Silvia

Are you handy? Do you like tinkering? If so then a Gaggia Classic or Rancilio Silvia modded with Gaggimate is the best deal south of $3k you’re likely going to find. Go find a used unit for $2-500, buy the kit for $250 and you’ll have PID with automated pressure profiling. Silvia will have more temp

Rancilio Silvia. Klassiker. Grym. Bäst av alla maskiner. Gaggia Classic. Också bra, men Rancilio är långt bättre, med större kokare dvs bättre, snabbare och stabilare ångtryck när du ångar mjölk. Men nästan än viktigare, är faktiskt kvarnen. En kvalitetskvarn gör ALLT. Om du har en billig kaffekvarn

Low end rec: Machine: ($300-$500) Breville Bambino plus or non-plus Grinder: ($200-$215) df54 preferably but baratza encore ESP another good option Notes: obvious drawbacks of the Bambino is the size. Smaller drip tray means you'll have to empty more often, smaller reservoir means you'll have to ref

If you’re willing to do mods down the line, I’d definitely go for the rancilio Silvia, as you can put a gaggimate on it when you feel like it (or at least a PID). If you’re not willing to do the mods, then I’d go for the machine that already has PID, as that will be your most important addition. I’d

For most people, E61 machines may look beautiful, but otherwise they make no sense. Especially for HX. They will have long warm up time, and less control over brew temperature than a non-E61 DB. Consider Lelit Elizabeth, Rancilio Silvia Pro X, or Profitec Move.

It's odd. I've had my stock Rancilio Silvia for over 10 years and have never found the need for PID. Pull a blank shot. Light comes on. I wait. Light goes off. I pull the shot. Perfect every time. All the effort was dialing in my grind and roast.

Turin Legato - $479Turin D54 - $215 That's a bit over your budget, but that's been my setup for the past year and I've been really happy with it. If you swap the Breville Bambino ($299) for the Legato, you'd come in pretty close to $500. One of the downsides to the Breville is that it uses a differe

I bought a used Rancilio Silvia and put the Gaggimate Pro mod in (similar to gaggiuino). The Gaggimate is a bit less involved in that you can order a kit with wires etc. all prepared. The Rancilio is a bit more spacious than the Gaggia and it has a bigger boiler, which takes a bit longer to heat up

so get a PID at least. i know that for rancilio silvia that i used to have it was a big upgrade in taste.

I'm gonna use a drummer/chef analogy, because I love to play drums and I love to cook. I can cook on a set of trash cans... whether we're talking 'bout playing drums or cooking a dinner. Sure, I have $5000 of pans, about half of which are copper... but all these tools do is make me more efficient. I