Rancilio

Rancilio is an Italian manufacturer best known for its espresso equipment, founded in 1927 by Roberto Rancilio in Parabiago, Italy, near Milan.

The company produces appliances for commercial and domestic use, especially espresso machines and coffee grinders, which it distributes worldwide.

History

Rancilio's earliest espresso machine was La Regina: a steam-driven vertical boiler model, similar to the original Bezzera, Gaggia, and Victoria Arduino machines in function and gilded Belle Époque styling.[1]

In 1950, Rancilio released a horizontal boiler machine, the Invicta Horizzontal, showing evidence of the postwar shift toward spare, modern styling. The machine however, still used the same forced-steam brewing method from the early 20th century. By 1953, Rancilio adopted lever piston technology introduced by Gaggia. In 1957, Rancilio released a model which automated the lever process, the H/L Automatica. The company followed new technological trends towards continuous deliver brewing introduced by Faema in 1961.

In 1965, Rancilio commissioned design work from industrial designer Marco Zanuso, beginning with the Rancilio Z8, and continuing with the Z9 in 1974. Rancilio continued with several Z-series machines, with the Z11 being the last. The S-series machine would become popular in the 1990s, and become well known in the North American marketplace.[2]

Rancilio entered the home espresso market in 1989 with the release of its Miss Rancilio line, featuring the Audrey espresso machine and the Rocky grinder with distinctively curved white plastic casings.[3] The Audrey was equipped with a 300ml brass boiler, a three-way solenoid valve, an ULKA vibratory pump, and a commercial 58mm brass group and portafilter, and the Rocky with a 50mm Mazzer flat burr set and stepped grind size adjustment.[4] The Rocky in particular is regarded as "revolutionary" in home espresso, becoming the standard home grinder "for the serious espresso nerd" through the next decade.[5]

Variations of the Audrey were also sold under the names Rialto and Nancy, often with the honorific 'Miss' applied, e.g. "Miss Audrey," and sometimes with contradictory model labels.[6] Some models in this series had Teflon-coated boilers and portafilters. [7]

Rancilio later introduced the Miss Kathy model, incorporating the components and functionality of both an Audrey espresso machine and a Rocky grinder in a single chassis. Later versions of this integrated espresso machine were named Miss Lucy.[8][9]

In 1997, Rancilio created a home kitchen-sized espresso machine based on their commercial offerings. This was initially only available as a thank-you gift to importers and vendors of Rancilio's restaurant-grade coffee machines. This machine was later sold to consumers as the Silvia.[10][11][12] The Silvia is a one group machine with a vibratory pump from ULKA and a single brass boiler that's controlled by 3 thermostats for both steam and hot water. It is frequently sold with its companion Rocky grinder that is available in doserless and dosered models with stepped settings.[13]

Rancilio began collaborating with McDonald's in 2000, partnering in the development of the latter's McCafé initiative.[14]

In 2001, Rancilio revamped their lineup, introducing the basic Epoca, and the Classe series. In 2011, they introduced a new advanced brewing system for the Classe 9 called Xcelsius, which gives precise control of water temperature during the brewing cycle.[15]

Rancilio made an attempt at a super-automatic machine, the Classe 12, and used cafes in Borders bookstores as a test market. It was deemed a failure, recalled, and abandoned. They subsequently purchased the Swiss Egro brand of super-automatic machines and have built a presence in that market with their Egro One.

In October 2013 Rancilio was acquired by Ali group.[16]

In 2022, Rancilio introduced the Stile home grinder, featuring 58mm Fiorenzato flat burrs and digital controls; the Rocky grinder is still available.[5]

Rancilio Silvia

The Rancilio Silvia (officially "Miss Silvia") is a semi-automatic espresso machine manufactured by Rancilio since 1997. James Hoffmann suggests that the Silvia marks the beginning of the "prosumer category" in espresso, representing "miniature commercial machines for the home," and characterizes the Silvia as "the closest to a commercial machine" available among consumer espresso machines.[19] Mark Frauenfelder concurs, noting that the Silvia "shares many characteristics of commercial equipment — robustness and repairability being chief among them."[20] He describes the Silvia as "the most well-documented espresso maker in history, thanks to its legion of hacker fans," and devotes an entire chapter, "Tickling Miss Silvia," to the machine.[20] Hoffmann agrees, observing that the Silvia is "probably the most modified domestic espresso machine in the world."[21] The Silvia is regarded as "an icon in the home coffee market,"[22] "a classic" in the espresso community, and "perhaps the most famous domestic espresso machine on the market," to the point of being recognised as a potential "coffee cliché."[23]

The Silvia placed components of the Audrey into a much heavier steel chassis, finished with a rectangular brushed stainless steel case and drip tray cover, and a cylindrical brushed steel collar covering the brass grouphead. (The Silvia may thus be understood as an example of old wine in a new bottle.) As a result, the Silvia weighs 14 kg, more than 50% more than its ancestor Audrey's 9 kg.[24][17] Hoffmann describes the Silvia as "built like an absolute tank," and exceptionally stable in countertop operation.[25] Matte black rocker switches replaced the translucent orange, fully illuminated switches on prior Miss Rancilio machines, completing the Silvia's visual design.

As the Silvia evolved, online communities began to assign informal version control numbers to denote changes in features relative to production date. (There is no evidence that Rancilio uses or acknowledges these version numbers; they have, however, been employed in peer-reviewed scientific literature.[26]) The initial release of the Silvia subsequently became known as V1.[17]

The production date for each Silvia machine is typically printed as a four-digit code in the bottom-right corner of the manufacturer's sticker concealed beneath the drip tray, or, on some early models, on the bottom of the machine body. The first two digits of this code are the production month, and the second two digits are the production year, such that "0506" would denote a Silvia manufactured in May 2006.[27] The general references for the following version history the Silvia are Avi Schneor's introduction to his SchneorDesign Rancilio Silvia Mega-Mod project[17] and the KaffeeWiki guide to Rancilio Silvia's differences in production series.[24]

Museum

In October 2010, the Rancilio family, in partnership with the Rancilio Group, opened the Museo Officina Rancilio 1926 as the official museum of Rancilio coffee machines. The museum is located in Parabiago, via Don Galeazzi 18-22, and is modelled on the original offices of Roberto Rancilio.[1]

The museum displays machines produced by Rancilio from 1927 to 1980, including La Regina (1927), La Ducale (1957), Z8 (1971), and Z9 (1974).

See also

• Bialetti
• Cimbali
• De'Longhi
• Elektra (espresso machines)
• Faema
• FrancisFrancis
• Gaggia
• La Marzocco
• La Pavoni
• Lelit
• Saeco
• List of Italian companies

External links

• Rancilio Group Official site
• Rancilio North America Official site
• Rancilio Museum Official site