Hi all,

I know you're reading the title and saying these two aren't comparable but bear with me.

Little background, I have two hand grinders, one for pour over and one for french press. Usually have coffee twice a day, once in the morning with home-made pour over, then again in the afternoon with espresso at the office coffee bar. French Press is mainly when I have company.

After about 3 years I finally decided to step up and buy a grinder. While looking at grinders I started to look at espresso machines as well. I've landed on the Sette 270W for a grinder, and I've put my pre-order in already. I was eyeing the Rocket Appartamento to compliment my grinder. Since its my first machine, I thought it might be better to go a bit middle of the road on the espresso machine since I'm already going heavy into the grinder. From what I've read Rocket seems like a good brand and the Appartamento is the right price, but its just limited by the HX and needing to run some water through before brewing to get the temperature right.

Now with the 270W being delayed until at least mid-October, I've decided to wait on an espresso machine purchase until it comes out since I'll hand grinding my brews. This has lead to me window shopping other machines until the Sette comes in. I keep coming back to the Lucca M58. It's is a beautiful machine. I love the shot clock, PID control, dual boiler, and just overall look and feel. With that additional wait time I could probably scrounge up the difference for the M58, but I'm still not 100% convinced I should be going so over the top with my first purchase. Wrapping my head around spending so much on an espresso machine is tough. If only I could afford that wood paneling

Is the Lucca too much machine for a first time buyer? Thoughts from those who own Rockets/Luccas as to their maintenance and longevity?

Appreciate any feedback!

How sure are you that you will fall in love with espresso? How is the office coffee bar espresso? If it's nespresso and you like it....

Cafe near the office uses a Mazzer (Kony I think?) and Faema Emblema. I've enjoyed a variety of drinks from long blacks to lattes.

coffeematte wrote:From what I've read Rocket seems like a good brand and the Appartamento is the right price, but its just limited by the HX and needing to run some water through before brewing to get the temperature right.
[...]
I keep coming back to the Lucca M58. It's is a beautiful machine. I love the shot clock, PID control, dual boiler, and just overall look and feel. With that additional wait time I could probably scrounge up the difference for the M58, but I'm still not 100% convinced I should be going so over the top with my first purchase. Wrapping my head around spending so much on an espresso machine is tough. If only I could afford that wood paneling

Is the Lucca too much machine for a first time buyer? Thoughts from those who own Rockets/Luccas as to their maintenance and longevity?

Appreciate any feedback!

Hi coffeematte!

It would probably be good to decide whether you want a HX machine or a dual boiler machine. The Profitec Pro300 is right around the same price as the Appartamento ($1550) and has a dual boiler design, PID brew boiler, and shot timer built in.

Rocket, Profitec, and Lucca are make very good quality machines. Is the Lucca "too much" for a first time buyer? I think it depends on what you're going to use the machine for - how many shots and drinks in short succession, etc.

My advice would be to decide between HX vs DB at the lower price point (Appartamento vs Pro300) and then decide whether you want to spend more for a machine that might prevent future "uprgradeitis", allow for a large drink capacity, have rotary pumps, and can be plumbed in or tank-fed (say, a Rocket Evoluzion V2 vs a Lucca M58).

coffeematte wrote:Hi all,

I know you're reading the title and saying these two aren't comparable but bear with me.

Little background, I have two hand grinders, one for pour over and one for french press. Usually have coffee twice a day, once in the morning with home-made pour over, then again in the afternoon with espresso at the office coffee bar. French Press is mainly when I have company.

After about 3 years I finally decided to step up and buy a grinder. While looking at grinders I started to look at espresso machines as well. I've landed on the Sette 270W for a grinder, and I've put my pre-order in already. I was eyeing the Rocket Appartamento to compliment my grinder. Since its my first machine, I thought it might be better to go a bit middle of the road on the espresso machine since I'm already going heavy into the grinder. From what I've read Rocket seems like a good brand and the Appartamento is the right price, but its just limited by the HX and needing to run some water through before brewing to get the temperature right.

Now with the 270W being delayed until at least mid-October, I've decided to wait on an espresso machine purchase until it comes out since I'll hand grinding my brews. This has lead to me window shopping other machines until the Sette comes in. I keep coming back to the Lucca M58. It's is a beautiful machine. I love the shot clock, PID control, dual boiler, and just overall look and feel. With that additional wait time I could probably scrounge up the difference for the M58, but I'm still not 100% convinced I should be going so over the top with my first purchase. Wrapping my head around spending so much on an espresso machine is tough. If only I could afford that wood paneling

Is the Lucca too much machine for a first time buyer? Thoughts from those who own Rockets/Luccas as to their maintenance and longevity?

Appreciate any feedback!

It's hard, when you aren't sure how far down the rabbit hole you will fall, to select a budget. I started with a Crossland CC1 and liked it for three years before going for my Quick Mill. Now I've doubled my consumption and enjoy the activity of making coffee even more. And looks are important, this machine may be in your kitchen for 10 or 15 years!!!

But any time I see someone say something like "I keep coming back to _____", that means that's probably your heart's desire and you will be less prone to the upgrade urge. And unlike me, who started with an SBDU, an upgrade from the Rocket to Lucca may be harder to justify later. And once the money is spent, you won't notice it missing.

So since you have until the fall for your grinder, I say save up and go for the gusto, the Lucca.