Breville Barista Pro vs. Rancillio Silvia | Crew Comparison 

Very relatable story. I was choosing between a Silvia and a breville about 3 years ago. The breville appears a user friendly all in one machine. But like you said, the Silvia has a lot of online resources and seems much more serviceable. Inside it's all metal tubing. The only silicone is the feed tube from the tank to the boiler (and a return). The innerts are built to last. I bought the Sylvia and installed a small PID after about half a year, because that's really the only thing I feel it lacks. Yes, you need an additional grinder. Get a good one and it will outlive even your Silvia. I got a semi-professional grinder second hand from a friend (very good price) and only bought a new burr set. Since then.... One or two espressos per day without a single problem.

@Lost Comma: Well, again that's one big difference between appliance-class machines (even expensive ones, even the several thousand dollar super-automatic machines) and prosumer-class: Durability/longevity. -- BR

Yeah, that sucks. I am relatively happy owner of a Duo Temp Pro, which is their starting machine. I'm relatively happy with it, though I would love to try the Silvia. I've had mine for about two years and it is still going pretty good. Breville seems to be best for newcomers to espresso, but for anything performance related, it does suffer a bit.

@@mattmallicoat7783 The Rancilio Silvia will "go" as many years you want, as long as you take care of it as it's prosumer-grade (vs. appliance-grade) quality/parts. IIRC, even the Sylvia's switches are commercial-grade to they'll last for years. AND any Silvia parts you may need (be it for a v1 Silvia (introduced in 1998?) up to the current (v4?) Silvia) in the future are easily/readily available. :-) But as with MOST of us, the rule is you will UPGRADE to some new pairing (machine & grinder -- remember, you have to match these) WAY BEFORE a Silvia "wears out." With appliance-grade machines, however, they'll probably wear-out/break in a few years, and then you throw it out and get another appliance-grade machine to replaceit, or if your old one still works -- yet you want a newer machine -- give the old one to Goodwill or such. Not so with prosumer-grade machines (or prosumer-grade grinders). I'm guessing the MAIN reason people upgrade from a Sylvia is not because of it's quality/durability, but because of its limitations: Being a single-boiler (SB) machine, you can't brew/steam at the same time with a Sylvia -- at best, that means a slower process making milk-based drinks (Lattes/Cappuccinos, Macchiatos, etc.) as you have to switch back & forth (brew OR stem in separate operations)...that's gets old after a while, and if you're using a SB machine at a party with people in line waiting for their drinks, it's slow going! So you'd be looking to upgrade to a HX (Heat Exchanger) or perhaps a DB (Double Boiler) machine. But that's the same for us who have prosumer machines/grinders -- like my VBM (aka: Vibiemme) and Mazzer -- as we'll likely upgrade not because we "need" a new machine to make "better" espresso, or because it broke/wore-out (4 year snow with my $2K VBM with ZERO issues), but simply because of the very "shallow" (!) reason we want more "bling." As mentioned earlier, at some point an espresso machine doesn't make $2-3-4-5 grand "better" espresso then one's $2 grand machine, at best makes a only "a little better" espresso perhaps (meaning, noted by the "experts" but not the rest of us) -- it MAINLY just looks prettier! As I said earlier, is it THAT shallow of me to "upgrade" from my current $2K VBM to a $10K Kees van der Westen "Speedster" (and a $2-3K grinder to pair with it)? Probably... ;-) But really, that's often why people who have expensive machines "upgrade" -- "better art" that also happens to make espresso (but in reality, not that much ($$$$) BETTER espresso). For some of us, it does more than other art such as a painting just hanging on the wall, or a piece of sculpture sitting in a table. Hey, we actually can get COFFEE from it! Does it get any better than that? :-) -- BR

right , thats the mistake, i would never buy a all in one coffee machine exactly for that reason, if only one part gives you problems , all itself would down crease the value and usually those grinders are the biggest rubbish just trying to look nicer for the buyers with low knowledge

Im glad it wasn't just me that noticed filling the breville basket twice.. will we ever know what happened to the first one?? 🤔🤔🤔 lol...

She killed the first shot by locking the portafilter in, but instead of pulling the shot, she switched to steaming the milk first. Water seaped into the coffee bed as she steamed the milk. You can see it dripping as she is steaming.

I saw that too . I was like I thought she did that already :)

@@Maduecejet26 Good spot! Not to mention completing burning the coffee puck in the process!! Gail is normally pretty switched on with this sort of thing!

Dave Pettitt well at least in terms of the first two those really depend on your use of the machine generally

It's an appliance not a machine

I plan to get a Rancilio Silva too! I also love it because it's manual too haha! :)

whats the problem with the smaller basket? It grinds smaller portions, which i think is nice, as you can drink more cups and still not get too much coffein :)

Have an espresso then!

Me too.

if its your first machine buy the breville it will make coffee, if you want cafe espresso buy the silvia WITH the best grinder you can afford

Ha, Ha! Totally know what you mean! 😂

Same. I have about 30 mins to get ready for work every morning. I wont do a DAMN THING without a coffee first. So finding something else to do before i can poor my shot is not in the plan. Plus i've seen gayle and others pull better shots than this one she pulled here out of the pro.

has the pro still worked well?

Hey how is your breville holding up? Any issues/regrets? I’m looking to get one

Have you tried the Bambino plus- I am looking to get that one. For now I have a Moka Pot which actually does well. I make nut milk using walnuts and an avocado and a nutrabullet. Surprisingly good on the cheap...probably ~90% as good a result. Probably a little more work though.

I'd be curious how the new Silvia Pro stacks up to the Rocket Appartmento.

@@limer4330 silvia pro is much better than the appartemento. There are now currently a lot of options equal to or better than the appartemento for similar or less money. Appartemento isn't bad per se, it just doesn't make much sense in the current market unless the styling is the only thing you care about.

agree. Also, I personally need to start steaming b4 the light turns off, because if i wait until it turns off I often run out of power towards the end of the steaming process.

It's the same with Gaggia classics and most single boilers. When the light turns off the thermostat turns off so stops producing steam. If you start steaming before the light has turned off the thermostat will keep heating to keep making steam so you get longer and more steam as it never clicks off.

did you ever figure it out??

I have the Barista Express and I agree the pressure of the steam wand is very disappointing. Can't compare to what I use at work. the Silvia seems like a good budget friendly option.

Hey I know I am Late, but I want to buy a Rancilio. How long does it take to make 3 Lattes. I feel like the Silvia is a machine for one person only

@@abduldogan6982 You will need to give the Silvia at least 10 minutes to preheat then it is time to brew your espresso. Since you are also at the mercy of the preheat cycles while brewing/steaming you could get a second portafilter to have the next shot prepared to brew. I am currently using an 18 gram basket in a bottomless portafilter and enjoying it very much. You will improve your barista skills immeasurably by using a bottomless portafilter. I always stop brewing when the machine starts a preheat cycle to maintain proper temperature, and it seems like less burden on the machine. I am not sure of your desired portions, but I steam 6 ounces of milk which fills a 30 ounce Krups frothing pitcher. You could also use a large stainless manual pump frother which would further reduce time. The microfoam produced from a manual pump frother is unmatched by any machine. I pump the milk cold then microwave after the drink is put together when time constrained. It works surprisingly well. The milk can actually be much healthier when using a manual pump since the milk temperatures can be much lower than using a stream wand. You could probably make 3 lattes in 30-45 minutes dependent upon how you choose to make them. Additionally, you can put the largest basket in the bottomless portafilter which I believe is a 22 gram then you could share only 2 shots amongst your 3 lattes to further reduce time. The 22 gram basket will easily accommodate 24 grams for an even stronger shot if you desire. As you can see you have lots of options to reduce the amount of time it takes to make your 3 lattes. I hope this helps. I have a Frabosk 32 oz manual frother. The fit/finish/quality is exceptional which has worked flawlessly for 20+ years. I add about 10 oz of milk and pump 100 times then let it sit for 1 minute for the large bubbles to pop. The result is a very thick microfoam similar to a very heavy whipped cream. Different milks behave very differently when steamed/pumped. Some do not froth at all. My current go to is Organic Valley 2% which has been very consistent for years.

@@abduldogan6982 Get the Silvia Pro, twin boiler

@@abduldogan6982 I believe that once you have temp surfed the first time, you can continue to pull your 2nd and 3rd shots one after another from there. Then just switch to steam, let it come up to the higher temp and do the milk for all of your lattes. Someone correct me if I'm wrong

Thats not true you have to temp surf or buy a PID. The breville can more easily regulate tamp on demand...

Single boiler machines also cost much less which is the main factor most people look at when buying a machine. When I was in Italy (as a student) I met all of 3 people with an espresso machine at home and all of which were under $200, the vast vast majority use moka pots on the stove. Admittedly, coffee in cafes is very cheap there so there is less initiative for people to spend thousands and thousands of euros to get the "perfect" shot of espresso when it costs a euro in any cafe.

The Silvia is good for making up to two drinks at a time, I've found. Any more and you are spending more time making coffee than enjoying your company. If you want to make quality espresso drinks for more than two guests I'd recommend looking at spending more on a double boiler machine.

@@pjrbessette how would the Silvia go if you pulled all the shots first, and then did all the steaming, back to back? Would it still require a relatively long time to purge & refill the boiler, after each steaming cycle?

@@gregsullivan7408 It's faster to bring the boiler down from steam temp to brew temp, than wait for the element to bring that new ambient water up to steam pressure. Once you use silvia/gaggia classic you get faster at it. Obviously PID makes it a whole lot easier to keep track. Hit steam straight away, do your grinding, get milk ready, glasses, tidy up a little, then steam your milk, purge steam, and pull your shot.

Not everyone has time to wait like 15m or so for it to heat up etc

It seems to me that because the Sylvia has a larger portafilter, you’re filling it with more coffee thus making it stronger or with more body as Gail says. I frankly prefer milder coffee. I’ve had a Sylvia and wouldn’t get again because it’s too labor intensive. I prefer the machines that allow you to brew and steam at the same time plus have a PID. I sold my Sylvia and replaced it with s Rocket. It’ll just take a little practice to make it as strong or as mild as you like with different coffees. I’m not sold on the construction of the Breville and the weak steaming capability but have never really tried it.

Sorry……. Sorry misspelled Silvia!

Prices change. The information in this video will always be relevant.

CalvinSomething everything you have said in your comment is TRUE about the Breville. I bought one from John Lewis in Edinburgh Scotland, I had issues with the machine after 16 months, phoned Sage (Breville) and they told me that the machine needed descaling, we don’t have any issues in Scotland with water and descaling at all. I did as I was instructed by Breville but to no avail, machine kept blowing all the trip switches in the power box. John Lewis is a very well known retailer in the U.K., once I got them involved they got on to Breville and Breville arranged for the machine to be uplifted and sent to England to be repaired. We cannot buy spares in the U.K. for the machine, I.E. seals or anything else, but you can get them from the U.S. Australia, New Zealand and a few other places. My machine got damaged in transit to England, that’s when my troubles started!, no one would accept liability for the damage, once again I got John Lewis involved, no phone call or email from Breville, 8 days later a brand new machine arrived at my door by the parcel delivery company, Breville didn’t even tell John Lewis that they authorized a replacement machine. This replacement machine is now coming up to 2 years old and I am dreading the day it packs in, the company that repairs them in the U.K. charge a fortune. My wife has told me that if it packs in again, we will never ever have another one, it will be a Rancilio that I’ll buy. Hope your not angry with me for replying to your comments. Kind regards Johnny

@ Kevin: That's fine, whatever you want, but 2 points: 1. You're an appliance-class guy so whether it's a semi-automatic machine or super-automatic, stick with appliances as they suit you. 2. Prosumer-class people don't mind the waiting (and NO, they don't "just stand there waiting" as one ignorant commenter here said, showing his gross ignorance of real espresso-making) as it's part of the process. For real "espressoists" the trip is as important as the destination. If you don't get the analogy, then go back to # 1... -- BR

And then the day comes, sooner than you expected, that you want an espresso *now* and you have to wait for the replacement machine to arrive.🙄

the point of the 'dead air' was for the viewer to see how long each part of the process takes. FYI i agree in principle & in general though.

So far I never heard that there is a big difference. It's a little bit more difficult to get the same amount of coffee in the small one, of course.

Four

Best machine ever 🤣🤣

You can easily find 54mm levelers that pretty much remove the need for tamping these days, best addition to my Barista Express, which I love (in some ways I think better than the Pro due to the pressure gauge, which makes dialing in shots much quicker)

I believe they stopped selling it

I've used it numerous times. It doesn't even compare to the old $200 krups or Delonghi machines in terms of robustness. I also steam after the espresso and have adopted a much faster streamlined process than Gayle's. I understand the meticulous barista mentality though. The Rancilio is very forgiving. I've been making delicious cappuccinos/lattes daily with mine without issue for nearly 10 years.

@@AJ-di3xd well said, Rancilio every time. Delonghi and Breville are built to break and replace. A valve here, a leak there, I've had both and will never go back. Rancilio is a beast and you'll never see Delonghi and Breville in any Italian coffee shop ever but you'll see Rancilio and other great Italian coffee machines.

Great question, I heard that some of these you can repair by yourself if you have the parts

@ Ken R: When you steam/froth the milk (but not go too hot mind you to avoid scalding the milk = ruined!) the milk (I use H&H exclusively, not milk) has some "sweetness" to it. So YES, it does change the taste of espresso when you make "milk drinks" with it -- my Cappuccinos have a "chocolaty" taste. ;-) -- BR

Brent Goodale me too, I love mine!

I was thinking of getting a Rockett. what do you like about it?

danofthenorth every thing the strength of the coffee pour and the taste you get . I got a new grinder also. I can highly recommend it

I know this is old, but I have a rancilio right now but I'm moving out and my dad is keeping it. I was looking at the infuser to go with my Breville grinder and brewer. Is it any good ?

Eureka Mignon

Me too. I replaced the older express with the pro. Some small but nice upgrades to round off the experience. I don’t fully subscribe to the notion you can get a better shot with gaggia classics and similar. A well setup barista pro is unbeatable unless you spend big money. Love mine. I do think in this video the grind was too fine. The shot definitely started like an over extracted shot which would eradicate any of the delicacy and flavour in the coffee. It was stoped at 33 seconds.

@@briers9 do you have any issues with the temperature on your Barista Pro?

icewolfy1 no temp issues here. Seems to be rock steady and correct out of the box. The barista express I had for 4 years needed 2c upwards adjustment. What are you seeing?

@@briers9 I've just heard many people talk about temperature issues with the new machines that heat up quickly. Like the Oracle. I was just curious because I had to decide between the Express and the Pro.

@@icewolfy1 mine stopped heating after 6 months use. Cold water, no steam. Into warranty service. Worked perfectly for them with no fault! Back home hoping it doesn't fault again! Otherwise love it. Replaced the Express with this one, and that had worked for 5 years faultlessly. That's at the holiday house now. I like the speed. My partner wouldn't tolerate the extra time and steps with the Rancilio...

I just upgraded to using a Specialita with my Breville Barista Express (probably a very similar grinder to that on the Pro) and I couldn't possibly agree more. Huge difference in the quality of the coffee grounds for the same length shot, making them infinitely easier to distribute evenly in the basket with less clumping and what appears to be more consistency. I didn't want to invest in a grinder when I first bought the machine, but today I think the Infuser and the Double Boiler are probably the sweetspots of the line up. Of course, my next upgrade (if/when the Breville dies) will be an Appartamento, a Pro 500 or some other E61 HX machine. I should probably also note that I don't actually use the presets on the Breville. I've found best results by using the "Program" button to pull manual shot timing with every pour.

Breville doesn't use Teflon (PFAS) coated tubes or thermal blocks anymore. They're all stainless or silicone tubes.

MOST people don't drop big money right up front o get into espresso...it's a "journey" over the years and MOST of us don't get into the prosumer-class espresso machines (and prosumer-class grinders) until we've been through/worked with several "pairings" earlier. By then, we pretty much have the basics of espresso-making (and milk-steaming -- latte art is optional!) down well-enough, know what pairing we want to get next, and why. And also, what our budget ALLOWS us to get as well. ;-) When the time comes to go prosumer, we don't fret the prices: Some of us just take out a loan and buy the pairing...all we need to be able to "afford" THEN is the loan repayments....and in the meantime, enjoy our "more bling" espresso equipment. ;-) -- BR

Did you ever install a PID? Or you got really good at temperature surfing?

@@oscargr_ I installed a PID after using the Silvia for about six years. Temperature surfing was fine, I quite enjoyed the process and got good results, but then I got tempted by the idea of importing a PID kit from the US (I'm in the UK) and having a go at fitting it. Once fitted the PID was certainly impressive, but I am glad I learned to use the machine without it first.

@@oscargr_ The machine is consistent and obvious in it's heating cycles so it's relatively easy to achieve proper brewing temps. Some of the newer versions of the Silvia are coming out with PID's installed , so I've read.

@@pjrbessette consistent, perhaps in the sense that it is always the same cycle between the switching of the thermostat. But you are going to have to wait next to your machine for half a cycle (on average) to know where along the cycle you are. And then count seconds? I built in a PID very soon after I got mine. It's such a convenience. Are you saying PID off factory, or retrofit by local resellers?. (The latter is being done for years already I believe)

@@oscargr_ I just wanted to convey to those considering the silvia not to be intimidated with 'temperature surfing'. It takes a little practice, but it's easy to do. A PID would be a nice add on and yes, Rancilio have announced the Silvia Pro coming soon.

Theoretically, heat will make your beans offgas faster and therefore get stale sooner. If you want to know more google is roast date important for espresso.

Good question. On the Silvia front, I would say the water reservoir is way too close to the boiler. On a regular summer day, when my machine is on for a few hours, the water in the reservoir is a perfect 35 degrees. Perfect for bacteria that is. I usually just fill it half and add fresh water before brewing.

Problem with that is if the grinder goes, does the machine still work well? A separate good grinder is always better and easily replaceable if it stops working. I've had a Breville for 3 years now with the grinder on top and it's decreased in performance over the years. Rancilio, and those more basic machines ARE SO MUCH MORE RELIABLE in terms of the temperature, pressure and better shots, every time, consistently. It's built to last while Breville is built to break and buy a new machine. No thanks.