Rocket R91 or La Marzocco Micra

[BIRMA]

As much as I love my La Pavoni lever machine it is hard work even if it is only 2-4 cups in the morning. I've been thinking of buying a La Marzocco Micra but have been watching a few YouTube's of the Rocket R91 and it really does look like a very controllable machine.
So does anyone on here have the R91? I'd be interested in your opinion before I buy one.

[Arun_D]

I can't speak on the Rocket, but I've owned a Micra since January '23 and it's been great. Happy to field any questions on it, though it sounds like you're heart is set on the R Nine One.

[BIRMA]

Arun_D said:

I can't speak on the Rocket, but I've owned a Micra since January '23 and it's been great. Happy to field any questions on it, though it sounds like you're heart is set on the R Nine One.

Thanks for the reply, I think we may have been in touch a while ago regarding the Micra. It's been at the top of my list for a while. As I'm about to make the decision it looks like the extra control over the shot that the Rocket offers may win through.

[The Gauge]

Mate of mine has recently purchased a Rocket through on of their few authorised retailers in the UK. It's a wonderful machine. I think with the Rocket grinder it came to about £3.5k

[PhilAsia]

Perhaps buy 40 of these cheaper machines?

Joking aside, this was an eye opener...and especially important information for those on a budget!!

[BIRMA]

PhilAsia said:

Perhaps buy 40 of these cheaper machines?

Joking aside, this was an eye opener...and especially important information for those on a budget!!

The link doesn't seem to work

[PhilAsia]

BIRMA said:

PhilAsia said:

Perhaps buy 40 of these cheaper machines?

Joking aside, this was an eye opener...and especially important information for those on a budget!!

The link doesn't seem to work

Ah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rxnJRrHcjw&t=...

[BIRMA]

PhilAsia said:

BIRMA said:

PhilAsia said:

Perhaps buy 40 of these cheaper machines?

Joking aside, this was an eye opener...and especially important information for those on a budget!!

The link doesn't seem to work

Ah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rxnJRrHcjw&t=...

He does have a point about flat bar machines, this is the reason I went for the Rocket R91 because I can, with practice and experimentation replicate the pressure profile of my lever machine and hopefully once I've cracked it I can store it to the machines memory and achieve what I get from the La Pavoni every time and can also tweak it as I like. Also I do like F***ing about as my wife calls it with making coffee. Right up until I watched a few YouTube's on the R91 the Micra was on my list.

https://youtu.be/31GFyA-DXXg

Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 20th March 17:33

[PhilAsia]

BIRMA said:

PhilAsia said:

BIRMA said:

PhilAsia said:

Perhaps buy 40 of these cheaper machines?

Joking aside, this was an eye opener...and especially important information for those on a budget!!

The link doesn't seem to work

Ah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rxnJRrHcjw&t=...

He does have a point about flat bar machines, this is the reason I went for the Rocket R91 because I can, with practice and experimentation replicate the pressure profile of my lever machine and hopefully once I've cracked it I can store it to the machines memory and achieve what I get from the La Pavoni every time and can also tweak it as I like. Also I do like F***ing about as my wife calls it with making coffee. Right up until I watched a few YouTube's on the R91 the Micra was on my list.

https://youtu.be/31GFyA-DXXg

Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 20th March 17:33

Our wives must be related. Mrs PA calls it "twiddling"

I use a Leverpresso in the house and a Picopresso when out and about. I experiment ("twiddle") quite a lot with temps, pre-infusion, grind size, ratios, etc, with mixed results. But in experimenting it does build up a comprehensive frame of reference to quickly get the extraction close to where you want it.

[amateurdad]

I have experience of both as a reseller for both brands and would say that while the R91 offers far more features and ability to 'play', the LM will be far more reliable. Further, you will not struggle anywhere near as much to find engineers willing to work on the LM compared to the Rocket.

If you happen to be based very near a Rocket distributor with a good tech department then it might be a different story.

[BIRMA]

amateurdad said:

I have experience of both as a reseller for both brands and would say that while the R91 offers far more features and ability to 'play', the LM will be far more reliable. Further, you will not struggle anywhere near as much to find engineers willing to work on the LM compared to the Rocket.

If you happen to be based very near a Rocket distributor with a good tech department then it might be a different story.

Thanks for your reply, my R91 is due to be delivered next week as it is made to order these days so I've been waiting in anticipation. I've done a fair bit of research on both and the fact that I decided I didn't want a fixed bar machine swayed my choice to the R91. As both are based on commercial machines I guess they should both be robust plus a local commercial coffee supplier is also a Rocket agent.

[PhilAsia]

BIRMA said:

amateurdad said:

I have experience of both as a reseller for both brands and would say that while the R91 offers far more features and ability to 'play', the LM will be far more reliable. Further, you will not struggle anywhere near as much to find engineers willing to work on the LM compared to the Rocket.

If you happen to be based very near a Rocket distributor with a good tech department then it might be a different story.

Thanks for your reply, my R91 is due to be delivered next week as it is made to order these days so I've been waiting in anticipation. I've done a fair bit of research on both and the fact that I decided I didn't want a fixed bar machine swayed my choice to the R91. As both are based on commercial machines I guess they should both be robust plus a local commercial coffee supplier is also a Rocket agent.

Excellent choice BIRMA! I wish I had an available budget that afforded me such an exceptional piece of engineering! Don't neglect the La Pavoni whilst you get to play!!