Hello all-

I am new to the site, and am looking for someone to hold my hand through this. Last year, I bought a Rancilio Silvia and Rocky in hopes to make a great latte, since I have to travel for a great coffee shop near me. Anyways, I haven't been doing too well. For a while, I settled for crummy coffee, and for about 4 or 5 months, I put the machine away writing it off as a failed experiment. Refusing to accept defeat, I pulled it out last week and did some searching (which is how I found this site) and tried some new techniques. Pulling shots, and tasting them, and all of them coming out watery and chemically (is that a word?). I've experimented with different settings on the grinder and they all come out equally crummy. The espresso I am using currently is from Cafe Grumpy in Brooklyn.

Currently my routine is as such:

1. I grind the beans into the portafilter, and tap it on the counter, and repeat that step until it is almost at the top. I then tamp it down and the grinds are generally just above the grove in the portafilter. This is the most coffee I can put in it, or else the portafilter will not go into the group head. I install the portafilter to the group head to let it warm up.
2. I let out any water that is in the wand and then I steam the milk to about 140 degrees.
3. I let out some hot water to get the really hot water out of the system. I put the steaming hot water in my shot glasses and mug, to warm them up.
4. I wait for the machine to warm up then I pull my shots into the shot glasses, and then pour them into the mug, and add the milk. (I generally use skim as I prefer the lighter taste of it)

My last pull, I had the grinder set to 10. The grinder zeros at 4, so that is relatively a very fine grind. I also tamped the heck out of the grinds, but the espresso still pulled decently quick. (maybe 15-20 seconds for a double shot)

I know it is difficult to communicate over internet, but even a direction to help me troubleshoot would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this long and drawn out post.

-Jacob

First off... how old are the beans you're buying? ALWAYS look for or insist on the actual roast date, never a use by date, etc. Find something that is no more than 3-5 days from the actual roast date as that will have allowed a bit of time for resting. Some may need more/less but I find 3-5 days to be good for most espresso roasts. Then use up what you buy within 1-2 weeks MAX.

Also, how long are you letting the machine warm up? Should give it at least 30-45 mins. with the portafilter locked in.

Going slightly above the ridge might be close enough, but buying a decent scale will allow you to dial it in better than guesstimating.

Sounds as if your temperature surfing could use some improvement... do a search to learn more about this or watch a few YouTube videos on how to do it for your machine...

If you're grinding fine enough and assuming you're dosing/tamping decent, fast extractions are usually caused by stale coffee...

Dear Defeated Man,

The Rocky and Silvia combination are not the easiest to get good shots out of, but it is doable. I'll let others more familiar with the Silvia give you information on how to manage shot temperatures, and I think for the moment you should probably concentrate on pulling a decent straight shot and forget about milk foaming until you can make a shot.

We'll assume for the moment that your coffee is fresh, let's say less than 10 days post roast and preferably a bit fresher. If it isn't, then correct this part first.

Go get yourself an accurate, 0.1g scale, which can easily be obtained for less than $15 on the internet. Pick a dose that you will work with, let's pick 15g for the sake of simplicity. Weigh the coffee going into your portafilter and keep it within 0.2 or 0.3g of the desired dose. The Rocky produces clumped grinds so you may want to stir them up a bit to declump them. Get the grinds in your PF basket more or less evenly spread around. Use your tamper a little to flatten out the coffee (don't concentrate too much on this part).

Keep adjusting your grind up or down until you can pull about 1.5 oz (fluid ounces) /45ml of espresso over about 25 seconds. This measurement includes the crema or foam. Forget about absolute numbers on your grinder as they are pretty meaningless except in reference to your own grinder.

Once you have figured out how to do this, then you can experiment with changing dose, shot volumes, and dosing.

Use the search function here to find threads on "scales." You could also look up "WDT" or Weiss Distribution Technique, that might be useful with your grinder.

ken

BeaninBarista- The coffee was roasted on 6/30. I guess it is stale.

I suppose a scale is in order and I'll try doing better on the temp scaling as well. Would the stale coffee explain the chemical and watered down taste? My pulls don't have the usual consistency of espresso. Maybe I'll take some pictures once I find my camera, maybe that will help.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll likely try again later today. I'm going to go buy new beans

Ken Fox wrote:Dear Defeated Man,

The Rocky and Silvia combination are not the easiest to get good shots out of, but it is doable. I'll let others more familiar with the Silvia give you information on how to manage shot temperatures, and I think for the moment you should probably concentrate on pulling a decent straight shot and forget about milk foaming until you can make a shot.

We'll assume for the moment that your coffee is fresh, let's say less than 10 days post roast and preferably a bit fresher. If it isn't, then correct this part first.

Go get yourself an accurate, 0.1g scale, which can easily be obtained for less than $15 on the internet. Pick a dose that you will work with, let's pick 15g for the sake of simplicity. Weigh the coffee going into your portafilter and keep it within 0.2 or 0.3g of the desired dose. The Rocky produces clumped grinds so you may want to stir them up a bit to declump them. Get the grinds in your PF basket more or less evenly spread around. Use your tamper a little to flatten out the coffee (don't concentrate too much on this part).

Keep adjusting your grind up or down until you can pull about 1.5 oz (fluid ounces) /45ml of espresso over about 25 seconds. This measurement includes the crema or foam. Forget about absolute numbers on your grinder as they are pretty meaningless except in reference to your own grinder.

Once you have figured out how to do this, then you can experiment with changing dose, shot volumes, and dosing.

Use the search function here to find threads on "scales." You could also look up "WDT" or Weiss Distribution Technique, that might be useful with your grinder.

ken

Ken-

That's unfortunate, the company I bought the machine from told me this was a great combination. Is it the grinder or the machine that is holding me back?

I just found the WDT method and will try that out. When focusing on the weight and how that affects the timing of the pull, how does density of the grinds play in? How do I know I am grinding it to the correct fineness?

Grumpy Heartbreaker is very tasty blend. I just finished bag. It is best under 10 days after roasting.

My parameters for this blend are:

- 18 grams
- Resulting espresso is ristretto or little longer with 19-24 grams of espresso made in about 30 sec
- Temperature which you can't control should be about 200F at group head.

Try dialing it like this using 0.1 gram scale and you should have good, tasty results. Blend has nice balance of acidity and sweetness and is fairly easy to work with.

tekomino wrote:Grumpy Heartbreaker is very tasty blend. I just finished bag. It is best under 10 days after roasting.

My parameters for this blend are:

- 18 grams
- Resulting espresso is ristretto or little longer with 19-24 grams of espresso made in about 30 sec
- Temperature which you can't control should be about 200F at group head.

Try dialing it like this using 0.1 gram scale and you should have good, tasty results. Blend has nice balance of acidity and sweetness and is fairly easy to work with.

Silvia doesn't like updosing. 18g won't work in her stock double basket. Stick with lower doses, 14g-15g, as Ken suggested.

I was commenting on what I like this blend pulled like. Take triple basket if needed...

Jacob:

I have the exact same combo as you - Silvia and Rocky and have a lot of success with my Latte's. Folks who have tasted them often make the comment that they rival the better espresso shops out there. Certainly not saying this to brag or put myself on a pedestal (I'll readily admit that I still have an endless amount of learning to do), just wanted to let you know that it is very "doable".

Don't give up! Just keep experimenting with different beans, tampering techniques, temperatures, etc., and you will find success.

With highest regards,

Brad.