Getting to know the Rancilio Silvia - Page 2

#11: Post by **shadow745** » March 2nd, 2007, 9:54 am

hiphead wrote: i got one of the kitchen aid proline $99 deals and do not have any of the grind inconsistencies a few have mentioned here. i even took a couple of sample grinds to a friend's coffee shop and he ran them through his la marzocco with excellent results. i'd been grinding at around 7 to 7.5 and was choking on fresh fresh beans, under extracting some on 7-10 day old beans. i did the "espresso" adjustment per the manual, and now grinding fresh beans (New Guinea Plantation from Uncommon Grounds, my friend's shop), at 6.5 to 7 and getting decent extraction and crema (that holds up well while i wait for her to come up to frothing temp). not so great that it holds the sugar for a second when i'm fixing a breve for my girlfriend though.

If you make the Pro Line stepless you'll get much better results and will be able to fine tune for any situation. Send me an e-mail and I'll tell you the fastest and easiest way to do this. It'll take 10 minutes, some teflon tape and a 5/32" allen wrench. It's also reversible in case you ever have to switch it back. Later!

#12: Post by **Harrison** » March 3rd, 2007, 2:28 am

I tried the flaming meteor trick: held my shower screen over the burner of my gas cooktop for a while (with the overhead fan on high).

I had previously soaked the thing overnight in Urnex, cleaned it with toothpicks to pick out each hole... it didn't look too bad.

But, the flames tell the tale... it was spectacular. The screen turns orange and the residual oils foam and then nearly mineralize to nothing. There's a bit of ash that rinses off easily. The screen is a bit tarnished, though. Not enough to bother me.

I can tell Silvia is breathing better after this maneuver.