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First post! Well I was a member some time ago but stuffed if I can remember my user name or email address back then.
Anyway my faithful Silvia finally died. The element broke and the chassis is quite rusty. So time to replace it. It has served me very well and has been a great machine to learn on and grow with.
I could get another Silvia. I was happy with my old one, but it was not the easiest machine. Temperature surfing for consistent results was a bit annoying and it was useless entertaining. But it’s cheap compared to an upgrade. It’s solid, reliable, familiar and you can easily get spare parts.
BUT it’s very confusing… so much easier 6 years ago when the Silvia was really the only competitor in its price point and anything much better was quite expensive.
Uses: Mainly milk drinks with the odd espresso. Occasional hot chocolate for visitors so hot water would be good but not a must. We entertain quite a bit which is the main reason why i am looking at something other than another Silvia.
I have a K3 Touch grinder.
If I upgrade I am torn between the following.
Breville BES920 ($1360) – Sounds and looks like a fantastic machine. Heaps of options, HX, pre-infusion, dual PID, 3 way solenoid and the list goes on. A lot of thought has gone into it. BUT just not sure about reliability and access to spare parts. It’s a lot of electronics. Can descale this new version. Gets rave reviews.
NS Oscar ($1200) – Not bothered about the plastic outside, easier to clean. Sounds like it has quality guts, but access to spare parts is a bit vague?? No hot water to flush the boiler. Descaling sounds like a pain but not needed very often. Gets rave reviews. Not as many options as the Breville but possibly more durable??? Not sure if it has a 3 way solenoid. Steam may be too strong to get a decent microfoam, people seem to mod it to a 2 hole tip. In fact people seem to mod this machine quite a bit.
OR I save for a bit longer and get something like the Exobar Office Semi-Auto ($1550). I’m guessing it would outlast the other 2 but it’s only because it looks more robust, I have no idea if its internals are any better than the Oscars. It’s a HX machine, has hot water, big cooper boiler etc.
Any experience or thoughts? The more I read the more confused I get!
I thought I could find a second hand machine, but they seem few and far between and still quite expensive!
Thanks in advance for the help!
Pete
Anyway my faithful Silvia finally died. The element broke and the chassis is quite rusty. So time to replace it. It has served me very well and has been a great machine to learn on and grow with.
I could get another Silvia. I was happy with my old one, but it was not the easiest machine. Temperature surfing for consistent results was a bit annoying and it was useless entertaining. But it’s cheap compared to an upgrade. It’s solid, reliable, familiar and you can easily get spare parts.
BUT it’s very confusing… so much easier 6 years ago when the Silvia was really the only competitor in its price point and anything much better was quite expensive.
Uses: Mainly milk drinks with the odd espresso. Occasional hot chocolate for visitors so hot water would be good but not a must. We entertain quite a bit which is the main reason why i am looking at something other than another Silvia.
I have a K3 Touch grinder.
If I upgrade I am torn between the following.
Breville BES920 ($1360) – Sounds and looks like a fantastic machine. Heaps of options, HX, pre-infusion, dual PID, 3 way solenoid and the list goes on. A lot of thought has gone into it. BUT just not sure about reliability and access to spare parts. It’s a lot of electronics. Can descale this new version. Gets rave reviews.
NS Oscar ($1200) – Not bothered about the plastic outside, easier to clean. Sounds like it has quality guts, but access to spare parts is a bit vague?? No hot water to flush the boiler. Descaling sounds like a pain but not needed very often. Gets rave reviews. Not as many options as the Breville but possibly more durable??? Not sure if it has a 3 way solenoid. Steam may be too strong to get a decent microfoam, people seem to mod it to a 2 hole tip. In fact people seem to mod this machine quite a bit.
OR I save for a bit longer and get something like the Exobar Office Semi-Auto ($1550). I’m guessing it would outlast the other 2 but it’s only because it looks more robust, I have no idea if its internals are any better than the Oscars. It’s a HX machine, has hot water, big cooper boiler etc.
Any experience or thoughts? The more I read the more confused I get!
I thought I could find a second hand machine, but they seem few and far between and still quite expensive!
Thanks in advance for the help!
Pete
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