I recently bought a rocket giotto. I have had a Rancilio Rocky for about 1 year. I am thinking of buying a used Mazzer Mini (from ebay). Is there going to be a major improvement? I am mainly interested in going to a stepless.

also does anyone know what year would a mazzer mini with serial # 0210xxx would be?

The first two numbers tell you the year so that would be a 2002 model. A Super Jolly would be a better choice as an upgrade.

+1 to the SJ.

Rocky is pretty much bottom of the high-end, and there are a lot of grinders which would represent a considerable improvement in the cup.

No free lunch, alas. Whichever grinder you buy used, plan on doing the sort of thorough cleaning you can only do with a complete disassembly, and on replacing the old burrs with new.

BDL

thanks for the replies. Ok so a serial # starting with 99xxxxx is from year 1999?

Is there a certain year that you would say is too old to purchase used? also for replacing burrs and cleaning, is it as easy or same concept as changing on the Rocky?

what is the reason why a SJ is better than a Mini?

+1 to the Mini.
++1 to the SJ.
I consider my M4 and the Mini to be in the same class (flat 58mm, 1600rpm), and going from the Rocky to the M4 (6 years ago) made an marked improvement, by any standard: repeatability, average shot quality or peak shot quality. By most accounts, the SJ is an improvement, if by a lesser increment, on the Mini. At the time, I might have bought an SJ instead, but a deal on the M4 popped up first. Now I play on a K10, the M4 is handy for road trips, and the Rocky is on permanent drip-grind duty.

what is the reason why a SJ is better than a Mini?

The Super Jolly has bigger burrs and a bigger motor. Generally speaking, the bigger burrs help with consistency, and most people believe the flavor of the coffee from the SJ is better too. SJ's are also pretty common in the used market, though it's not as easy to find a good deal on one as it used to be.

There is a huge step from the Rocky to a Mini, but once you are at the $350 price that Minis seem to be going for on eBay, you could have a refurb Baratza Vario or a Craigslist SJ with enough left to put new burrs into it. Either of those is going to result in a distinct improvement in the cup over the Mini, in my experience.

The Mini is a nice grinder, but the cost has climbed up too much in the past years as compared to other options now available.

I ended up getting a good deal for a new mazzer mini P. I definitely do see the advantages, more control, stepless The doser takes some getting used to. though I only played with it for 1 day, I am not tasting a huge improvement in my espresso (yet) compared to the Rocky.

kamali wrote: I definitely do see the advantages, more control, stepless The doser takes some getting used to. though I only played with it for 1 day, I am not tasting a huge improvement in my espresso (yet) compared to the Rocky.
kamali

My experience was similar moving from the Rocky to the M4. The improvements in the cup were subtle. Stepless adjustment allows you to make tweaks to the grind that aren't possible with the stepped Rocky. The Rocky is a good grinder but the Mini is a better one. It's a good upgrade.

I appreciate the reply. I guess what I was looking for was a sweeter shot, but as said before it probably will take time to dial it in.

Unfortunately I was getting 2nd doubts as I just read that the Vario gets a better result, though i hate the look of it (plastic).