newbie silvia problems

alastair

Right...

No espresso experience whatsoever.

Brand new Silvia with an Auber PID fitted, MC2 grinder, bottomless and standard silvia portafilters (triple and double baskets), 16g measures of beans, Flat alu tamper, Boiler/PID temp 104/105C (seems to keep fluctuating between them even after 'warm-up' period - is this normal?

Left sufficient time for machine to warm up (45 mins), dial in grind settings with the bag of beans that came with the silvia. Initial test is obviously way too coarse a grind - too much volume by far. Fiddle with grind setting up and down until volume on 25 sec 'seems' about right (I can't actually measure the volume - no marked glass). Running 16g through the triple basket seemed like good idea at the time, but the tamped grinds look awfully small in there - a dumb mistake? Used pucks seem too wet regardless of which portafilter/basket is used. No real evidence of channeling when using the bottomless filter, but I'm sure that tamping skill is poor - will pull out bathroom scales to check pressure. The Auber PID is the flavour that does the pre-infusion lark, which is tweakable, but seems to be doing it's thing okay (but might be contributing to the wet puck syndrome?)

Switching to decent beans (The Epic from 49th) and actually tasting the coffee (now that settings 'seem' to be in the ballpark) produces shots that are far too bitter - don't cause offense in milk drinks, but no way could past muster as espresso.

Suggestions for what might be going wrong? Obviously something other than what the PID is keeping tabs on. It'd be nice to nail a half decent espresso before the holidays are over!

rockbeer

Hang in there, you will get it.

First thing, I wouldn't even attempt to weigh the grounds in advance of getting a decent shot, it's only likely to confuse you. Try filling the double basket until it's just proud of the rim, then level it off with your finger so the basket is full right to the top of untamped grounds.

Now tamp and pour.

Let us know how that goes.

Second thing, sounds like you're using a decent, heavy tamper. Tamping consistency is far more important than absolute pressure. Consider tamping with just the tamper's dead weight, that way you can be sure your tamp is consistent for every shot. Once you dial your grinder in so you get the volume in about 25-30 seconds tamping dead weight, you can more or less discount tamping errors as the cause of your problems.

A one degree temperature fluctuation is nothing to worry about.

Good luck.

IsThatSo?

alastair wrote: »

Brand new Silvia with an Auber PID fitted, MC2 grinder, bottomless and standard silvia portafilters (triple and double baskets), 16g measures of beans, Flat alu tamper, Boiler/PID temp 104/105C

Was this set up under the tree for you?? :eek:

WTG and make rest of us jealous lol.

Congrats, and enjoy the learning process. You will be surprised at how fast it comes together for you

alastair

IsThatSo? wrote: »

Was this set up under the tree for you?? :eek:

WTG and make rest of us jealous lol.

Congrats, and enjoy the learning process. You will be surprised at how fast it comes together for you

Not my set-up - it's the better half's, but yeah - it came from Santa. That and the HotTop roaster

Things improved considerably when I stopped under-filling the the triple basket, and just stuck to the double basket. Today is aiming to adjust the grind to a get a consistent 2oz volume.

Randy Glass' guide here is pretty useful for what I'm going through.

rockbeer

Meant to ask before - are you using the standard Rancilio double basket - the one that was supplied with your Silvia?

If so, I suggest you seriously consider getting yourself one of these:



It's a La Marzocco double basket, which has slightly steeper sides and higher capacity than the stock Rancilio one, and it makes a massive difference to Silvia's double shots.

Unfortunately the place where I got mine doesn't seem to stock them any more so you might have to shop around.

Edit: You might want to have a read of this for some more interesting ways to improve your Silvia experience.

Kannon

i got the La Marzocco double basket on Rockbeer's recommendation and it made a big difference. definitely get it.

Mr Magnolia

The first thing I'd have suggested is that you use the double basket and put the triple away for a while, but you've done that now.

All great advice so far. As you're doing, time 25 secs, and adjust the grind to get it dialled in. I don't think tamp pressure has a whole lot of impact on the pour once you keep applying a consistently firm/plumb tamp.

It'll take months and years to perfect it so don't lose hope