Questions from a new Rocket Cellini PP v1 owner

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
nlbrmn
Posts: 6
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by nlbrmn »

After 9 years with a Rancilio Silvia I recently had the opportunity to acquire a Rocket Cellini Premium Plus v1.

As I am new to this machine with its HX boiler and E61 brew head, I am hoping to glean some advice from the community here at H-B. While I have done various searches, and will continue to explore, I still have some initial questions...

1) What is the best practice for using a timer with the Cellini? (Or is the best practice to NOT use a timer?)

2) Once the machine is on in the morning, is it better to leave it on for the day (for the afternoon/evening coffee of for when guests are coming by) or best to turn it off until before it's needed again?

3) Regarding pre-infusion regarding with this machine... How is this done? Do you lift the brew lever halfway for a period of time? If so, how long? Should one count this toward the shot timing?

4) What grind setting and quantity have people typically found to work best with this machine? (Since I know someone is going to ask, I have a Rocky doserless grinder at present.)

5) Are there any "best practice" tips or techniques I should know about the Cellini.

And as I am not adverse to research and reading, if answers to any of all of these questions are elsewhere (here or on other forums), just point me in the right direction.

Much thanks in advance!
-Neil

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TheJavaCup77
Posts: 267
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by TheJavaCup77 »

The capabilities of the Cellini would be more utilized with a better grinder like a Mazzer Mini or Compak K3 by minimum..

To dial in my Rocky.. i find a step where one setting lower is a gusher and one finer is a choker and then change my dose to get appropriate shot times..

Lower dose = Faster
Higher Dose = Slower

It might not be ideal since the grinder limits your freedom to use any dose you want.. but you could manipulate yield (weight of extracted espresso) to compensate and rebalance appropriate brew ratios
It could be as complex or as simple as you want. It's the choice of the barista.

neutro
Posts: 426
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by neutro »

nlbrmn wrote: 1) What is the best practice for using a timer with the Cellini? (Or is the best practice to NOT use a timer?)
After the cooling flush, you should aim for shots that extract to your target brew ratio in 25 to 35 seconds. Having a timer might help a lot but the window is large enough that with practice you can hit it without a timer. Still, having a clock nearby might help :)
2) Once the machine is on in the morning, is it better to leave it on for the day (for the afternoon/evening coffee of for when guests are coming by) or best to turn it off until before it's needed again?
I know HB'ers who leave their machine on all day; others turn it off. Thermal stabilization of the machine might take up to 30-45 min once you turn it on. So if you take your morning shots and leave for work, you might as well turn it off. If you plan on pulling shots throughout the day (e.g. during the week-end), might as well leave it on.
3) Regarding pre-infusion regarding with this machine... How is this done? Do you lift the brew lever halfway for a period of time? If so, how long? Should one count this toward the shot timing?
(I have no idea if the Cellini can be plumbed in?) If it's plumbed in you can do as you say to "pre-wet" the puck. If it's not, this will only provide a trickle, as water will be pushed into the group under vapor pressure alone. The E61 group also features a pressure profile that some call pre-infusion due to an expansion valve. It takes 4-5 sec before the full pressure is achieved on the coffee puck, and this is built into the group and is a mechanical, automatic feature of the group.
4) What grind setting and quantity have people typically found to work best with this machine? (Since I know someone is going to ask, I have a Rocky doserless grinder at present.)
This is highly dependent on the actual beans you use!
5) Are there any "best practice" tips or techniques I should know about the Cellini.
I guess the general HX tips and best practice apply here... I guess the most critical thing, as with all HX machines, is to learn how long to flush the machine before shots to get the proper brew temperature.