Rocky....To Dose or Not To Dose?

[Blueface]

That is the question.

I can see pros and cons to both.

Anticipating I will be getting one in a few months, wondering what all think about one v. the other.

I kind of like the doser one as it works pretty much the way I have grown up seeing in Cuban coffee shops.
On the other hand, I see that it will likely have coffee waste v. the non doser that drops exactly what you grind at that moment into your portafilter.
On the other hand, the non doser makes you stand there waiting patiently, holding the portafilter in your hand, as it grinds away.

[ghostrider]

I don't have a Rocky, I have a Mazzer Mini, and I got the doser version. I use it for every method (i.e. drip, vac pot, espresso, turkish, etc), and I really like it. I can grind my beans while I'm getting something else ready, and they sit in the doser until I'm ready for them vs having to stand there with the PF in hand as it grinds.

It does involve a little more clean up, but there is very, little wasted grounds, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon or so per grind. Not sure about the Rocky doser, but you can mod the Mazzer doser pretty easily if you're worried about the waste.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

I don't have a Rocky, I have a Mazzer Mini, and I got the doser version. I use it for every method (i.e. drip, vac pot, espresso, turkish, etc), and I really like it. I can grind my beans while I'm getting something else ready, and they sit in the doser until I'm ready for them vs having to stand there with the PF in hand as it grinds.

It does involve a little more clean up, but there is very, little wasted grounds, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon or so per grind. Not sure about the Rocky doser, but you can mod the Mazzer doser pretty easily if you're worried about the waste.

Wow.
That Mazzer mini is almost double the price of the Rocky.
Where does this lunacy end?

I can just picture myself in a couple of months moving up to this one when I finally decide to order a grinder.

[ghostrider]

it never ends...lol, there's always something bigger better and shinier coming out

[Mister Moo]

(Mazzer doser filler) Not wanting to keep a mess of ground coffee in a doser? See here a 9-oz Solo drink cup, with six slots cut out of the rim, resting upside down atop the dosing vanes. It acts as a filler to keep the dosing segments from getting loaded up; cleaning requires a 2-second swipe with a 1" soft brush to get the last of the grounds out the chute and into your... whatever it is you do with the last bit. Works like a charm for prepping small amounts (from one espressos to 12-T for a large press) and removes in a blink if you want to grind a mess of coffee. This particular cup has been in regular service for about 10-years.

Love the doser. Wouldn't be without.

[floydpink]

You can also keep a hand vac for getting out the grinds.

I've also heard guys saying they put a little tape under the vanes to really catch the last grinds, but that seems a little obsessive in an already obsessive sport.

I modded my Macap to hold a paintbrush, but a chopstick would also work and I do a quick sweep after a grinding session. (I'll take a pic)

Supposedly, the Macaps sweep better than most, but as pictured, there's always grinds left over.

I may try Moo's mod with the plastic cup. What a genius.

I modded the "beauty ring" as well, painted it silver, and put magic marker marks to where my favorite espresso setting is and go from there, so it looks like magic markers and plastic dixie cups are all you really need once you plunk down the big bucks for the holy trinity in grinders.

I wouldn't go doserless as i have read many reports of clumping without the Thwacking....

[floydpink]

The amount of waste, I would guess, is maybe 1/2 pound a year with a doser, so that's no reason to go doserless.

Just look in the grinder and once a triangle of vane is full, you have a shot ready, but I go a little extra to be safe.

Again, I have heard many say they don't like the doserless because they get clumps in the portafilter where they don't with the doser breaking up the grinds.

[replicant_argent]

Mazzer Super Jolly with doser here.... it works fine for me and how I do things. I don't really get a lot of waste in the doser either, I whisk out the chute infrequently, and my vanes are set pretty close to the base of the doser. You can also install "sweeps" on the vanes to squeegee your grounds off the bottom of the doser. I get the powdery buildup on the front side of the doser glass, brush it off and use the vacuum nozzle on it and the chute with infrequent regularity.

[floydpink]

Pete,

By "sweeps", are you referring to the putting of tape on the bottom of the vanes?

I've contemplated this and now that there is finally action in the forum, I'm thinking of doing it again.

Speaking of grinders, I am on a twice a year program where I open up the grinder and really get into the burrs for a good cleaning.

This was how I fried my Gaggia grinder as I locked up the burrs putting it back together and it cooked the machine when I turned it on.

That was the end of inferior grinders and pushed me into the prosumer model which is a breeze to clean and doesn't have all the pieces and plastic of the "almost good enough" grinders. It sucked at the time, but was a blessing in the end as I'd probably still be tinkering with the Gaggia and getting good grinds occassionally instead of every day.

I've also made damn sure to heed the importand advice of NEVER adjusting burrs WITHOUT the grinder running.

I've heard of some running white rice through the grinder to clean, but prefer to really get inside and use stuff like a cigar draw tool to make those burrs shine.

PS. The Super Jolly is a worthy contender for one of the best grinders out there IMO, but how the heck do you fit the hopper anywhere near a counter?

I'm under the impression that the Mazzer mini took the lead from the Macap M4 and trimmed down the SJ's hopper but is essentially the same as the SJ in all other aspects, but of course could be wrong.

[Blueface]

I am chuckling reading and learning all this "new" stuff to a guy that has grown up drinking espresso.
Heck, I remember when we made it by straining hot water through a filter holding coffee, while over the stove top, into a pot.
Things have come a long way.
Wife now ticked off and telling me she didn't want a coffee machine that created work. She wanted one to brew espresso.
Promised her I will do the maintenance.

[replicant_argent]

Originally Posted by floydpink

Pete,

By "sweeps", are you referring to the putting of tape on the bottom of the vanes?
This was how I fried my Gaggia grinder as I locked up the burrs putting it back together and it cooked the machine when I turned it on.

I've also made damn sure to heed the importand advice of NEVER adjusting burrs WITHOUT the grinder running.
I've heard of some running white rice through the grinder to clean, but prefer to really get inside and use stuff like a cigar draw tool to make those burrs shine.

PS. The Super Jolly is a worthy contender for one of the best grinders out there IMO, but how the heck do you fit the hopper anywhere near a counter?

I'm under the impression that the Mazzer mini took the lead from the Macap M4 and trimmed down the SJ's hopper but is essentially the same as the SJ in all other aspects, but of course could be wrong.

Yes, Pete, the vinyl/electrical tape mod to the vanes. I have thought about it, and like to tinker that way, but I really don't get that much waste in the doser. I will probably end up doing it when I am bored during a snowstorm or something.
I have cleaned other grinders with white rice and it seems to work pretty well, and a little brushing and a vacuum afterwards. I have cleaned the SJ thouroughly to get the goo out of the grind chamber when I bought it, (it was a bit sludged up), (there were q-tips, alcohol, bamboo skewers, etc., involved) as a maintenance item, and when I replaced the burrs not too long ago.
As a side note, I was roasting some Taznzanian Peaberry on Monday, and post roast, as I was loading the beans into a storage jar, I found a small rock that had made it through sorting, drying, bagging, MY loading the roaster, and almost missed. That would have toasted my burr set in a hurry and made me very grumpy. Keep a sharp eye out, fellas.

I cut the hopper down on the SJ, not needing a hopper that big in any case, and so I lined up the hopper with the cupboard, taped a metal ruler with Sharpie attached to the bottom edge of the ruler, and spun the grinder around to establish an even line. I then took my Dremel and using the cutoff wheel, I buzzed the line and essentially melted my way through the lexan in a rough cut. I then inverted the hopper and wet sanded the edge on some fairly rough wet/dry paper, cleaned up the edge, and Voila', a custom height hopper.
I have since bought an extra doser lid, and will re-cut the hopper to exactly fit the new lid for a more finished product.

My SJ is used, and has a few nicks in the black paint, and I will probably undertake a painting project on it someday as well, but I don't know what color/finish I would like.

Oh, and I am FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR from any expert on grinders/coffee/er... well... anything....

[replicant_argent]

Oh... and if you use rice to clean a grinder..







Don't use cooked rice.....

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by replicant_argent

Oh... and if you use rice to clean a grinder..







Don't use cooked rice.....

.....and if you do use cooked rice, should I add some Cuban black beans to it?

[replicant_argent]

Originally Posted by Blueface

.....and if you do use cooked rice, should I add some Cuban black beans to it?

Yes.. and some of that delicious China box pork... You need my address to send me some?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by replicant_argent

Yes.. and some of that delicious China box pork... You need my address to send me some?

Well, given your winters and given mine, and knowing that box is only a few brickets away from getting lit, COME ON DOWN!!!

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by Blueface

I am chuckling reading and learning all this "new" stuff to a guy that has grown up drinking espresso.
Heck, I remember when we made it by straining hot water through a filter holding coffee, while over the stove top, into a pot.
Things have come a long way.
Wife now ticked off and telling me she didn't want a coffee machine that created work. She wanted one to brew espresso.
Promised her I will do the maintenance.

Funny.

My wife comes from a part of Brazil where it is traditional to fill a mesh sock with coffee grinds and submerge it in a boiling pot of water. It's actually great.

I heard all kinds of stuff when my machine, grinders and everything else started showing up and taking over a counter.

She never really took a liking to the milk drinks of espresso as she finds it way too strong and prefers her drip. I roast 1 lb light for her every week and one dark for me.

The work is actually very minimal.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by floydpink

Funny.

My wife comes from a part of Brazil where it is traditional to fill a mesh sock with coffee grinds and submerge it in a boiling pot of water. It's actually great.

I heard all kinds of stuff when my machine, grinders and everything else started showing up and taking over a counter.

She never really took a liking to the milk drinks of espresso as she finds it way too strong and prefers her drip. I roast 1 lb light for her every week and one dark for me.

The work is actually very minimal.

When I reference a "filter", it was almost what you state of the sock.
It was actually a piece of cloth.

[Blueface]

Mr. Rocky is in Jacksonville since the 25th, taking a rest I gather from his long trip to my house.
Monday, Monday. Come on already!

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Wow.
That Mazzer mini is almost double the price of the Rocky.
Where does this lunacy end?

I can just picture myself in a couple of months moving up to this one when I finally decide to order a grinder.

It ends here http://www.mahlkoenig.com/us_product...WBC-USBC-.html

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

It ends here http://www.mahlkoenig.com/us_product...WBC-USBC-.html

Holy Crap!!!