Bluenoser wrote:Yes.. I have much wetter pucks with decaf beans too.. but a decent bean should be relatively dry.. Maybe there is a more knowledgeable person in that same shop that can answer why that happens.

Soupy pucks have been discussed a lot on the forums. For a recent thread see: Wet puck, how to fix it?

Having looked into this before, the general consensus seems to be that it (and general "puckology") doesn't matter. Although, some recommend up-dosing for a drier puck, or less headspace rather than more.

The machine pulls excellent shots! Because of the placement of the brew boiler above the ring group, it's got good thermal stability and heats up quickly.

My main gripes with it mainly due to the small steam boiler:

• It can only steam ~8ozs of milk before it needs to refill

• Steam pressure is also a bit low, which can be a pro if you're wanting extra time to finesse your texturing technique, but can be a bit of a pain if you're entertaining and making drinks back-to-back. It takes ~30 seconds to steam 3 ozs of milk (for a cappuccino) and ~60 s for 6-8 ozs

I regularly dosed 18-19g into a 18g VST basket and never had issues with the puck sticking to the dispersion screen.

The Silvia DB is overpriced and leaning heavily on its Rancilio reputation, IMO. I think Profitec/ECM have some of the best engineering in the prosumer espresso market; Rancilio moves at a glacial pace with product evolution.