Rancilio Silvia pouring too fast (+other newbie questions)

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
nadumi
Posts: 1
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by nadumi »

Hello!

Brand new to espresso making here. I just got my Rancilio Silvia v6 from Prima Coffee, though my Niche Zero has not arrived yet (arrives 02/22).

I called up my favorite local coffee shop, and they happen to grind their beans right in front of customers and sell it to them for $18/lb. I did exactly that, and I made sure to tell them to grind it for espresso-based drinks, so the employee read the instructions the shop has on the grinder and set it to the setting they use for espressos. I used the beans just now, and the Rancilio Silvia is pouring so much water with their beans that a 8-12oz cup is filling up within 10 seconds with a single shot (7g).

Any thoughts? I Googled it, and a lot of results (including posts from home-barista) are saying the coffee is not fine enough. If that's the case, what should I do since I won't have my grinder for another 2 months?

Bonus questions -
#1 Looks like the Rancilio Silvia v6 comes with its own 58mm tamper. Since I did not know that, I bought this 58mm tamper from Amazon -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0727VD99Y/
Is there a benefit of using a tamper other than Silvia's? Just return the one from Amazon?

#2 As far as baskets, it comes with the single and double. I bought a backflush disk. Do I need any other baskets?

#3 I am also using the portafilter it came with. I have seen other sites recommending different portafilters, but I don't understand why. Thoughts?

Nunas
Supporter ♡
Posts: 3661
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by Nunas »

The problem is the grind. The process of setting the grind so that the espresso comes out at the right rate is called dialing in. Only a small adjustment on most grinders will change them from too fast to not fast enough. Some grinders have a secondary dial to make this easier, while some have a continuously variable adjustment. Until you get your grinder, you might want to get a hand grinder that is espresso capable. Once you get your grinder, it can be a good back-up, or you could set it for other than espresso. Changing most grinders back and fort can be a pain, since dialing in is so delicate a process. In fact, with experience, you'll discover that as your coffee ages, you'll have to make minutely finer adjustments to keep your pull constant.

I don't know what tamper came with your machine, but you don't need a fancy tamper. That said, if the one that came with the machine is plastic and flimsy, you'll be better of using the one from Amazon. The tampers that come with most low to mid-range machines are not really very good. The Amazon one you bought looks good and not terribly expensive.

For now, you don't need a bunch of baskets. Once you get used to the ones that came with the machine, you may wish to experiment.

You also don't need a bunch of portafilters. That said, if you don't have a bottomless portafilter, you might add one of these as your next purchase. You can figure out what is going wrong with your pulls by watching the espresso exit. There are lots of posts here on H-B, some with videos.
★ Helpful

robmack
Posts: 69
Joined: 3 years ago

#3: Post by robmack »

You might try a mortar and pestle to manually reduce the grind size on each dose. It's much cheaper than a temporary grinder, and you'll be getting the feel for how fine your grind should be once the Niche arrives. Either sell the mortar and pestle on Craigslist once you non longer need it or keep it around for other kitchen jobs (spices, nuts, veggie sauces, fish farce, etc.).
- Robert