Re: Decisions decisions....
Hi Cappa,
I had a Silvia for a little while and you really need to ask yourself what is it that your going to use the machine for? Otherwise upgraditis will set in.
If you only plan on making two cups at a time it really is a little gem. Inside and out they are built to last. I pulled my apart over the time I had it and there is very little that can go wrong with them and very serviceable in my opinion. If your husband is a espresso drinker I predict youll go down the path of a PID it to achieve its true potential over and over again, and will be drawn to do it when you nail that perfect shot for the first time and say Wow.
However, if you think that there will be an occasion where friends/family comes over and youll need to make multiple drinks I really recommend looking outside a single boiler. In the commotion of trying to command the machine youll lose the sense of enjoyment and itll soon feel like a task to do.
I just recently got my brother-in-law into the whole home coffee thing and we went out and got a Simonelli Oscar. For $1200 bucks it is really hard to ignore. Sure its plastic on the outside but on the inside they are really built to last and the thing steams will unbelievable power! Lil’ tricky to control I must admit compared to my Giotto.
That said a HX is harder to maintain in the long run unless you are addressing the water quality issues in terms of softness and future descaling etc. due to the nature of the process required to do it properly.
The Sunbeam grinder I believe should be up to the job of either machine that said I am currently trying to source one of those sunbeams for my brother-in-law so feel free to PM me if you go the route of the rocky! 8-)
As for the Lucy hmm good price but some distinct disadvantages over having a separate machine /grinder combo may be cleaning and the excess heat leaking from the machine to disturb the beans leading to staleness and potential flavour loss.
Just my 5 cents.
Hi Cappa,
I had a Silvia for a little while and you really need to ask yourself what is it that your going to use the machine for? Otherwise upgraditis will set in.
If you only plan on making two cups at a time it really is a little gem. Inside and out they are built to last. I pulled my apart over the time I had it and there is very little that can go wrong with them and very serviceable in my opinion. If your husband is a espresso drinker I predict youll go down the path of a PID it to achieve its true potential over and over again, and will be drawn to do it when you nail that perfect shot for the first time and say Wow.
However, if you think that there will be an occasion where friends/family comes over and youll need to make multiple drinks I really recommend looking outside a single boiler. In the commotion of trying to command the machine youll lose the sense of enjoyment and itll soon feel like a task to do.
I just recently got my brother-in-law into the whole home coffee thing and we went out and got a Simonelli Oscar. For $1200 bucks it is really hard to ignore. Sure its plastic on the outside but on the inside they are really built to last and the thing steams will unbelievable power! Lil’ tricky to control I must admit compared to my Giotto.
That said a HX is harder to maintain in the long run unless you are addressing the water quality issues in terms of softness and future descaling etc. due to the nature of the process required to do it properly.
The Sunbeam grinder I believe should be up to the job of either machine that said I am currently trying to source one of those sunbeams for my brother-in-law so feel free to PM me if you go the route of the rocky! 8-)
As for the Lucy hmm good price but some distinct disadvantages over having a separate machine /grinder combo may be cleaning and the excess heat leaking from the machine to disturb the beans leading to staleness and potential flavour loss.
Just my 5 cents.

Will have to look into it further now - ta,
;D
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