Rancilio Silvia Pro X

The Silvia Pro X is the dual-boiler version of Rancilio's Silvia: one boiler for coffee and one for steam, each with its own PID, so milk and coffee can be made together without getting in each other's way. Before extraction, low-pressure water soaks the coffee for a few seconds, up to six, settling it evenly before full pressure.

The display counts the seconds of each shot, sets the brew temperature and steam pressure, and guides you through cleaning step by step. Coffee and hot water are started and stopped by hand, with no programmed doses. The portafilter is the café-standard 58 mm; water comes from a two-litre tank that warns when it is nearly empty.

At 25 cm wide, it fits a dual boiler into very little space. The box includes a wood-and-steel tamper, and the outer panels come off to change its colour. It is for someone who wants a narrow, no-frills dual boiler with the whole ritual in their own hands; anyone who prefers buttons that dose by themselves should look elsewhere.