Yeah I am about the HX as well, just haven't had it on the priority list until just recently. I think for the money you still can't do better than the Silvia for a jumping in point. The espresso quality is excellent and that is why I still use one. However I have been living with upgrade fever for a year or so.

My next upgrade will undoubtedly be the Vibiemme Domobar Super Lever.

The Domobar Super because it performs as well if not better than anything in its price range that I have tried, and well I am a sucker for an exposed group what can I say...

I want the "lever" version because I am against automatics on principal, and the semi-auto would be fine but I'll take lever over an on/off group switch because I want feel like I'm more a part of the process even if it is just a facade.

OlywaDave wrote:So does everyone steam milk after pouring a shot??? Man I am out of the loop eh?

My thought behind steaming before my shot is that I don't want my freshly extracted espresso sitting there 2 minutes or so as I steam and texture milk. In my opinion the Silvia user is far better off steaming, keeping the pitcher somewhere warm (on top of Silvia), and swirling it now and again to prevent foam separation.

Dave,

I tend to agree with you on steaming before the shot but I have been doing it this way for so long that if I change now I would probably get confused and pour the milk into the knock box, puck into my glass, shot in the sink and everything else all over the counter!

But eh, I'm no dummy, I would get it right after... oh say... 20-30 times.

Playing with Foam!


How can my coffee get cold when there is so much insulation in the attic?

Do not know how I did this. You have to take an electric knife to cut through it!

gunman45 wrote:Dave,

I tend to agree with you on steaming before the shot but I have been doing it this way for so long that if I change now I would probably get confused and pour the milk into the knock box, puck into my glass, shot in the sink and everything else all over the counter!

But eh, I'm no dummy, I would get it right after... oh say... 20-30 times.

Eh... You know. To each their own method on the Silvia and well espresso in general.

Actually I definitely prefer steaming at the same time as I am extracting on our 2 group PID'd Linea at work but I don't got that set up at home.

Jon, any progress or updates worth mentioning? I'm pulling for ya... er uh no pun intended.

OlywaDave wrote:Jon, any progress or updates worth mentioning? I'm pulling for ya... er uh no pun intended.

Thanks for checking in Dave!

Argh! Really struggling with leaking and my new naked portafilter!

Yes the gasket is clean! I'm scrubbing it in between tries.

Yes, it's TIGHT. So tight, that I have to hold down the machine when I tighten the portafilter!

What's going on? Argh! (...and that's "argh" without a pirate-like accent!)

- Jon

Hey Jon

Sealing the Portafilter. Yikes! Sorry to hear about that I am 99% sure that after a bit of cranking er tight and some more use that the gasket will properly seat against the basket.

Hm. So what should I do? I'm wasting so many of my precious beans! Can I keep trying to eliminate the leak with an empty portafilter? No harm, right? I don't have any leaks with my regular portafilter...

- Jon

You know I suffered from the same problem at first.

On second thought I'll ask Terry if he has any suggestions for you other than "wait and see"