9 bar is the gold standard set by Italian Institute of Espresso.
The best 9 bar coffee machine is the Rancilio Silvia coffee maker.
The pressure is set at 12 bars when it is shipped to you. But sometimes it does only brew as a 9 bar, depending on pressure and how much water is flowing.
It brews as one of the best 9 bar coffee machine with a little practice. See our espresso troubleshooting guide if you need help.
Why is the Rancilio Silvia the best 9 bar coffee machine
Rancilio Silvia produces espresso that is:
- hazel to dark brown foam (see video of Rancilio Silvia brewing espresso below)
- smooth texture
- floral aroma mixed with toasted bread/chocolate notes as it brews
The Rancilio Silvia is only manufactured in Italy. They test every machine to make sure it’s working perfectly before they send them out. It might even come with a few granules of coffee on it when you get it.
The compartments are made so that any part can be replaced or fixed if needed.
They want you to have this machine for a long time, it’s built to last.
You can expect to have this 9 bar coffee maker for over a decade.
How do you get the best espresso crema
- brew using a double filter basket to pull 2 shots at once
- use a bottomless filter basket
- freshly roasted coffee beans
- measure dose of coffee before brewing
What is the maintenance on a Rancilio Silvia
There are only 2 maintenance procedures that need to be done on a regular basis:
- Backflushing (recommended 1 x week)
- Changing the rubber gasket/cleaning screen (1x year)
When the coffee starts tasting not as good as it usually does, you should clean the screen. The screen will get built up with coffee over time, use a bit of cleaning detergent and a toothbrush to make it shiny and new. This will give you the aromatic flavor from your Italian coffee maker that you love!
I purchased my own Rancilio Silvia in November 2012 and I absolutely love it. I had never owned a coffee maker before this so it was a steep learning curve. Watching videos and practicing daily made me be able to improve my skills and pull delicious crema for my morning coffee.
See video here.
What’s the difference between 15 bar and 9 bar espresso
The best extraction for espresso is between 8-10 bars. This is dependent on your espresso machine, type of espresso beans, grind, water temperature and tamping pressure. Fine tune what works best for you, but 9 bar espresso is the Italian standard and won’t make too much of a difference at 15 bar.
