Comments on: Solder & Sons

By: Jimmy O

Jimmy O — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:19:07 +0000

It might be because one x factor of the baby boiler machines is they don’t have the backpressure release valve that commercial pumps have. I could be wrong here, but if you dial in a grind too fine, a gaggia or silvia will spike in pressure, but then once you get flow, the pressure at the pump normalizes? On commercial machines, when you set your group pressure to 8.75 bar, back pressure is released, so you don’t have this “dynamic” type of pressure…

By: Jennefer Fobbs

Jennefer Fobbs — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:16:17 +0000

Great post mate! Where

By: Jacob Orr

Jacob Orr — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:58:30 +0000

I love seeing a Silvia standing up under pressure. When we started our first coffee shoppe we had two Silvia’s with a doser-less Rocky in between them. That set up worked well for a while but demand (thank God) led us to buying a 4 group Linea and a grinder up to the task. Nowadays you can buy a PID kit for the Silvia which solves a good bit of the water temperature issues. After that the only real variable is actual pressure. I think the Silvia can pull a really great shot with a great barista at the helm.

By: Michael Tam

Michael Tam — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:08:04 +0000

Awesome post and great pictures.

What a cool place to find an amazing coffee experience. Like @P_Oshaugnessy said, the Godshot just comes out of nowhere and almost cannot be reproduced when you try to.

KEEP POSTING!!

By: P Oshaugnessy

P Oshaugnessy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:45:43 +0000

Great writing. Great photos. It is true that the Godshot just appears and you have no control over it, and in the least expected places, despite the preparation, etc…

Thanks so much for this post.

By: george

george — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:22:20 +0000

@florian
I wouldn’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves… I did have an amazing shot but there was no one deciding factor involved in that. Everything has to add up perfectly and it did. Commercial set ups are very different from home ones. That being said, I lack experience in the home machines department so you’ll just have to try it and see if it meets your needs.

By: pj mcnally

pj mcnally — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:05:36 +0000

florian – yes! With care and attention, a good home set-up can rival a commercial product.

Some of the subtleties that come from the really high-end kit will always elude the home user – resulting in the occasional ‘godshot’ where it all comes right, but which turns out to be unrepeatable – but the love and attention a home user can bring oes a long way towards equalling the shops.

With a little attention, the home user can better 90% of the coffee stores out there. The final 10%, or 5%, or 1%, is a bit more tricky.

And george – thanks for this write-up! It made me smile during my lunch break.

By: florian

florian — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:11:28 +0000

So the Rancilio equipment can deliver an espresso with equal quality of more expensive commercial equipment usually found in coffee shops? In other words, if the same beans are used, and the same barista, same water etc, would the Rancilio home equipment like seen on the picture above be able to deliver similar results as the coffee shop equipment?
I am thinking about buying this Rancilio equipment and would like to get some feedback.

By: Kyle Wheeler

Kyle Wheeler — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:12:11 +0000

I used to live on that block, three doors down from there! I would sometimes use my leftover tip money to buy a book or two from there. I never got espresso drinks (I was, also, a little skeptical of the Silvia, and I could make my own a block away for free) but the french press was always enjoyable.
I got talking to the owner, and turns out the building doesn’t have enough power to support a full on espresso bar, so he had to make do. I’ve also seen him working at Albion books, on Richards, but that was quite a while ago, so I’m not sure if he’s still there. That brings me back. I miss Vancouver a lot sometimes…