Stone Espresso Machine Review: First Look At This New Brand!

Stone is a new, lower-priced offshoot of the famous Rocket Espresso brand. The Stone Plus espresso machine was one of the most anticipated gears in the coffee space as of late. So you can imagine my delight at being offered an early model to review.

This article looks in detail at the new Stone Plus, which I’ve been putting through its paces for about a month now. I’ll talk about unboxing and set-up, my initial impressions, and why coffee lovers like you might or might not want to add this machine to your gourmet coffee bar.

Summary: The Stone Plus Espresso Machine

• Prosumer espresso machine with 1.5-liter heat-exchanger boiler
  
• Custom 58 mm group head and dual-element heating system
  
• High-quality build with unique interchangeable side panels

Great espresso at a great price, and I love how little space it takes up on my counter.

– Stone Plus Espresso Machine owner

SEE ON SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR

The Full Stone Plus Espresso Machine Review

Stone is a spinoff of famed Milan-based manufacturer Rocket. It was founded to target younger consumers, and its flagship machine features a sleek modern look and easy-to-use interface. Rocket manufactures Stone machines, contributing considerable expertise and experience to the new brand (1).

How We Rated It

• Brewing Capacity
• User-Friendliness
• Milk Frothing
• Build Quality
• Cleaning and Maintenance

3.9

• SEE ON SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR

There are currently five Stone espresso machines at varying prices. However, the differences are largely aesthetic – side panels, drip trays, and knobs. They’re all the same where it counts. 

The five versions, from most basic to fanciest, are:

• Stone Lite
• Stone Pure
• Stone Plus
• Stone Mine
• Stone Mine Premium

Brewing Capacity – 4/5

You can pull a shot and steam simultaneously with the Stone Plus Espresso Machine thanks to the heat-exchange boiler. The thermosyphon system boiler is relatively small 1.5 liters, and it’s copper with brass endplates. The boiler leads to a custom-designed brew group with a commercial-standard 58 mm diameter, making it easily compatible with aftermarket accessories.

Dual Element Heating

A heat-exchange boiler is a large steam chamber with a separate coil housing lower-temperature brew water. In this machine, a 1000 W element heats the boiler to steam temperature and maintains the brew water just below brewing temperature.

A separate heating element present in the group isn’t unheard of, but they’re typically reserved for higher-priced machines. By including it here, Stone assures optimal temperature stability and brew temperature accuracy without the need for cooling flushes. Temperature stability is a crucial aspect of espresso extraction, according to Rancilio Group’s Coffee Competence Manager Carles González (2).

The big perk of this design for the user is how quickly this machine heats up and is ready to brew. Stone’s marketing suggests as little as 10 minutes, but I found that 15 minutes was safer. For comparison, most E61 groups take at least 20 minutes – and much more than that for larger machines.

Pumps and Pressure

The Stone Plus Espresso Machine uses a vibration pump, which is standard in virtually every HX machine in this price bracket. Yes, it’s loud, and it vibrates. But that’s just par for the course with prosumer espresso. Vibration pumps deliver the necessary extraction pressure in a smaller and more affordable package than a rotary pump.

You can’t adjust brew pressure via an accessible over-pressure valve (OPV), a feature that is becoming increasingly common even in lower-priced machines. Espresso makers were first developed in conjunction with old-school Italian dark roast blends, which extract well at 9 bars. The same doesn’t always hold true for current Third Wave coffees, making brew pressure a useful variable to tweak when dialing in a shot. While it’s an unfortunate omission here, I understand the impulse to make he machine as straightforward as possible.

I’d love to see a brew pressure gauge along with the included steam pressure gauge, if only to monitor pressure to evaluate my puck prep.

What’s Missing

Every low-cost coffee machine is missing some of the bells and whistles of the higher-end models. It’s up to you to decide how you want to balance your budget versus certain features.

The Stone Plus uses a pressurestat rather than a PID for temperature control, a fair trade-off, in my opinion. A PID-controlled heating system offers less benefit with a heat-exchange boiler, and I’m not sure the price increase would be worth it.

The other missing piece is the ability to control a pre-infusion stage, something I definitely missed. Though the paddle on top of the group appears to offer fine control, it’s really just an on/off switch. Pre-infusion is particularly valuable for entry-level machines because it compensates for errors in puck prep, ensuring even newbies achieve flavorful extraction (3).

The Stone Plus

SEE SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR

The Stone Mine

SEE SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR

The Stone Mine Premium

SEE SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR

User-Friendliness – 4.5/5

Stone markets their espresso machines as a “plug-and-play” compact coffee machines, a claim about which I was very skeptical. Prosumer-grade espresso machines are usually known for their incredible coffee and build quality, not their ease of use. That’s why, as much as I love testing these models for work, I have a Breville Bambino Plus on the counter as my daily driver. 

But in this case, I was happily proven wrong.

Unboxing and Setup

Setting up the machine upon initial unboxing was a breeze. It arrived basically ready to go; the hardest part was lifting its 45 pounds out of the box and onto my counter. After that, I just popped in the drip tray, filled the removable water tank, and slotted in the side panels – a clever system that involves no tools. Plug in, turn on, ready to go.

Pulling the First Shots

I expected brewing would go less smoothly. Everyone knows that dialing in a new machine takes time. I bought some cheap beans to practice and steeled myself to suffer a few bad shots. Spoiler alert: no bad shots were had.

Stone espresso machines are very intuitive to use. Turn it on using the only switch on the front. The manual says you’ll need to open the steam wand to start filling the boiler, but for me, the pump kicked on automatically. Once the boiler is full, it begins heating. Keep the portafilter inserted as the machine heats to guarantee everything reaches a stable temperature together. A control light indicates the machine status.

I changed the grind size on my Eureka Specialita to a bit finer than I use for the Breville, weighed an 18 g dose, tamped, and turned the paddle atop the group to pull my first shot. I kid you not, it was delicious!

The very first shot.

Was it perfect? No. But that’s the joy of this espresso machine. If you want the advertised ease of use, Stone delivers a 95% perfect shot right out of the gate – assuming you’ve got the basics like a decent grinder. But if you want to get nerdy with it, you can tinker to your heart’s content to get that last 5%. In my case, a coarser grind and heavier dose got me as near to perfection as my taste buds demanded.

Eco Mode

All European-made espresso makers come standard with an ECO mode (4). The Stone Plus Espresso Machine ships with ECO mode enabled, which means it enters a standby mode after 60 minutes of inactivity and powers down the heaters. If you prefer to keep your machine at temperature for extended periods of time, it’s easy to disable ECO mode by pressing the button on the bottom of the machine.

Milk Frothing – 3.5/5

Just as with pulling shots, steaming milk was very straightforward when it came to achieving near perfection. Use the knob at the top of the wand to turn the steam on and off. The wand itself is a professional-style no-burn wand with a two-hole tip. It has excellent range of motion, so finding the ideal frothing angle is easy. That’s all there is to it.

There is a bit more of a learning curve to nail that last 5% between delicious frothed milk and perfect silky microfoam for latte art. It took me a few attempts, experimenting with timing, wand depth, and angle. I typically use almond milk for lattes, but it paid dividends to work with dairy milk until I had the technique down.

The relatively small boiler means you won’t get a long-lasting constant steam supply, making this machine more suitable for smaller households. It took me about 45 seconds to steam enough milk for a latte, and I could do two in a row before waiting for the boiler to recover. The steam pressure gauge reaches 3 bars, but I never crept over 1.5 bars.

This model lacks a separate hot water wand, which is a bit unusual. Nor is there a way to dispense hot water from the steam wand. Americano fans will be disappointed by this omission, but it’s not a huge loss for anyone else.

Build Quality – 4/5

Stone machines are handmade in Italy by the skilled craftsmen of Rocket Espresso (5). So you can expect the same quality engineering and thoughtful details we’ve come to expect from Rocket.  The Stone Plus Espresso Machine has a steel frame, and a stainless steel exterior and group.

Stone is, however, marketed as a lower-cost alternative to Rocket, so some sacrifices have been made. The drip tray insert, drip tray sides, and knob controlling the steam wand are plastic – none of which particularly matters. 

I was slightly disappointed with the plastic brewing paddle atop the group. Not only does it feel a little cheap, but it takes the premium aesthetic of the machine down a notch. I appreciate that the plastic paddle doesn’t get hot as the group heats, but heavier-duty plastic might look nicer.

Let’s Talk Style

The design is one of the big selling points of this model, and for good reason. Aside from my qualms about the plastic paddle, this is a gorgeous compact coffee machine. Those side panels are really pulling their weight. It’s has ultra compact dimensions, measuring 17.3” deep by 14” tall by just 8.85” wide. I live in a one-bedroom condo, and it fits very comfortably in my little home.

The side panels’ appeal is that they come in various styles and colors and can easily be swapped in and out to customize the Stone to suit your decor. Choose between black, gray, chrome, wood, and satin green. The knobs and portafilter handles match. The exception is the cheaper Stone Lite, which has fixed side panels that can be black, white, or chrome.

Accessories

The set of included accessories is impressive for a budget option. You get two portafilters – a single spout and a double spout – a single basket, double basket, a blind basket for backflushing, a beautiful metal tamper, and a special group head cleaning brush. It’s everything you need to start pulling espresso, but you’ll need to buy a steaming pitcher separately if you want to froth milk.

Note that Stone doesn’t angle their portafilter handles so that the basket is flat when it sits on the counter. There are plenty of ways to jerry-rig a tamping set-up, but I’d suggest just buying a compatible tamping stand.

Cleaning and Maintenance – 3.5/5

The Stone Plus is very easy to maintain, at least over the first month. Long-term maintenance remains to be seen for this new brand, but if Rocket Espresso machines are any indication, I’m confident it is built to last.

The most apparent hassle with this model is the tiny 1.2 L removable water tank, the smallest I’ve encountered on any prosumer espresso machine. It helps keep the footprint compact, but even similarly small options like the Rocket Appartamento or Lelit Mara manage to fit 2.3 L and 2.5 L water tanks, respectively. My little Breville Bambino has a 1.9 L tank.

It’s good practice always to use filtered water in any prosumer coffee machine, and consider a water softener if you live in a region with hard water. This avoids the build-up of scale in the boiler, a common cause of more serious maintenance needs.

Day-to-day management of this machine is a breeze, other than those frequent water tank refills. Empty the drip tray daily, and purge and wipe down the steam wand after every use.

The manual includes detailed and easy-to-follow instructions for backflushing and cleaning the brew group using the included cleaning brush. I’ve been doing this about once a week, and it takes less than ten minutes once you know what you’re doing.

Don’t Buy The Stone Plus Espresso Machine If…

• You want pre-infusion control: The Quick Mill Anita is a heat exchanger machine with an E61 that allows for pre-infusion. It’s also equipped with a 1.6 L boiler, dual pressure gauges, and a dedicated hot water tap – all for just slightly more than the cost of the Stone. If you’re willing to increase the budget, Profitec Pro 500 picks up where the Anita leaves off with an E61 group, large 2-liter steam boiler, and a PID-controlled heating system. 
• You don’t make many milk-based drinks: If you’re more of a pure espresso fan, a single-boiler espresso machine will save you money and space. Check out the ECM Classika for best-in-class build quality. Or consider the unique Diletta Mio, which pairs a single boiler with a separate thermoblock for steam.
• You want something truly plug-and-play: The Stone Plus Espresso Machine is incredibly straightforward for a prosumer model, but there’s still a learning curve. If you’d rather just press a button and get a drink, a similar budget will net you a premium super-automatic model like the Jura E6.

The Verdict

The Stone Plus Espresso Machine is a worthwhile addition to the current pantheon of prosumer espresso machines. It falls in the middle ground between user-friendly home machines from the likes of Breville and more serious prosumer machines that require a real passion for dialing in espresso. Any of these machines is sure to make your space feel like a real espresso bar.

Though marketed towards younger consumers, it’s well suited for anyone who wants a high-quality machine and premium espresso without going all the way down the rabbit hole into espresso super-geek-dom

SEE ON SEATTLE COFFEE GEAR