why for the life of me can i not get a decent pull from the single basket? i can do ok with the double (the temp surfing tip really helped). but the single basket... nadda. on a gaggia classic i can do really well with the single.

thought: people say the silvia is more finicky than the gaggia. i wonder if its because the silvia has a much larger boiler and so there is more "work" involved in getting the right temps?

do you have any "tricks" that would help a silvia novice tackle this beast? i like to play around but i prefer to drink espresso more and at this point i would prefer to drink than play.

Nobody, except for the mythical Three Immortal Baristas, can pull a decent shot using the stock Rancilio single basket. If you look at it closely, there is a hairline circular gap going around the inside of the basket that cannot be sealed by mortal tamping. If you want to make singles, get an LM or E61 single basket.

I'm not quite sure what the point of this basket is, but Rancilio is also the premier manufacturer of Italian dribble glasses

so its a design flaw with the single shot basket? you'd think they would have that figured out by now.

i had a gaggia single basket laying around. it doesnt fit exactly right in the silvia portafilter, but good enough. i was able to pull a way better shot than anything that came out of the rancilio basket. so i guess it is a design flaw.

There is only one way to pull a single, successfully, using the Rancilio Silvia single basket:
1. Place the double basket in the portafilter.
2. Dose, distribute, tamp the double basket as if for a double.
3. Lock in the portafilter.
4. Place the cup under the spouts.
5. Turn on the 'Brew' switch.
6. Just before the first drops make it into the cup, using the single basket,
7. push the cup two inches to the right.