cafeIKE wrote:Kinda makes one wonder, what with all these dud Rockys, what the cheerleaders class as 'exceptional espresso'

If this was directed at my post, I wouldn't call myself a cheerleader but I think it is possible to make decent espresso with this grinder, a good machine, fresh coffee, and sound technique. I have tasted shots from respected cafes including gimme!, 9th St, intelligentsia, vivace, and bar mexico in Naples. I have also purchased beans roasted from those above but mostly roast and blend to my own preference. The majority of shots I pull are even pours that produce thick, marbled, flavorful espresso that does not leave me feeling like I'm missing anything major (I taste fruit, spice, leather, tobacco, nuts, chocolate etc.....if I had more flavor I might have to up the temperature to tone it down).

There are so many variables that affect the quality of espresso. As others have said before, there are many ways to "get there" to brewing satisfying espresso and going "high end" on all equipment is certainly one way to go (a fairly expensive way) but not the only way IMHO. Hopefully, each individual will (after consideration of all the available info) independently evaluate what level of precision they need in their equipment to meet their needs rather than blindly accept a status quo thinking that suggests anything but the ultimate gear is "a dud".

Also, Kupe suggested I have moved on to another grinder. As my post said, I have been using my Rocky for 9 years...and if it wasn't clear I'm still using it. When its time to buy another grinder I'm sure I will upgrade but for now it still meeting my needs.

Pat

The post wasn't directed at anyone in particular. Every so often someone schleps their bean crusher over for a test. To date only Rockys have failed to make the grade. 3 were completely incapable of grinding for espresso. Either Rockys are bi-polar : some work and some don't OR with a normal distribution, given that no other grinder has ever failed, there are some awful Rockys, a larger number of tolerable ones and a few decent ones.

Greetings,

Why hasn't the company changed the design?

Cliff

Perhaps there is some variability and/or QC issues. Also, I'm not sure if they changed the design in the last 9 years. Its also possible that the design is a bit finicky and requires more effort to figure out what works best. Maybe I have one of the good ones, or I have some combination of gear and/or technique that seems to work alright (I have certainly tried many things over the last 9 years to improve my shots), or perhaps my tolerances/expectations are looser than others' .

As a follow-up...I can't pull anyone a shot to taste, but we can certainly do some 'eye cupping'.

Below are some pics of this mornings shot of a day old blend (brazil, sumatra, ethiopia, costa rica) roasted to first few pops of 2nd crack, ground on +3 ticks from touching burrs using my 9 yr old Rocky (1 yr old burrs), doser vanes/whacker removed, fluffed w/ a small cleaning brush in the doser to remove clumps (I have nothing better to do while I'm waiting for the grind to finish), slight "nutating" pre-tamp "distribution" w/ reg barber flat tamper, light 5 lb tamp and 'no pressure' polish spin of the tamper.

About 1 oz poured in 35 seconds post lever/switch on. Not a perfect pull but still a pretty good shot...tasted pretty good .

cai42 wrote:Why hasn't the company changed the design?

Why isn't Rocky stepless?
Why does Silvia come with an adjustable OPV but no pressure gauge?
Why can't I legally get a Cuban cigar?
..These and many other questions will be answered in....
THE NEXT LIFE - coming up right after this...

cafeIKE wrote:Within reason, who cares what the zero point sounds like? The grinder is not used at that point. If the grinder must be used at zero, there is a problem that no amount of teflon can fix.

Since pushing on the left side of the hopper stops the sound, the alignment between the upper carrier and the body maybe suspect. I've seen more than one Rocky that could not grind fine enough to stop a gusher regardless of how much coffee, so much that the filter could barely lock, was packed in the basket.

One has to be VERY careful close to zero on a grinder or he/she will grind away the discs, an $50 or so expense.

Il mio Rocky funziona bellissima 6 years now! The only variable is how soon after defrosting i grind, as i have it at my office setup, and i am too lazy to roast for that location, so i just ebay order freshly roasted from CCM. Oh yeah, i live 300 miles from the closest roaster, and can sniff manure from the neighboring farm if the wind blows right:)

Having had two Rockys and two Mazzer Majors and two remarkable hand-grinders all at the same time, I've been able to compare them. While there were differences between the hand grinders and the Majors, I'm not sure that I could point at a qualitative difference. Not so with the Rockys, and the doser was closer to the performance of the Mazzers than the doserless, but I was still getting remarkably good espresso from both. With the teflon tape mod, I can just barely tell the difference between the two Rockys, but once the coffee is in the cup, all variances are lost on me.
The Rocky suffers in comparison to the Mazzers, but for some reason, so does my cheap lil pickup truck compared to a 350Z.
The Rocky is just about the best grinder you're going to find in the $300 range new. Don't like it? You get the same advice I give someone that complains about the view from the balcony.
Don't buy the cheap seats.

On topic, does the fact you had two good Rockys mean 18 others are doomed to lemonade?
Some Rockys are OK.
Clearly some are not when 18g ground at soft zero in a double basket flows 60ml in 15 seconds.