Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder

This is my third doserless Rocky. Not that I wore any out, I just have too many machines. (I also have a Mazzer Mini (E, doeserless) and a Niche Zero). The Rocky is IMO better than many grinders twice its price or more. If you add the Etsy funnel to the doserless model (or 3D print one yourself) it improves flow a bit , but right out of the box, this is a quality, consistent and quite quiet grinder. Its only downside is the notched grind level, and there is a hack to convert to friction if you want

15 years of faithful service

I purchased the Rocky grinder along with a Rancilio Silvia espresso machine on 2007. Both have provided trouble free and faithful service so far. Just this week I opened up the Rocky and cleaned it for the first time in 15 years. Yes it does work a bit better now that it has been cleaned but the improvement is slight. This is a rarity among mechanical devices; old school really. It does what it is supposed to do without complaint and does so for a very, very long time. I could say that the grind choices are best suited to espresso and other fine grinds; it really is not going to deliver anything in the coarse range. That said I bought it to grind espresso beans for my Silvia and it does a perfect job time and time again

An Amazing Grinder

I bought my Rancilio Rocky doserless from Chris' Coffee in 2006. I'm still using it multiple times per day. I just replaced the burrs within the past few months. This thing is a solidly built workhorse. Not once in 16 years have I had even one issue with this machine. Beans have never stuck in the hopper, not once. I love this grinder.Obviously I have an older model and it is built like a tank. I took the portafilter holder off first thing and have never used it. I do notice some clumping. Especially after replacing the burrs (which was not hard at all) and having to set the adjustment to past -0 to try to achieve my espresso grind size. But a WDT and a funnel make short work of any clumps. For the price point this machine is hard to beat.Unfortunately, when I ... MoreI bought my Rancilio Rocky doserless from Chris' Coffee in 2006. I'm still using it multiple times per day. I just replaced the burrs within the past few months. This thing is a solidly built workhorse. Not once in 16 years have I had even one issue with this machine. Beans have never stuck in the hopper, not once. I love this grinder.Obviously I have an older model and it is built like a tank. I took the portafilter holder off first thing and have never used it. I do notice some clumping. Especially after replacing the burrs (which was not hard at all) and having to set the adjustment to past -0 to try to achieve my espresso grind size. But a WDT and a funnel make short work of any clumps. For the price point this machine is hard to beat.Unfortunately, when I upgraded to a La Marzocco Linea Classic, the Rocky can't get me to a small enough grind to match such a powerful machine. But for almost any home espresso machine, the Rocky will be more than enough to handle your grinding needs for many years.

BLUE SNOUT a strong reason to purchase a doserless Rocky

We just bought a second Rocky for decaf beans since we usually need one decaf and one regular drink. We've abandoned the single-grinder-empty-hopper plan (desired beans loaded individually for each cup) after learning that a Rocky with a full hopper and lid in place is a much quieter grinder and also one much less likely to stall and require a little help from a spoon in the hopper to get the beans down into the burrs. Two Rocky's are still cheaper than just one of many of the other grinders for sale. And two doserless Rocky's side-by-side with full hoppers and two matching blue snouts is simply a happy site to behold.Aesthetics aside, I have found the unique blue snout to be functionally a major asset. The snout is the first dispenser I've found that allows ... MoreWe just bought a second Rocky for decaf beans since we usually need one decaf and one regular drink. We've abandoned the single-grinder-empty-hopper plan (desired beans loaded individually for each cup) after learning that a Rocky with a full hopper and lid in place is a much quieter grinder and also one much less likely to stall and require a little help from a spoon in the hopper to get the beans down into the burrs. Two Rocky's are still cheaper than just one of many of the other grinders for sale. And two doserless Rocky's side-by-side with full hoppers and two matching blue snouts is simply a happy site to behold.Aesthetics aside, I have found the unique blue snout to be functionally a major asset. The snout is the first dispenser I've found that allows direct loading of a portafilter with absolutely no grounds on the countertop to clean up afterwards. It take a bit of practice and care, but one can use the snout to distribute gently the grounds as they come out into the portafilter basket. The Rocky's sturdy stainless portafilter support -- though not used for its intended purpose -- serves, when tapped with the partially filled portafilter after grinding is paused, as an effective tool to loosen the few grounds that might be lingering on the curve of the snout, coaxing them to fall right into the portafilter. I then do a tamp half way through the fill to make more room for the final grinding, further reducing the chances of ground coffee on the cabinet. No longer an annoyance, the need to hold in the grinding button becomes an integral and necessary part of the challenge, requiring concentration, experience, and good judgment.

Don't Even Be Tempted

Dreadful outdated design.Why am I hear today? Looking for something to replace this dinosaur. The only good thing I can say about it is it does grind coffee very uniformly. Beyond that everything about it is awful, especially adjusting it, and it's not very good for drip coffee because it creates too many fines for that and those translate into very bad extracted flavors. For my Moccamaster, for instance, I have to literally turn this up all the way to not get something too harsh. Watch videos on adjusting the grind and all the tinkering on replacing the opper and that stupid sticker with the numbers that will never line up properly. It's a nightmare. Not only that, the blue plastic spout will literally break in time even if not in use. That's an expensive part ... MoreDreadful outdated design.Why am I hear today? Looking for something to replace this dinosaur. The only good thing I can say about it is it does grind coffee very uniformly. Beyond that everything about it is awful, especially adjusting it, and it's not very good for drip coffee because it creates too many fines for that and those translate into very bad extracted flavors. For my Moccamaster, for instance, I have to literally turn this up all the way to not get something too harsh. Watch videos on adjusting the grind and all the tinkering on replacing the opper and that stupid sticker with the numbers that will never line up properly. It's a nightmare. Not only that, the blue plastic spout will literally break in time even if not in use. That's an expensive part just for that. Its two screws, but it seems to be forced into a constant pressure bind and eventually just breaks for no reason. You didn't bump it (or even use it for awhile) but then when you want to its broken again. I'm getting a Eureka Mignon and throwing this in the garbage even though it's pretty much as new (even has yet another new spout). It's just too much of a hassle to deal with, every day in every way, and life's too short. It's also a consant fight to keep beans going down into it. I literally have to use without the finger guard and stop it and start it and sometimes agitate the beans (with the grinder off) with a butter knife. Then after all that, it's got a huge retention problem. It was okay in its day. It's super outdated now.

Great Grind

My Baratza Sette died after just 4 years, so I decided to go with a classic. The grind is noticeably more even and yields a better shot of espresso, which I did not expect. It is not as noisy as the Sette but sounds like a grinder, about like my old Gaggia MDF. The manufacturing quality seems really good, like it could last decades. So far, I have not noticed any clumping, but I will be watching for the need to clean it. I keep it plugged in and turned on, so it is not a problem to slip the portafilter in the cradle and press the button. Simple but effective.

Maintenance nightmare

I've owned my Rocky Rancilio for about 10 years. it grinds great espresso, WHEN it doesn't need maintenance. But be forewarned, this grinder is a total nightmare from a maintenance standpoint. Very user-UNfriendly to clean. I finally got rid of mine for this reason. To keep it working well, you have to turn the heavy grinder upside down, use a shop vac to clean it out, unscrew a bunch of parts, and more. There are lots of YouTube videos about this. STAY AWAY!

Recommend

I really like this Grinder. It is my intermediate-step grinder.I use it as a single dose grinder for pour over. There are a few grams lost (retained at burr and mostly the spout) with each grind. The spout is easily removed and cleared if you want to save a few beans and freshness.In a 10 oz bag, I may lose slightly more that 60 grams over 14 separate grinds in 5 days, perhaps 4-5 grams tossed in pre grind to clear spout (guessing).What I dont like? There really is nothing to dislike about this grinder in my opinion: just recognize its design and market intent and limits.Thank you to Seattle Coffee Gear for fast delivery and helpful YouTube presence.

This is a bad grinder

I hate this machine. Even set at zero the Rocky cannot consistently grind fine enough for light roast espresso. "Just calibrate it," you say. Yeah, I've done that multiple times. It drifts.It retains a crazy amount of grinds. Routinely 1-2 grams.You have to hold the button down to keep it grinding. Just use a switch!I've given it two stars instead of one because it can admirably grind for drip. You can absolutely buy a better grinder for the money for drip, though.

Very happy with this grinder

I am an amateur. Love coffee but not a snob. Love the rancilio rocky. I was sick of cheap plastic grinders with static electric fines flying all over the kitchen. I was seeking a grinder that was the white whale of a full range grinder. The SCG Rep said this was the closest if find. On setting 4 or 5 I get beautiful espresso. It's not clogging though I do tend to avoid very oily looking roasts.