I previously owned a whirly-bird grinder and a Krups burr grinder. Neither were suitable for my new Rancilio Silvia espresso machine since they couldn‘t grind fine enough or consistently enough (ie, particlesizes of a consistent dimension) for the Silvia, which requires much finer grinds than cheaper espresso machines.
The Rocky fits the bill. It‘s a fantastic grinder. The burrs are immense. Just look how much the rocky weighs compared to its rivals, that‘s all the motor and burrs.
What really sold me on the Rocky was how quiet it was. When it‘s on, you can only hear a very quiet purr unless there is coffee actively being ground. That means that there is very little internal friction in the machine, everything is well machined and smooth. This means this machine will last a long, long time since parts aren‘t grinding against each other.
Other folks have complained about the doser and I will too. I wish Rancilio had simply allowed us to grind straight into our espresso portafilters. I go with fresh roast/fresh ground coffee every day, I don‘t let things sit in the doser for more than 1 minute, so a doser is really useless to me (and to anyone else who is a fresh coffee afficianado).
This unit is a dream. Am very happy with it! If they only fix the doser.....
