Some machines get replaced and nobody notices. The R Cinquantotto was not one of them. It had a lot of fans, and when Rocket announced its successor the first question we heard was a fair one: what did they change, and did they really need to?
The short answer is that Rocket kept the heart of the machine and changed the way you talk to it.
The real news is something Rocket calls Tune Technology. You decide how long the shot starts gently, at low pressure, and how long it finishes gently too, with full pressure in between. On paper it sounds like a small thing. In the cup it's the difference between a shot that rushes at the start and one that settles in, and between an ending that turns harsh and one that stays round. Rocket's aim is an even extraction from the first second to the last, and you notice it most with lighter roasts, the ones that forgive the least. It isn't a machine for drawing your own pressure curves. It's a machine that does the sensible thing for you, every morning, once you've told it how long.
Then there's the way you live with it. The controls are now on a colour touch display that attaches with a magnet, and the steam and water knobs have a new feel: push to purge, turn when you want full power. It's one of those details that makes more sense in your hand than in a description.
The design was refined together with V12, and it shows in the details rather than in a new silhouette. It is still, unmistakably, a Rocket from Milan.
One practical note for Hong Kong kitchens: the TUNE is a little bigger than the R Cinquantotto, a few centimetres deeper and taller. If it's going under a cabinet, measure before you fall for it.
As an official Rocket distributor, we think the best way to judge Tune Technology is to taste it. Bring a bag of beans you know well to our showroom in Tsuen Wan, pull one shot with the soft start and finish and one without, and decide for yourself whether a favourite was worth changing. Book a visit on WhatsApp at +852 9476 9677, any day of the week, and tell us you're coming for the TUNE.