Hello Chris, no I dont import them but I do sell them, and the Rancilio Miss Silvia is simply the best manually operated DOMESTIC espresso machine in the under $1000.00 bracket in this country, beating any of the others you mentioned hands down. In addition, beware what you read...as far as I know there is no "commercial group" on a domestic Gaggia Classic machine...it is simply a commercial SIZED filter or group handle, on a domestic machine. Domestic machines have limitations, usually manifesting themselves when you are trying to entertain a group of people with them. If you dont entertain much, the best of them make excellent espresso coffee machines. You mentioned that with the Miss Silvia you "...found that after a few capps, shots etc that there will be a lag between batches...." do you mean you bought one and this is what you found, or is this something you have read? If it is only something you have read, please take it with a grain of salt as its performance is better than any other domestic machine in the market that I know of, and it is very seldom that any domestic user would use a domestic machine continuously/continually to produce a great number of coffees. In essence then, if such fault has been found, it means the machine has been "over" used or used OUTSIDE its design parameters. That said, any espresso machine has to be MANAGED properly when asked to produce continually, and notice that even a 4 group commercial espresso machine with a 25 litre boiler will be out of its league if asked to produce coffee for a bus load of tourists. So everything is relative. If you are interested in a Giotto then you must also take a serious look at the Diadema Junior, Arte Di Vittoria Junior Plus, or the Diadema Unico Splendor, as they are competing in the same market (the "semi-commercial" machine market). These machines all perform extremely well and make excellent coffee. Take a look at our website to see pictures of the Junior, and Junior Plus. We also have 2 other Junior models that are not yet depicted on the site, they offer different "cosmetics". Yes you should have a grinder. Grinders of the calibre you require start at around $220.00 and go up to just under $500.00. Once you hit the $220.00 level the quality of the grinds is not in question, and as you go up in price you are basically talking standard of build and cosmetic look of body. Good luck, FC. to take a look at the "Equipment" part of our website please click on my name (in red) at the top LH of this reply to your post. Find the link to our company website.
