great info FC, thanx for taking the time. 🙂 boiler size is something that has always pissed me off about the pavoni, i'm not sure exactly what the boiler size is but it's small. long blacks and espresso's are easy, the temp stability of the machine is outstanding. i can make espressos as fast as i can prepare and the consistency of the pour, the crema etc is identical from the first shot to the last shot. there is no burning or bitteness in the shot at all and no waiting between shots for temp adjustment. where i struggle is the milky coffee's. in a standard SS coffee cup i can get two good strong shots with good extraction from a double dose. but in the situation where i want to make 2 MUGS of coffee, i can;t get a strong extraction for two mugs simultaneously. if i pack it with more coffee i get a poor, slow extraction and nowhere near the ml i need for 2 mugs. i have tried a finer grind but i clog it up. have tried a coarser grind with a heavier tamp and i get the ml i want but it's a weak extraction. actually the machine won;t cope very well with a very heavy tamp at all. simply won;t extract. i can hear the pump trying but aint nothing happening !! basically i have no alternative but to double dose twice to make two cups. this is so annoying it drives me completely mad. then theres the milk part. the machine needs to go thru 2 cycles to do ONE milk serving. ie: to make 2 mugs of flat white, i double dose twice then do two seprate milk preperations waiting 2 cycles per serving. this basically means it takes me a good 10-12 mins to prepare 2 mugs of coffee. so i guess thats where the silvia comes in. the boiler size is larger which should, (please correct me if i'm wrong here), sort out my problems for strength and volume of extraction. i mean how many ml am i gonna get out of a double dose in the silvia ? will it give me two STRONG extractions simultaeously with a double dose ? given that boiler size, i should also be able to heat milk quicker aswell and have much longer steam power ? is this true aswell ? ok, all that being said, what would be the point then of me upgrading to a diodema or ECM ? what are the advantages of that cos this is what i'm considering more and more. rather than have a small upgrade, go a little better and get the bee's knees. but how much more advantage can i get from say the giotto or unico as opposed to the silvia and is it really worth me spending more than double the money ? on a side note. can i just add that i had a play with the pavoni pro today and the good people at euroespresso nailed me the best shots of espresso i have ever had in my life. perhaps it is my imagination but the texture (??) of an espresso from this lever machine was something i've not exprienced b4 in any machine, domestic or commericial. needless to say that my pulls were crap and as the guys at the shop said, its gonna take me a good 2-3 weeks to really get the hang of pressure needed for the pull. they also explained the limitations of the machine to make milky coffees for more than 2 people so its essentially an espresso machine for a crowd but a capp machine for 2 if that makes sense. 1.9L capacity i think the boiler was. in other words this machine is more my luxury toy, not a workhorse. and hey, i'm cool with that and theres something kinda sexy-cool about actually "pulling" a shot. 😛
