Last week, I was sitting in the office with my buddy Biff and I was having a bit of a down day. Biff asks, "what would make your day better?" I went on some ramble about this or that and lifelong happiness I'm sure. A few hours later, a UPS truck pulls up in front, as they do every day, but this time was different. Our friendly UPS person wheeled in a large brown box with a Rocket Espresso Appartamento machine safely snuggled inside. I'm pretty sure this is the answer to any down day you may be having.
So, let's talk Appartamento. The Appartamento is a heat exchange espresso machine, which means hot water and steam are available at the same time with no wait time in between. Similar to a dual boiler but at a fraction of the cost and size.
Rocket Espresso Appartamento
Even before the beautiful aesthetics of the machine catch my eye, the first standout feature was the ease of setup. My daily machine is a Nuova Simonelli Musica, so I had an idea as to what to expect. However, the Appartamento exceeded those expectations and was as easy as removing from the box, plugging the machine in, filling the water reservoir, and flipping the on/off switch. After that, you allow the machine to pressure up to 1 bar, prime the steam wand and then the group head and you're ready to go.
The Rocket Espresso Appartamento has a sleek design with clean lines.
What makes the Appartamento so appealing to me is its minimalist aesthetic and the lack of buttons. As you work your way around the machine you'll find one switch, two knobs and one lever which allow you to feel slightly more involved in the process than the simple push of a button.
But how does it steam?
Let's get to what's really important here, how does it steam and what's up with the latte art? The Appartamento has a no-burn steam wand, which is awesome and means you can touch the wand during steaming without getting burned. It's a really nice feature and one that many more expensive machines don't have. The steam wand has a two hole tip and is controlled by the knob directly above it. With the steam wand being located on the left side of the machine and me being right handed, it's been a little tricky to get used to. I hold my steam pitcher with my right hand, control the steam with my left, which means there's a bit of reaching over myself to turn the steam on & off, but not enough lag to burn or over aerate the milk. In fact, I've found had some pretty solid success with the two hole tip and have nailed the milk every time so far (knock on wood).
Dual spout portafilter
Lending to the classic design of the Appartamento is the included dual spouted portafilter and metal Rocket tamper. The portafilter has a more boxy design than others I have used and compliments this machine really nicely.
R for Rocket or R for Rad?
After a week with Rocket Espresso Appartamento, what do I think? I think that if your price range is around $1,500 you'd be crazy not to check out the Appartamento. I've enjoyed my time with this machine so much that I'd say if your price range exceeds $1,500, you owe it to yourself to check out the machines Rocket has to offer and see how they stack up against the competition. Assuming the same or better details and technology will be found in the higher end machines, you will not be disappointed.