The Breville BES840XL and the Rancilio Silvia are espresso machines that attempt to bring the luxury of coffee into the everyday kitchen. They are sophisticated machines that use state of the art technology to brew the perfect cup of espresso for you.
To help you determine if the Breville BES840XL or the Rancilio Silvia is right for you, we’ve compared the two espresso machines in the categories of mechanics, features, accessories and dimensions and then offer up a recommendation.
Mechanics
Both the Breville BES840XL and the Rancilio Silvia have a pump pressure of 15 bars.
The Breville BES840XL has a heating system that operates on 1600 watts while the Rancilio Silvia operates on 800 to 1100 watts.
The Breville BES840XL has an integrated stainless steel water coil that allows the espresso machine to accurately control the temperature of the water.
The Rancilio Silvia also has a stainless steel water boiler in a special lead-free alloy. This boiler is described as having high thermal accumulation.
The Breville BES840XL has a purge function which adjusts the water temperature after it has been used for steam which then creates an optimal espresso extraction temperature.
As for the Rancilio Silvia, it features a professional brewing unit as well as a filter holder.
Features
The Breville BES840XL has an integrated and removable 54 mm tamper as well as a cup warming tray. It includes a storage tray where you can place its accessories.
There are multiple alerts on the Breville BES840XL including a cleaning alert when the machine has been used enough. After one hour of not being used, the Breville BES840XL goes into sleep mode and after three hours not being used, it automatically shuts off.
As for the Rancilio Silvia, it has an ergonomic design of high quality. The espresso machine features a drip tray grid to make cleaning simple.
Accessories
The Breville BES840XL comes with a host of accessories. With your purchase of the espresso machine, you also receive four single and dual wall filter baskets.
It also comes with a coffee scoop, stainless steel frothing jug, cleaning disc and tablets, a cleaning tool and allen key, as well as a water filter holder and filter.
The Rancilio Silvia comes with a single and double shot stainless steel filter basket, a tamper and a measuring scoop.
Capacity
The Breville BES840XL has dimensions of 12.5 inches x 12 inches x 12.5 inches. Its water tank capacity is 61 fluid ounces, or 1.8 liters.
The Rancilio Silvia has dimensions of 9.2 inches x 11.4 inches x 13.4 inches, making it taller and more compact than the Breville BES840XL.
Recommendation
While both the Breville BES840XL and the Rancilio Silvia have a large amount of features, the better of the two espresso machines is the Breville BES840XL.
Priced comparably, the Breville BES840XL comes with more features and accessories and seems to be capable of creating slightly more complex drinks with more consistent temperatures. The Rancilio Silvia, while good, just isn’t as strong as the Breville BES840XL.
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