SteveRhinehart wrote:We're on the cusp of Korea and China making quite a lot of headway into the global equipment markets. Somewhere near half of all new SCA education certs in the last year were from Korea alone, with other portions of Asia making up a large chunk of the remainder. Should be an interesting decade in the coffee world.

For the Silvia Pro - I think it's larger in every dimension, but the depth is most noticeable. I haven't seen them in person to compare however.

Korea entering is an intriguing plus. Though a little frightening in that they have a bad habit with their manufacturing to excessively computerize things that didn't need to be computerized, and aren't necessarily better as a result, particularly in the home markets. As though the European companies weren't already heading a bit too far that way. Still, that's an interesting entry and I expect will produce at least one major new player, if not more.

China, however, is probably going to be more of a headache for dealers and distributors more than anything else for quite a long time, given how things have gone in some other unrelated markets. Maybe it gets some low barrier of entry stuff in that becomes very popular for enthusiasts here (Breville look out!), but a nightmare for distributors. You have my sympathy in advance.

The Silvia Pro is just so cool. Probably not a popular sentiment. But that brought a bigger smile to my face than anything else from HOST so far!

As someone who only sees the Silvia as a bit of a box (don't kill me) -- what am I missing?

Elliot wrote:As someone who only sees the Silvia as a bit of a box (don't kill me) -- what am I missing?

Many people started their espresso journey with a Silvia, often one they picked up used. Even with an added PID they were a bit of a battle to get a great shot but those who worked for those shots were rewarded well beyond what they often invested in it.

Funny enough I've never owned one and started out with a Rancilio as well, a 2 group monster that cost $60 a month in electricity.

Elliot wrote:As someone who only sees the Silvia as a bit of a box (don't kill me) -- what am I missing?

As others said, it's the history...in its day it was pretty much the best thing you could get without spending crazy and/or something massively larger. A Pasquini Livia 90 or Isomac Tea was really the next logical step, or just going full commercial. There was little in between!

But it's not just the history. HB'ers give it guff because it's...well...inconsistent and unforgiving, in terms of its temperatures. And while it's true that other machines are not as finicky with temp control for less money, the fact that it's an affordable machine that fits a domestic space well, but is a rugged tank-like largely commercial build quality in that price/footprint makes it a joy to use when you're getting your sea/coffee legs with espresso. It's fair to say that if I had a machine that didn't have that heavy commercial-type feel of Silvia as my first "real" machine, I would have never gone as deep into this as I have. When you're starting you want a machine like the commercial machines you've experienced, not a glorified countertop coffee maker. Silvia provides that without going whole hog into HX/DB machines.

If there's a new Silvia with PID and a DB....that takes the classic Silvia and makes it viable as an end-game machine rather than just a starter to pass by, depending on price, testing etc. Taking the classic entry that everyone considered overpriced and past its prime and making a real contender of a machine out of it is a kind of special moment! I think most expected they'd discontinue it sooner or later. Instead they improved it and made a promising case for it!

Thanks.
Indeed, as time goes on, I find myself more and more interested in the simple machines that just make damn fine espresso. I have also developed a habit of TOPS one milk drink a day, but 2-3 double espresso's a day. As such, a lot of what is offered in terms of "power," I would happily trade away. That new ECM Puristika (terrible name) is interesting.

Thanks Marshall this is a nice little summary by a major manufacturer of how history of PID connects into our little world. Really highlights how we and our many international counterparts and even various social media groups are driving the major radical technological advances of the industry at this point.

And then there's me, leaving the PID behind, going to one, possibly two Pstat machines, and enjoying the upgrade

I do remember being there for the whole Auber-ed Silvia craze and thinking "I'll never cut holes in my Silvia!" Hard to believe PIDs are everywhere now.