Grinders: Rancilio Rocky

[marinade]

Hi gang,

Just unpacked my Rancilio/Doser Rocky and I need some help with some grinding settings. I’m looking at 12-14 for espresso grind but I need some help with ranges for Turkish to Plunger and points in between.. (And yes it dances with Silvia, she came along with the ride).

Thanks in advance!

[phaelon56]

This topic was covered to some extent on this Rancilio Rocky vs Mazzer Mini thread over at the Coffeegeek Forums. The pertinent section is on Page 2 of the thread - scroll about halfway down. Here's an excerpt...

Rocky settings for Silvia espresso brewing (7 clicks),Yama vac pot {stock cloth filter (22 clicks), Cory rod (28 clicks)}, Swissgold KF300 1 cupper (38 clicks).These settings are with Rockys 2 yr old burr set which are still sharp. Espresso for Rocky with the new burr set installed for the shootout, the setting for the pull was (11 clicks), 4 clicks higher than the old burrs, so my "0" starting point went from the original "+2" to "+6".

The ratio from espresso to the 1 cupper was approx 3.5 times coarser.

The "0" starting point mentioned above is the numbered setting you have arrived at as the best average grind setting for espresso. It's determined by initially running the new grinder empty and then slowly moving the collar to finer grind settings. The moment you hear the burrs touching (the change in sound is self evident), back off a few clicks and grind enough fresh beans for one shot. Use consistent tamping pressure and keep grinding and pulling shots with slightly coarser grind until you achieve approximately a 25 - 28 second pull time for an shot of the desired fluid volume.

This is the process known as "dialing in the grinder" and it should only need to be done either with a new grinder or when you replace worn burrs. As burrs get worn down you'll find yourself instinctively changing the settings slightly to account for that but we're talking about over a few years or longer for the average home user (i.e. on or two pounds of coffee through the grinder per week).

The ratio mentioned above indicates that a gold mesh filter required a setting that was numerically 3.5 times higher than the established "zero point" for that grinder. I'd expect that a French Press might be just a bit coarser than that and a paper drip filter would be somewhere at a midpoint between the "zero point" and the French press setting.

Hope this helps!

[marinade]

Thanks for the help, phaelon. If I'm reading between the lines would you say that the grinder has a break-in period?

[phaelon56]

If I'm reading between the lines would you say that the grinder has a break-in period?

No not at all. It's ready to go right out of the box and you should also consider just picking a spot to start your initial espresso grinding so the zero point can be determined. Some grinders such as a Mazzer Mini are actually "dialed in" at the factory and a small permanent sticker is placed at the zero point. My Mazzer was actually close to being dead on brand new when I began using it but I like ristretto shots ("restricted" pull accomplished by grinding finer to get an intensified shot of reduce fluid volume with the same pull time as a standard shot). I ended up setting mine a few notches finer than the zero point.

What I was saying is that over time the burrs wear slightly and eventually you'll find yourself setting the grinder just a tad finer thsn you did originally in order to get the same grind level. But this is literally over a period of years.