Oh, yeah... I love a well-drawn espresso with a passion!

Thanks again,
Susan

Of course, I've got to get the gasket fixed as soon as possible, but until then I tried overpacking the portafilter to slow down the flow. I put as much coffee in there as could fit and tamped it as hard as I could and --voila--I got 27 second delicious espresso that packs a mighty punch (you might ...

Hi David, Thanks so much for your reply! The portafilter, etc., look fine, but I checked the gasket with a flashlight and, yes, it actually looks rather off center--like maybe it got sqwushed from over tightening the portafilter... Do you know how one would go about fixing this on the Rancilio Silvi...

I've had a Rancilio Silvia since December 2002 and got many great cups of espresso from it until the last few months. Now, no matter what I try, the espresso cup fills up to the brim in about 20 seconds, at which point I shut the machine off to prevent spilling--the result is sour terrible espresso....