Adjusting the Temperature on the Rocket Giotto

[markpianoman]

I'm an American living in Germany. I bought a Rocket Evolutionze here in Europe. The water coming out of the brewhead is max. 190.4 F. I opened up my machine to increase the brew temp; however, these machines in Europe require a screw driver with a triangular-shaped head on it...frustrating! I guess I'll have to take it back to the shop where I bought it in Munich.

[markpianoman]

@markpianoman To clarify - that is the temp of the water, not of brewed coffee. The brewed coffee temp would be considerably lower than 190 F.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@markpianoman Good to know about that wrench for any other international viewers who want to tweak their machine :) - Kat

[dohgrant]

Great video. Very clear.

Unfortunately, however, not all Giotto Rockets are as predictable. Mine, which is 1 week old, has a head temp around 170-180!!! Way too low. I torqued the temp adjustment all the way down, as far as it would go. The guage is now at the higher end of the green area, but the head is only at 190, absolute tops, at the best of times, measured with many different thermometers, just to rule out error!

So back to the dealer it goes!

JG

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@dohgrant Sorry to hear that! - Kat

[joeldamianicigan]

For someone who doesn't own an expresso machine yet, do you recommend purchasing the Giotto Evoluzione or the Alex Duetto ii? How often would you find yourself adjusting the shot temperature on the Giotto because perhaps it's not hot enough? Do you find the digital readout of the PID detracts from the esthetic beauty of the machine on your countertop and complicates things a little? In the old days it seems these machines were all about pressure gauges and levers anyway...

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@joeldamianicigan I can't recommend one over the other, it's really up to you. They have slightly different purposes, so you'll need to decide if the PID is more important to you. In general, this adjustment is made rarely and the machines are calibrated to pull great shots within the ideal temp range for espresso. Personally, I think it can often be overthunk; I can pull equally great shots of both machines. - Kat

[Urbino237]

Hi Ladies - love your videos - just superb! My guess on the pronunciation is "Giotto" - as in the great Italian fresco painter - and because of the machine's being made in Italy. Thus "gee-AW-toe".

And do you notice whether a plastic flavour (after many pulls) transfers to the espresso - from the water reservoir?

Finally, would you say that for semi-machines in its price range it appears to be the 'Cadillac' of them all - that it consistently produces the best espresso time after time?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@Urbino237 We haven't noticed any plastic flavor from the reservoir ourselves, from our demo machine that has been working pretty hard on the store floor for over a year. Neither in the coffee or straight hot water for tea/Americanos. The Rockets are our favorite machines in this class, in terms of build quality, shot production, etc. - Kat

[fodera6]

I hear that the boiler - and really the group - needs 30-45 mins. to fully stabilize up or down after pressure adjustment so you are getting the true temp reading at the group. What do you think?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

I think that you need to wait for it to change the temperature in the boiler because that will affect the water transiting in the heat exchange, so adjusting and then waiting for the pressure gauge to be in the right range before pulling shots is a good idea. Whether or not that's 30 - 45 mins I'm not sure -- ours adjusted pretty quickly once we made the changes. - Kat

[Velociphile]

Hi Ladies, thanks for another great video. Giotto is 'ji-oh-toh' not 'ji-O-dO'. ;-)