Hi,

I have zero experience in making espresso but I like the espresso coffee very much and I want to get started. I'm trying to make a decent hardware start up at home. I lurked around on this forum and I got some ideas about basics and the grinder importance.
Still I need help to choose the grinder. The grinder will be used only for espresso and I got some budget constraints. I can't afford a better grinder than Ascaso i-Mini or Rancilio Rocky. I live in Europe, so the Le'Lit PL53 unfortunately is not an option for me.
The Rocky doserless is 45 euro more expensive than the Ascaso iMini but regardless the price, is there any reason to choose it over the stepless Ascaso?

The Rocky is quieter and marginally more durable. The Ascaso is slightly more adjustable and has the edge on grind quality. Both are good choices.

Hi, I use an ascaso i-mini grinder, got it in a Spanish shop some months ago.
It works flawless, it requires a bit of time to adjust in order to get the right grind for your coffee machine. I choose it both for price reasons both for size (it does not take to much space on the top of my kitchen).
Just consider it retains about 8-10g of grinded coffe in the exit pipe.

For espresso-only use, stepless is indeed the way to go - you can much more precisely dial-in the optimal grind - and can continue to make "fine tuning" adjustments to the grind as each batch of beans ages. I have two Ascaso i-Mini grinders and am very pleased with them. Grind quality is very good for the money. I have not had any reliability problems with either one in the ~3 years I've had them. Their compact design & styling are also a plus - especially if counter space is at a premium. Only real downside, as vinalopo notes, is that there is a fair amount of "retainage", left "up the chute". I find that "serious & fairly hard rocking" back & forth of the i-Mini on its rubber feet several times (while stilll holding the portafilter in place under the chute) helps dislodge much - though certainly not all - of the retainage.