When in Milano
There is an old saying: ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’. Whilst Team Triple didn’t quite go to Rome last week, we did find ourselves in Italy... a country famous for its love of good food, drink and more importantly - espresso.
We were invited over as guests to the factory and headquarters of Rocket Espresso, just outside of Milan. We went to meet the team, have a tour around the factory and (perhaps true to the old saying) learn all about the ins and outs of the Rocket Espresso machine range.
Recently we've have had more Rocket machines come through our doors than ever before. We have found them to be excellent to work on and great performers in the cafe. It only made sense for us to go and see the factory, learn more about the machines and get technical training to further help us work on them.
The Rocket Espresso site is set over two facilities. One is the commercial warehouse where they produce the majority of the commercial machines as well as one or two high-end domestic machines. The other is the main HQ where the domestic production line is housed alongside the head offices, showroom and engineering prototype rooms. We split our time 50/50 over both sites, which allowed us to get a good idea of the scale of production they have there. On average, between 70-100 domestic espresso machines are produced and tested at the main facility every single day… all by hand. The efficiency of the production line was mind blowing!
At the second commercial production site was where we did most of our learning. We had a good idea before going of how most of the technology worked, but it was great to talk to the technicians and engineers at the source. It was here that we were able to see the machines stripped down and laid out. This allowed us to pinpoint every part of the machine, further understand the role of each part and truly learn how everything fits/works together. We even got to see a full strip down/sliced model of the famous E61 Group-head. This was definitely something that stood out to me as being particularly interesting.
Another very cool part of the trip was meeting the engineers and designers themselves. Ennio, the head designer, still designs every machine by hand with the help of a knowledgable team around him. They have managed to innovate greatly in recent times and there are some cutting-edge technologies that are currently being worked on. All we can say is, it’s a really exciting time to be working with a forward-thinking company like Rocket.
Now this was strictly a business trip… but of course it wouldn’t have been a trip to Italy without some excellent food and good coffee. We lunched in a traditional family run Italian restaurant most days, and was served homemade pizza and pasta which was nothing short of exquisite. We also had dinner at a Ligurian restaurant in the city centre called U Barba, specialising in handmade pasta and seafood. I would recommend anybody who comes to Milan to check out this place, you will not be disappointed! As for the coffee, we managed to check out some speciality cafes. Two that stood out to us were Tra Le Righe on the east side of the city and Orsonero near Centrale Train Station. The coffee on offer was delightful, and to go with it were some fresh homemade pastries that were a treat. Of the few speciality places in the city, these are two that are definitely worth a visit.
Overall, we came away from the week with a true confidence in our ability to work on Rocket Espresso machines, as well as some new ways of working and fixing them which will help both ourselves and wholesale partners. We built good relationships and found a destination we will most definitely be going back to. The future is bright, and we are excited for the journey!
Until next time Milan.
Team Triple Co x
