Rancilio Rocky Espresso Grinder

Rancilio Rocky Espresso Grinder

The Rancilio Rocky has, for years, been revered as the all-around champ of home espresso grinders, but that didn't stop Rancilio from making improvements. These new Rocky grinders now include a removable catch tray to collect stray grounds and keep your counter clean. The Rocky still features commercial grinding burrs with many settings for espresso to help you achieve perfect crema-topped espresso. While it can grind coffee on any setting from French press to Turkish, the Rancilio Rocky has been specifically engineered to work perfectly with the Rancilio Silvia and other commercial grade espresso machines. The Rancilio Rocky is offered in two models: doserless and doser. The doserless Rocky is perfect for the casual user to grind directly into the portafilter or any container of choice. The Rocky doser grinds into a special spring-loaded device that dispenses one shot's worth of espresso grounds per pull on the dosing lever.

Commercial Grade Construction

The Rancilio Rocky is designed for the home barista who desires a durable and consistent grinder. Starting with just the body, you can tell that the Rocky is built to last. The Rocky is protected by a stainless steel back panel and base set upon a heavy duty black cast aluminum frame. It is modeled after the Rancilio MD40 and is the heavy duty partner to the Silvia.

Heavy Duty Motor

The motor on the Rancilio Rocky is the envy of all other home grinders. Rancilio uses the same motor in their commercial MD40 grinder. It is a 166-watt direct drive motor that runs quiet and is extremely powerful. Grinding at the espresso fineness setting puts a lot of strain on any grinder, so the Rocky has been built to handle the job with ease. The motor alone weighs around 12 lbs. and spins at 1,725RPM. It has a high-temperature overload switch to prevent possible damage if a stone gets caught in the burrs.

Many Grind Settings

While the Rancilio Rocky is designed to be primarily an espresso grinder, it naturally can grind any type of coffee you desire. It has 55 settings ranging from French press coarse to ultra-fine Turkish, about 15 of which are just for espresso. Espresso machines with commercial portafilters will accept only a very narrow grinding range in order to make proper espresso shots with good crema. Even baristas with the most discriminating tastes will be able to fine-tune the Rocky to grind at that perfect setting.

High Quality Grinding Burrs

Consistent espresso grinding requires, among many things, well-made grinder burrs. The Rocky employs forged steel medium duty flat burrs that resist wear and corrosion. These 50 mm burr plates are precision balanced to press out a consistently fine to extra fine grind every time. The bottom burr plate spins while the top burr connects to the 10 ounce tinted bean hopper and locks into place when you set the fineness of the grind.

Doser Or Doserless Option

Rancilio understands that different baristas have different needs. As such, the Rocky is offered in either the Doser or Doserless model. The Rocky Doser grinds into a 7-ounce container mounted on the front of the grinder. Pull the lever on the left, and the Rocky Doser will dispense approximately enough ground espresso for one shot (about 7 grams). Need two shots? Pull twice. The Rocky does not have an automatic sensor to shut off the grinding, but with the flip of a switch, you can grind enough coffee to fill the entire container or just enough for your next drink. Plan on only doing a drink a day or less? J.L. Hufford advises the Rocky Doserless model. It will grind directly into a filter, or container of your choice, to ensure that you get freshly ground coffee every time.