Hey all, I been looking for an espresso machine. I am looking for a Heat Exchange machine with a budget around the price of the Rocket Appartamento. Is it a good value? I mostly make 2-3 drinks at a time. I like the machine but want to be sure if its worth its price or if there are better options.

Gregorio,

I think whether most things are worth the price is subjective and up to the buyer. As far as other options, there are several, but I also think you can drive yourself crazy worrying over it when in the end most of the comparable machines work equally well once you get to know them.

I have not used an Appartamento, but I've owned three other models of Rocket machines over the years and liked them very well. I actually like a vibratory pump because of the way it ramps up to pressure slowly.

Rocky

I would take a good look at Profitec Pro 500. For about the same price it seems to be a much better machine with more steaming power, insulated boiler and a PID control.

Sure, the Appartamento is a great little HX, especially if space is limited. If you're still at the stage of comparing it to other models, you can get carried away with all the bells and whistles available on today's HX machines. If I had to do it all over, I'd still do what I did. That is, the simplest and least expensive, commercially-rated HX I could find. No timers, no PID, only one pressure gauge, no plumbing...etcetera. Not that all the frills are to be avoided, but I'd only take them if they happened to be on a machine I like...I wouldn't pay extra for any of them. That's how I ended up with my Magister Stella. If the machine is an e-61, then I'd definitely get a thermometer (mine is an EricS). Since this is your first espresso machine (I think), you'll also need a decent tamper (not the plastic ones that come with many machines). If you're into milk drinks, then I recommend getting two foaming jugs, one a little bigger than the other. A decent milk thermometer is a must IMHO; digital ones are all the rage but an analogue one with a decent sized dial is just fine. That's all you need (plus a good espresso-rated grinder). For nice but not necessary, the first thing I'd add is a coffee scale. Mine is a Brewista (get the old model on sale if you can find one; they cost way less than the MK-2 and do the job just fine).

baristainzmking wrote:I would take a good look at Profitec Pro 500. For about the same price it seems to be a much better machine with more steaming power, insulated boiler and a PID control.

PID is kinda pointless when it comes HX machines though

Nunas wrote:Sure, the Appartamento is a great little HX, especially if space is limited. If you're still at the stage of comparing it to other models, you can get carried away with all the bells and whistles available on today's HX machines. If I had to do it all over, I'd still do what I did. That is, the simplest and least expensive, commercially-rated HX I could find. No timers, no PID, only one pressure gauge, no plumbing...etcetera. Not that all the frills are to be avoided, but I'd only take them if they happened to be on a machine I like...I wouldn't pay extra for any of them. That's how I ended up with my Magister Stella. If the machine is an e-61, then I'd definitely get a thermometer (mine is an EricS). Since this is your first espresso machine (I think), you'll also need a decent tamper (not the plastic ones that come with many machines). If you're into milk drinks, then I recommend getting two foaming jugs, one a little bigger than the other. A decent milk thermometer is a must IMHO; digital ones are all the rage but an analogue one with a decent sized dial is just fine. That's all you need (plus a good espresso-rated grinder). For nice but not necessary, the first thing I'd add is a coffee scale. Mine is a Brewista (get the old model on sale if you can find one; they cost way less than the MK-2 and do the job just fine).

Honestly I think so many bells and whistles is kind of dumb. PID on a HX machine? Its pointless when its not using the same boiler to both steam and brew. You can back flush and hear how the machine responds if the temperature is up to the right temperature or not. Also when it comes to steam pressure, I would want a gauge which most HX's have.

When it comes to price, I agree with your mind set. Its why I made this post in the first place. I wanted to see if the Rocket was worth the price. From what I can gather is that I should shop around a bit more. Its a good machine but could spend less.

The rocket looks gorgeous. However I would do the profit ic pro 500 as I have read of their high quality and a steel boiler is nice.

A PID on a HX machine will still lesson the temp swing which is good.

Here are some specification comparison you can make with the spreadsheet I've created:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing