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Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder
Purchase options and add-ons
Color | Black and Stainless Steel |
Brand | Rancilio |
Style | coffee grinder |
Product Dimensions | 9.8"L x 4.7"W x 13.8"H |
Recommended Uses For Product | Commercial |
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About this item
- 50mm commercial grade grinding burrs. Grinds directly into porta filter for simple operation
- Powerful 166-watt direct drive quiet operation motor. All units are tested prior packaging which might leave a small trace of coffee residue. Please refer the video under product images for overview
- Tinted hopper with a 0.65lb capacity. Please check the FAQ section under the Product Details
- Simple variable grinder adjustment control. For Trouble Shooting Steps refer on the page 32 in the user manual
- ATTENTION: Each unit is factory tested with real coffee beans and some coffee powder may still be present upon unboxing.
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This Item Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | |
Price | -17% $440.00$440.00 List: $530.00 | $649.00$649.00 | $850.00$850.00 | $199.95$199.95 | $345.00$345.00 |
Delivery | — | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 20 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 20 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 20 |
Customer Ratings | |||||
Easy to use | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 5.0 |
Easy to clean | — | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
Noise level | — | 4.1 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
Flavor | 4.2 | — | — | 4.2 | 4.3 |
Value for money | 3.9 | — | — | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Sold By | Seattle Coffee Gear | MiiCoffee | Seattle Coffee Gear | Amazon.com | Fellow Industries Inc. |
capacity | 0.65 pounds | 0.1 grams | 680 grams | — | — |
material | Stainless Steel | Aluminum | Metal, Plastic | Plastic | Aluminum |
style | coffee grinder | Modern | — | Modern | — |
weight | 15.4 pounds | 0 ounces | — | 3.35 kilograms | 9.92 pounds |
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Videos
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2:07
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Rancilio HSD-ROC-SD Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder
Merchant Video
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0:53
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Honest coffee review from coffeemaker
Bethany’s Life Changing Picks
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Brew like a Barista Pro! WATCH Grounds for Greatness!
Su's Crew Picks
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0:39
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Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder Honest Review
Hey It’s David
Product information
Color | Black and Stainless Steel |
---|---|
Brand | Rancilio |
Style | coffee grinder |
Product Dimensions | 9.8"L x 4.7"W x 13.8"H |
Recommended Uses For Product | Commercial |
Item Weight | 15.4 pounds |
Manufacturer | Rancilio |
ASIN | B00H1OUW24 |
Country of Origin | Italy |
Item model number | HSD-ROC-SD |
Customer Reviews |
4.3 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #776,580 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen) #133 in Burr Coffee Grinders |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | October 2, 2001 |
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Product Description
Perfect companion to the Rancilio Silvia espresso machine. The Rocky SD is burr coffee grinder with 50mm plate grinding burrs found in entry-level commercial grinders. Capable of grinding up to 7.7lbs per hour the Rocky SD will be sure to keep up with your needs. The Rocky SD features a metal removable fork to hold your porta filter in place. Grinds directly into your porta filter. The motor of the Rocky SD is a 166-watt direct drive motor that is extremely powerful. Spinning at 1725 RPM's. This powerful grinder is quiet during operation. Rocky SD features simple controls. Change the grind setting with a simple unlock of the lever and a quick spin of the bean hopper. It can grind coffee to a fine powder or course grind in seconds. The tinted bean hopper of the Rocky SD keeps just over 1/2 a pound of whole bean coffee fresh and ready to grind on-demand.
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the noise level, ease of use, and quality of the kitchen product. They mention that it's relatively quiet, easy to dial in, and produces great quality grinds. That said, some are disappointed with the capacity and differ on appearance, jams, ease-of-cleaning, and value.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the quality of the coffee grinder. They mention that it makes great espresso worthy grinds, and is of solid quality. Some say the grinds feel like talcum powder. The grinder is built like a tank and has a tried-and-true design.
"...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...." Read more
"...Its built like a brick house, solid sturdy, and with high quality. You wont be buying another one again so consider it a good investment.*..." Read more
"Get your grind on in style! This thing is built like a TANK....and I sure hope it lasts as long...." Read more
"...out what I think of as the highlights; the machine is heavy and clearly quality - turning the grind settings up and down feels like the precision of..." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the noise produced by the kitchen product. They mention that it is relatively quiet, impressed with the sound emitted, and that it's not annoying.
"...Rocky is AMAZINGLY QUIET...stunningly so. I put this last so that you'd leave feeling the peaceful Zen of "the perfect expresso shot"...." Read more
"...It's a little loud as well but not annoying and it has not clogged on me yet which is of most importance; I use it daily, with different beans from..." Read more
"...Fast, quiet-ish operation - I can hold a conversation on the phone while grinding with only minimal annoyance of the other party...." Read more
"...Perhaps because it is direct drive, with no step down gears, it is quieter than either of my previous burr grinders...." Read more
Customers find the coffee grinder easy to use. They mention that instructions are not required, it's easy to dial it in based on their beans, and it'll last forever. They also love the Breville for its programability and value.
"...No worries, a firm tug pulls it out, no tools required. You will need to provide some sort of container to put under the spout...." Read more
"Arrived very quickly and in perfect shape. Nothing to set up. Contrary to some online reports, the calibration was perfect...." Read more
"...Very simple to use, instructions not required...." Read more
"...bean hopper all at once... YouTube videos show you how, but it is oddly tricky for something just about all owners will do regularly...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the value of the coffee grinder. Some mention it's worth the price, while others say it' a little expensive and induces sticker shock. Overall, the product is a tried-and-true design and widely supported.
"...* Flat burr for nice price point - Flat burrs have a better grind control than conicals, but often are a bit more expensive...." Read more
"...This is a good prosumer grinder. It is expensive but is a large step up from higher cost consumer grinders...." Read more
"...They custom pick, roast,, and send it to you for very reasonable prices, for amazing Kona Coffee. There are many dozens..." Read more
"...It's a tried-and-true design, cheaper than grinders with similar horsepower, and is widely supported with online material from other users...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the appearance of the coffee grinder. Some mention it has a great design, fantastic looks, and is sturdy and efficient, while others say that it has some big flaws and the blue spout looks silly and flimsy. Overall, the opinions are mixed, and it's recommended to read the reviews carefully before making a purchase.
"...Rocky is AMAZINGLY QUIET...stunningly so. I put this last so that you'd leave feeling the peaceful Zen of "the perfect expresso shot"...." Read more
"...There are YouTube videos on this because it's so poorly thought out and requires a second person or a very contrived maneuver with your other..." Read more
"...The doser version of this product in some ways is more attractive as it has a clean looking plastic container on the front that doses out the coffee..." Read more
"...Pro #1: It feels solidly built, looks good on the counter, produces an excellent grind...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the ease of cleaning the coffee grinder. Some mention that it's easy to keep clean, while others say that it leaves a huge mess behind. Some customers also mention that the grinder is difficult to clean due to its weight and bulk.
"...It also is the cleanest machine I have ever used - I wipe up spilled grounds every coulee of days - and I think they are all caused by me...." Read more
"...I've heard of this for the Vario as well.2. The grinder makes a mess with just a portafilter in the holder...." Read more
"...you have to unscrew a part or two; but once unscrewed it’s easy to thoroughly clean it and reset it...." Read more
"...Never used it. Perfect for cleaning the Rocky. Less than 5 min. The Rocky is quiet for a grinder...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the coffee grinder. Some say it does a great job, is very fast, and the settings are consistent and come out at a good rate. However, others say that it jams easily, and coffee beans jam in the hopper with distressing regularity. Some customers say that whole beans get stuck in the chute and it frequently stalls.
"...* Beans can get stuck in the screw holes inside the bean hopper. Silly but can be annoying...." Read more
"...Fast, quiet-ish operation - I can hold a conversation on the phone while grinding with only minimal annoyance of the other party...." Read more
"...Coffee beans jam in the hopper with distressing regularity. I called the distributor, and got a tech who said, basically, 'Oh yes, they do that.'..." Read more
"...The larger grind settings are consistent and come out at a good rate. I was also impressed with the sound emitted by the machine...." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the capacity of the coffee grinder. They mention that it leaves a lot of coffee in the machine after use, which is a waste of money. Some customers also mention that the coffee does spill out.
"...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...." Read more
"...You shell out $350 bucks to get this beast.* Some coffee remains in the grind chamber, so waste a little at the beginning of each grind to..." Read more
"...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...." Read more
"...Some coffee does spill out, and the coffee does tend to clump near the handle end, so that I have to shift the filter a bit as it fills, but neither..." Read more
Reviews with images
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Top reviews from the United States
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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, 2019
I 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, 2019
1. 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.
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2019
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, 2019
I 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, 2019
1. 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.
The pros:
* Its built like a brick house, solid sturdy, and with high quality. You wont be buying another one again so consider it a good investment.
* Low rpm motor wont heat the beans when grinding
* Easy to access grind chamber for cleaning
* its adjustable for any kind of grind you can think of (I don't agree with others that say no french press, its very capable of a course grind)
* Fits under the counter, big but not unruly
Cons:
* You shell out $350 bucks to get this beast.
* Some coffee remains in the grind chamber, so waste a little at the beginning of each grind to clean (discard) or tap the back of the unit at the end of the grind cycle to clear out old grinds.
* Takes some experimentation to figure out the right setting for your machine, and that setting will change when you change beans to some degree.
* Beans can get stuck in the screw holes inside the bean hopper. Silly but can be annoying. Remedied by flipping upside down or stuffing the holes with something. Id like to see Rancillo provide caps for this instead.
If you are sick of replacing grinders every few years due to short lifespan, and want a machine that can make any type of grind, this is the one for you. And for the money, its best in class, some other Italian makers put you into the 500 price range and up.
Top reviews from other countries
Some friend asked me about the price, i think it is okay. I asked him how much his bread maker or mixer costed and it's pretty comparable for something similar quality. A+
When my current espresso machine craps out (and they do every couple of years), I will certainly be looking into getting Rancilio espresso machine. Color me impressed.
Reviewed in Canada on July 12, 2018
Cons:
1. The biggest gripe with this machine is it retains a TON of coffee in the chute and grinding chamber. I've been able to remedy this by using a "silicone stretch lid" over the hopper. I just push the stretch lid and the air pressure pushes all the remaining coffee out. This is an issue ALL burr style coffee grinders but not to this degree.
2. The process of removing the burrs is quite annoying. Keep in mind every type of burr grinder needs to be cleaned every so often. In this grinder you need to remove the hopper and the screw placement/design is a bit poor which makes it harder than necessary. The screw holes are the perfect size for coffee beans to get stuck in which make it difficult to take apart. Other burr grinders just have an easier mechanism for getting to the burrs.
3. No special features. At this price point a lot of even cheaper grinders have more features like timers or even scales built in.
4. Grind setting is stepped and hopper must be empty to change settings. For me this is not a big deal because I've found a good grind setting and I don't leave the hopper full when I use it. Some people who really want to spend time to fine tune a specific grind size may not like this.
Pros:
1. The grind itself is quite consistent and it grinds at a very good pace. It does a good job of what it is intended to do.
2. All internal components are built to last forever. This price point may seem like a lot but it was the cheapest grinder I could find in my area that has this level of all metal build quality. All the other grinders that I saw even in this price range had plastic gears. Most grinders I saw with similar build quality were almost double in price.
3. The machine is simple with no interface. This is also on the cons but it also means that there's nothing to break. It's has a grind button and an on/off switch meaning there's no complicated interface to learn.
Note:
I feel like I should mention this fact as it happened to me but I doubt it is a regular thing. I actually had to buy this coffee grinder twice. The first one I got looked like someone at the factory dropped it from the second floor window. The box it came in was undamaged which is why I say it was from the factory. There are heavy duty thick metal clips for the front plate (looks like forged steel) and they were completely cracked. However, I'd also like to mention that I was able to get a full refund from the company once I provided some pictures. So their customer service did have me covered which is great.