As the hotly anticipated Australian launch of the Rocket Espresso R NINE ONE approached, we thought it was time for a hands-on session.
At the time of writing, one evaluation unit existed in Australia at the Espresso Company Australia (ECA) headquarters in Sydney. As we've been pretty busy, it was a quick day-trip to allow for a couple of hours of experimentation to get to know the machine. My thanks goes out to the ECA team for so generously providing time and assistance to make this quick visit highly informative and, as always, most enjoyable!
What is it?
Rocket's R NINE ONE sits at the top of the Prosumer range and would also be perfectly suited to lower-volume coffee carts where quality in the cup is paramount:
- Dual boiler (3.6L steam and 1.9L brew)
- Saturated, paddle-operated group
- PID control to both boilers
- Hard plumb or inbuilt tank operation
- Near-silent, variable-speed magnetic gear pump
- Power requirement: <10A (1600W + ancillaries)
- Dimensions (mm): 410 x 505 x 430 (w x d x h)
- Intuitive touchpad interface for all parameters, programming of up to 5 pressure profiles and hot water wand operation - no need to consult the user manual
- When plumbed, hot water temperature is also adjustable - a highly desirable feature
How is it to use?
We pulled 30 or more shots across over two hours and played with the pressure profiles to see what it can do. Repeatability came via a Hiroia Jimmy scale system coupled with a Niche Zero conical grinder. We weighed into and out of the grinder to ensure that dose and grind were tightly controlled. A Panama Boquete roasted for fruity espresso at one week post-roast was chosen as a "control bean".
One of the great aspects of the R NINE ONE - and unique to the best of my knowledge - is the ability to profile "on the fly" and then store and repeat a profile. Watch, taste and then vary.
Some of the broad profiles we played with:
- 2 Bar 25 sec preinfusion – 6 Bar – 12 Bar – 6 Bar – 0.5 Bar at 92.5°C: nice apple acidity, broadly sweet and reasonably balanced
- 2 Bar 25 sec preinfusion – 6 Bar – 12 Bar – 3 Bar – 0.5 Bar at 94.5°C: the winner - sweet, rounded, great body and acid balance
- Short preinfusions and some of the factory saved profiles - generally poor with this bean
Better test the steam...
A single attempt with milk was sufficient to inform that this machine has plenty of steam and the tip is terrific. It is at least as good as the LM GS3 and Slayer - my gut feel is that it's actually superior to both.
The good?
- There is a hell of a lot of good. The interface is really nice and the near-silent pours speak of quality.
- A major positive is the ability to save that manual profile rather than have to guess to replicate it. This alone would have me choose this machine over either of its key competitors.
- Saturated group: temperature changes are in the cup far more rapidly than with an e-61.
- Overall excellent external finish. This machine shouts quality.
The quirky?
- If you're accustomed to rotating a paddle clockwise (GS3/Slayer), you'll have to relearn. The R NINE paddle operates in the anti-clockwise direction.
- Altering profiles is a touch fiddly. This aspect of the software interface could be improved.
- The font of the displayed profile (A, B, C, D, E) on the home screen was boring, default Arial. The rest of the interface was in the usual premium Rocket typeface. A small thing, but it influences perception.
The not so good?
This particular machine had a poorly fitting drip tray. Hopefully a one-off!
So would you buy one?
Yes - and we will have one on our demo bench. I may even consider an upgrade from my Slayer to an R NINE ONE for my home play space.
In conclusion...
Rocket Espresso have achieved something that no other manufacturer has managed: an intuitive, genuinely usable pressure profiling system that produces outstanding results and that an owner would want to live with every day.