Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantotto

Highlights

Rocket Espresso’s R58 has been a beloved dual boiler in the home espresso community for years! Rocket, as a brand, is well known for its attention to detail down to the smallest parts. In their history of not skimping the Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantotto is absolutely no exception!

Some cosmetic changes have greatly improved the form and function of the Rocket R58. With the Cinquantotto, meaning fifty-eight in Italian, angled feet provide some visual interest while slightly lowering the machine’s overall height.

The cup rail is a sturdy stainless steel cup rail featuring a beautiful ‘R’ logo detailing similar to other parts of the Rocket Espresso line. Unlike before, where the cup rail was removable, this rail is much more substantial than the previous model.

The Rocket R58 Cinquantotto didn’t remove any of its previously beloved core features. Major improvements on usability and the PID controller are the most significant alterations to this incredibly popular dual boiler home espresso machine from Rocket Espresso.

Dual Boiler with Built-In PID & Shot Timer

Internally the Rocket Espresso R58 Cinquantto is nearly identical to the previous model. It’s a dual boiler with a built-in PID for wonderfully consistent internal boiler temperatures. Unlike other machines, however, the PID isn’t the same place where the shot timer is displayed.

The shot timer is displayed simultaneously in two places on the new Rocket R58 Cinquantotto. One of the two places where the shot time is displayed is the same as the other Rocket Espresso machines in their line. There is a very discrete timer just to the left of the commercial E61 group. Additionally, and my personal favorite spot, is on the new PID and machine controller. It’s super easy to read to the left of the machine on the high contrast touchscreen controller.

Impressive Recovery Time & Steam Power

A frequently asked question across the board when we’re talking about home espresso machines with people is how quickly the machine will recover after making a couple of drinks. The Rocket R58 has the recipe to be one of the most rapidly recovering machines in our lineup.

Two main technical specifications that are going to contribute to speedy recovery are:

1. How powerful are the heating elements? On the R58 Cinquantotto, the steam boiler’s heating element is up to 33% more powerful than other dual boilers at the same price point!
2. How large are the boilers? The Rocket R58’s boilers collectively are larger than other machines in its class by up to 11%! 

With both the heating elements being more powerful and the boilers being larger on the Rocket R58, you’re going to find it difficult to deplete the new Cinquantotto! Rocket R58 Cinquantotto will be asking you from the corner of your kitchen to invite some more friends over! 

Touch Screen Controller

A significant upgrade to the Rocket R58 Cinquantotto is the new PID controller. Previously this controller you would want to connect to program and then immediately throw in a drawer. Definitely not the most well-designed thing Rocket Espresso had come up with! All of that has changed with the Cinquantotto!

The new controller is an incredibly user-friendly and well-designed touchscreen controller. You can perform the following functions in the touch of the screen:

• Change Steam Boiler Temperature
• Change Brew Boiler Temperature
• Set the 7-day programmable timer, easily copy settings from day-to-day.
• Set the ECO mode to on/off (this feature is disabled if the 7-day programmable timer is enabled)
• Display shot timer
• Turn your steam boiler off if you’re not using it.
• Turn the machine on or off.
• Displays low water along with the shot timer, the green status light also flashes when the reservoir is removed or has low water.
• Change the water source the machine is pulling from.

As you can see there are many functions of the machine that can be controlled with the touchscreen PID controller on the Rocket R58 Cinquantotto. It’s on the left side of the machine and can, just like previous models, can be removed if you so choose without changing the functions of the machine itself.

Plumbable

Making the Rocket Espresso R58 even more flexible are it’s plumbing options. It can easily be used in a reservoir, pour-over mode, or plumbed directly to a water source. To switch between water sources, you can make the change right on the touch screen controller.

Included with the Rocket R58 Cinquantotto is most of what you need to plumb and drain your R58. In the box, there is a braided water line that will connect directly to the bottom of your Rocket Espresso R58. Three is also silicone tubing included to drain the drip tray, but it is unnecessary to do so if you do not want to drill another hole in your counter and you’d like to dump the trip tray, which is relatively large.  

Auto On - Seven Day Programmable Timer

The seven-day programmable timer on the Rocket Espresso R58 is one of the easiest to program. The introduction of the touchscreen controller is the main reason for this. You can set your R58 Cinquantotto to turn on and off, twice a day on a specific schedule. This schedule can be different for each day of the week. If you have a pretty regular schedule and you would like to have the same on/off times during the day, you can copy the settings across the days you’d like to be the same, so you do not have to set each individually.

When the auto on, seven-day programmable timer, is activated it turns the ECO mode off. The ECO mode turns the steam boiler off after 30-minutes to conserve energy. To reactivate the boiler just lift the brew lever and it will start reheating to the specified temperature that you have set on the PID.

No-Burn Wands

Stainless steel hot water and steam wands come with teflon tubing inside which replaces the previously used silicone (effective 2020)