I am a newbie and I have a Silvia that I like alot. It isn't easy to pull shots, but if I waste enough coffee I can indeed pull some good shots.

The Silvia's come from the factory(I confirmed this with manufacturer in email) with the OVP pressure bars is set to 12 bars which really bothers me.

If I was to keep this machine, I would PID it, buy a gauge to re adjust the pressure, and buy a new shower screen and nut where it doesn't protrude into the coffee puck. All of this is some substantial costs.

I was thinking....with all this money invested, would it be better to get the Breville Dual Boiler? I'm still in my return window with the Silvia.

Having said that I really haven't even gotten into the temp surf part yet. I'm still in dialing in the perfect grind for the best shot pulled...Silvia is very sensitive to the grind. Could be because of the bar pressure? I don't know.

What I like about the Silvia is that I can pull shots with crema that has tiger stripped and molten looks.

Like this:


I don't make alot of milk drinks and I live by myself...so the instant steam isn't that big of a deal for me.

With all the money that it would take to invest in the Silvia, would the Breville be a better buy? And could I get awesome shots like above...the tiger stripping and molten look from Silvia...with the Breville machine?

I haven't used either machine, but from what I've heard, the Breville Dual Boiler works very well. If you can get one for a decent price, I'd say go for the Dual Boiler. It has a built in PID, good temp control, the ability to pull shots and steam milk at the same time, and apparently the shots are quite good. For the money you'd spend on putting a PID on Silvia, you're close to the price of the Breville, and you still have to work around some quirks of Silvia that a PID won't solve.

The Dual Boiler may not be quite as well built as some of the high end prosumer machines, but it offers great performance for the money. One issue that has come up with the Dual Boiler is that many machines shipped with the OPV set to brew at too high a pressure. However, it's not hard to open the machine and reset the OPV, if necessary. Otherwise, reports have been very favorable, so that's the machine I would get if I were in your shoes.

If I were to get a new machine I would seriously consider the Breville DB. I have used a friend's, and it can produce excellent shots. It has features found in much more expensive machines. The reliability is still a question, so if you buy one make sure the store has a good return policy, such as Williams-Sonoma. My friend doubled the warranty by using an American Express card.

For what it is worth, I enjoyed my Silvia for three years before upgrading to a Brewtus DB. I made many fine espressos with it. I have no experience with the Breville to compare, though.

Darin,
I will say, without meaning to be insulting or demeaning to you, that I had become somewhat weary with your posts on CoffeeGeek and now here. The problems you perceive to have had, or are having with Silvia point to a personality conflict between you and her- let's call it irreconcilable differences. Upon reflection, the sort of combination of art and science that it takes to get the best from Silvia is not fitting your personality too well. Your posts reflect a bit too much dependence on the details of science, and not enough feel for the art. That is not necessarily fact- just my impression. But whether that is accurate or not, the Breville DB might just be the thing for you. By their design they are more consistent in their performance. But Breville's history is such that I would suggest two things- the first is to buy it somewhere with a liberal return policy, and the other is to use a credit card that extends the warranty.

Well, the only real problem I have with Silvia's personality is the gauge pressure being 12 bars. It makes dialing in the grind extremely difficult(using a stepless compak K3) because the slightest adjustment is to much/to less in getting that perfect shot. And I mean slightest. Doesn't matter how many grams...the ratios are all the same in variances and sensitivity.

With no calibration, My Rattleware thermometer just recently showed 212 degrees with boiling water. A few days ago it wouldn't...it would show 202 degrees under the same exact boiling water test. So you have to take in consideration that my temp. measurements came from a cr*ppy thermometer that just decided to work correctly on it's own.... Not from my personality mismatching with the Silvia.

I've worked hard and I've made some beautiful shots with the Silvia. I believe I can make this machine go a long way. The question is...would it be the wisest decision to stick with the Silvia and make the full investments?

I see the Silvia, along with its construction, having the quality of a commercial machine. Does the breville dual boiler have this same quality? Can it produce the awesome shots I have made with the Silvia?

I've worked hard and I've made some beautiful shots with the Silvia.

I can see your effort and that you really did work hard to get good espresso, but this statement bothers me quite a bit that I felt like I have to say something.

As some people had mentioned before, tiger striping and molting shouldn't be used as an indicator to machine's performance, but rather, it is a measurement of the barista's technique, the grinder and the beans. Apparently, you didn't take that too well and insisted on that. Also, you were comparing BDB and some other HX machines on CG, but you ended up with Silvia out of no where. Not that we have a right over your purchasing decision, it's your money afterall. But it seems like another sign that advises weren't appreciated too soundly.

To be honest, I had the impression that you are too focused on things that shouldn't matter that much. Taste is the ultimate guide, not the look or other numerical measurements. Do the taste right and most other parameters will follow suit eventually. Use the parameter to guide your tweaking, but don't get too dwelled onto them. Overall, I felt that you focused way too much on the small details and lost the big picture.

Anyhow, I have a feel that you wouldn't be satisfied with the Silvia, sooner or later. BDB is definitely capable of giving good shots as tested by other experienced users here. So if I were in your case, I would personally give it a shot, despite the past reputation of Breville. So far, I've seen more issues/problems with other machines than the Breville. That could be due to the fact that there're less BDB on the market also. The OPV miscalibration, in my opinion, is a very minor mistake on their side in the calibration proccess, not due to fault in manufacturing. I wasn't sure why it was even such a big deal in affecting the judgment of durability/quality of Breville.

From everything you have written here and in CG, I can't figure out what you want from making espresso at home. You almost never talk about how it tastes but rather on just on trying to pull a 'pretty shot'. What is the point of that?

I have never had a Silvia so I can't say whether it is good machine or not but many have. How do you know the opv is set to 12 bar? Did you measure that? Some people believe that you can regulate the pressure through grind and dose. I understand some nice Salvatore machines do not have an opv.

If you want to read the temperature, go buy a cheap thermocouple. With it, you can place it place it on the boiler and/or in the group. Do you have an accurate gram scale? I think weighing your shots are more important in keeping variables low. Just do things consistently and make small adjustments according to your TASTE.

It is early in your journey, try different coffees from the good list of suppliers here. There are many members both here and from CG that are from Austin and I am sure many will have recommendations of local places to try. The equipment you have is better than most people have to start with, just use it and learn.

jackson6 wrote: I have never had a Silvia so I can't say whether it is good machine or not but many have. How do you know the opv is set to 12 bar?

I emailed the company and asked them.

In the food industry, looks are just as important as taste. One big reason why I am focusing on looks of the shot. The taste comes after I pull the right shot and it looks good.

With the thread kind of getting side tracked-back to the original question:
"I was thinking....with all this money[that would be] invested, would it be better to get the Breville Dual Boiler? I'm still in my return window with the Silvia."