The Porta Ticinese Espresso Machine from Rocket Espresso and Carhartt WIP. All images courtesy of Carhartt WIP.
Italian espresso machine maker Rocket Espresso and Carhartt WIP have collaborated for a limited-edition collection that includes an espresso machine, grinder and apparel.
The machines and merch launched for sale today at the newly opened second Carhartt WIP store in central Milan, Rocket Espresso’s home city. Online sales for European customers commence Dec. 7, and will continue until the custom products run out. Prices for the espresso machine, grinder, t-shirts, sweatshirts or aprons have not been publicly disclosed.
The star of the collaboration is the customized Porta Ticinese Espresso Machine, whose name references the Carhartt store’s location in Milan. The 250 machines in the limited run build off Rocket’s existing Apartamento platform of high-end but small-footprint home espresso machines.
The machines come with a stainless steel body and shiny chrome finish with detailed and debossed graphics and artwork. Each also comes with a numbered enamel badge.
The Porta Ticinese Grinder comes with chrome plating, an extruded aluminum body and debossed graphics. The back of the espresso grinder features laser-engraved branding.
Custom typography and a purple hue tie the artistic elements together. Those include a squiggly cartoonish coffee cup figure with a steam trail who appears to be holding a martini glass.
An offshoot of practical and cold-weather apparel brand Carhartt, Carhartt WIP (Work in Progress) is concerned more with street fashion than, say, South Dakotan farm work.
Nick Brown Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
