Rockets

capuchin

Nope, not the kind that fly. (or explode trying to fly in Elons world)

I don’t see much discussion on them in the threads, but they look like they have pretty good offerings at reasonable prices (compared to the Bianca and even the LM’s). Is there a reason why people don’t like them or we don’t see much discussion?

DavecUK

capuchin I don’t see much discussion on them in the threads, but they look like they have pretty good offerings at reasonable prices (compared to the Bianca and even the LM’s). Is there a reason why people don’t like them or we don’t see much discussion?

I believe Astoria took them over (Andrew Meo sold the company). I believe he remained on for a year and then left (contractual part of sale I assume). Anecdotally it does seem that in the intervening years since he left and now, quality has dropped as well as innovation.

MediumRoastSteam

capuchin - previous Rocket owner here.

A while back, they were one of the go to brands. Their Cellini and Giotto HX machines sold like hot cakes. Then came the R58, which also sold like hot cakes. The brand was associated with racing sports (cars, bikes, bicycles) and espresso sort of thing. But recently the brand faded away, and my understanding was the then owner or CEO Andrew Meo left the business.

At the time (this was 2014) The difference in price between an R58 and a Pro-700 was minimal. I ended up buying the Pro-700 (the Pro-700 was a newly released machine back then) as I wasn’t a fan of the spider looks of the R58. Prior to that, I had a Rocket Cellini, but only for a couple of months as (now I know) the pre-infusion valve on the E61 was a bit sticky and was making a noise. Bella Barista then asked me if I wanted to return the machine, or exchange for another one, which I then upgraded to the Pro-700.

I believe @Hotmetal still has one of the first R58s and that’s still going strong. Think @Rob666 also has a Rocket machine?

Edit: as Dave posted, I finished typing. I’m glad that, at least, I got some of the facts right. 😮‍💨

capuchin

Interesting, thanks guys! I ask as the R NINE ONE just came up on my youtube feed as a comparison video, and it looked like a really solid piece of kit. Then looked further at their site and they seemed to have a ‘bianca type’ machines with cool heat exchanger designs.

Wondered if anybody had gotten test models or something as everything seems very quiet and even the usual ‘influencers’ seem to have very few videos on them.

Rob666

I still have the Giotto Evoluzione. It’s been in daily use for over five years and it still going strong. (Dicing with the fates I know.) In that time it has had one aberration, the pressurestat stuck. I clouted it with a screwdriver and it has never done it again.
Likes:
I love the tank arrangement, no pipes hanging in it.
Does what it’s supposed to do without fuss.
Still looks great.
Dislikes:
It has always rattled/vibrated a bit despite the rotary pump. I’ve tried various things over the years but it still does it. It’s mostly the way the top panel is attached.
I’m bored with the HX workflow so one of these days a dual boiler will be on the cards.

Rocket does seem to have become a lot lower profile than it was. I would certainly entertain the idea of a low mileage R58 or another one which has sunk without trace, the Quickmill Verona. Otherwise, a Pro 700 or a lever.

capuchin

Rob666 From the interview it’s really interesting that your machine has such a rattle. It sounds like the sort of thing that would drive Andrew crazy!

Interesting that he’s so invested in riding with his son now, and is just doing a bit of hobby roasting and stuff (mainly to teach his son) rather than working with the bigger brands these days.

capuchin

Found this interview/podcast with Andrew Meo, quite interesting: https://www.lecoffeeride.cc/the-creative-cyclist/andrew-meo/

Ernie1

Interesting thread!

I remember about 10 years ago the Apartamento was the machine to have once you’d graduated from a Gaggia Classic or Silvia.

Pretty sure there was a coffee shop in Shoreditch around that time that actually sold them.

So much more choice now, especially in the 1-2k E61 range.

Rob1

Ernie1 I remember about 10 years ago the Apartamento was the machine to have once you’d graduated from a Gaggia Classic or Silvia.

For me, the Appartamento was where things started to go downhill. I think a lot of people got those machines based on the badge and the fancy design (cutouts in the side panels showing different colours), and the premium price made them think it was one of the best machines to get. I remember there were dozens of threads on the old forum with people asking for help diagnosing espresso problems, I used to cringe a bit when people were asked what their machine was and their response was ’it’s a Rocket so I know the machine isn’t the problem!'…..it invariably turned out they weren’t doing the HX temp management dance. I suspect a lot of people were disappointed they’d spent near to PID dual boiler money on a basic HX and turned their back on the brand when upgrading. There’s a good chance it suffered “first machine criticism too” i.e problems developed because of scale build-up like water temp getting too hot and leaks, and people blamed the machine for it.

MediumRoastSteam

Rob1 For me, the Appartamento was where things started to go downhill.

Totally agree. The Appartamento is their recent history. By then they were already losing ground to Profitec and ECM.

Ernie1 I remember about 10 years ago the Apartamento was the machine to have once you’d graduated from a Gaggia Classic or Silvia

I fell for that trap, but not for the Appartamento as it didn’t exist. Instead I went for the Cellini Evo (HX) but quickly realised my mistake and thankfully the machine had a fault and I could return the machine.

The Appartamento was released in 2016 - 7 years ago.

Hotmetal

Alberto is right, I do have a very early R58 which serves me well. I’ve fed it on Osmio water (and Volvic prior to getting my Osmio). It’s been very good, it’s a 2011 model but sat unused for a few years, I think I got it in 2015 and used it every day since. Probably could do with a service, maybe a replacement of the cams and followers in the group and seals on the steam wand, which occasionally drips. I don’t have time to turn it into a project but it’s working well, I just want to see if I can get another decade out of it!

Cuprajake

For recent times I know there has been a few machines turning up damaged, to the point there was a white glove service from Bella barista iirc

Rocket was branded very well.

dfk41

Back in the bad old days on CFUK, I won a Rocket in one of the many raffles we used to have. I confess to never opening the box and moving it on. The chap who bought it fired it up and the steam arm did not work so BB sent a new one out. I think at the time they had 2 similar machines, the Cellini and Evolutzione with the latter being the newly released model. But even back in those days, their reputation was waning.