If I sent Miss Silvia out to pasture, what would be the best replacement?

[mitchg]

Every time I think of getting an upgraded espresso machine, I get confused to the point that I don't get anything.

A dual boiler may be fun to have, but I see so many people buying expensive machines and eventually letting them go.

Unless someone cares to donate 4,500 bucks to my cause, the La Marzocco isn't going to happen..

La Spaziale, Quick Mill and Rocket come to mind. I wouldn't plumb it, I wouldn't want to have an electrician have to change the normal wiring, that being said, is there a machine that would serve me for the rest of my days and not leave me with any regrets?

I saw on twitter that Mark from CoffeeGeek told Leo Laporte to buy a Breville Dual Boiler, at first I thought it was a joke, but I see some major kudos for that machine.

Any thoughts?

Mitch

[simmich]

Quite a few of us are happily pulling shots in leverland. With the right lever, "upgrade-itis" seems to dissappear. 

[mitchg]

And that lever is???

Btw, I seem to recall a service several years ago that would take in a Silvia, Clean it, and install a nice PID. Are they still around?

[simmich]

And that lever is???

In the eye of the beholder...



(for me its a '67 Cremina...YMMV)

[mitchg]

I have a few lever actions, Mostly Winchester. ;-)

[peter]

I wouldn't plumb it,

Can I ask why no plumbing?

It's not much work, and the payback in convenience is tremendous.

[jspain]

PONTE VECCHIO LUSSA! "The best bang for the buck! Love mine. Make great Charlie Brown Christmas trees! 

[mitchg]

No Plumbing, I suppose that I prefer filtered water and thought that inline filters would be a pain to maintain. I guess based on your response I should re-think this.

[bekeld]

PONTE VECCHIO LUSSA! "The best bang for the buck! Love mine. Make great Charlie Brown Christmas trees! 

1st Line won't ship that... have to pick up from their store in NJ. http://www.1st-line.com/machines/home_mod/ponte_vecchio/ponte_vecchio_lusso_1group.htm I had looked at this when I was first trying to decide what machine to get. Still am curious about this lever.

[peter]

No Plumbing, I suppose that I prefer filtered water and thought that inline filters would be a pain to maintain. I guess based on your response I should re-think this.

I tapped into the house line with one of those piercing saddle valves, ran 1/4" tubing to a two-stage filter - sediment, and softening, which I can get a year out of - same tubing to a regulator - optional, but recommended - then same tubing to the machine.  All the connections are the 'John Guest' fittings that just push in are are leak-free.   The 1/4" tubing is pretty simple to fish through walls/floors.

For the drain I connected the drip tray to 3/8" tubing back down the wall into the basement drain.

I could get tired real quick of filling a reservoir and emptying a drip tray.  Even if it's only every three days or whatever, not having to do either is wonderful.

I think you're in the same place I was a couple years back, wanting to spend enough to get a machine I could grow into, which would keep me happy for years.  My vote would obviously go towards a Vivaldi.  There's a great community at S1cafe.com dedicated to Vivaldi owners.  and the fact that Chris' has sold thousands and you rarely see any used Vivaldis on the market tells you people are very satisfied.

[smico]

I agree with Peter on plumbing. One time minor job, gives you permanent major convenience.
If you also drink filtered water it will pay for itself in no time.
Most filtered water use filtration system similar to Peter's, or reverse osmosis that I use. You can also consider zero waste reverse osmosis system if you go that route.
Miroslav

[ScareYourPassenger]

Plumbed in is the way to go! I would have done it myself but I wasn't sure where my machine would be allowed to stay. In fact it may be moving again..

[John F]

I'd say think of why you want to trade the Silva.

Go after the things you are after ya know?

[Tex]

Plumbed is very nice, for me it's not having to worry about drip tray overflows. A double boiler or HX really doesn't matter - it's all about build quality, not boiler types. As for brewing, a top quality SBDU machine will provide intrashot temp stability on par with HX & DB machines. Where a SBDU machine falls short is not being able to steam while pulling a shot.

My preferences are a commercial HX or lever machine. My ideal machine is a 1 or 2 group Gaggia GX lever like the one below. Prosumer models are nice, but boiler size is an issue and build quality aren't up to commercial standards.



If you can tolerate their size requirements a commercial machine will be the last machine you'll ever need (want is another matter).

[mitchg]

I still live the Silvia, it is a first generation.

The only frustrations arrise when we have company and they want milk drinks.
Mostly my wife and I make Americanos.

I know the temperature surfing tricks, but lately the heating light goes on a bit more quickly than I would expect.  Perhaps it needed a pro cleaning?

I'm often envious of the PIDs and double boilers I see on some reviews, but if I were to spend 2k I'd like a machine I don't look at with any regrets.