Rocket Appartamento Espresso Machine Review

The Rocket Appartamento espresso machine made a big splash when it was first released. The Rocket Espresso brand is well known for combining elegant style, professional-grade features, and rock-solid build quality — and the Appartamento is no exception. Its compact size, iconic design, and full-fat features are a compelling combination, and it’s not surprising that the Appartamento espresso machine was an immediate winner.

The Rocket Appartamento was released in 2016, however, so by now this model is a few years old. If you’re looking for a new espresso machine in 2022, is the Rocket Appartamento still a good choice?

The short answer is: The Rocket Appartamento is definitely one of the best home espresso machines in its class in 2022. 

While new espresso machines are being released all the time, there’s something to be said for choosing an espresso machine that has already had a few years on the market to prove itself. Thousands of happy customers can attest to the fact that the Rocket Appartamento is not just stylish — it’s durable and reliable and delivers on its promises of great espresso. 

Rocket Espresso has even added a great new feature to the Appartamento since 2016 — the Eco Mode, which we’ll explain in more detail in the ‘Features’ section, below.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your coffee maker at home, or planning to buy your first home espresso machine, then the Appartamento is definitely one to consider on your shortlist. In this article, we’ll give you an in-depth review of the Appartamento’s features, to help you decide if it’s the right machine for you. 

Design

Rocket Espresso machines are hand-built in Italy, and this is evident in the way their machines look. Like all the Rocket machines, the Appartamento is built out of mirror-polished stainless steel which gives it a solid, professional appearance. This machine was built to last, and it shows.

The Rocket branding is prominent on the machine, from the bold ‘R’ on the steam knob to the subtle logo etched on the portafilter. This emphasizes the link with Rocket’s professional espresso machines, found in top cafes around the world. Little touches, like the drip tray which clicks into place magnetically, show the attention to detail in the design.

The Appartamento is a compact machine, just 27 cm across, designed to fit in smaller spaces — hence the name. Despite its small size, however, it has a bold design, with unique circular cut-outs on the side. This machine is compact but eye-catching and would make a great centerpiece for any coffee corner.

The side panels that you see through the cutouts are available in a choice of copper or white. These panels also create an option for some subtle customization: it’s possible to personalize your machine by taking out the side panels and painting them a different color.

Since the Appartamento has a low profile, it has a fairly small gap between the portafilter and a drip tray — just over 8.5 cm. This is fine when making an espresso or a flat white, but if you like to make your coffee in a tall cup then you might need to brew the espresso into a small jug or measuring cup first.

The water tank and drip tray also have fairly small capacities. This helps keep the Appartamento small but can mean frequent refilling and emptying if you’re making a lot of coffee. If you are often making coffee for large numbers of guests or looking for a simple machine for the office, for example, then a larger machine that can be plumbed into the water supply would be a better choice — for example Rocket’s Giotto Evoluzione.

All in all, the Appartamento is an attractive machine that fits a prosumer-grade heat exchange espresso machine into a relatively small footprint.

Features

At the heart of the Appartamento is a single 1.8-liter copper boiler, equipped with heat exchange. This is similar to the technology used in many commercial espresso machines, which uses one boiler to do two jobs: heat the water for espresso, and create steam for cappuccinos. Copper is expensive, but it is the ideal material for this purpose because it is one of the best conductors of heat there is.

The heat exchange means that you can make espresso and steam milk at the same time without any loss of power. At the same time, the heat exchange constantly circulates water through the machine’s group head, keeping it at the perfect temperature for brewing coffee.

The group head is based on the tried and tested E61 design, invented by Faema in 1961. The Appartamento includes a two-stage pre-infusion. You can lift the lever halfway to slowly release some hot water onto the puck, without engaging the pump. Then when you lift the lever fully, the pump switches on, but an automatic soft preinfusion stage means that the pressure ramps up gradually.

If you want to play with the preinfusion time, this design gives you some extra options when designing the perfect recipe for your espresso. On the other hand, if you just want to keep it simple then you can just use the automatic preinfusion stage, which will make your espressos richer and more consistent without any extra work from you.

For baristas, the best feature might be the cool-touch steam and water wands. The pipes that deliver steam and hot water are insulated, so they don’t get as hot. This makes it easier to clean — and less likely to burn you if you touch it by accident! Since the surface of the cool-touch steam wand is a little cooler, you’re also less likely to burn your milk, giving your lattes a better flavor. Both the steam and water wands are fully articulated, so you can position them however you like — this is particularly great for steaming larger jugs of milk.

The Appartamento now also includes an ‘Eco Mode’, via a hidden switch underneath the machine. When this is activated, the machine will turn itself off automatically if you haven’t used it for 90 minutes. Activate the brew lever, and the machine will turn itself back on. This feature can save electricity and prolong the life of your machine, but you can easily deactivate it if you want to keep the machine on all day.

Finally, Rocket has not skimped on the accessories that come with the Appartamento. The machine ships with two professional-grade portafilters, one single and one double, and a solid aluminum tamper — a world away from the plastic tamper that comes with cheaper espresso machines. The kit even includes cleaning tablets and a water test kit, so you can check that you’re using the right water for your machine.

It’s clear that Rocket did not cut any corners when they designed the Appartamento espresso machine. All the same, this is their most budget-friendly model — so there are a few features that you can only get by choosing a more expensive model.

Firstly, the boiler temperature is controlled by a pressure stat, rather than a more modern electronic PID. The pressure stat provides a stable temperature for brewing, but it means that there’s no way for the user to adjust the temperature for different styles of coffee.

The Appartamento has a single pressure gauge that tells you the boiler pressure, but not the brewing pressure. The brewing pressure is controlled via an overpressure valve (OPV) inside the machine, but again there’s no way for the user to adjust it.

Serious coffee geeks might be frustrated by having no control over the pressure and temperature, in which case a higher-tier model like the Rocket R60V or the Rocket Cinquantotto (R58) might be a better choice. For most users, however, this is not really an issue.

Apart from the aforementioned pressure gauge, and an indicator light that tells you when the tank is empty, there is no other display to tell you what’s going on. Rocket has kept the Appartamento simple, but this means that there is no shot timer, and no way to stop a shot automatically — it is a fully manual machine.

If you want a machine that takes care of these things automatically, then it’s better to choose a machine from a different brand — such as the Nuova Simonelli Oscar Mood. If you want to keep it simple, but still have a fully manual brewing experience, then the Appartamento has all the features you need.

Build quality

The build quality is where Rocket’s line of espresso machines really shines. Like all Rocket Coffee Machines, the Appartamento is hand-built out of stainless steel, with professional-grade parts. The only plastic parts are the knobs and handles, and the rail around the top of the machine for holding the cups in place — even the drip tray is stainless steel! This makes the machine very hardwearing and easy to clean.

Heat exchange-based machines like the Appartamento are generally very reliable because they have few moving parts. The E61 group head is a standard design, so it’s easy to get parts and any good espresso machine technician will be able to service them when needed.

The Appartamento also has the same boiler and vibratory pump as Rocket’s higher-end machines so it can be expected to last for many years with proper care. It’s a testament to Rocket’s reputation for producing reliable espresso machines that a used Rocket Appartamento still fetches a high price.

Two important factors will help you keep your machine in perfect condition for years to come: keeping it clean, and using filtered water so that no limescale builds up. Rocket set you on the right path for both of these, by including the water testing kit and cleaning tablets with the machine.

Ease of use

The Rocket Appartamento is a fully manual espresso machine. On the plus side, the controls are very simple, and they put you in full control of the espresso extraction, with no complicated buttons to press and menus to navigate.

Having said that, there is a learning curve to making espresso manually — there’s no display to tell you what’s happening, and no electronics to automatically stop the espresso when it’s finished — it’s all up to you.

With no shot timer and no volumetric controls to stop the espresso, you’ll want to use a separate timer and perhaps a scale to get the best out of this machine. Also, like any heat exchange machine, it’s best to briefly flush a little hot water out of the group before making an espresso.

The steam wand on the Appartamento is a joy to use — it’s powerful and faster than most machines in this price bracket, but the steam is still quite gentle so it’s easy to get the perfect milk texture.

The cool-touch steam wand makes things even easier — but the group head is exposed and gets very hot, so you still need to be careful to not burn yourself when using the machine.

The only other drawback of any heat exchange machine is that it needs a bit of time to heat up before it’s ready to use — at least 20 minutes. It’s easy enough to build this into your morning routine, but it’s something to be aware of.

In short, for seasoned home baristas, the Appartamento is a very simple machine to use. If you’re new to manual espresso-making, it’s not difficult to learn these techniques, but be aware that it will take a little bit of practice before you’re slinging shots like a pro.

How does it brew?

The Rocket Espresso Appartamento can make excellent espresso — every bit as good as the coffee you can get from a professional machine. The E61 style group gives a very stable brewing temperature, and the high-quality pump gives a rock-solid brewing pressure, so the espresso that you can get from the Appartamento is very consistent.

Since the temperature and pressure are set at the factory and can’t easily be changed, there are limited options for fine-tuning the extraction to get the best flavor from different styles of coffee. The only way to change either the temperature or pressure is to open up the machine and adjust the valves inside, which should only be done by a qualified technician.

The Appartamento includes an overpressure valve (OPV) to limit the maximum pressure coming from the pump, but the OPV is factory set to around 11 bars. Rocket chooses this pressure setting because they think it gives the best flow rate from the machine, but many baristas prefer to brew with a lower pressure, especially if they are working with lighter roast coffee.

If you want to brew at 9 bars, which is the standard on most commercial machines, then you can choose to get the Rocket Appartamento with a second OPV installed by our technicians, to give you 9 bars of pressure in every shot.

Conclusion

The Rocket Appartamento is an entry-level ‘prosumer’ machine, which means that it is a home espresso machine that includes commercial-grade features and parts. If you want to make espresso the same way that professional baristas do, but you only have a limited space to put a machine in, then the Appartamento is a great choice.

The beautiful design of the machine makes a bold visual statement, and you can see at a glance that it’s a solid, well-made machine that will last a long time if you treat it well. The simple controls and ‘no-frills’ approach make this machine budget-friendly, especially taking the build quality into account.

The Appartamento is an excellent machine to choose if you’re new to making espresso manually, but want to get into the hobby. It’s easy to use and will make great espresso without you needing to experiment with any complex settings.

More experienced home baristas might prefer a machine with more control over the brew settings, especially the temperature and pressure, such as the Rocket R60V or the Rocket Cinquantotto (R58). Meanwhile, complete newcomers to espresso may find it easier to use a machine that features some level of automated control over the extraction, such as the Nuova Simonelli Oscar Mood.

But if you are looking to dive into the fascinating world of manual espresso brewing, and want to put yourself in complete control of an espresso machine for the first time, then the Appartamento is the perfect machine for you.

If you’re considering buying a Rocket Espresso machine and looking for a Rocket agent in Saudi Arabia, then get in touch. Our team of experts are on hand to help you find your dream machine!