Hi all,

After having read the forums for a while and learnt a lot from you, I finally registered so here is my first post.

After 10 years of service, my Krups 'steamtoy' is showing signs of dying and though I found it made okay coffee (don't shoot me!), you guys must surely think it's a blessing. Anyway, I'm now on the market for my first "real" espresso machine.

Reading hundreds of posts here and on various forums, I understand the Rancilio Silvia is a safe bet in the 'value' segment and I am almost decided on this one. But I've also read about its design being slightly dated and its temperature variations being annoying, especially for a beginner.

What alternatives would you recommend?

Being able to pull multiple (more than two) shots in a row (and with milk) is not a priority so I don't really mind a single boiler machine but consistency is important. I'm fairly open minded about the budget (within reason) but the machine would need to be available/serviceable in the UK and not bigger than the Silvia in term of size.

I have a brand new Eureka Mignon to use it with.

Thanks all,

Nick

You might want to contact Crossland Coffee directly to see what their UK distribution looks like.

If the budget will stretch to it, consider an Olympia Cremina from Londinium Espresso. It will require much less long-term maintenance than any domestic pump machine bar none, has a small footprint and delivers outstanding espresso with great versatility.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks, the Olympia Cremina would be too expensive at £2900, though it looks like a beautiful piece of engineering I must say! I would also probably like to stick to a pump machine for now.

The Vibiemme Domobar (single boiler) might fulfil my requirement and seems to be liked on this forum. I am not sure it is available in the UK anymore unfortunately.

What about the Isomacs (Zaffiro?) perhaps?

My budget could stretch to around £600-700 if I find a machine which offer much more than Silvia in term of coffee in the cup and consistency.