# Rancilio Silvia & Rocky non-doser Grinder



## rosco29 (Jun 6, 2011)

Hi All,

I'm new to the site so please be gentle with me









I've only got into a love for coffee over the last year or so and after much research have decided to go for a Rancilio Silvia & Rocky Grinder. Now there are various websites in the UK that offer these machines, some as bundles with freebies thrown in and some sell them on there own. I have a few questions and seen as there appears to be a few members who happen to have a similar setup I thought who better to ask. Which company/companies should I avoid and can anyone share experience and last but not least do the Rancilio machines come with a 3 pin UK plug as I read somewhere on another forum someone had ordered from the UK and received a 2 pin plug with an adapter, which means the machine/s won't be earthed and seeing as the Silvia has lots of steel I guess it been earthed is a must? Sorry to ramble on just wanted some good advice so I don't end up regreting my decision later on.

Cheers

Ross


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## AndyL (Apr 10, 2011)

Welcome Ross. The Silvia is a great machine and a wise choice. You are right in saying that there are a few companies out there selling the American version which will not only arrive with a two pin plug but I'm pretty sure will be setup for 110v and require an addition transformer to make them work properly. this is certainly the case if you've been looking at those version on eBay.

Hasbeans are now selling them at a reasonable price but more importantly you'll get great customer service from Mr Leightons company.

As far as the grinder is concerned I don't know a lot about it but I know there are guys on here that do and I'm sure they'll be by soon to offer you some words of wisdom.

Andy

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## AndyL (Apr 10, 2011)

You should read this:

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=18305

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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

Hi there, you should avoid a company based in Coventry. I ordered from them and had no problems at all but others have not been so lucky. If you want a Rancilio and Rocky combination HasBean are your best bet.


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## rosco29 (Jun 6, 2011)

Thank you for your replies. I was looking at the company in coventry and will take your advice on board. Hasbean seems to have good reviews but on the other hand I dont think they sell the bundle and its approx 50 quid more expensive but then I guess u pay for what you get.

Cheers

Ross


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

You need to weigh up the options really and if you are after a bundle, email Steve @HasBean to see if he can help. If you search the name of the Coventry company on this Forum you will see there has been much debate about them. Also, a simple Google search throws up some interesting reading. Also, stay away from Coffee Italia, they give the impression they are UK based and they are not - their customer service is apparently shocking.


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## MonkeyHarris (Dec 3, 2010)

I agree with Sandy. I ordered my Silvia and Grinder from them. Although they turned up ok I got conned because I purchased a bundle deal and they changed the deal after I'd ordered meaning I didn't receive everything I was supposed to. When I asked about the missing items (not terribly expensive) they were incredibly rude and made out like I was trying to con them. I never got what I paid for in the end but they are cheap so it's upto you. Just keep your fingers crossed you don't have to deal with their after sales service. With regards to your equipment you've selected... The Silvia is a solid performer and an excellent choice. The Rocky used to be considered the best in it's class but if you're planning on grinding mainly for espresso you should look at the difference between stepped and stepless grinders. The Rocky is a stepped grinder. A year ago I was planning on buying a Rocky and after a bit more research I changed my mind (Glad I did). You will see a lot of mods online of people making ugly modifications to their Rocky's to make them stepless. So you may as well just buy a stepless in the first place. If you need help let us know your budget.


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## rosco29 (Jun 6, 2011)

Thanks for the comments, it really has helped. This may sound like a silly question but what exactly is a stepped and stepless grinder? I reckon my top limit for the machine and grinder is about £700 all together. Obviously I'm going to need decent cups, tamper, cleaning materials etc which will probably bump it up a bit but initially £700 for the machine & grinder. I'll only ever be making cappuccino/latte. I'm not into espresso yet but then again I've never really tried it so that may change. Thanks again for all your input. I did contact coffee italia several weeks ago and there response was a one liner reply which understably I thought they could shove any new business where the sun doesn't shine and I'd go elsewhere. I did contact Rancilio too and they said that coffee italia and the other company in Coventry are approved suppliers and that I should contact them but I'm not going to take my chances. Anyway back to the grinder if someone could explain the question above that would be great.

Cheers,

Ross


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## E61 (Apr 1, 2010)

Steer clear of Coffee Italia and the other mentioned company. The former pretends that they are based in England









Hasbean all the way for first class customer service









As others have said, email Steve and he might be able to do you a deal.

Stepped grinders (Rocky) feature adjustment 'steps' ie 0, 1, 2 ,3 .... 80. Stepless grinders allow for a far greater degree of grind adjustment ie you could set 2.5. Stepless grinders are superior, though I believe that they can be a little trickier to adjust. As far as grinders go, the Rocky is good but it isn't the best. There are other options worth exploring, such as the Vario and MC2 (a stepless grinder).


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

I have to say I bought a Gaggia MDF grinder and base from Café Italia with no problems. Yes, they ship direct from Italy. Their prices are good but I have no experience of after sales support.


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## MonkeyHarris (Dec 3, 2010)

As E61 said. It's the ability to set the grind particle size exactly as you wish. I'm not knocking the Rocky it's a good grinder but for lattes and cappas you'll be making espressos as your base and I suspect like me you'll end up preferring espresso on it's own anyway. I've heard the gaps between settings on the Rocky can be around 5-6 seconds (in pour time) apart. My grinder lets me add or subtract 1 second at a time so I can hit the sweet spot with every bean I try. If the Rocky was very cheap I'd say go for it but there are others around the same price range that are stepless. MC2 (cheap'ish), Eureka Mignon, Vario, Compak K3 (I own this) or you could scout ebay for a second hand Mazzer (industrial grind quality in a machine that'll last for ever).


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## rosco29 (Jun 6, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll certainly look at stepless grinders that are in my budget range. I'll contact Hasbean and see if they can help. Is mazzer any good? Been looking at mazzer mini's they look good but expensive.

Cheers

Ross


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## E61 (Apr 1, 2010)

MonkeyHarris said:


> As E61 said. It's the ability to set the grind particle size exactly as you wish. I'm not knocking the Rocky it's a good grinder but for lattes and cappas you'll be making espressos as your base and I suspect like me you'll end up preferring espresso on it's own anyway. I've heard the gaps between settings on the Rocky can be around 5-6 seconds (in pour time) apart. My grinder lets me add or subtract 1 second at a time so I can hit the sweet spot with every bean I try. If the Rocky was very cheap I'd say go for it but there are others around the same price range that are stepless. MC2 (cheap'ish), Eureka Mignon, Vario, Compak K3 (I own this) or you could scout ebay for a second hand Mazzer (industrial grind quality in a machine that'll last for ever).


I can confirm this.

I have an issue with my setup (see signature). As an example: Set the Rocky to six and you get more than a double in 25-30 seconds. Tighten the grid to 5, which is the smallest possible adjustment on this stepped grinder, and you get a shot that's far too short. This issue, combined with the ridiculous amount of grounds clumping, makes the Rocky next to useless for Espresso in my opinion. The fact that there are far more capable grinders available for significantly less money makes the Rocky a bemusing choice for anyones Coffee grinding requirements. Mine is now grinding filter Coffee, with Espresso duties falling to the excellent Porlex









I read in so many places that the Rocky was good for Espresso... I wanted to believe that because it's such a good looking grinder.

Mazzer Minis are good, but as you say, they are expensive.


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

It might be worth mentioning that stepless grinders are great for small tweaks to get the perfect espresso. But many of these grinders are pretty poor (time consuming) at switching between espresso and filter grind for example.


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## pbutterworth (Mar 30, 2010)

Hi,

I bought a silvia from coffeeitalia.de a few weeks back, and had a good experience. Their german site is cheaper. He has responded quickly to emails, and it was shipped well packaged by ups and delivered when they said it would be.

I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

I'm delighted with the Silvia, streets ahead of my old Gaggia Baby Twin.

Now I'm just working out what grinder To replace my Gaggia MDF with.

Regards

Paul


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