Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
I used to have a Silvia and now I have a Bezzera BZ-40P with a 3.4L boiler.
The Silvia can keep company with any commercial machine in terms of foaming quality.
Enjoy!
Grant
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
I just got my Silvia 2 days ago....but the first coffee I poured was tonight. And boy was I impressed by its steaming capabilties. It produced microfroth equal in quality to the commercials Im used to at work....all I have to say is WOW
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Originally posted by asqui link=1146021411/0#14 date=1147228541Greg,
The turbo frother on the Nemox Dell Opera at least is actually a full metal piece that screws onto the wand itself. Removing it just leaves you with a drastically shorter open steam wand pipe with no tip.
I believe some earlier or other variations of the product had the removable turbo frothing device which would leave you a decent tip to work with -- sadly not the case for my machine
Lachlan
Argh, yuk! Im only speaking from my Napoletana experience. Sounds like a replacement might be in order; or you could always get a local engineering firm to make something up to screw on; same length but without the turbo frothery business. Probably cost you $10 or something.
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
I have owned both, and can say that for the few cups of coffee you make each day, they will both be fine.
The Silvia is the more robust one and has a much stronger steaming capability. If you have used the Imat first, you will certainly not miss anything.........however, now that you are aware that Silvia exists, you will forever wonder if your shots would have been better if you had a Silvia.......
Now Im wondering if my shots will be better with a Giotto, etc. but Im making fewer cups than you, I simply could not justify the cost.
Cheers
franjae
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Greg,
The turbo frother on the Nemox Dell Opera at least is actually a full metal piece that screws onto the wand itself. Removing it just leaves you with a drastically shorter open steam wand pipe with no tip.
I believe some earlier or other variations of the product had the removable turbo frothing device which would leave you a decent tip to work with -- sadly not the case for my machine
Lachlan
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
If the turbo frother is a problem just remove it, simple. Then youre left with a standard single-hole steam tip. Much easier than fitting a Silvia steam wand or writing the whole machine off. I used my turbo frother twice and its been in the cupboard ever since.
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Luca,Originally posted by luca link=1146021411/0#10 date=1147094322Hi notadub,
The main problem with the Mokita, as I see it, is the steam wand ... that turbo frother thing doesnt look at all attractive.
Im working on the steam wand bit. A friend of mine who does metalwork is going to make me a part to extend the wand and mate it with the gasket/steam tip from the Silvia ($8 for the pair from coffee parts, plus unknown cost for the extender part).
Im hoping that its going to be cheap and easy to make this part to "fix" the Imat/Nemox wand, because otherwise its a really stellar machine.
Though I would not recommend leaving your beans in the hopper as because it is part of the machine and warms slightly it tends to hasten the evaporation of oils from the beans so your coffee seems to get older quicker.
When I have eventually finished this little miniproject, Ill bring the machine to a meet if we have an appropriate venue and show off my new milk skillz ;-)
cheers
Lachlan
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Notadub,
If you can be bothered to wait, perhaps keep an eye out for a 2nd hand Rancilio Audrey. I have seen 2 of them (Australia-based) sold on auction sites so far this year (around the $150 - $160 mark). I would suggest buying an Audrey from one of the site sponsors, but I dont think Rancilio have made them for a while and would be surprised if theyre available new, but you never know. Apparently they pretty much have Silvia internals but in a smaller plastic shell. A Silvia steam wand is also apparently easily fitted.
Cheers,
Rob
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Hi notadub,
The main problem with the Mokita, as I see it, is the steam wand ... that turbo frother thing doesnt look at all attractive.
One alternative thats not often considered is the Solis SL-70 at around $500. You might want to look at some of the reviews on coffeegeek. Tzu Yen recently bought one when he was in the same position as you; wanting a Silvia, but $500 budget. The machine has irritating points, but any machine in this price points is a compromise. Tzu reckons that the double basket is like 12g, so he uses that to make a single. Brew to steam is really fast, and when you start steaming the heating element automatically comes on. Horses for courses ...
If I were you, Id sell the sunbeam grinder and buy an iberital challenge and a cheap gaggia with a decent removable steam wand ... or fit a silvia steam wand; theyre relatively cheap. This way you get decent steaming and a 58mm portafilter without spending too much. If you look inside a silvia, mokita or a gaggia, theyll all look similar, so I dont see that any of them are any less toys than the rest. Silvia and the Imat have less plastic, though. ... anyhoo, like I said, horses for courses ...
Cheers,
Luca
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Notadub: Ive got the Imat Mokita Combi (aka Quaha Napoletana II) which is the same as what youre considering but with the built-in grinder. Having never used a Silvia I cant comment on a comparison but Ive owned the machine for about 4 years now and essentially have no complaints. Many shortcomings have a fix http://www.coffeetamper.com.au/imat. For the money its a real bargain and it comes close to the Silvia in many respects. I think both are category killers at their price point. If youve got a spare $250 then go the Silvia and you wont be disappointed, but I think the Mokita wins in bang for your buck if youre budget-sensitive.
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Marc,
My original Machine was a Imat Mokita which has now been relocated to my beach house and replaced with a Rancilio Miss Lucy, which is the same as far as I can determine as the Silvia but with inbuilt grinder.
I had intended to upgrade to the Silvia but The Lucy was acquired second hand but as new for an excellent price.
I have since fitted a PID controller .
To compare the two machines they both make fine coffee but the Rancilio has to take the cake in all areas. Build quality on both machines are fine but after using the Rancilio for a few months then going back to the Imat it seemed like jumping out of a BMW back to a Holden both get you to your destination but not in the same style.
My advise is buy the best first and you have a machine you will be proud to own for a long time.
Another reason for choosing a Rancilio is the amount of Information and help in forums such as this not available to the Mokita.
Happy to give you more detailed information if required.
Cheers
Robert.
PS PID is they way to go.
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Good Point Luca
I want have a couple of good espressos in the morning and maybe make 1 or 2 latte / caps in arvo.
The Gran Gaggia has had a pretty tough life in a few share houses and wasnt allways looked after the best.(It would have to a least 6 years old) It now makes poor insipid espresso. Maybe a bit of a home service, (new showerscreen, and basket may help as it appears that alot of the holes in both are becoming blocked) .
I have the Sunbeam EM0480 Grinder and buy my beans in small amounts from The coffee company or Ciscos so I think Im ok on that front.
thx
Marc
No after further thought the grangaggia has to go, its not much more than a toy its a 70 pound stg machine. I just opened it up for the first time and its inards are a joke!
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
Marc,
I read your initial post and the improvement that you are seeking to get isnt clear to me. What about the gran gaggia isnt doing it for you any more? Isnt it working? What, exactly, do you want your machine to do?
What are you teaming the machine up with? Any espresso machine will make crap unless you team it up with a good grinder and freshly roasted coffee. Youll also need a tamper of a diameter that fits the portafilter more or less exactly. If you dont have these, your money should go there first.
Cheers,
Luca
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Re: Imat Mokita vs Silvia
my *personal* opinion strictly with regard to the specific questions on topic here:
a) the classic "performs" well enough as a domestic machine but I wont have the aluminium boiler;
b) dont like the over large coffee filters supplied with the sunbean as I like a standard single dose cuppa (that way I can have 2 standard cuppas one following the other over a short period of time, each having been freshly made) and, I am not concerned with the ability to steam milk & brew coffee at the same time and am quite at home with regular domestic machines and their inability to do so ( does that make me a dinosaur????)
c) the mokita I think works as well as the classic but has a properly constructed boiler (brass);
d) in this group silvia has the best capacity to entertain small groups (except maybe in comparison to the sunbean where this might be the only time when a beginner might find it advantageous to be able to steam milk & make coffee at the same time...except that as a beginner, they wouldnt yet have worked out how to manage this properly!!!!!!! ) but its virtually unavailable at the moment.
Which if I had to make a decision right this minute given the variables presented here, means I might have to go with the mokita.....unless I could get someone to sell me some kind of high end machine for low end price!!!!!!!!!!! ( well you gotta ask dont ya).
Regardz,
FC.
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