Rocket Espresso Milano Mozzafiato TYPE v

Rocket Expresso - Simple and Delicious – SUMMARY Researching over 6 months for what I thought may or may not be a good coffee machine. I became more and more confused after visiting several bricks ‘n mortar stores with so many variants. Looking over several brands, none of which stood out to me? Because frankly, this is the sort of thing that you’re going to be spending serious money for those who consume coffee on a regular basis.

Hence, after some work colleagues suggested this brand; I had a look at their offerings and found pricing to be extremely... well, not cheap. In any case, visiting Melbourne over the recent Christmas break and especially during Boxing Day; I found a good deal in Brighton and picked one up.

PACKAGING Looking at the box in which it came in; marked with lots of branding and especially the important one which said “Made in Italy”. This may or may not be important to you; but for me, it is especially for the money in which I forked out; one would expect it to be something special won’t look like a mundane variety you’d find at either David Jones, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Myer or any other.

Opening the box, you’re greeted with lots of foam and internally sealed items (colour binded manual; cleaning equipment, alloy tamper, two portafilters, a USB stick with an electronic manual) which makes the experience quite enthusiastic. The first part is a tray which you slide out and then you’re greeted to the machine which is wrapped in a black cloth bag.

Mind you, the machine is heavy; but for me I managed to get it onto the bench. If you’re planning to get this, make sure you have another person to help you to move the box onto a kitchen bench or table.

DESIGN I really like the look of the appliance, classic looks and polished metal, sharp lines and gauges. It has polished metal feet underneath the unit with anti-slip rubber pads. The unit has a switch to power it on; and a good feature if you forget to turn it off; after 45 minutes or so; it goes into ECO-Mode which in essence put it into stand-by mode.

NOTES To be quite frank, despite doing the research, I have never owned one before. I have never owned any other coffee machine(s) before or grinders or any other associated equipment.

What’s more, the experience is of my own and the research which has been mostly face-to-face with sales persons, practical demonstrations, stores that stock this brand, YouTube and Vimeo videos and other general Internet browsing.

PRACTICALITY With absolutely no experience in making coffees what so ever; and under the direction of videos I found from YouTube and Vimeo; it gave me and my partner the confidence in using this machine. There will be no doubt long days, if not years ahead to master our soy flat whites and other coffee variations.

We both made our coffees with ease and one of the best advice I can give to any one; not necessarily with this machine, but a general rule of thumb. And that is, if you’re serious enough to go and buy a coffee machine for you and your family (of course old enough to drink coffee); then a practical demonstration should be given with the machine should be mandatory.

PROS - Easy to use (relative) - High quality and polished finish - Made in Italy - Cup warmer at the top - PID (electronic gauge to tell you the temperature) - Hidden timer on the machine separate to the PID just above the power switch - Heats up to optimum brewing temperature quickly

CONS - Price - Should have gotten the plumbed version instead, its just a preference, not necesssarily a bad thing. As it allows piping directly into the unit as well as draining. - The manual is very comprehensive as well as the electronic version on the USB stick; there is just so much to read.

FINAL THOUGHTS This coffee machine is one model up from the entry which is the Appartmento, the difference is approximately $500 give or take; it is smaller in size and as the description of the model gives it away, it is design for small kitchens and spaces.

Though I do have a commercial grade grinder, I think I may need to go and get a proper one as I did experience difficulty getting the coffee beans from the grinder to the portafilter. This issue is based on the fact that the grinder does not have an ability to grind its beans directly to the portafilter. Instead, I’ve had to use a small beaker and a spoon; after a bit of a mess, of which using a heavier tamper to level the coffee before using.

As previously indicated above in relation to the comprehensive manual; it may be best to look at some videos on the Internet to find a faster way to brew your coffee needs.