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Rancilio Silvia V3 & Compak K3 Touch

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  • #31
    How many days post roast are your beans?
    Some of the info you are giving points towards the water being too hot.
    I've had a rancilio lucy which is Silvia with a built in grinder. Once you master her you'll make great coffee and your next machine will be a breeze LOL

    Comment


    • #32
      Chud I owned a Silvia for almost 9 years, once you understand the basics they are no more difficult to use than any other machine.

      Trust me they make excellent coffee without having to go down the modification and buying gadget route, perhaps the one exception would be a new double basket, the Espresso Parts double is much better than the Rancilio basket Precision filter basket 58mm- Espresso parts | Talk Coffee don't buy a VST baket, they are finicky at the best of times.
      Get the basics right and everything in the garden will be well.

      Comment


      • #33
        Just to clarify:
        I'm not suggesting OP needs to go out and buy a bunch of a gadgets and modify the machine in order to produce better coffee.
        But did these things help me immensely? Hell yeah!

        Case in point: This morning I pulled an espresso that tasted like hazelnut, cinnamon and raisins.
        Could I (me, personally) have managed that without PID etc? Maybe. Consistently? Nope.
        I'd have just as likely pulled a dull under-extracted shot, possibly slightly burnt/sour.

        Chud: When's the last time you pulled your grinder apart for a thorough clean?

        Comment


        • #34
          Hi mate. Some good tips here already. I owned a Silvia for about 9 years and one of the best things I did later on way to buy a 5 dollar digital thermometer with thermocouple and attach it to the boiler. A 10 minute job. Made a huge difference to the consistency of my coffee (as well as highlighted just how far the temp swung on my machine).

          What you describe could be that you are extracting at too high a temp and simply burning it.

          Comment


          • #35
            Originally posted by skidquinn View Post
            Hi mate. Some good tips here already. I owned a Silvia for about 9 years and one of the best things I did later on way to buy a 5 dollar digital thermometer with thermocouple and attach it to the boiler. A 10 minute job. Made a huge difference to the consistency of my coffee (as well as highlighted just how far the temp swung on my machine).

            What you describe could be that you are extracting at too high a temp and simply burning it.
            Could we just clarify what sort of basket, what weight of coffee and how many mls in what time you are aiming for. Almost sounds like trying to get too little out of too much coffee

            Comment


            • #36
              Originally posted by mjs View Post
              Could we just clarify what sort of basket, what weight of coffee and how many mls in what time you are aiming for. Almost sounds like trying to get too little out of too much coffee
              Same question I asked in post 27, Chud seems to have gone to ground.

              Comment


              • #37
                Hi There ladies and gents,

                Apologies. Life, kids and work have taken over the last few days and have not had much of a chance to hop on CS!

                Will answer a few of your questions now

                Thanks,

                Chud

                Comment


                • #38
                  Originally posted by scotchparty1 View Post
                  Just to clarify:
                  I'm not suggesting OP needs to go out and buy a bunch of a gadgets and modify the machine in order to produce better coffee.
                  But did these things help me immensely? Hell yeah!

                  Case in point: This morning I pulled an espresso that tasted like hazelnut, cinnamon and raisins.
                  Could I (me, personally) have managed that without PID etc? Maybe. Consistently? Nope.
                  I'd have just as likely pulled a dull under-extracted shot, possibly slightly burnt/sour.

                  Chud: When's the last time you pulled your grinder apart for a thorough clean?
                  Hi ScotchParty,

                  OK, sounds like that coffee is pretty amazing! Certainly sounds like the PID helps in achieving superior consistency. I have read a lot about them previously but have always thought I'd try to nail all the processes myself before venturing down that path.

                  In terms of grinder cleaning - Well where I got it from told me after purchase I probably don't need to worry about pulling it apart for a couple of years, which seemed a while, but hey, I had only brewed a few shots by then so who am I to argue! I've only had it since December, and have put 10 kilo's max through it thus far.

                  Chud

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Originally posted by Yelta View Post
                    Chud I owned a Silvia for almost 9 years, once you understand the basics they are no more difficult to use than any other machine.

                    Trust me they make excellent coffee without having to go down the modification and buying gadget route, perhaps the one exception would be a new double basket, the Espresso Parts double is much better than the Rancilio basket Precision filter basket 58mm- Espresso parts | Talk Coffee don't buy a VST baket, they are finicky at the best of times.
                    Get the basics right and everything in the garden will be well.
                    Yelta,

                    I have purchased the double and triple baskets from the link provided. I got it yesterday but only had time to brew one shot. When I dosed it the same as the standard Silvia double basket, it sat very very low in the basket, and when the shot finished there was a lot of water on the top of the puck. I ran 21g through, on the same grinder settings I use in the Standard Silvia double basket, and it started pouring very fast and had to cut the shot very early.

                    I will try again today.

                    Should my ground beans be in a mound on top of the basket?
                    I can't see how 21g would ever create a mound (as I have been seeing in other videos online), for me to then "settle" the beans, discard the excess then tamp down on. It sits way way way below.

                    Chud

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Originally posted by mjs View Post
                      Could we just clarify what sort of basket, what weight of coffee and how many mls in what time you are aiming for. Almost sounds like trying to get too little out of too much coffee
                      Originally posted by Yelta View Post
                      Same question I asked in post 27, Chud seems to have gone to ground.

                      I am using a Rancilio Silvia Standard Double Basket Part # 40-100-102
                      I am putting 21g into this basket

                      Using the two spouted group handle.

                      So When I am making an espresso:

                      I aim to extract 30ml in 30 seconds.
                      I use one spout only (the other side makes another cuppa, usually for my wife)
                      I usually cut the machine at 30 seconds, but this can a smidge less and dependant on the blonding I am seeing. But now, for all intents and purposes, let's say I cut the machine at 30 seconds, aiming for 30mls into my espresso cup.

                      When I am making a long black:

                      I use both sides of the spout
                      I usually cut the shot at 21 seconds. So effectively I am extracting probably 20ml per side, and thus 40ml goes into my long black.

                      NB: I count from the time that i flick the switch, not from the time the liquid starts to come out. If it takes 3-4 seconds (is this what is called the pre-infusion??) then I still cut at 20 for the long black and 30 for the espresso

                      Chud
                      Last edited by chud; 13 July 2016, 10:03 AM.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Originally posted by trentski View Post
                        How many days post roast are your beans?
                        Some of the info you are giving points towards the water being too hot.
                        I've had a rancilio lucy which is Silvia with a built in grinder. Once you master her you'll make great coffee and your next machine will be a breeze LOL
                        Trentski,

                        Beans Roasted 16/6/16
                        They were about 14 days past roast when I bought them from memory.

                        Chud

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Originally posted by skidquinn View Post
                          Hi mate. Some good tips here already. I owned a Silvia for about 9 years and one of the best things I did later on way to buy a 5 dollar digital thermometer with thermocouple and attach it to the boiler. A 10 minute job. Made a huge difference to the consistency of my coffee (as well as highlighted just how far the temp swung on my machine).

                          What you describe could be that you are extracting at too high a temp and simply burning it.
                          Skidquinn,

                          Very interesting little mod there. Might try to do this and see the variance in the temps. If it really costs that little, and is that simple to do, then might be worth a go. Thanks for the heads up there.

                          In terms of simply burning the coffee, I am now doing a temp surf, waiting for 30 seconds, then a 5 second flush, followed by immediate brewing. Trying this out for a bit and seeing how it improves everything!
                          Chud

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Tamped Shot on Silvia Standard Double Basket

                            So this is my tamped 21g shot in the standard silvia double basket Part 40-100-102

                            Chud
                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Originally posted by chud View Post
                              Skidquinn,

                              Very interesting little mod there. Might try to do this and see the variance in the temps. If it really costs that little, and is that simple to do, then might be worth a go. Thanks for the heads up there.

                              In terms of simply burning the coffee, I am now doing a temp surf, waiting for 30 seconds, then a 5 second flush, followed by immediate brewing. Trying this out for a bit and seeing how it improves everything!
                              Chud
                              Hi mate. Yep very easy to do and eBay have these for sale for almost nothing. In terms of installation, all I did was feed the thermocouple wire up through the bottom of the machine. I loosened one of the screws on top of the boiler and connected the probe here tightening th screw back up to hold in place. It's not so much that it's 100% accurate on the boiler water temp but it will enable you to find the sweet spot on when to brew and then repeat this each time.

                              If you need more help just let me know.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Originally posted by chud View Post
                                Hi ScotchParty,

                                OK, sounds like that coffee is pretty amazing! Certainly sounds like the PID helps in achieving superior consistency. I have read a lot about them previously but have always thought I'd try to nail all the processes myself before venturing down that path.

                                In terms of grinder cleaning - Well where I got it from told me after purchase I probably don't need to worry about pulling it apart for a couple of years, which seemed a while, but hey, I had only brewed a few shots by then so who am I to argue! I've only had it since December, and have put 10 kilo's max through it thus far.

                                Chud
                                I'll second this Chud

                                If the Silvia is a long term part of your coffee family a PID is a fantastic addition which can improve its performance to that of other more advanced machines. Brief benefits of PID:
                                - great temp control (no need to surf and accurate consistent temp on shot)
                                - improved steaming ability (increases performance of a small single boiler steamer)
                                - Reduces significant fluctuations in temp/increasing life of machine
                                - SO MUCH EASIER not having to temp surf (Temp surfing....uses up the small tank, and fills the tiny tiny drip tray fast)

                                Had my silvia V3 for 4 months before adding the PID - had it for 3 years now and it continues to make delish coffee.

                                That being said - consistent and sound technique is key to create awesome espresso, PID just makes it easier and more consistent to do and PIMPS the Silvia's performance for a single boiler....I feel it can bring a regular 6/10 shot to maybe 8/10. (all subjective of course)

                                Just my 10c

                                Enjoy the ride of home espresso, dont get too stressed and hopefully each day is tastier coffee

                                Comment

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