Rancilio Silvia 4 Hole Stainless Steel Steam Wand Tip

[Oyama]

Hi guys,

I replaced the OEM steam wand on my DeLonghi Cafe Retro machine with a Silvia wand, after reading one of the threads here. I find it much easier now to froth with this new wand, but I'm still not getting the great microfoam.

I was thinking of replacing the original 1-hole Silvia tip with a 4-hole, but I can't seem to find one online. Actually, I did manage to find a 4-hole tip at espressoparts, but I have not heard back after sending them two emails (on vacation perhaps?). So does anyone know where else I could find one?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[jesawdy]

Hmmm... my concern would be that you just can't make enough steam to use a 4-holed tip with a small boiler. That being said, I wouldn't stop you from trying a multi-holed tip with the understanding that you may have to plug one or more holes to get it to work well.

http://www.1st-line.com, EPNW and others sell different steam tips.

Here's a 3-holed tip at 1st-line.

The 4-hole you referenced at EPNW clearly fits the Silvia wand.

[Oyama]

Hmmm... my concern would be that you just can't make enough steam to use a 4-holed tip with a small boiler. That being said, I wouldn't stop you from trying a multi-holed tip with the understanding that you may have to plug one or more holes to get it to work well.

http://www.1st-line.com, EPNW and others sell different steam tips.

From what I've read, the 4-hole is not any faster than the 1-hole Silvia tip. I haven't had any problems with not having enough steam to finish my frothing (yet).

BTW, thanks for the links, unfortunately 1st-line doesn't seem to ship outside the U.S.

[HB]

BTW, thanks for the links, unfortunately 1st-line doesn't seem to ship outside the U.S.

I wouldn't be disappointed, it's not something to write home about. Check out Silvia steam tip alternatives for other opinions.

[Oyama]

I wouldn't be disappointed, it's not something to write home about. Check out Silvia steam tip alternatives for other opinions.

Thanks for the link, Dan! It looks like you've saved me time and money.

I will stick with the 1 hole tip and polish on my frothing skills. As I mentioned earlier in my post, switching to the Silvia wand helped me produce much better froth already.

[erics]

I would just add this one personal experience note to your adventure:

The 4-hole tip from EPNW produces better microfoam effortlessly but is relatively slow.

The 3-hole tip from 1st line also produces good microfoam with a little effort and is pretty fast.

Both are better than the stock Silvia tip in the hands of an average steamer (like myself) but a pro could make great product with any of the three.

The 3-hole tip does a nice job in taking boiler pressure (and thus temperature) down such that only 3 to 4 ounces of flushing is required after steaming if you were going to then produce another shot. The 4-hole tip does not put much of a dent in boiler pressure.

Eric S.

[Oyama]

I would just add this one personal experience note to your adventure:

The 4-hole tip from EPNW produces better microfoam effortlessly but is relatively slow.

The 3-hole tip from 1st line also produces good microfoam with a little effort and is pretty fast.

Both are better than the stock Silvia tip in the hands of an average steamer (like myself) but a pro could make great product with any of the three.

The 3-hole tip does a nice job in taking boiler pressure (and thus temperature) down such that only 3 to 4 ounces of flushing is required after steaming if you were going to then produce another shot. The 4-hole tip does not put much of a dent in boiler pressure.

Eric S.

Eric, thank you for your input!

After reading some of the threads from Dan's link, I don't think I want to sacrifice taste (sweetness) over better microfoam. I just have to practice more with my stock tip.

I did however produce some nice looking microfoam (my best yet) this evening and it tasted great too. I believe this was due to the fact that I kept the pitcher in the freezer over night (Dan commented on this in another post). So I'm slowly getting there...

[Grant]

From what I've read, the 4-hole is not any faster than the 1-hole Silvia tip. I haven't had any problems with not having enough steam to finish my frothing (yet).

BTW, thanks for the links, unfortunately 1st-line doesn't seem to ship outside the U.S.

Strange. I have ordered from 1st-line a number of times and they have always shipped without issue to me. My orders have usually been $40+ though, so worth a bit more to them perhaps than if you were only ordering a single tip.

Grant

[Oyama]

My orders have usually been $40+ though, so worth a bit more to them perhaps than if you were only ordering a single tip.

Grant, this could possibly be the case here, but I would at least expect a response stating "We have minimum order amount." or something to that nature.