Rocket Espresso’s home espresso machine line up has seen some evolution over the last year. The Mozzafiato and Giotto received useful new timers, the Appartamento Nera offers a stylish new look for a legendary machine, and now the R58 has received a major overhaul in the form of the Cinquantotto. We’ve looked at the updates to the R58 in a separate post, but we wanted to give a review to the machine on its own as well. Let’s dig in!
The Basics
The Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantotto is a hand-built, double boiler espresso machine that is the very definition of “prosumer.” This is a machine designed for the engaged home espresso enthusiast that wants to make a long-lasting purchase of a machine they simply won’t need to upgrade. This machine features a .58 L dedicated brew boiler offering fast recovery times for brewing multiple shots in a row. The Cinquantotto’s 1.7 L service boiler allows for back to back milk drink steaming and hot water with additionally quick recovery times.
Perhaps more important than boiler size is overall construction. The boilers themselves are brass/copper, with a stainless steel case and framing for a rock solid brewing and steaming platform that will stand up to year after year of use. On top of all of these, PID controlled temperatures maintain rock solid stability to ensure consistently perfect shots and milk steaming every time.
Aiding in this is the Cinquantotto’s heated E-61 grouphead, which keeps the portafilter up to temp with the water in the boiler. This means no heat is lost during the brewing process, further ensuring incredible espresso.
A commercial grade rotary pump delivers perfect pressure every shot, and offers the capability of plumbing this machine in. This provides you the option of using the included water reservoir or directly running a water line to the machine for convenience.
All of this combines to deliver an incredible package from a raw power, reliability, and design perspective. What really puts the Cinquantotto over the goal-line is it’s sophisticated controls.
The Controls and Extras
The Rockest Espresso R58 Cinquantotto features an all new touch screen PID controller that allows you to control various aspects of the machine. With the basics like temperature control easy to manage, you’ll have more programming at your fingertips as well. This PID controller offers the ability to schedule an auto on sequence, one of the biggest requests from home espresso aficionados. With this functionality, you can schedule your startup so that the machine is heated and ready for duty as soon as you’re ready for your morning espresso.
Also new to the Cinquantotto is a mini shot timer. This small, unassuming feature is key to helping dial in the perfect espresso shot. Using it, you can ensure that you’re pulling just the right amount of volume over just the right amount of time. This will help you to get that perfect grind from your grinder to pull the perfect shot. It’s a small, but incredible welcome feature for this machine.
Finally, one of the best parts of all of this is that the PID controller can be detached, letting you keep that classic look. The shot timer also blends in with the machine when not in use, giving you the stunning stainless appearance that gives Rocket Espresso its legendary style.
It’s safe to say that we highly recommend this machine to any customer looking for the pinnacle of home espresso. While it may have a learning curve for newer users, it’s a consistent, powerful, beautiful machine that is the perfect way to ensure year after year of incredible coffee.
