Rocket Espresso has a rich lineup of espresso machines that turn your countertop into a classic Italian cafe. These machines are built with the experienced user in mind, but a diligent newcomer to home espresso brewing can get a lot out of one of these machines if they’re willing to learn.
Rocket Espresso machines are hand built in Milan, Italy, and feature rock solid build quality and classic Italian espresso styling. These machines are sophisticated where it counts, but aren’t bloated with too many overdesigned features. With several different machines it can be hard to work out which is the best for your needs. We’re here to break these models down for you and help!
Rocket Espresso Appartamento TCA Espresso Machine
The Appartamento is one of Rocket’s most beloved models. This machine has a storied history as a compact heat exchanger that works as a fantastic entrypoint for prosumer brewers. The TCA is a newer model of Appartamento that upgrades the look and performance of this legendary machine.
Heat exchanger espresso machines are designed to allow for simultaneous steaming and brewing. This is an advantage over traditional single boiler designs as there’s no heat up or cool down time between steps in brewing your drinks. The Appartamento TCA also features PID controlled temperatures to provide rock solid stability. The settings on this PID controller are a little bit different than what you might be used to - instead of direct temperatures that you can set, you’ll have three temp options (low, medium, and high). While this may frustrate some enthusiasts, we have found that many users appreciate this simplicity, and it fits well with the design ethos of the Appartamento.
The TCA is a compact machine as noted above, and should fit under most cabinets. It features a removable water tank in the rear as well as very tactile controls that feel great to use. This Rocket Espresso option is a really great machine for someone looking to upgrade or jump into home espresso at the prosumer level. For many, it may be the first and last Italian espresso machine you buy!
Rocket Espresso Giotto and Mozzafiato FAST Espresso Machines
The Mozzafiato and Giotto are two more classic Rocket Espresso machines. After many years without updates, Rocket has finally released new versions of these machines. With the primary difference between the Mozzafiato and Giotto being appearance and styling, the internals are largely the same. These machines are heat exchangers like their Appartamento sibling, but they have some upgraded odds and ends that make them a slightly more premium option.
The screen on the front of these machines provides feedback for their PID controllers, which allow for more granular control than what you get on the Appartamento. They also feature upgraded gauges that give you a bit more information about what’s going on at the brew group and pressure levels at the boiler. Then there’s that FAST branding.
Most heat exchanger espresso machines take 20-30 minutes to heat up. It’s for this reason that some users leave their machines on 24/7, or at least throughout the day. The FAST machines from Rocket use extra heating cartridges in the grouphead to improve this heat up time to just 12 minutes. This is a huge improvement over similar machines, and a big boost compared to previous Giotto and Mozzafiato models.
Finally, each of these machines is available in a Type V and a Type R version. The Type V versions contain vibratory pumps that cannot be plumbed in. For users who want to plumb directly into a water source, the Type R has you covered with its rotary pump. The Mozzafiato and Giotto make excellent choices for users who know they want to stick with a heat exchanger espresso machine, but have outgrown their first machine of that type.
Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantotto Espresso Machine
If you’re looking for the ultimate home espresso machine from Rocket, the R58 is for you. This machine features dual boilers, which mean that there’s dedicated heating and water supply for the steam wand and the brew group. This gives you the ability to not only brew and steam simultaneously, but also brew multiple drinks back to back with little to no recovery time. Rivaling commercial machines, the R58 can handle many drinks per hour, and is the perfect choice for those seeing a high-end, dual boiler machine with a classic E-61, Italian look.
The control unit on the R58 gives you access to a litany of different PID controlled temp settings, programming options, and even scheduling capabilities. This means that you can program auto start times to avoid the issue of waiting for both boilers to heat up (which is one of the potential downsides of a dual boiler machine).
Finally, this machine comes with all of the other specifics you’d expect, such as a plumbable rotary pump, tank-like build quality, and a mirrored shot timer on the face. There’s not too much more to say about this machine - it just does a remarkable job and looks good doing it.
Rocket Espresso R Nine One Espresso Machine
If the R58 is the ultimate machine for espresso enthusiasts then the R Nine One is the ultimate machine for espresso hobbyists. This is a strange looking machine compared to other offerings in the Rocket lineup, but it’s also very unique. With a touchscreen display on the face, you can probably guess that the name of the game here is programmability and tweakability, and you’d be right. The rotating brew paddle on the top of the grouphead gives you fine control over the pump, letting you pressure profile manually or through programming.
What is pressure profiling? It allows you to mimic the pressure curves of any machine, or just build your own profiles. This is a very advanced technique, but it can help coffee hobbyists extract highly specific and detailed flavor profiles from their beans. While the reality is that a feature set like this will be overkill for the average user, we know the R Nine One is the absolute pinnacle of the hobby for some people out there.
Aside from the pressure profiles (which can be stored and replicated automatically), this machine has all of the performance and programming you’d expect, including temperature control, auto-on timing options, and dual boiler capacity. For most, the R58 may be the endpoint of their Rocket Espresso journey, but for those who want to build a coffee lab rather than a bar, the R Nine One may be the machine.
Which Rocket Espresso machine is on your wishlist? Let us know in the comments! You can also check out the video below for more details on the Rocket Espresso lineup.