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Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/17 09:02In my quest to find the perfect home machine, it seems I'm back to square 1 again.
I owned a Starbucks Barista for a couple years. It served me well, and made great shots. When it came time to upgrade (last Christmas) I got swept up in the super-automatic hype. I was disillusioned by the convenience factor, and had dreams of waking up, pushing a button, and coming back a few minutes later to a perfectly brewed latte. I was hesitant to give up control of the shots, but decided to give the Gaggia Syncrony Compact a chance. BIG MISTAKE.
At first, after having a semi-automatic for so long, I rather enjoyed the convenience of pushing a few buttons. I was even willing to overlook the fact the shots were mediocre, and definitely not to the standard of which I was used to. I've had some issues with it, and soon realized it was a needy little thing. Very temperamental, I'm constantly having to trip the censors because it just loses its mind. Last week a plastic part broke in the brew group when I was taking it out to clean it, and it's not been working right since. With some manipulation, my husband rigged it to where it will work long enough to brew a shot or two, but then it craps out again. I need to pack it up and send it back to Gaggia to have it repaired under warranty, and I'm going to be without it for weeks, if not longer.
Honestly, after 5 months of having this machine I'm ready to just cut my losses, bite the bullet and buy a real machine. I don't want to see another super-automatic again. If I had 5K to spend on a really good one, I'm sure it would do better, but I don't, so I'm not even going to mess around with them.
Before I bought the Syncrony, I was also looking at the Rancilio Sylvia/Rocky combo. This is the one my husband wanted to go with. I should have listened to him. (hindsight is 20/20, isn't it?). I know this is a very highly rated machine - but is it the best bang for my buck in this price range?
I'm also looking at the Gaggia Classic. I guess the thing that scares me about the Silvia is the need to temperature surf. That's a whole learning curve I'm not sure I want to embark on. Just that one extra step that makes brewing a good shot too much work, lol.
My husband is soured on Gaggia because of the superautomatic plastic thing we have in the kitchen right now. But I know Gaggia has been around a long time, and have a good reputation in the industry. Like I said, I don't think you're really going to get a good consumer class superautomatic under $1000, no matter who makes it.
I think I'm leaning more towards the Gaggia Classic, but I didn't exactly make the best choice the last time 'round. I really want to get it right this time.
Any thoughts/experience/advice would be most welcome!
Michelle Ontario, Canada
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colin
Admin Admin
Posts: 773
Karma: 19
Re:Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/17 10:00Thank-you. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! Finally. Someone with a bit of courage to come out and say - what a pile of crap some (many) of these units are. Cold shots. Sour shots. Unreliable units. Etc.
I have tested them. Over and over. And I have reported back to the vendors - the many deficiencies... the low quality of the coffee.
"Oh! People love the convenience and taste! Sure, it's not espresso... blah blah blah..."
It's like this: You heat water in a boiler...It might be brass... fine... it might be the right temperature... then you pass it through a giant chunk of plastic brew group and then you run that through a pile of plastic tubing... What would you expect it to taste like? Exactly.
Thank you for your concise and honest report - finally.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Chelle
User Coffee Lover
Posts: 4
Karma: 1
Re:Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/17 12:30Hey, no problem! Feel free to use my synopsis to help promote consumer awareness
I wanted to like this machine, honest. And I did give it a fair shake, but it failed to impress on every level. My disappointment is exacerbated by the amount of money I spent on this thing, so it was a lesson well learned.
So in your experience Colin, if you had to choose between the Silvia and the Gaggia Classic, which would you pick?
Thanks agan!
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colin
Admin Admin
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Re:Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/17 17:07The Silvia wins!Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Bert
User Junior Barista
Posts: 8
Karma: 3
Re:Once bitten, twice shy - 2008/05/18 15:48The Silvia wins. I went with Colin's recommendation 4 months ago and have never looked back. Colin said to me, "Nothing under $1000 beats the Silvia. Nothing!"
I am sure glad I followed his recommendation and got the Silvia/Rocky (doserless) combo. Both have worked perfectly since the first day. Silvia has lots of steam if you want foam for those cappucinos. The grinder just purrs along with hardly any static (unlike my son's Virtuoso). It never ever jams up or sticks. But be sure to take out the 3 screws and remove the guard and put screws back in as I did after the first use when the beans got stuck - as per many recommendations and as also recommended by Espressotec (the vendor).
I get great reddish/brown crema, very good coffee all the time and occasionally a superb cup. Grinding and tamping really need my attention. I haven't figured out what exactly leads to a light tamping or heavy tamping day. I always do my cup first and if the shot is closer to 20 seconds I tamp a little heavier for my sife's shot; if it runs up to 30 seconds I will tamp a little heavier or sometimes adjust the grind a touch finer. So my wife usually gets the best shot of the day and she thinks we have had great coffee since we got the Silvia.
Have a great Silvia experience. Bert
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GROUND coffee is fresh for about an hour.
Ditch the pre-ground coffee and grind it yourself.
Your espresso is never going to be right if you use pre-ground.
Sad reality....
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