Strange rattling noises at the Silvia group are almost always due to debris in the solenoid valve. Alan

See {link} for a diagram of your groupheads (and yes, laScala use the same group.) Alan

So ... heats up to 1.1 bar, pressurestat clicks off, pressure slowly falls back to 0.5 bar before pressurestat clicks on again. The Mater pressurestat is pretty simple, a membrane and a microswitch. First thing to try is replacing the switch on the new pressurestat with the switch from the old one. ...

If you haven't attempted a machine restore before this you'll be heading for a world of problems. The machine was almost certainly built by Imat, and most of the necessary spares (element, gaskets and o-rings) would be available from someone selling Lelit spares. The complication will be that this m...

1) Blocked/stuck vacuum breaker valve. 2) Blocked pressurestat or burned out pressurestat switch. {image} Alan

This might help {image} Alan

Given all the crud accumulated in the brew path it's a wonder that water flows anywhere at all. The murky purple colour of the top teflon pipe indicates serious grime build up, your machine needs an urgent backflushing or 3. I've removed steam valve blockages by removing the valve stem (steam knob) ...

And the cigarettes, Italy still has a heavy espresso/smoking culture which doesn't lead to refined tastebuds. It's not just Americans, the majority of coffee drinkers worldwide take it with some form of milk and/or sweetener. Back when we had the shops we did "customer education" by tasting a flight...

Looks like Broca (coffee bean borer) insect damage to me. Alan

There is nothing like Real Life experience to put obstacles in your path. There are many businesses in my city that have roasteries with attached coffee shops. In all cases the roasting business is run as a separate entity (with its own staff, storage, billing etc.) to the shops themselves. The mach...