Rocket Espresso R58 TUNE Review

The Rocket Espresso R58 TUNE is the latest iteration of their home dual boiler machine, featuring a fast heating E61 brew group, new steam and hot water valves, and its namesake Tune Technology. The machine has also received a significant facelift from its past life as the Cinquantotto with new feet, more curved edges, and an updated communication pod for programming things like boiler temperature, tuned extractions, on/off time and more. There are also a number of smaller changes that Rocket has brought to the platform

The Design

In addition to several functional improvements, the design of the R58 TUNE has been updated to match the aesthetics of Rocket's modern lineup. In addition to the new TCA Coffee Group (Rocket's official name for the new E61 design) the harder edges and lines of the Cinquantotto have been replaced with curves. The side panels have rounded edges in the top corners, and the drip tray has been rounded on the edges as well so it looks less boxy.

The most notable change comes from the new feet that jut out from the sides of the machine, giving it a wide stance as opposed to the past boxy and angular feet that were mounted on the bottom. On the stainless steel version of the R58 TUNE in particular, there's a nice synergy between the black coloring of the feet, the communication pod, cup railing, knobs, levers and portafilter. This contrast helps to break up the machine visually into components that are easy to distinguish from one another.

Of course, the R58 TUNE is also available in painted black, with only the cup railing color receiving some chrome accenting to stand out from the rest of the housing. The steam knob features the signature "R" and the back panel has the iconic "ROCKET" lettering.

At Whole Latte Love the R58 TUNE is available with three species of wood accenting (blackened oak, olive wood, and walnut) and can be equipped with an E61 flow control device with our custom flow control paddle from Wiedemann.

The Communication Pod

One of the persistent design features of the R58 machines has been a detachable screen referred to as the "communication pod" that is used to program the machine. The pod is designed to be removed, based on a no-screens philosophy from one of Rocket's original founders Andrew Meo. The latest version is a vibrant full-color touchscreen with a dedicated port located on the top left of the machine.

The port is covered by a plastic plate that has its own dedicated space in the frame beneath the drip tray. To attach the pod, it has a metal arm that inserts into a socket behind the plate and connects to the machine via a USB cable with a magnetic contacts. Ironically enough, despite its intention to eliminate screens or other displays, the R58 TUNE does have the same small screen as the FAST machines to serve as a shot timer, show when the machine is heating up, and display error messages.

Under the Hood

Internally, the R58 TUNE brews and steams with a 0.58L brew and 1.8L steam boiler. The water reservoir is a bit smaller at just 1.9L compared to the typical 3 or so liters common to a number of machines, but the machine has a heavy-duty rotary pump which allows it to be plumbed directly into a water line. The drip tray can similarly be plumbed with a drain to remove wastewater.

What’s New

Tune Technology

The signature technology behind the machine’s name is actually quite simple to explain. The R58 Tune allows you to program shots with a 3 bar pre-infusion phase. To do this you enter your desired value under “T1” in one of the two Tune profiles (A or B). You then set your desired extraction time under “T2” which brings the pump to 9 bar. When brewing with a Tune profile, after your extraction time or “T2” has elapsed, the machine will ramp back down to 3 bar until you finish pulling your shot.

Brewing profiles are selected via the communication pod. If you want to brew without a tuned profile, a third unlabeled option is available to select as well (this is the default brewing mode on the R58 TUNE). If you disconnect the communication pod, your last selected brewing profile will be used for all extractions and cannot be changed without reconnecting the pod.

After experimenting with tuning my shots, I'm reminded of the adjustable low flow feature from the Lelit Bianca. Where the TUNE excels over the Bianca is that the communication pod makes it much easier to enable and disable this feature, and gives you the flexibility to program two unique profiles. Tuned profiles also feature low pressure ramp down at the end of shots to gently conclude extraction.

Flow Control Paddle

You may have heard of a soon to be released version of the R58 TUNE called the TUNE X. The TUNE X will feature Rocket's first ever flow control and will be available later this year. However, as I mentioned above the R58 TUNE is available with our exclusive flow control paddle, so if you want additional control over your extraction.

Push-Turn Knobs

This feature was one that I didn’t expect to appreciate as much as I did. As the name suggests, Rocket redesigned the steam and hot water knobs to work in two ways. You can either push them or turn them. Pushing and holding the knob will keep the valve open for as long as it’s held down. This can be a quick tap for a burst of steam, or a long press for extended dispensing. Both the steam and hot water knobs have received this update and it’s honestly a very intuitive and fun little change.

Of course, you can always turn the knobs like usual to open and lock the valves in place, so this is a change with pretty much no downsides apart from if you accidentally bump the knob, but even then, it has to be pressed directly back, unlike joysticks that can be actuated from any side. While it’s not the biggest change, I have a feeling it will get a lot of use as it allows you to easily purge the wand both pre and post steaming without having to twist it open.

Heated E61 Group

Rocket’s new heated E61 brew group debuted on their Giotto and Mozzafiato FAST espresso machines that we reviewed last year. This unique take on the E61 group uses an embedded NTC probe and a heating element in order to reduce heat-up time and to automatically power off the element once a temperature of 91° C / 195.8° F has been reached.

The R58 TUNE uses the same snowflake graphic to indicate that the machine is hot enough to brew. In our initial testing we found that the communication pod (the touchscreen controller mounted on the top left of the machine) showed that the brew and steam boilers had both reached my programmed temperatures before the icon cleared. It took the machine about 12 minutes total for it to switch off.

Something I did notice that’s a little nitpicky on part is that on the Giotto and Mozzafiato FAST machines, the temperature reported by the probe could be viewed via the PID menu. With the communication pod being much easier to read and navigate, I was hopeful that I would be able to use it to view the temperature at the group. This is possible to do and you can even change the heating behavior of the group, but these settings are buried in the technical service menu, so it's not likely something you'll want to play with.

Brewing on the R58 TUNE

Despite its new features, the R58 TUNE works exactly the same as any other E61 group espresso machine. Once your desired profile has been selected, you simply raise the lever to brew and lower it to stop.

The machine will simply execute your desired profile automatically every time, and you'll need to change your selected profile via the communication pod. I'll get into it a little bit more in just a second, but the R58 TUNE does not display the current brew boiler temperature which can make it tricky when it comes to determining when the machine is ready to brew and if it's recovered from your previous shot.

Temperature Control

Compared to previous models of Rocket Espresso machines, the R58 TUNE is the first in recent memory where Fahrenheit temperature programming can be done in single degree increments. On past machines, Fahrenheit was translated from Celsius and would jump occasionally in 2 degree increments, reducing precision. That is no longer the case with the R58 TUNE and you can set your desired Fahrenheit temperature to the degree.

Where things are slightly less clear is with the brew temperature itself. The communication pod will actively display the temperature inside the steam boiler, but it will only display your programmed brew temperature rather than the actual temperature in the boiler (or the offset temperature). This is similar to how temperature is displayed on some Lelit espresso machines like the Victoria where you're informed if the machine is heating, but not what the current temperature in the boiler actually is.

Steaming on the R58 TUNE

Rocket Espresso machines have consistently produced some of the best steam of any major espresso machine manufacturer. The R58 TUNE continues this tradition and makes the process all the more fun with the push turn knobs. As I mentioned above, they're such an intuitive addition and one that preserves the look of classic steam knobs (you know, you can't really fit an "R" on a joystick). In any case, the steam power on the R58 TUNE is pretty bewildering.

Performance

Steaming at 268° F, we were able to produce some incredible steam with the R58 TUNE. Frothing our standard 5oz of refrigerator temperature milk to 140° F, the average was just 11 seconds with only 9.69% water added. So, not only is the R58 TUNE incredibly fast, but it also produces very dry steam. Talking to John about his experience steaming, he said the pressure was almost too powerful and that beginners might want to lower it a bit.

When I asked him about the new push-turn knobs, he commented that he loved them and used them without even thinking. I won't say definitively that it's the copper construction that gives the R58 TUNE its explosive power, but it's likely a strong contributor.

Temperature Limits

While testing steaming and temperature limits on the R58 TUNE, I found that the steam boiler can reach up to 284° F at the maximum limit vs. the default of 248° F. When I initially set the boiler this high, I received an error message and a warning indicator appeared on the communication pod. The warning disappeared when I began dispensing steam, but it was concerning. When set to 284° F, steam pressure reached 2.5 bar and was incredibly powerful, but it was also pushing the limits of what the machine was built for.

Based on my testing, setting the steam boiler higher than 268° F resulted in the warning indicator appearing on the screen. At 268°, steam power was still excellent, but it did make me wonder why it was possible to set the temperature high enough to trip a warning. So, keep that in mind when programming your own machine.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, I was very impressed with the improvements made to the R58 TUNE. While I was expecting the fast heating group, the new push-turn knobs impressed me way more than I was expecting. The namesake tune technology is a nice addition, though if you're looking for more control over your extractions, I recommend opting in for flow control. Lastly, if you like milk drinks, the steam performance on this machine will blow you away.

If you're a fan of Rocket and you've been waiting for the R58 to get its modern glow up, I'd say it was worth the wait.

Photography by Grace Walker

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