The Rocket Giotto Evoluzione at Coffee Channels office |
The Rocket Giotto Evoluzione was an inventory sculpture at the office of Coffee Channel the last couple of days and I had some pleasant hours in company with this amazing machinery, this is my overall impression;
The Rocket Giotto Evoluzione oblique design, picture from Rocket-espresso.it |
The Rocket Cellini Evoluzione traditional design, picture from Rocket-espresso.it |
Love it or hate it, The Evoluzione had the Giotto design, which includes oblique sides as shown in the picture above. In comparison with the Cellini design, which also is available in this particular model, the Cellini has a more traditional aesthetics appearance with straight vertical sides. Its by far a question of individual opinions, but I could imagine that the oblique sides of the Giotto only suites a smaller segment of the coffee enthusiasts, including myself. I personally think that the Giotto aesthetics is refreshing and the most beauty of the two, which also is reflected by the sales numbers. Nevertheless the oblique Giotto design demands for a open-minded coffee enthusiast in contrast of the traditional box design espresso machine.
The practical design of the Evoluzione range do have some slight pros and cons. In my opinion are the water outtake a little too close to the lever, leaving a limited operating function, but nothing that prevents the usability. The rocket espresso machine as seen above in the picture is produced in a more warm steel color tone, almost a slight gold shine, which makes it more inviting then other cold steel produced machines.
Performance, First off the launching time for the Rocket Giotto Evoluzione was pretty quick considering that it has a whopping 1,8 L. copper boiler with a brass bottom. It took about 5-10 min. depending on whether the machine had been running a while before and still were a little warm. This is, in my world, a quick launching time, cause of my needs of coffee on the home front, in other words, I wouldn´t mind waiting those ten minutes and hey good coffee takes time!
I´ve played around with the steam wand and frothing some milk, cause I received a few tips from Experisense (DK importer of Rocket) with different hole systems, one with two holes, one with three holes and lastly a third with four holes. These holes determine the exit directions of the steam produced in the boiler and therefore hopefully will create a whirlpool in the pitcher. The general result of these steaming times with same amount of milk, were as following;
I would like to end this review with a personal touch of how this ownership of the Rocket machine in a couple of days have been, by filling in my own thoughts and own coffee patterns. I think this is highly important, cause you aren't able to read this off the specs of this machine.
Normally I would drink a couple cups of coffee, either cappuccinos, americano nor syphon brewed black coffee. BUT after the first day with the Rocket Giotto, I actually woke ten minutes before time by own will, cause I would brew myself a nice cup of coffee. This habit turned exponentially because this machine just invited me to brew some fantastic drinks off it. After this machine has entered my home, my consumption has gone from 2 to 5 cups of coffee each day, which is way off chart. This machine have really enlighten my coffee passion once again, cause I went from espresso to Syphon brewed coffee when I got the Hario TCA-2, but I haven´t touch the Syphon since the Rocket was available. The bottom-line is definitely mostly positive, cause I have added the Rocket Giotto Evoluzione to my future wish list. I just fell in love with this machine and I must have one, simple as that!
I can give you guys an advice, if you seek quality this is definitely the right machine for you.!
// Hendrup
The practical design of the Evoluzione range do have some slight pros and cons. In my opinion are the water outtake a little too close to the lever, leaving a limited operating function, but nothing that prevents the usability. The rocket espresso machine as seen above in the picture is produced in a more warm steel color tone, almost a slight gold shine, which makes it more inviting then other cold steel produced machines.
Performance, First off the launching time for the Rocket Giotto Evoluzione was pretty quick considering that it has a whopping 1,8 L. copper boiler with a brass bottom. It took about 5-10 min. depending on whether the machine had been running a while before and still were a little warm. This is, in my world, a quick launching time, cause of my needs of coffee on the home front, in other words, I wouldn´t mind waiting those ten minutes and hey good coffee takes time!
I´ve played around with the steam wand and frothing some milk, cause I received a few tips from Experisense (DK importer of Rocket) with different hole systems, one with two holes, one with three holes and lastly a third with four holes. These holes determine the exit directions of the steam produced in the boiler and therefore hopefully will create a whirlpool in the pitcher. The general result of these steaming times with same amount of milk, were as following;
- Two hole tip, 27,3 seconds for 7 oz of milk.
- Three hole tip, 21,1 seconds for 7 oz of milk.
- Four hole tip 16,3 seconds for 7 oz of milk.
The different steam tips are shown on the picture below. The experience from this experimenting were a bit frightening, cause the four hole tip was so quick! Actually I must throw in the towel, cause the Rocket had too much steam power, so I wasn't able to incorporate the air properly into the milk and therefore got a thick top foam layer with some rather big bubbles, which happened the five times I tried. My favorite of these steam tips were the two hole tip, cause it allowed me the needed time for creating the right whirlpool flow in the pitcher. When testing these different solutions, I sat with two pitchers and constantly frothed milk for about ten minutes, without experiencing a significant loss of steam pressure. Therefore I can honestly say that this machine provides extreme steam power for the home barista!
The actual espresso extraction on the rocket Giotto Evoluzione was a very cosy job, the machine is just designed for optimal extraction and making things simple and easy to use. The drip tray can be turned around for extracting espresso directly into big latte glass, which makes it compatible with any espresso related drink you might find. The extraction result that this machine is capable of producing in my hands are magnificent, the shot booth have sweetness, sourness and strong flavors, which combines a perfect balanced and are the pure result of a stable brew temperature and correct pressure. The materials are also imbued high quality, which leaves you with a feeling of robust design and a great craftsmanship. The Rocket Giotto Evoluzione is a clear result of a thought for everything!
Different used tips for the steam wand |
Normally I would drink a couple cups of coffee, either cappuccinos, americano nor syphon brewed black coffee. BUT after the first day with the Rocket Giotto, I actually woke ten minutes before time by own will, cause I would brew myself a nice cup of coffee. This habit turned exponentially because this machine just invited me to brew some fantastic drinks off it. After this machine has entered my home, my consumption has gone from 2 to 5 cups of coffee each day, which is way off chart. This machine have really enlighten my coffee passion once again, cause I went from espresso to Syphon brewed coffee when I got the Hario TCA-2, but I haven´t touch the Syphon since the Rocket was available. The bottom-line is definitely mostly positive, cause I have added the Rocket Giotto Evoluzione to my future wish list. I just fell in love with this machine and I must have one, simple as that!
I can give you guys an advice, if you seek quality this is definitely the right machine for you.!
// Hendrup