Quick Mill Silvano Review - Page 2

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ancamo
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#11: Post by ancamo »

I'm very very interested in the taste results ;-)
I've owned an andreja premium before and I would like to know if I can expect to get as good a shot with the Silvano as I did with the AP

Great review!!
Pascal

Winnisk
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#12: Post by Winnisk »

Having bought a Silvano in December I am particularly enjoying this review process. I love the videos! What I would have done to have had someone like Dan guide me through those initial stages when, for me, numerous pounds of coffee, gallons of milk and soapy water hit the sink. My wife thought I was turning into some sort of mad scientist. The good news there is that she said that I was definitely getting my money's worth because I was so obsessed - :D

Having said that, I am grateful for all of the guides and tips on this site. It is only because of the help and support here that I am now consistently pulling good shots.

My frame of reference is limited to the Silvano only, but from my beginner perspective it is consistent, convenient and fits my modest, low capacity needs perfectly. It will be interesting to see how an expert with a vast frame of reference views this machine.

Right now I love it. If I stop reading now I will continue to love it. If I keep reading, I take the chance that I will throw it over for a different machine sooner than later.

We all know I will keep reading.

amanfredi
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#13: Post by amanfredi »

Regarding steaming, would there be any benefit to PID-ing the thermoblock and/or adjusting the steam temperature?

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HB (original poster)
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#14: Post by HB (original poster) »

The steam quality has a nice balance of volume, velocity, and dryness. The steaming pace is sufficient for a couple small-volume drinks in succession; I don't think tweaking the steam temperature would improve it. The Silvano's steam capacity would be iffy for someone who plans on making "big gulp" lattes.
Dan Kehn

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pizzaman383
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#15: Post by pizzaman383 »

I understand that the Silvano has a separate pump for the steam thermoblock. What model pump is used? Is there a parts diagram available on line?
Curtis
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“Taste every shot before adding milk!”

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EricBNC
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#16: Post by EricBNC »

The machine uses Ulka vibe pumps - a 52 watt pump for the brew boiler and a 16 watt pump for the steam bank.
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HB (original poster)
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#17: Post by HB (original poster) »

Yesterday I brought the Quick Mill Silvano to our regular get-together at Counter Culture Coffee. As luck would have it, we had a great turnout from locals and visiting employees-in-training. The test coffee was Apollo; it's a seasonal espresso which is currently made with a coffee from the western region of Rwanda.


Final reflection on the Quickmill Silvano

Jared agreed to be guest barista. He wasn't familiar with this espresso machine, but had no trouble dialing in a double:



Once the La Marzocco Strada and Silvano were dialed in, we did several rounds. After everyone had tasted espressos from both machines, we discussed the results. The consensus was that they both produced consistently good results, but the espressos did have slightly different characteristics. The Strada's leaned fruitier and brighter, the Silvano's leaned more toward chocolates.


Nick (l) and Nathan (r) discuss results of final round

Neither was declared a clear winner, though some participants did slightly prefer one over the other. Thanks to the good folks at Counter Culture for hosting this informal shootout!



Employees of Counter Culture Coffee evaluating espresso

Knowing that yesterday's evaluation was not blind and featured a more demanding espresso, this morning I did a blind taste test using the same equipment (Strada/Silvano) and Counter Culture Coffee's Rustico. In recent iterations, this blend has proven useful in tests because it reacts predictably to temperature changes / dose changes. I employed my high-tech randomizer:



The test protocol is simple:
  1. Use two identical espresso cups, marked on the bottom for later identification
  2. Shots pulled at the same time, swirled to mix flavors and eliminate visual differences
  3. Place drinks on the tray above, spin several times with eyes closed while not paying attention
  4. Sample both drinks without opening eyes
  5. Pick one as the winner or tie (0 = tie, + = win, ++ = win by wide margin)
My findings largely replicated the results from the day before. Of the four rounds, the Silvano won two by a hair, they tied once, and the Strada won one round by a wide margin. The "best of show" espresso was really really stellar with a delightful balance of chocolates and fruits, plus a dreamy texture. While the other rounds were very good espressos, I wasn't able to reproduce the best-of espresso again before caffeine overload forced me to stop. There's a lesson to be learned there: Even with the best of equipment, a certain measure of exceptional espresso is pure serendipity.

With that closing thought, this post concludes the review. I'll work on the final writeup this weekend. Thanks again to Counter Culture Coffee for coffee and evaluation assistance, and thanks to Chris' Coffee Service for the loaner evaluation model.
Dan Kehn

cpreston
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#18: Post by cpreston »

Dan, can you comment any further on the consistency/forgiveness factor for high (say over 18g) doses, relative to other machines? I think it would be helpful to specifically address this in every review. Please correct me if I missed it somewhere.

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RapidCoffee
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#19: Post by RapidCoffee »

HB wrote:My findings largely replicated the results from the day before. Of the four rounds, the Silvano won two by a hair, they tied once, and the Strada won one round by a wide margin.
Bit of a surprising conclusion, eh? This implies the Silvano is as consistent as the Strada, and its equal in performance other than the occasional outlier godshot. :shock:
John

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#20: Post by HB (original poster) »

Yes, I was a little surprised by the group taste test results. That's why I re-ran the comparison as a blind taste test to confirm the prior results weren't an anomaly. But it's an oversimplification to say the Silvano is as consistent and equal in performance to the Strada. Instead, I would say that within its operational "sweet spot", the Silvano is capable of pulling shots on par with the Strada.

To put this distinction in more concrete terms, the Strada can pull back-to-back espressos with no recovery time requirement. The Silvano needs 2+ minutes of recovery time and careful flush management, otherwise its temperature stability suffers. The Strada also has higher brew temperature precision shot-to-shot (around 0.5°F).

More importantly, the Strada's temperature controls are accurate with no fussing required. This point may initially seem esoteric, but it's worth understanding because potential owners may assume that because a digital readout says the brew temperature is X versus X+2, the actual brew temperature is 2°F warmer. In the Strada's case, that assumption is demonstrably true. That isn't necessarily the case for small boiler espresso machines equipped with PID controllers because they have significant deltas between the boiler temperature and the final brew temperature. For example, a PID'd Rancilio Silvia has a 29°F delta and the Silvano has a 25°F delta; the Strada's delta is around 3°F. That's why small boiler espresso machines flash boil for a moment when they've been idle for a long time, i.e., the boiler temperature is above the boiling point of water, so its water becomes steam when it exits to atmospheric pressure. Because of the small boiler and lack of preheating for incoming water, the small boiler's temperature drops dramatically whenever the pump turns on. But thanks to the group's thermal inertia, the final brew temperature is just stable enough for the short period an extraction requires, if-- and it's a big IF --the barista manages the brew temperature carefully.

By paying attention to flush amounts, warmup flushes, production pace, etc., a home barista can operate the small boiler espresso machines within its operational sweetspot and produce consistent espressos. These various workarounds aren't necessary with the Strada. It's simply hassle-free. Greg Scace said it best years ago:
gscace wrote:I think that the holy grail in espresso machines is to make them transparent, so that intimate knowledge of machine use is not required, and so that the focus can be completely on the coffee.
Dan Kehn