Rocket Appartamento TCA - In Depth Review
The original Rocket Appartamento was released in 2016. Rocket has had a great reputation for many years of providing elegant Italian E61 espresso machines. The original Appartamento I gave great review which can be found here. So once the latest version of the Rocket Appartamento TCA came out, I just had to check it out.
What does TCA stand for? "Temperature Control Adjustment". I guess its Rockets way of saying it has a PID of sorts. But where is the PID readout and buttons? We will take a closer look at that later, but the TCA now allows you to adjust the brew boiler pressure from 0.9 bar to 1.2 bar in 0.1 bar increments.
What else is new?
Overall, the Rocket Appartamento TCA gives off similar vibes to the original Appartamento from 2016, but has many subtle and welcome differences. It is very much the same, except totally different.
The steam and hot water control knobs look very elegant and modern. No more water hose faucet style knobs from the earlier years. They have a nice texture and look quite nice on the machine itself. While they function the same, they are a completely revamped design which I have not seen before. To match the powdery plastic texture, the E61 lever also has the same finish.
The grouphead is a mostly standard E61 style grouphead, but what was not noticed by many from photos is the new angular design. While the grouphead functions the same as it always has, the design is very attractive in person, and gives a subtle edge of complexity that is not in your face, but also not boring by any means
The side panels are the same, but different. The Appartamento has always had a unique styling, sporting 12 circular cutouts on each side of the machine. The new Rocket TCA is no different, except that the holes now feature a dimpled outline around the color insert. At first, I was not sure how I would feel about the design change, but in person it was very welcome and attractive. I will note that the side panel inserts come standard in copper, black or white, so you should be able to find a design which fits your kitchen.
The cup warming tray was redesigned to make it a more monolithic design. Older versions of Rocket espresso machined featured a usually flimsy plexiglass style tray insert to keep your cups on top of the espresso machine. The new Rocket TCA has extended the side body panels upward and integrated the warming tray into the body of the machine. While it works fantastic, and is not a deal breaker, I do find the fit and finish of the plastic to be less than desirable at this price point.
Rear Badging is a huge upgrade on this machine, but for many, it will probably never be seen. The original Appartamento had a typical rocket nameplage/badge on the rear of the machine. It did not look bad, but was definitely not grandiose as the new branding is. Featuring a vertical color panel with the Rocket branding in vertical letters, it would be stunning if you had an open coffee bar in your kitchen. In my case, it faces the wall for nobody to see which is unfortunate because it is a nice aesthetic feature of the TCA. The original Appartamento also had square corners at the back of the machine, while this rear panel sports rounded edges, giving a softer but more sophisticated appearance. It probably goes without saying, but I wanted to note, the rear body panel will match the color inserts of your side panels.
A more elegant LED indicator light can be found on the left side of the espresso machine. This is a multi color LED rather than the kind of cheap looking green indicator that came on older machines. It has a nice stainless steel bezel, but also serves as a feature of the machine. I will post more about what all the colors mean, but depending upon the color, one indicator can tell you when the machine is heating up, hot, out of water, or various programming modes. While this is a great feature, I found it to be a bit confusing at times. You might make a quick cheatsheet for what each light code means.
I was shocked to see the latest version of Rockets portafilter designed. I loved it! It looks great in person, and combines some of the features of a basic boring looking portafilter handle with a touch of sophistication. The part that disappointed me the most was the end cap is not only plastic, but also easy to accidentally have come out. Rocket might have found a remedy for this, but I was a bit bummed when I put the portafilter into the machine and the end cap came off. Does it matter? not for me because I usually run bottomless portafilters, so honestly, it did not matter very much.
Whats the same?
Whats the point of completely changing an already good thing? While there are many upgrades to the Rocket TCA, there are so many things that are the same, or at least feel the same.
I am glad they kept the same shorter and fatter machined aluminum feet. This is one thing that drove me crazy on machines like the Lelit Mara X. The Mara barely has any sort of a pedestal at all. The TCA does not have extremely tall feet, but just tall enough to wipe under, or sweep out a rogue coffee bean.
The drip tray seems identical in appearance, but might be a bit bigger than the original. The drip tray gives off the same vibes at least. It does have magnets to keep it in place which is always welcome.
The pressure gauge is identical in appearance between the two machines. The pressure gauge on the Rocket Appartamento I feel is a design aspect that looks fantastic, but does not always add a ton of function. Being a single pressure gauge, they have chosen to display the boiler pressure, which if you are not familiar with the function of these gauges can be extremely helpful to know when your machine is up to temperature, or if your boiler is still recovering from making several drinks back-to-back. I do wish they could have done a dual monometer gauge similar to what Quick Mill does on many of their machines. The top half of the dial being pump pressure, and the bottom being the pressure exerted upon the puck.
So overall is the Rocket TCA worth it? Well it depends. I loved reviewing the machine, and it produces some amazing espresso shots. The machine is still a heat exchange machine, meaning it uses one boiler for both brew and steam, but Rocket has always had great engineering to allow for some of the best temperature stability I have seen in a heat exchange machine. If you are wanting to upgrade from the first Appartamento, I don't think it would be worth it, but if you are wanting to finally get into a fantastic, still on the smaller side, E61 style espresso machine? It would be a fantastic fit for most in my opinion.
Pros:
- A similar design aspect, but many improved elegant features
- 4 different levels of temperature/boiler pressure control
- A more monolithic body integrating the cup warming rack into the body panels, a rounded rear panel and very attractive badging on the rear of the machine.
- No-burn steam wand and hot water tap. Some people might not use both, but I love having both. Once you get used to it, you will miss not having it.
- While not the largest water reservoir, it is a great size in my opinion.
Cons:
- The cup warming racks plastic did not have the best fit. I attempted to adjust but was never quiet perfect. Honestly not a huge deal once you place a few cups on top.
- The extremely attractive portafilter design with an ill-fitting end cap was a bummer for me. A dab of epoxy might fix it, but I had the same issue with both handles.
- No shot timer.
- Changing temperature setting is awkward at times, and the light codes and blink patters might take a second to look up and understand. While not having a PID display or buttons, I almost would rather have something less cumbersome to use. The good part is, once you set it, you can essentially forget it.
Indifferent:
- I don't love and don't hate the new steam and water control knobs. I feel like they look much nicer in person than photograph.
- While the color panels have always looked fantastic, I wish they offered a machine without the circular cutouts.
The Appartamento can be found at Espresso Outlet
