Rancilio Silvia to Quickmill Alexia - A real upgrade?

by **Bellavance** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:46 pm

I've had my good old Silvia for eight years, and I'd like to give it to my daughter. I drink one or two straight double espressos a day.

Thanks to you all, I've now realized I don't need a double boiler machine, and probably don't need a Heat Exchanger machine either.

Taste Wise - that's what counts for me - would upgrading from a Silvia to an Alexia - with or without a PID - be a real upgrade, or would I be better off just buying a new PID Silvia?

Thanks.

Pierre

by HB on Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:09 pm

Jeff posed the same question in the Buyer's Guide to the Quickmill Alexia under Is the Quick Mill Alexia worth the extra cost compared to the Rancilio Silvia?

jesawdy wrote:The Quick Mill Alexia machine puts the potential buyer in a bit of a quandary in terms of its price point. In comparison to the ever popular Rancilio Silvia, current machine pricing puts the PID-equipped Alexia at about a $300 premium over a PID-equipped Silvia. The extra cost of the Quickmill Alexia offers:

Infamous E61 grouphead,
Extra portafilter,
Bigger boiler and a bigger drip tray,
Larger pourover reservoir,
Ergonomic articulated steam wand
In my experience, the Alexia delivers great coffee more consistently and with less effort than the Rancilio Silvia. It may be hard to justify $300, especially for a budding enthusiast, but let's just say I have not shed a tear for Silvia during the course of this review and I don't relish the thought of going back to "her".

At the slightly higher end range of espresso machines, espresso machines like the heat exchanger based Quick Mill Anita come into play. It's not an easy call between the no-brainer brew temperature control of the Alexia without instant steam versus the brew management required by heat exchangers. Alexia's advantages are smaller size, precise control, minimal water usage, and much less temperature management attention required. But, as previously mentioned, the Alexia is best suited to the straight shot espresso drinker. If you and/or your spouse are a daily cappuccino or latte drinker or if you frequently entertain, an HX-based espresso machines would be the better choice, if not a dual boiler machine at a considerable increase in cost.

by **JimG** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:25 pm

I own and use both a PID Silvia and a PID Alexia. So I should be able to answer this question easily, right? Wish that were the case.

The Alexia delivers excellent shots more consistently. And the E-61 group on the Alexia allows a very high degree of confidence that your shot will be within 1F of the target brew temperature (assuming you go with the PID option).

The Alexia's E-61 offers pre-infusion, while the Silvia does not. I have always had good luck with extractions on the Silvia, so it is hard for me to objectively determine how much benefit is gained with the E-61. The best I can offer here is that the Alexia seems to produce, on average, a higher percentage of problem-free extractions.

Were the machines the same price, then the Alexia is a clear winner. And for an espresso purist, a PID Alexia is pretty hard to beat for anything south of $5,000US.

If the choices were PID Silvia vs non-PID Alexia, I would choose the PID Silvia (my company builds and sells PID systems for both of these machines, so I probably can't be very objective on this particular point). Even though the Alexia's stock brew thermostat is adjustable, there is still a temperature cycle to deal with.

A final comment: in terms of improvement per dollar spent, you might also consider investing the price difference between the Silvia and the Alexia in a grinder upgrade.

Jim

by **Bellavance** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:25 pm

Thanks for this info. I'll read this text.

Any serious advantages and/or disadvantages in having the E61 group? Oops... an answer to this question was posted while I was asking it...

Pierre

by **Bellavance** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:28 pm

This is very interesting.

My grinder is a LeLit PL53. Is it good enough?

Where can i find more info about your PID units for these machines?

Pierre

JimG wrote:I own and use both a PID Silvia and a PID Alexia. So I should be able to answer this question easily, right? Wish that were the case.

The Alexia delivers excellent shots more consistently. And the E-61 group on the Alexia allows a very high degree of confidence that your shot will be within 1F of the target brew temperature (assuming you go with the PID option).

The Alexia's E-61 offers pre-infusion, while the Silvia does not. I have always had good luck with extractions on the Silvia, so it is hard for me to objectively determine how much benefit is gained with the E-61. The best I can offer here is that the Alexia seems to produce, on average, a higher percentage of problem-free extractions.

Were the machines the same price, then the Alexia is a clear winner. And for an espresso purist, a PID Alexia is pretty hard to beat for anything south of $5,000US.

If the choices were PID Silvia vs non-PID Alexia, I would choose the PID Silvia (my company builds and sells PID systems for both of these machines, so I probably can't be very objective on this particular point). Even though the Alexia's stock brew thermostat is adjustable, there is still a temperature cycle to deal with.

A final comment: in terms of improvement per dollar spent, you might also consider investing the price difference between the Silvia and the Alexia in a grinder upgrade.

Jim

by **Marshall** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:30 pm

jesawdy wrote:Infamous E61 grouphead,

What's "infamous" about the E61? I thought it was just plain "famous."

Anyway, as a former Silvia to stock Zaffiro/Alexia upgrader (followed by Zaffiro PID mod), I definitely considered the money well spent in terms of improving shot consistency and quality.

Also the steaming power of the Zaffiro/Alexia is prodigious for the occasional venture into cappa-land. The heat-up wait is not a big deal, if you're making just one. (If you're making several, forget about it.)

PID mod info here (definitely not for amateurs): http://home.earthlink.net/~mrfuss/

by **Bellavance** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 3:50 pm

Is Zaffiro the same as Alexia?

Can it be bought with the PID factory installed?

Pierre

by **Bellavance** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 3:57 pm

Will the Alexia be happy with Reverse Osmosis treated water?

Pierre

by **Marshall** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:42 pm

Bellavance wrote:Is Zaffiro the same as Alexia?

A near-twin.

Bellavance wrote:Can it be bought with the PID factory installed?

I doubt it. Some U.S. dealers are offering after-market PIDs. Don't know about Europe.

by **Marshall** on Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:44 pm

Bellavance wrote:Will the Alexia be happy with Reverse Osmosis treated water?

No coffee is happy with R.O. or distilled water, unless minerals are added back in. Great coffee extraction requires minerals in the brew water.


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