Appartamento Serie Nera Espresso Machine (01APN11C06)

Rocket Apartmento is an overpriced dinosaur. For the price you would expect at least temperature control but no. No PID, long temperature wait time, pressure is too high out of box. Had it for less than a week and ultimately got tired of it. Silvia Pro X would be my go to seems to be the best overall with its dual boiler, PID and it’s a tank.

This is a very generous gift! Before getting into it, respectfully are you absolutely positive the couple is interested in espresso to this degree? These are endgame machines that would suit someone who is already an enthusiastic hobbyist, but not great for someone who just wants a quick coffee and isn't really interested in making it a hobby in itself. The other main thing I'd note is the grinder is often considered just as if not more important than the machine itself, and their grinder is not going to be able to do justice to any of these machines. It would probably be better to split the budget and allocate more money towards a high-quality grinder and then a slightly less expensive machine. For example you could get a Lagom P80 and Breville Dual Boiler for ~$3200 combined. A scale for weighing input/output is important at this level too and can run $100 - $300 depending on how nice you go, so it might be worth accounting for that, or the recipients might end up needing to buy it themselves. Accessories (nice stirring tools, funnels, tampers etc) can add up slightly as well. Regarding water, *some* brands of bottled water may be suitable although I'm not sure which ones - it would be important to look up the mineral content to make sure they're not prone to causing scale. Distilled water is NOT safe for espresso machines, it can cause corrosion in the boilers and isn't good for taste anyways. It is possible to add minerals to distilled water to make a perfectly scale-free water with suitable taste (look up "Pavlis water") but again not sure if the couple is really interested to that degree. Of the machines you listed, the Appartamento is inferior to others and is not in the same tier. I don't have experience with the others but would note that a Lelit Bianca V3 is personally my upgrade wishlist machine for now. I have a Breville Dual Boiler today, which is an exceptional machine in pretty much every regard and why I noted it above, it's just not a 20-year lifespan machine in terms of build quality.

I had the exact same dilemma 3 months ago (single boiler or hx) and went for the heat exchanger (Rocket Appartamento in my case though) and couldn’t be more glad I did.

The steam wand is crazy powerful, I need to purge it for max a second and all the water is out

For $600 it’s unbeatable. Used one for years. Have a rocket apartamento with Rancilio grinder combo now and the setup is 6x the price and the coffee isn’t 6 times better. I still miss my dear friend “coffeebot” some days… nothing wrong with barista express you can get a better portafilter if you really want. But the stock machine and components make a damn good espresso if you know what you’re doing and have quality beans 👍

can't recommend the Rocket Appartamento enough, best of the marzocco without the cost

40 min?! Mine is ready in 20-25 min or so. Thermometer is not really needed, just touch the group head and if you burn yourself, it’s ready!

Latte drinker here. Have the Appartamento and Eureka Dolce Vita combo - it is absolutely perfect for making your daily Latte, and it is very aesthetically pleasing on the countertop. The warm-up time you just build into your morning routine, og get a smart plug. Brewing many back-to-back is feasible. I find that I can do 3-4 in a row, and then the machine needs to build heat and pressure again (this time not 20 min but maybe 4-5 min). I bought mine 3 years ago, and keep smiling every morning when I see it and start my routine. Regarding the comments to start with a Barista Express or similar - sure it can deliver a latte, but the experience is not at all the same. If feels very much consumer-grade and doesn’t give you the barista feeling. If you are anything like myself, and know up front that it will be something you enjoy long-term, you might as well buy something you like from the beginning - otherwise you find yourself upgrading your entry-level stuff in 8 months anyway. Would go for a Silvia or Gaggia Classic, with a decent grinder, any day over the Bambino, just because of the barista-feeling.

Rocket Appartmento for the win!

That’s what I have, it’s a beautiful machine!

i have a rocket appartamento that's certainly meant to be bifl

40 mins??? Ive had an apartamento since 2020 and it usually takes 18-20 mins to get up to temp. What is your target brew temp? Have you ever installed the group thermometer mod to check your temps?

That's so interesting. My machine gets up to 94C in 20 mins pretty consistently since first purchase. In fact, if I leave it for 30 mins, I have to dump around 300ml of water from the boiler when temp surfing to get it down to 92C. When did you purchase your rocket? Have you also adjusted the OPV?

Ah, perhaps that's where we differ. I have the original Appartamento with no PID control like the TCA so I have to rely on temp surfing to get to my target temps. I did adjust the OPV as the factory setting was too high. Perhaps the the TCA version heats at a lower/variable rate with the PID as opposed to the original where the boiler heat is on full blast all the time.

Damn. I just flipped it on this afternoon and timed it from cold to 93C and it was up to temp in 20.5 mins. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I have a dangerously flawed heating element lol