Grind quality is superb
Good control over the grind
Adjustable doser works very well
Easy to keep clean

Probably won’t fit under your kitchen cabinets
Noisier than I expected
Minor static problem near the exit chute

The Rossi RR45 is a commercial grinder designed for use in high-volume coffee shops and restaurants. Its size can dominate a kitchen and it looks out of place next to most “prosumer” single-group espresso machines. Nevertheless, it deserves serious consideration if you subscribe to the advice of getting the best grinder you can before you worry about your espresso machine.

The grind quality is superb. The 63.5mm flat burrs produce a consistent grind, and the 80-position adjustment is more than adequate to deliver excellent espresso with all types of beans. The Rossi’s .25 horsepower motor turning the burrs at almost 1400 rpm means you’ll have no bogging down using oily Italian or French roasts. Adjustment is by rotating the ring that also holds the bean hopper in place, and there is a spring-loaded detent to keep the setting in position. The ring is numbered, so it’s easy to re-set to the optimum grind when you change blends. The numbers on the ring are not absolute – on my grinder the burrs are absolutely tight together at the “5” mark – but this is a trivial issue.

Most of the reviews here have mentioned this size of the Rossi. To get a better feel for this, I compared the Rossi with a few other grinders.

Rancilio Rocky – 13.75h x 5.25w x 9.75 front to back
Mazzer Super Jolly – 16.5h x 9.5w x 16.5
Rossi RR45 – 25h x 8w x 14
Mazzer Major – 25h x 9.5w x 18

The Rossi RR45 weighs about 28 pounds, so it won’t move around on its own.

I had some trepidation when I purchased the Rossi because I was not a big fan of dosers. On my dosered Rocky, I removed the vanes, removed the portafilter fork and swept the grinds into a container with a brush because I couldn’t get the dose I wanted – one pull wasn’t enough and two pulls gave me too much.

Those days are over, The adjustable doser on the Rossi gives me exactly what I need. The doser adjusts with a knob at the top of the vane assembly that can take the dose from six to almost nine grams (which is what I use). I have the automatic grind mechanism on my RR45, which consists of a sensor that will initiate grinding if the grounds in the doser fall below a certain lever. The sensor is directly opposite the grinder exit chute and what happens is that there is a static problem that can be taken care of by a single whisk of a brush. I haven’t seen any problem of grounds accumulating in the exit chute itself.

If you are using the Rossi at home, you’ll probably never need the automatic grind but will just toggle the switch at the base of the grinder. When you toggle it, you’ll find that the grinder is louder than you might expect. It’s considerably louder than the Rocky was, but the sound doesn’t last long because the Rossi grinds very quickly.

There are a couple of models of the tamper that attaches to the front of the doser. If you get an RR45 that has the plunger-style tamper on the front, and you want to use an on-unit tamper, consider replacing the plunger with a fixed tamper. It costs less than ten dollars. I took tamper off – it just got in the way.

By the way, burrs and spare parts for the Rossi RR45 are readily available.

Cleanup is easy. The grounds-catcher in the front of the unit looks small and somewhat jury-rigged, but it does a good job.

Is the Rossi “overkill” for home use? Based on size, it might be; but for every other reason you want a first-class grinder, buying an RR45 will be a good investment – it will be the last grinder you’ll ever need.

eBay purchase from a highly rated seller of restaurant equipment. No problems.