The Rocky is a good quality grinder, however I think the factory should be more careful with quality control.
Positive Product Points
The Rocky is a great quality grinder. The grinder is solidly built. Rocky is a reasonably quiet grinder and works consisently well.
Negative Product Points
Rocky has a flimsy portafilter holder made of plastic. When Rocky arrived a part of the internal coffee chute was broken and it needed to be sent away to be fixed.
Detailed Commentary
After buying Silvia I became increasingly aware that a quality grinder was needed to get the best from Silvia. I researched for a time and reviews seemed to state that the Rocky was a well built, reliable and good quality grinder. I purchased the stainless steel Rocky and away we went. When Rocky first arrived a part of the chute was broken, so I then had to send Rocky away and he did not return until 8 weeks later. Rocky returned and we were back in business. I removed the finger guard from Rocky because I had heard that beans can get stuck, I now just need to be careful when I put beans in there. Rocky performs well and has a fantastic range of adjustable grind settings, perfectly suited for espresso. It would be great if Rocky's hoppers had tight fitting lids because then I could consider leaving my beans in there, unfortunately the lids are loose and certainly not air tight. The following is slightly trivial but I'll mention it anyway, when Rocky came the Rancilio sticker on the front was on a slant, not that it's really important but it does look a bit cheap. I find that the dose with Rocky is not particularly accurate so instead I weigh 18 grams and I suppose about 17 grams actually makes it into the portafilter. Overall the Rocky does a very good job and I am happy with it, as a first grinder I would buy it again but I think next time I will probably upgrade and get a Mazzer.
Buying Experience
This grinder was bought in Perth Australia from Supreme Coffee Machines. I would rate their service as average.
Three Month Followup
The Rocky grinder is a top quality product, this said mine came with a floating piece of plastic inside, broken off from the dosing hopper. It was fixed but it took about 5 weeks. However overall Rocky is a top quality grinder that grinds well for espresso. Lately the click sound made when using the dosing chamber has stopped working. Inside there was a little bit broken off- broken again! But overall the grinder does a good job, Next time I think I'd buy a Mazzer though, I think the build quality would be better.
One Year Followup
After 1 year with Rocky I'm still relatively impressed. I would possibly but again although I now own a Mazzer mini. I would definitely buy the Mazzer over the Rocky. It is worth the extra bucks. Owning the Rocky you feel you have a pretty decent standard of grinder at your disposal, however with the Mazzer you feel that you have a commercial grade grinder in your home, which is essentially what you have.
