/80#84 date=1221570449
                        .... Randy I can choke Silvia completely so maybe I should stop worrying about the number and just be happy that my coffee is quite good.

                        Ive also got a stepless grinder I purchased years ago on eBay,....
                        Yes, the numbers are meaningless on Rocky. My advice to folks is to grind finer until the espresso machine is choked and then go one click more coarse at a time until you find the correct setting. particularly with milk-based drinks, a bit of over-extraction from a grind that is too fine is better then under-extraction from a too-coarse grind.

                        Let us know what the stepless grinder is. For example, if it is a Mazzer Super Jolly, there are things you can do to put a shorter hopper on it, or even fabricate a short "hopper" from a PVC pipe fitting.

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                        • #87
                          Re: I give up, Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for sale.

                          I agree dont worry about the numbers, mine is usually at 3 or 4. The teflon tape trick is good to get the play out of the top burrs.

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