Rancilio Silvia Coffee Machine Review (Worth It?)

If you are looking at stepping up your coffee game you need to read our Rancilio Silvia coffee machine review.

Why? Because we just bought one and let me tell you a secret, it is amazing!

My wife and I were huming and haring over whether or not to spend the money on a little old coffee machine, but what the hell, life is short and we love fine coffee so we did it. Pulled out the card, hit submit and now writing this product review so you too can step up your life for the better.

Let’s get on with the review.

Our Coffee Machine Backstory

Our journey to fine gourme coffee began in Morroco after drinking the local brews at cafes on the street. These were so tasty and addictive to drink which made us start buying beans, or ground coffee and brewing using the stove top sysytems.

As time went buy we went from stove top to French press to Aeropress and then finally to a coffee machine from Breville.

This was a great begginner machine and affordable. For seven years we made pretty good coffees that we were proud of. But we always new they could be better and that their was probably a better machine out there.

So after a heap of research and contemplating whether to spend well over $2000 dollars plus add in a grinder for $1000, we found it.

The Rancilio Silvia coffee machine package deal of a lifetime.

What Country is Rancilio Silvia Coffee Machine From?

Rancilio is an espresso machine manufacturer, founded in 1927 by Roberto Rancilio in Parabiago, Italy.

In 1997, Rancilio created a home kitchen-sized espresso machine based on their commercial offerings. This was initially only available as a thank-you gift to importers and vendors of Rancilio’s restaurant-grade coffee machines.

This machine was later sold to consumers as the Silvia. The Silvia is a one group machine with a vibratory pump from ULKA and a single brass boiler that’s controlled by 3 thermostats for both steam and hot water. Source: Wikipedia

Rancilio Silvia Coffee Machine Review

Name: Rancilio Silvia
Website: WEBSITE URL GOES HERE
Price: PRICING INFO GOES HERE
Owners: Roberto Rancilio

Training Manual: 8/10
Tech Support: 9/10
Grinder Included: NO
Coffee Included: NO
Free Shipping: YES

Overall Rank: 9.5/10

How The Rancilio Silvia Coffee Machine Works

Let’s take a look inside the Rancilio Silvia and check out it’s specs.

Dimensions

Width 235 mm / 9.3 inch
Height 340 mm / 13.4 inch
Depth 290 mm / 11.4 inch
Weight 14 kg / 30.8lb

Brew Technology

Boiler – Single Brass, 300ml
Water Supply – 2 Litres
Filter baskets14/18 gram
Temperature regulation – Manual
Brew Temperature Control – Thermostat

Steamer

Stainless Steel Knob – adjustable
Stainless Steel Wand – movable all directions (Powerful)

Power

Power supply – 120V~, 60 Hz 220–240V~, 50-60 Hz | 950 – 1000 W (120 V) 1150 W (230 V)

Interface & Operations

No pressure gauge
No timer
E auto cut off function that turns off the boiler after inactivity
M model requires you to manually turn off the boiler
Simple to use turn button that heats water
Switch for steamer
Switch for Espresso shot pour ( you need to manually turn off pour)

Rancilio Silva Colours

Silver
Matte black upper portion
White upper portion (May not be available everytwhere)

Also you can choose between automatic swithch off or manual switch of versions. Turns off after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Rancilio Silva Coffee Machine Review, Product Overview

Rancilio Silva only popped up on my radar as a great coffee machine option when searching for a new machine.

What attracted me at first was the professional, quality looking build of the machine and the price point. All my other options were well over $2000 without a grinder!

I bought this machine with the rocky grinder for a bargain price of $1,618. Some of you may think to yourselves that is not a deal, that is way too much to pay for a coffee machine.

How Much Do You Love Coffee?

This comes down to how much you value your coffee experience and what your goals in life are. My wife and I enjoy really good coffee so will pay more to experience it, you do only live once remember.

The Rancilio Silva is way better than my last machine, you can’t even do a comparison. The Rancilio is built solid and is basic to use once you learn the techniques of crafting coffee with it. It comes with an operators manual that explains what to do.

What You Get When Buying A Rancilio Silva

Follow the book when setting up. The machine comes with everything:

Complete stainless steel construction making it really stick to the table
Drip tray
Group handle which incudes single and double cup basket (heavy and solid witch sits flat on bench)
Milk steamer that swivals all directions
Coffee scoop
Buttons include – shot button(manual operation, not automatic)
Hot water purge button and steamer button for milk
Top of machine creates heat so great for warming up cups
2 liter water tank is easy to access and fast for filling(use filtered water if you can)

That is really it, the machine is quite compact and fits on the bench amoungst your other appliances. We bought the all silver model but you can choose the black matte model or white.

We also bought the Rocky grinder (Made by the same company)that was included in a package deal and that is awesome too!

My wife and I are know making way better coffee than before and that will only get better with practice. This coffee machine produces the same quality coffee you will get from any high end cafe in the city, trust me.

But it is only a fraction of the cost compared with machines that do exactly the same job. It is a dream machine for anyone who loves coffee and enjoyes the finer things in life!

The Good & the Bad of Rancilio Silva

Rancilio Good Points

Size, fits really great on kitchen benches
Solid superior quality made total stainless steel. Solid handle – heavy tamper built strong to last
Stylish but simple, looks good
Sticks to bench because of the 14kg weight
Built in Italy no fancy gadgets just 4 switches to learn and a steam knob
2 litre water tank
Price super affordable compared with simular products
Easy setup and easy to follow instructions
Makes a excellent coffee – pours a great shot of esspresso, steams milk perfectly
Buy it with the rocky grinder for the complete package
Fast shipping

Rancilio Bad Points

Learning curve to perfection (You will need to practice a little to get everything dialed in
Have to weight for water to heat up but only 5 minutes or so
No water temp gauges or automatic stopping of shot
Grinder can be a little messy when coffee comes out into basket
Price may be a little high for beginners (payment plans available)

Who is Rancilio Silva Coffee Machine For?

Rancilio Silva coffee machines are for the serious coffee drinkers who want professional barrista style coffee at home but are still at a intermediate level when it comes to making coffee.

If you already have a Breville or simular brand that produces good coffee in the $500-700 dollar mark and want to go to the next level, this is for you.

At around the $1,200 – 1,600 dollar mark you step up to barrista, cafe style coffee. All you need to do is practice, watch some tutorials and focus on becoming the master.

Most machines at this level are well over $2,000 dollars. This in my mind is great value for what you get.

So if you love coffee and plan on drinking it for the next 20 years do yourself a favor and level up.

Rancilio Silva Tools & Training

Product comes with an easy to follow instruction booklet and there is a heap of helpful content online at Youtube showing you how to operate it properly. Watch the video below to see how it’s done.

Rancilio Silva Support

The support offered with the product includes personal support via contact page:

Customer Service Rancilio Group
Email Customer Service
Or get in touch with your distributer, ours was with Alternative Brewing in Australia

Rancilio Coffee Machine Price

Rancilio pricing is very competitive and a steal in our minds. I cant find anything else that beats the Silva for quality, value and price.

Price range is from $A$1,139.00 to A$1,190.00 AUD for the machine only but if you add in a Rocky grinder prices start from $1,600. This gives you everything you need to start making your best coffees from the luxury of home.

Now days it costs about $5.50 for a coffee, which works out to be about $40 dollars a week, which equates to $2000 a year. Just hurry up and get a good machine and start saving heaps of money.

My Final Opinion on The Rancilio Silva Coffee Machine

After testing out the Rancilio Silva the other day for the first time let me tell you I was impressed.

My first coffee straight out of the gates was top notch! I still have a bit of work to get the milk right but apart from that it was so easy to use.

Built To Last

It truly looks like it is built to last (I hope!) The machine was easy to put together and become operational, even my 10 year old could do it. Fits on our bench nicely and we don’t even have a big kitchen.

All the parts on this machine are just pure quality, no flimsy parts that look like they could break our malfunction.

Rocky Grinder Add On

The Rocky grinder is awesome too! Just add coffee, turn the adjuster to your required grind size and auto grind. The coffee we use is dark so we use a setting of 8.

The coffee can spill over if not careful when near the top of basket, that is probably my only complaint.

Creating a coffee with the Rancilio Silva is a dream, all you have to do is turn on switch to heat boiler which takes about 5 minutes, then steam milk with the super powerful milk wand. Really easy to use just takes a bit of getting used to, so much power compared with the cheap options.

Once done you can pour your shot, the coffee comes out with so much creamer. Pours perfectly.

Rancilio Silva Is Not Automatic

Only draw back is it isn’t automatic, so you will have to turn off switch on your own. I turn it off once you stop seeing black gold pouring out.

The 2 litre tank is plenty big enough for the machine and easy access from the top. It also heats your cup on top which is cool.

After a bit of purging and cleaning your done, ready to make another if you are a coffee addict.

Use Afterpay To Get One

The price point is perfect for us because we wanted more out of a machine without spending over $2,000 dollars. (We use afterpay so for us it is just 4 payments of $400 dollars and we are done.

This machine kicks arse over my old Breville so do your self a favor and upgrade to the Rancilio Silva today while you still can.

Good luck and drink more coffee.

Rancilio Silva Machine at a Glance…

Name: Rancilio Silva
Website: Rancilio Group
Price: From $1,139 – $1,700 (depending on bundle that includes grinder)
Owners: 1997, Rancilio
Overall Rank: 9 out of 10

VERDICT: If you want to experience the pleasure of a perfect professional espresso coffee from home and enjoy the process then it is totally worth getting yourself a Rancilio Silva now!

The price is amazing for the quality of machine you get. Most machines like this cost at least $2000 without a grinder.

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