If you’re curious who is the winner of the Breville Barista Pro vs Rancilio Silvia debate, here’s my opinion: Breville Barista Pro is the winner pick.
Breville Barista Pro gets my vote for its strong thermojet heating system with PID temperature control technology and lightning fast 3 seconds to heat up time. Its grinder is quiet and offers up to 30 grind settings for you to choose from. Furthermore, it can provide consistent coffee with rich flavor and milk foam on a daily basis.
Rancilio Silvia is a really strong opponent. 50 cups of coffee a day is not a problem with this machine. It has a powerful steam wand that can create dense foam suitable for latte art. If you are looking for an efficient device for commercial use, I highly recommend you consider this machine.
Breville Barista Pro vs Rancilio Silvia: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2023-05-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Breville Barista Pro vs Rancilio Silvia: Differences
Breville Barista Pro wins 2-1 against Rancilio Silvia due to its strong heating system, high-quality grinder, and user-friendliness. Read the breakdown below for more details.
espresso extraction
The winner: Breville Barista Pro
Grinder
Since Rancilio Silvia does not have a built-in grinder, it is clear that Breville Barista Pro holds the upper hand. The Silvia requires a separate grinder, so you need to spend more money to invest in it than you expected.
Meanwhile, the Barista Pro, with its high-quality integrated grinder, will save you a decent amount of money. From my experience, this grinder is powerful and works well. The coffee beans, after being ground, are uniform in size, and the original coffee flavor is almost kept intact.
In particular, what impressed me the most was that this machine has 30 grinding settings, which should be more than enough for grinding options. Thus, you can freely adjust the ground size from fine to coarse. However, with such many grind levels, it seems like you’ll need some time to research and experiment to find out which settings are right for your drink recipe.
Heating System
Regarding this aspect, Breville Barista Pro comes with a Thermojet heating system, which Breville emphasizes takes just 3 seconds to reach the perfect temperature for espresso extraction. Along with that, it also features PID technology to help maintain the temperature at 200 degrees F for the next cups.
However, according to my experience, I have found that even though the heating system is heated up within 3 seconds, it does not mean that the portafilter and all the brew heads are hot. Thus, to extract espresso more perfectly, you can pull a blind shot without coffee grounds inside. Through a couple of shots, the hot water will help other parts also heat up and gradually reach the ideal temperature for a cup of coffee with a thick and creamy crema.
As for Rancilio Silvio, the machine employs a brass single boiler with a mechanical thermostat. Compared to the Barista Pro, this device takes longer to warm up (around 10 minutes). Sometimes, you will have to wait a bit for the machine to re-balance the temperature between brewing and steaming. However, this does not mean that you have to stand there and wait until the machine is ready. In fact, this device has a warning design, and it will light up when it reaches the optimal temperature for making espresso. So you just need to turn on the machine and go to other work, and it will do its work and notify you when it’s ready.
Espresso Flavor
Overall, the espresso tastes great on both machines, and the crema is thick and beautiful. However, I find the Barista Pro’s coffee flavor slightly better (despite being extracted from the same coffee beans). This is also possible because you get more control over your drink with the Breville. In addition to adjusting the grind settings, you can also adjust the coffee length and coffee temperature to optimize your cup of coffee.
With Rancilio Silvia, I have some advice for you. If you want nice, dark crema and the coffee tastes rich without bitterness, let coffee delivery run for approximately 26 seconds, then switch off. This is just my experience, but I hope it is useful for you.
milk system
Tie
In terms of the milk frother and foam quality, I quite enjoy what the pair has to offer. Their steam wands are all very powerful, especially Rancilio Silvia. The milk texture is dense enough for lattes and cappuccinos.
If you are not very familiar with using a manual steam wand, I will give you some tips. In the case of these two machines, use your hand to feel the temperature of the milk through the jug. Stop the steaming process if it reaches a temperature you can no longer hold in your hand. Another note is that if you’re whisking the milk first, keep swirling the jug in your hand, so the milk doesn’t get lumpy and separate while you wait for the espresso extraction to finish.
ease of use
The winner: Breville Barista Pro
Breville Barista Pro was easier to use than Rancilio Silvia due to its automatic and manual settings.
As I mentioned above, you can optimize your coffee extraction to your preferences thanks to the adjustment options that Barista Pro gives you, such as adjustable grind settings, adjustable coffee length, and adjustable coffee temperature.
When you are busy and don’t have much time for making coffee, just grind and tamp the beans, place the portafilter in the right place, press the button to choose between a single or double shot, and then let the machine do its job.
In addition, another user convenience that you can find on the Barista Pro is the led screen that shows all the information to extract espresso and can be easily monitored by the user.
Breville Barista Pro vs Rancilio Silvia: Similarities
In addition to their differences, these two machines still share some small similarities. Make sure you check them out.
WATER TANK SIZE
The first similarity is the 67-ounce water tank capacity of both machines. For household or office use, such a capacity is fine. But if you want to buy these machines for commercial purposes, to be honest, this water tank size is quite small. It will need to be refilled frequently, which may sound really annoying. Fortunately, however, the reserve of both machines is designed to be easily accessible. In particular, with Rancilio, you can directly refill the water tank from the top of the machine without having to remove it.
removable drip tray
Another similarity is that both machines have removable drip trays. Although this is only a small detail, without it, cleaning the machine will become a lot more troublesome.
Regarding size, the Breville Barista Pro has a larger drip tray, while the Rancilio Silvia’s is quite small. Therefore, in using Silvia, you need to be careful not to discharge too much water to the bottom.
Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Pro
- Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use
Last update on 2023-05-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown Of Rancilio Silvia
- Ergonomic porta filter handle same as the proven design of Rancilio commercial machines
- Commercial grade group head for superb heat stability and extraction quality
- Articulating steam wand offers complete range of motion and professional steaming knob precisely controls steaming pressure
- Classic linear design fits most decors
- Optional pod and capsule adaptor kit available
Last update on 2023-05-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Product Video
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References:
- Breville Barista Pro: https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes878.html
- Rancilio Silvia: https://www.ranciliogroup.com/rancilio/silvia/silvia/
I am Ralph Mason and I am a passionate coffee drinker. I worked as a barista for a few years and since 2012 I have been trying to convince as many people as possible of good coffee.
I started writing on the barista blog on RepublikCoffeeBar in 2018. It was a pure hobby site and I tested coffee products like coffee machines, beans, mug, and other accessories. After the first year, my blog is becoming a well-known coffee site with about 100 thousand visits per month.
In 2019 I decided to focus on RepublikCoffeeBar only. I became a full-time coffee blogger and was declared crazy by many.