Re: Saeco finished - Silvia or Gaggia?

Howdy Dee Dee!
Too bad about the Saeco biting the dust, but I'll bet you a buck it wouldn't
have cost $50 to fix it up like new.

Both the Classic & the Silvia are good machines; and both are a lot better
when they've been PID'd. In stock form you'll need to master temp surfin',
messing around with the various switches & stop-watches to arrive at the
ideal starting temperature for making coffee. With a PID all you have to do
to achieve this is to flip the switch. Also, both machines come from the
factories with the group pressure set too high and should have their OPV's
adjusted to ~9 bar.

The Silvia's "fru-fru" hole pattern doesn't impact the drip tray's
effectiveness one way or the other. The Silvia has a carbon steel frame and
a stainless steel chassis. The Classic is 100% stainless steel.

The degree of force used in tamping is an individual thing; I use a very
light tamp because I have hand tremors that get worse as force is applied.
Other folks go to the other extreme, to the point of almost doing a full
hand-stand on the tamper. Whichever you decide is best for you, the
important thing is to apply it consistently - from shot to shot to shot.

Enjoy!
Robert (Tex) Harmon

http://www.tinyurl.com/mb4uj - My coffee pages.
http://www.tinyurl.com/2j8jur - Gaggia User's Group
http://www.tinyurl.com/235dfr - BUG is Bunn User's Group (espresso)

"Dee Dee" <deedovey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:a44e37de-2bb1-415c-a842-270fc5efe577@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Don't bother reading if you don't want a saga.

My Saeco Aroma bit the dust after 8 months of use of normal daily use
for 2 coffee lovers. I'm glad I purchased it and learned a little
about espresso; I learned enough to know that we'll never be satisfied
with anything other than an espresso machine.

The frother began to drip first (no big deal, I said), then one day,
the light switch only flickered occasionally when pushed and wouldn't
turn on, it was all over. We had to have some coffee, and having
thrown out all coffee pots and melitta filters, we bought a French
Press. DH nor I cared for the taste, after after 2 weeks, we
hurriedly ordered a melitta pot and an extra filter after buying a
couple of excellent brewed melitta-type coffees at Whole Foods. This,
too, is not up to our taste-test, and we still have not faced the
decision on another espresso maker, except to say that the Silvia and
Gaggia are within our price range.

I notice that the Silvia says on the wholelattelove site that it has
been re-designed. After being accustomed to the looks of mine, I'm
wondering if the fru-fru holes in the front plate work as well as the
complete holes.

I watched the videos, and as I recall, it said nickel plated, not
stainless steel; perhaps I'm wrong about that, but the front page
shows "stainless."

Another thing I'm leaning toward the Silvia is that one personal
review said that the water heated to a higher temperature, which is
important to me.

I have no strength in my arms, so I'm wondering about this tamping,
and could I do it myself without problems if DH is not available? The
Saeco did not have to have the tamping. I don't know the difference
in terms, and why one machine has to be tamped and another doesn't.
Alton Brown said 30#.

This week I will be going to Baltimore Coffee. I see they are opening
a new store in Frederick MD in May 2008.
http://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/page/outlet_stores/
Darn, this store looks inviting. I was unable to find the store
itself previously some months back, but perhaps I couldn't find the
right information. (I haven't forgotten your recommendation for this
establishment, if you are reading this.)

Thanks for reading.
Dee Dee




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