Cheating Miss Silvia's Steam

For a number of years now, people have been 'cheating Miss Silvia'. It's just a few little hacks that make Miss Silvia even more functional.

My favorite hack is timing when I steam the milk so that I'm right at the top of the temperature range while keeping the boiler on. This gives me maximum pressure right through the process of texturing the milk - perfect for microfoam. 


Here's how I get plenty of consistent pressure:

1. Flick the steam switch
2. After 50 seconds, draw out the 'top water' by opening the steam valve until the steam is pretty dry. Close the valve again.
3. 1 minute and 25 seconds after I first flicked the switch, it's time to steam the milk.

Don't leave your grinds, even for half an hour.

I tested my pour with the same batch of beans, same day, same dosage and tamp (as best I can tell), and let me tell you, leaving your coffee ground for even half an hour makes a big difference.


So, I'm extra-converted... fresh coffee means freshly ground. Even half an hour is too long.

Can Grinding Early Ruin the Coffee?

This morning I ground my home-roasted Ethiopian Harar about ten minutes before I needed it. I felt like the grind, dosage and tamp were great, but my goodness it was under-extracted!

I'll test another double-shot tonight and see if the problem is something else.

Roasting Coffee with Popcorn Popper

I decided it was time to start roasting my own coffee, and the best place to start was with a popcorn popper.

I had a friend looking to sell her stuff before moving interstate, and picked up her great Crazy Popper for $10. Then, with some green beans bought from a local coffee dealer, I was on my way.

That first pour, the first shot you pull from beans I roasted myself, was very satisfying. Tasty too. Give it a go.

My Dad wants it quick, black and easy: The Delonghi Fully Automatic Option.

My dad doesn't want to mess around with something like Miss Silvia. Instead, he wants to be able to wake up in the morning an press a button on a fully automatic espresso machine.

He takes his coffee without milk, so the quality of the milk frothing isn't really an issue here. Want we want, then, is freshly ground, well brewed coffee, and we've found the machine to deliver.

We had a look at Saeco and Jura coffee machines- they all have their strengths (I hope to review them soon), but for Dad's price range, we couldn't go past the ESAM3400 fully automatic espresso machine.

Because Dad is a bare-bones coffee drinker, the bells and whistles of the top of the range products, like the ECAM23210B just aren't necessary. The base-model version we got Dad just grinds, brews and pours. It can make a cappuccino too, but Dad doesn't want it, and really, who wants automatically frothed milk?

By the way, if the folk at Delonghi are reading, notice that Rancilio gives their machines cute names, like "Miss Silvia". Just a thought...

My First Machine: Rancilio Miss Silvia

Starting my home espresso journey off with Miss Silvia just feels so right.

Around the world, Rancilio has set the standard for entry-level quality with Miss Silvia.

You are not getting automatic gadgets and gizmos with Miss Silvia, she is a no-frills machine, but she is quality all the way through. If you're looking for somewhere to start on real at-home espresso, make sure you try Miss Silvia.

Starting Off: French Press

We've all got to start good coffee somewhere, and for most of us, that's the french press, or, as it's called here in Australia, the plunger.