Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder

You're frustrated! Disillusioned! Stymied! All I want is a "Perfect Expresso" in my own kitchen. How difficult can this be? Want the answer? Read on....1. Ok, this Rocky simply blows my mind. What a fabulous & quiet coffee grinder.2. First, I have to laugh at those who "complain" that their grinder isn't clean. There are coffee grinds in my machine they exclaim! Malarkey. Yes, there are fine remnants of ground beans on both the inside, the outside & the hopper. This is like complaining to a flood victim that your faucet is dripping...ha. As you go through the process of disking in your machine, you WILL get coffee grinds on your table, on your floor and on your hands...there will be coffee grinds everywhere. Good, you have been inoculated, read on.3. Thank you Seattle Coffee Gear for FedExing my grinder with tons of Styrofoam fingerlings that protected my precious cargo. It arrived in a big box which the FedEx agent said, "there's a whole lot of something in this big box and a whole lot of nothing". Great packing job Seattle Coffee Gear. Kudos to you. Hat tip!4. Do not fill up the hopper! The fine grain size can only be adjusted when the hopper & grinder are empty. You will thank me for this advice.5. The two grinding surfaces have to be rezero'd when changing setting, relocating to someone else's house or having been sitting in storage. On an empty grinder, simply turn the setting back to zero then over to your desired setting number.6. Do not change settings unless you empty your grinder of all loose beans AND have emptied the beans in the grinding chamber itself. Yes, that means after you lift and invert the entire machine, then you MUST run the machine to grind any beans located at the grinding heads.7. Finally, a left handed coffee grinder! Woohoo! After decades of abuse for being left handed, Rancilio finally decided to make a machine to frustrate right handed people so that they can appreciate the plight of lefties. The grind button on at the bottom left face that can only be accessed with your left hand. Thank you Rancilio, thank you. So far there's two left handed only devices: the Rocky and the 1911!8. The portafilter holder get in the way. Beats me how this is supposed to work. Holds the portafilter too high such that your mountain peak of grinds backs up inside of the elephant nozzolla that funnels the grinds from the machine to your portafilter. I hold the portafilter stationary with my right hand.9. In my photo, please strain to see the finest setting of grounds adjacent to a brand new nickel (that's $0.05 cents to those outside the USA). Oh my god, the grinds feel like talcum powder. I'd never known that coffee could be ground this fine. I guess this is for Greek style coffee. Haven't got a clue what's Greek style coffee. I valiantly tried to take a photo to show you how microscopic the particles are as they sit on the face of a nickel. I'd be the first to admit that the talcum-like coffee clumps so it's really difficult to make out a single grind particle. If you strain your eyes to NOT look at the particles but rather at the empty spaces...look for dust! That's the ground size. Truly amazing. This is why the Rocky is such a fine instrument. Yes, I just compared a coffee grinder to a laser surgical tool!10. I bought (and highly recommend) The Brim Expresso Machine. The reason that I bring this up is because it automatically sets the time an extraction. I previously did not have that feature on my machine. If you are not a PRO, then I will strongly suggest that you will be better off buying The Brim or similar Expresso Machine prior to buying a Rocky. Why? Because you need to reduce the number of adjustable variable...or you will drop to your knees in a puddle of tears when your heartfelt journey for the coffee chalis turns to total frustration.11. Buy a stainless steel tamper. Again,to reduce variables, you must find ways to have seamless, easy consistency. Tricks like this are what it takes.12. Buy a big bag of coffee beans...er, buy two bags. You will need them. A quick trick is to survey all of the dozen different types of beans in the grocery store hopper. Yes, do not buy prepackaged... You will see one or two that look glossy. That's oil. That's good. That's flavor. That's usually French or Italian roast. Buy it.13. Another big, Big, BIG TIP! You need to reduce variables, so hunt for expresso machines that have a PRESSURE GAUGE. The Brim has two ranges on the gauge, one for beginners and one for you. :-) The beginner's range is a low range to be used for beginners who use the portafilter that only has a single needle sized hole at the exit where the extracted coffee flows out of the portafilter into your cup. The tiny single hole allows a neophyte to "automatically" pressurized the portafilter. This required BIGGER grind sizes and thus it is more forgiving for the beginner. What is the beginner looking for? The beginner is looking for a grain size: too big a grain and the expresso is watery without flavor and complexity; too small a grain size and the expresso is underextracted with the portafilter behaving as if it was a solid block of coffee with no interstitial spaces for the water to flow.14. Bitter expresso. Bad. You know that you've done it. We ALL have. You want to be able to recognize bitterness. Bitterness is NOT a lack of sweetness or sugar. Train your taste buds to clearly recognize bitterness.15. Perfect Expresso. Until you actually pull your FIRST PERFECT SHOT, you will think that all expresso is bitter. No, a perfect shot is actually sweet tasting...no really. Wax on...wax off!16. Just to review, tamp at the same force, look at the pressure gauge, have an automatic timer built into your machine. Ok, now...let's go! Time to pull shots. This is when you are going to get grinds on the floor, grinds on your table, and grinds on your shoes. (Remember the complaints about a dusting of grinds on a new machine...ha, ha)17. Goldilocks & the 3 Bears. One bed too hard and one bed too soft. Remember, you cannot change the grind number setting u less the beans have been emptied from not only the hopper(visible), but also the grinding plates(not visible). So, after emptying, you must run the machine (the left-handed machine if you've forgotten).18. At first, I would save the "bad samples" because that was real money that bought those beans. Now, I throw it down the drain. So, will you...eventually.19. If you haven't figured it out yet, that wonderful talcum powder feel of the coffee grounds will be too fine for "a perfect extraction". Sad but true.20. I hope that you found this helpful as I learned it the hard way...perhaps, that's how learning is supposed to be? But it has been a 3 year random-walk journey through a game of thrones. Certainly, Rocky is an amazingly accurate tool with the power of a Samurai sword honed by a master swordssmith, refined through decades of use. Rocky is AMAZINGLY QUIET...stunningly so. I put this last so that you'd leave feeling the peaceful Zen of "the perfect expresso shot". Rocky is the best. Buy it! Buy it now!UPDATE: June 10, 2019I never knew that the simple pleasure of extracting "The Perfect Expresso" would be as satisfying as discovering "The Holy Grail". I adjusted the grind size as follows: 8, 10, 20, 15, 12, 13. For my beans, 13 created a gorgeous crema...unlike any that I had previously ever seen in my kitchen. A truly momentous experience akin to reaching out and touching the face of God. Unbelievable...I am truly stunned!UPDATE: June 14, 20191. It just gets better and better. I believe that this is "The Best Italian Import" brought to the US.2. Just when you think that you have mastered the perfect pull, you will find that you will want to make finely tuned adjustments to "the rate at which the pressure increases to optimal peak pressures". So, this is what I did and what you:re likely to do. Read on. You will change the grind setting by 1. Great so you do the expresso pull. It's good. So, you make another and it's "Too Fine" which makes the pressure rise too quickly and ultimately go much higher in peak pressure. You will also note that your expresso shot glass isn't as full because there was less total flow because the pressure was too high because the grind was too small. Why? Because you did not empty the grinder and there was a shots worth of grinds in the 90 degree plastic necked hopper and in between the 2 grinding surfaces. Correction: empty, then run the "left-handed" machine until completely empty.2. As you may have gleaned from my sneaking it into my above comments, I highly recommend buying a glass expresso shot glass. It will be a visible alarm system for when things are subtlety changing but would have otherwise gone unnoticed.2b. There are a number of glass expresso shot glasses on the market. All of mine just happen to be the insulating double walled type. In my humble opinion, your experience may differ, is that double walled insulating glasses DO NOT WORK. That is to say that the shot does not stay warmer any longer than without a double wall.2c. These double walled insulating expresso shot glasses actually vary in capacity even if to my eye, they all more or less look the same. This morning, I poured water from one full shot into another and it was only 2/3rds full.2d. So, if you are going for a pull based on X number of seconds, then your shot glass could mislead you into thinking you were either there or not there depending... Furthermore, if you have a self timed expresso machine that you (like me) haven't made any adjustments to the time because you were "wisely reducing variables", as on my wonderful Brim machine, then you would be "carefully calibrating your eyes" to how full the glass is when the pull is over. But if one glass varies from another by 2/3rds, then you have self created a misleading step in your repertoire. Consistency requires minimizing your variables.2e. First, I cannot believe I got to 2e when referring to just a simple shot glass. But here is more for you to assimilate into your "wax on, wax off" practice. "Crema"! Crema will look different for each of the Goldilocks Cases. But if you use a non-transparent cup, then you'll be clueless. So, start using a glass expresso shot glass and watch how your skill improves. Really!2f. If you are making expresso for yourself, then you can do this. Otherwise, you can figure a way. If you are making Americanos or Cappucinos or whatever...take a sip from your shot glass. Teach yourself to recognize the bitterness from an overkill. Again, your skills will improve greatly.2g. Occasionally, just appreciate a perfect expresso...straight. You deserve it. You earned it. You are worth it. Enjoy.

This thing is a tank compared to my old cheap grinder. Well worth the investment and grinds consistently and has required no maintenance.

My Rancillio grinder and Espresso machine are 22 years old and still going strong and I love it. When I needed a really nice gift for my daughter, Sylvia and Rocky was the absolutely best gift I could dream of as a thank you.It’s built like a tank.

Full disclosure: I consider myself an amateur home barista with enough knowledge to get myself into trouble. I use a variety of methods, from French Press, to AeroPress, to espresso and Turkish. I use a manual lever La Pavoni EPC-8 for espresso. I am acutely aware of bean quality, and bought my gear specifically for having direct control over my coffee experience.My goal in purchasing this grinder was in order to get some consistency in my espresso pulls, as the La Pavoni EPC-8 is notoriously sensitive to consistency.Too many fines, you have a hard, bitter pull. Too little or too much oil can quickly change the grind needed, and it was often outside the range of my Capresso Infinity. Second pulls can be a nightmare on the EPC-8 due to temperature changes in the group head.Pros:* Consistent Grind - I no longer have the hard second pulls that the EPC-8 is notorious for. I can dial in a bean, and make consistent pulls from shot to shot, grind to grind.* UV container - Since this machine isn't a rapid-change for different beans, having the UV container is a welcome addition.* Small-ish footprint - My Capresso is a very small conical burr grinder, and while the Rocky is not small, it doesn't take up a large footprint on my counter, as it is narrow and tall.* Fast, quiet-ish operation - I can hold a conversation on the phone while grinding with only minimal annoyance of the other party.* Flat burr for nice price point - Flat burrs have a better grind control than conicals, but often are a bit more expensive. As some have noted, the $350-ish price point of the Rocky is hard to beat unless you go used on other commercial grinders.* Good for AeroPress - Since one of my daily methods is Aeropress, I do need to call out this machine for a good Aeropress grind. (about @ notch 40, in my experience.)* Lots of grind settings - The name of the game with my EPC-8 is fine adjustments. With 50 settings in total, you'll be hard pressed (hah!) to find a setting that does not work.Cons:* Grind Beak hard to clear - And I mean CLEAR, not clean. When you are done grinding, there are invariably grinds left in the beak, and you need a special brush or tool to get them out if you need to. With my Capresso, I can lift and smack it...while I can do that with this, the weight and height make it very cumbersome.* Lots of grinds left over in burrs - As above, the burrs themselves also seem to hold a large amount (1.5g or more, depending on grind) or grinds in them. This can be an issue if you want to change grinds or beans. (I've taken to knowing how much is typically left in there, knowing what grind I want to go to, and then switching ahead of time to push the last of the grinds out.)* Espresso grinds clump due to chute design - As many on the greater Internet have noted, the really fine grinds tend to clump up into peanut-sized clumps due to the chute design. While this isn't a huge deal for me, it might be a deal breaker if you are sensitive to it. Some mods are out there, I personally have not had issues with the clumps causing problems with quality. I've heard the doser model fixes this, but, IMO, it introduces other issues.Mehs:* Rocker switch *could* have better placement - It's all the way on the lower left hand side, and sometimes your containers get in the way.* Not good for French Press grinds - This grinder does not go coarse enough for French Press. The resulting coffee is a bit grainy on the tongue. It's too fine. I don't do drip, so I have not tried it.* Not stepless - I put this down as a "meh" because I often find that if you have a burning desire to go stepless, then you probably are to the point where the other cons listed here would be a non-started for you anyways. Keep in mind I use this on a manual lever espresso machine, which is widely considered to be a nightmare for grind sensitivity, and I haven't had issues with steps.Overall, this is a welcome upgrade to my Capresso. It's resulted in a much more predictable espresso experience. I will, however, be keeping my Capresso for French Press.If you're serious about your espresso, but not SERIOUS, this may be the right machine for you.If your coffee scale reports tenths of grams, you have dumped out your grinds onto typing paper to grade for fines, or you have modded yourself your own bottomless portafilter, you may want to spend a bit more.If you are looking for an all-in-one grinder that can go all the way from French Press to Turkish, this is not it.

I have eyed this grinder for at least five years and finally received one for Christmas. I have used a Breville Smart Grinder for over two years and while I was satisfied with it, I thought the Rocky would be a noticeable upgrade. Was I ever wrong, for two months I struggled with the Rocky while loading beans, shifting from expresso grind to drip and then not being able to get a fine enough grind to make espresso. Overall, it never worked well and finally the hopper froze in place. I tried to take the screws out and clean the burrs, but the burrs got stuck in place and froze as if the threads were stripped when I tried to screw out the burrs. On top of that I cut myself on the sharp edges on the inside frame of the machine in the process. And for all of this trouble, I had paid over $350.00. I wasted a large amount of expensive coffee beans in the process as well trying to grind espresso since the machine would not shift down to a finer grind after I used it for a drip grind. For the record, I am an experienced coffee maker and I have made espresso daily for over the past 25 years. This machine simply lacked the ability to shift grinds and the inner workings did not reflect the quality that would allow the owner to easily clean the burrs and solve simple cleaning problems. For the cost of this grinder there should be better options. I suggest any buyer look elsewhere.