Manual espresso, like a Rok

There’s been a resurgence in coffee threads recently so here goes with another.

I have been loving my v60 for a while and it has got me back in to good home coffee. But when I am out I always get an espresso or maybe a cortado.

I defiantly do not want a powered espresso machine so please don’t try to persuade me. But a manual machine like the rok intrigues me.

Has anyone tried and persisted with one?

Not used one but lever espresso machines are very en vogue at the moment, although they’ve been around for ages. Most of them do have electric boilers though, even if the pressure is delivered manually. That Rok looks like you have to boil the water separately? No Biggie, but it does seem expensive for what it is?

You could get a good used electric espresso machine for that! 😁😉

I don’t know how far your Amish tendencies go! But I’d caution against a hand grinder. They can grind coffee very well, some go fine enough for espresso but it’s a real work out and gets old very quickly if you’re using it every day. Great for camping or occasional use.

I use a wacaco picopresso.

Little hand pumped thing that makes nice espresso.

Can take it camping or on holiday too as it is so small

Hand grinders can work well.

I use 1zpresso j grinder and that makes a great espresso

Hand grinders can work well.

I use 1zpresso j grinder and that makes a great espresso

Absolutely they can, good ones can grind as well as a really good electric one if they have good burrs in them. My point was more that the act of hand grinding can get tiresome if you’re making 2 or 3 coffees with it every day.

Ah fair enough.  Maybe hand grinders have strong hands and wrists

I’ve long pondered getting a Flair. They look great

I’m quite intrigued by the picopresso as a travel espresso maker. What’s it like to use and how is the coffee?

Picopresso is really easy to use. Not much in the way of parts to mess with and makes really good coffee.  Has a good crema etc.

I do tend to add more coffee than needed and add a second fill of water to make a double.

I love mine and have no intention of getting anything else

I’ve long pondered getting a Flair. They look great

They do. Or how about a La Pavoni for some OTT Italian kitchen bling? Suits you sir.

Well the Rok might be all well and good…. but look at La Pavoni ^!  Will make your morning coffee production like a scene from a Fellini film…. awesome.

Wacaco Nanopresso user here have similar feelings to the picopresso user.

Good bit of kit either for at home or camping etc.  I have the nespresso capsule adaptor which helps a bit with clean up in the van.

https://briping.com/

I don’t want to ask how much that pavoni is,  but it looks awesome

like a scene from a Fellini film…. awesome.

Not Fellini, but a La Pavoni did feature in a Bond film – Live and Let Die.

https://briping.com/

Ha! The Hoffman bripe videos were funny! I bet their sales exploded after his endorsement. A bit too niche and ridiculous looking for me!

I don’t want to ask how much that pavoni is, but it looks awesome

About a grand. Relatively cheap compared to some.  You can easily spend the price of a decent E-mtb on one!

I had a flair classic, a few years later moved to a flair pro2. I love it, it’s simple and makes great espresso. The Rok is an equally good option.

It doesn’t make coffee quickly, but it makes coffee well. Ours is used daily, my wife soon learned the process and loves it too. It’s one of the few things in the house that if it needed replacing we’d get one again. So I say go for it, although I also have a v60 and love a pourover too.

Of note: you will need a decent grinder whether manual or electric, a lot of people buy the flair then complain they need a grinder too (on facebook/reddit), so budget for something that works for you too.

Should have said, I have a kmax grinder, absolutely awesome, very quick and dare I say, pretty well effortless.

I have been “manual curious” – but the extra step of needing to boil the water puts me off (I recognise that isn’t logical).

that La Pavoni is gopping, and they are supposed to be terrible vs modern alternatives.  The STW manual espresso machine of choice is definitely the Olympia Cremina (sorry, can’t seem to post an image), vintage if possible.  Otherwise, londinium also have a new mini model out which is supposed to be good.

if you really want one that doesn’t heat the water, I quite like the look of the newton BRUA, or the cafelat robot (a uk company I think).  The former of which looks good, but is supposed to be a bit shit, the later looks good, is good apparently.  Neither as good as the flair though – which is supposed to be excellent, but I can’t forgive the looks.

There’s more out there than I realised.

The Olympia, how much? So out.

The cafelat looks like a cyberman, so out.

The Newton brua, nice and minimalist, will look more.

So at the moment I’d say it’s between the flair, Newton or rok, with the rok winning on aesthetics.

The Olympia, how much? So out.

agree!  Wasn’t really a serious suggestion.

I’ve got 2 and a half Roks and would highly recommend them.

I had a very early one from when they were called Presso, after a few years it was wearing and needed some new parts, we decided to get a whole new Rok and the Presso was relagted to camping etc.  The Rok had a crome plated base and the plating failed, Rok to their credit, replaced the whole body (no reoccurance of the issue so I assume it was a bad batch) so I now have 2 devices and some spares.  The Rok got all it’s internal parts changed a year or 2 ago to the new version (black piston not clear).  Between the various machines they’ve been in daily use at home and away for around 15 years.

You do need to boil water seperatly, however this means you have flexibility on temperature and method of heating, I use ours with a kelly kettle when camping!  They work best with a fine grind and when you get the hang of it the coffee is as good as I need.

This one looks interesting, too – and it’s cheap (relatively)

Cafflano Kompresso Review

Rok user here. I bought the machine during lockdown when I was WFH and all the cafes were should and while the Aeropress is great, I missed proper espresso.

Personally I love it. It’s a different experience to an electric machine, but I’m happy with the results I get from it, and it’s used at least once a day.

While it may seem more work, boiling the kettle is hardly arduous, and compared the amount of maintenanve and cleaning our office coffee machine needs, I prefer the simplicity of it.

I got the Rok grinder a year or so after the machine, partly since it was favourably reviewed by his coffeeness, JH himself. Comparing it to a handheld grinder like a Hario Mini is like comparing a track pump to the mini pump you take on a ride. I can grind a shots’ worth for espresso in maybe 30s tops. The adjustment mechanism is a bit pants, but other than that, I love it.

How did we get to 25 posts before the first mention of an Aeropress followed by the pile on of “it’s not a proper espresso”? STW standards are slipping. Even then it wasn’t a recommendation by thenorthwind, but a straight acknowledgement that it’s not a proper espresso.

I know, how mellow are we? Someone mentioned using a Bialetti moka pot to make espresso in another current thread and no one said a dickie bird there either. It seems as long as we keep caffeineated, we can be quite tolerant and easy going. There’s a life lesson there or something….

I have a cafelat robot and it may look a bit weird but is solid, UK designed and just works. No electrics needed and the design means the thermal isn’t really a problem. Doesn’t seem to get much love in the latest youtubes but I think that’s just because it’s not the new hotness.

I use a 1zpresso grinder for budget and I only really do a few on the weekend.

I had a Rok, and really could not get consistent results with it even after upgrading to the GC spec chamber.

I’ve since swapped it for a Cafelat Robot and it is so much easier to get a consistent shot. I usually have two a day for about three years now (usually Square Mile Red Brick beans). It is also very simple to maintain.

The Rok got a lot less use because I just could not get a reliable result from it. I kept trying with the Rok, even after I’d mastered the Robot, but it was so inconsistent for me that I sold it on.

Both are pretty, but the Robot is a professional-class lever that is designed for home use. It never needs descaling, a deep clean is putting the basket in the dishwasher about once a month, and I fitted the spare gasket after 18 months.

It also makes a stellar shot with the Singletrack Deadline blend!

@bluerob, what is the difference between the barista and the regular apart from a load of £££s

Keep it simple…

1) Decent beans

2) Grinder of your choice, hand or electric

3) Cafetiere

I’ve had a mk. 1 Rok Presso on the go for 8 years now. I love it. I’m surprised by the inconsistency comments as it’s not something I’ve had an issue with. The process of making a shot feels a little more engaging than with a full espresso machine. Think manual vs auto car. I like it so much that when my “proper” espresso machine’s pump died I decided to save the counter space and got rid of it. The only time I miss it is if I have people over and make multiple coffees in quick succession, then it can feel arduous. Other than that it’s wonderful. I’ve been tempted to try a Flair but it’s hard to justify when the Rok just quietly keeps going.

Bonus points for the fact that if I go away for a week I can throw the Rok in the car.

I know, how mellow are we? Someone mentioned using a Bialetti moka pot to make espresso in another current thread and no one said a dickie bird there either.

Subliminal messages reveal the answer.

The only difference between the barista and regular robot is the pressure gauge, which you can also get as a conversion kit: https://www.cafelat.co.uk/products/robot-gauge-kit

To help you get a feel for what 6-9 bars of pressure feels like without the pressure gauge, you can sit the Robot on a set of bathroom scales and use a table in the back of the manual to convert from kgs to bars. Once you get a feel for it, you don’t really use the gauge so much.