I have had this grinder for 10 years in a home environment and it works as well as when purchased. The grind is very consistent. Highly recommend.

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.

I've had this thing for a bit over a year now. Overall for the money I think this machine is worth it because of the build quality and overall grind consistency. I'd still choose it given what I know now. This thing is heavy duty and all the important parts are made of metal. I've noticed that other brands around this price range still have major plastic parts like plastic gears that wear out a lot faster. The company provides a lot of support as well and you can get replacement parts relatively easily if you do need it. However the machine isn't without its gripes and does have at least one glaring con. If the cons are what you care about then I wouldn't recommend this to you. Overall it grinds well and is well built so if those are important to you then I'd definitely recommend it.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.

Consistent and finely adjustable. Build quality is really high. Comes covered in coffee grinds, but that's noble dust. ^_^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.

No! I am definitely in love! I cannot express enough how much I love this grinder. I've owned a Krups grinder for the past year that I purchased from Starbucks for approx $180 and have worked it mercilessly - we prepare at minimum 5 pots of coffee per day and often more. As a result it is now of a past nature. While it was serviceable and did grind consistently in size and quantity, it definitely had its drawbacks the most irritating being the mess, mess, and more mess when emptying the ground coffee as the grounds reservoir is plastic and statically charged causing the grounds to cling to the edges/top/sides as well as fly around when emptying. It was also loud (loud enough to wake the house) and had a fairly small capacity resulting in the need to grind multiple batches if I needed to prepare a sufficient quantity for multiple pots of coffee. Finally, it had limited choices for grind levels (12). The combination of these factors resulted in my husband refusing to grind coffee unless it was an emergency (I wasn't available and coffee was needed, stat). Got my Rancilio today and I am already in love and then some. For those who care, it was delivered by FedEx 8 days after order including the Canada Day holiday, so probably will arrive in 7 days. It was carefully/securely packaged - interior cardboard box, packing peanuts, exterior cardboard box. The peanuts are the bio-degradable type made from vegetable starch. The unit is completely encased in a plastic bag within the interior box and well secured by cardboard baffles. It is ready for use once you've set the grind level (follow the simple instructions) and placement of bottom grounds plate that easily snaps in place. The portafilter can be readily removed to allow for larger canisters or your cone filter (or whatever you want to use to capture the ground beans) as it is a pressure fit. The hopper is a good size and stores sufficient beans such that you aren't having to decant them every time you want coffee. The unit is pleasing to the eye, fits readily onto any counter as it has a slim profile and will compliment any decor as it is smart/sleek in appearance. Rancilio calibrates the grinding burrs in the factory before sending to the customer so do know you will find coffee grounds in the bag surrounding the unit so you'll have to wipe the unit down with a damp cloth and brush to get all the grounds out of the crevices/seams (open on a counter that can be easily cleaned or put a tea towel or other catch cloth under it when opening the box). All of the prior is important and shows Rancilio manufactures a nice looking and cared-for product; but, the real factor of importance is how it works and boy, does it work! It is a quick, efficient, easy-to-use, and reasonably quiet unit that produces grounds of a uniform size. 40 settings are surely sufficient for even the most discerning of coffee-drinkers. I've spent the day refining the precise grind I prefer and after trying three settings I think I've found the sweet spot for my taste. I'll come back in a year and let you all know how the unit is holding up but have full confidence that, barring any unforeseen accident/household catastrophe, it will be happily fulfilling the family's coffee drinking needs for years to come. I cannot stress enough how much I'm in love with this grinder and, at this point, I'm sold on the unit's quality and even the price. Given my Krups only gave me a year's service at a cost of $180, all the Rancilio has to beat is two and a half years to work out the same. Based on the quality of manufacture/materials, I have every confidence it will be much more economical than the Krups over the longterm. Bottom line/TL;DR - if you're a coffee-drinking fiend, buy it, you'll love it.

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.

I bought this grinder as a replacement for my Baratza Virtuoso, which stopped working for the second time (after getting the first one replaced under warranty). The Rancilio Rocky is also a deeply flawed machine, and once I finally got past the sunk-cost fallacy I was finally able to admit to myself that it was time to let it go and get a new grinder. I lived with the constant frustration of this machine for about three years, but like any bad relationship I’m finally ready to part ways. Problem number one: the opening from the burr set to the coffee chute is so small that ground coffee will inevitably clog the machine and you’ll have to invert it or smack your hand against the side of the machine. This happens EVERY SINGLE %#*#! TIME you grind coffee. It’s too much aggravation to face first thing in the morning. Secondly, when you want to clean the burrs, the top burr is threaded so finely it’s incredibly easy to cross thread it. In fact, it seems to want to cross thread more readily than to thread properly. This was ultimately what made me give up on the grinder altogether. I simply couldn’t get the burr to thread properly and ended up slicing open my finger on the sharp edges of the machine.

I love this machine so much, i bought it because of all the positive reviews on the internet and wanted something in my house with quality grind capable of handling corse and even go up to expresso (and everything in between). The machine itself is beautiful and is heavy because of the strong motor inside. Burs can be switched if ever.. this company is also very well known, no noobie here. Highly recommended.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+

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.

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.