The Rancilio Rocky doserless

In the CoffeeCrew test kitchen the Rancilio Rocky rules the roost. We have had this classic unit for a couple of years now, so I was very pleased to be handed a sample of the doserless Rocky by Geir of Drumroastercoffee.Com for test and profile by our team.

Just in case our readers are not clear on the differences, the Rancilio Rocky Classic has a "doser" or mechanism on it that rations out portions of ground coffee into the portafilter. This has advantages and disadvantages. The beauty of the Dosered Rocky is that you can grind a wack of coffee and tap it out at leisure and not have to stop while brewing espresso to grind more joe. The primary disadvantage is that it adds an element or two of cleaning that is required and it seems to waste some coffee unless modified.

The Doserless Rocky is sweet in that you just grind what you need into the portafilter and there is little or no waste. This is true for the most part except that the doserless Rocky tends to spit coffee in unexpected directions. Do yourself a favor. Place a sheet of paper towel under the grinder. Better yet, place a tea towel under the unit or in front of the unit.

Now for the straight talk on the doserless Rocky grinder.

It is easier to grind your coffee into your machines portafilter with this thing and it is a touch faster than fussing with the doser on the regular rocky or working with the baskets on some other grinders(like the Solis Maestro).

I even found the unit useful for grinding coffee fast into paper filters, like the number-four, for one or more of my drip brewers. I am also playing with the Innova grinder concurrently and I will discuss the pluses and minuses of these two units further down. The Doserless rocky has 2 switches, main power and grinder on-off. The only hassle here is that your left hand is tied up rocking the switch back and forth as required. The Innova, as you will see, has a microswitch on the front below the chute that is activated by your portafilter! This is very useful as it frees up a hand for.. other things!

Okay, so you are asking me: "Is this unit worth twice the price of the Solis Maestro Plus?" Ah, yeah and it weighs twice or three times as much too! I found it to have lots of choices for grind type. It seems somewhat noisier than the regular Rocky grinder, but not as noisy at the Innova. More on that later. Conclusions

I like it. It would be the perfect first and last grinder for most any espresso enthusiasts needs. The Doser would be nice if you are wacking out drink after drink, but if you are not, this could be the unit for you.

Where to Buy
EspressoTec.Com in Vancouver B.C. Canada -

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St. Lawrence Market - Front Street - Toronto
 
Everyday Gourmet Coffee - Front Street - St. Lawrence Market