[muziq]

I'll post a "huzza!" for my grinder, a Rancilio Rocky--doserless model. Picked it up early this year, after a stint with a whirly blade, followed by picking up professionally ground beans once a week. Here's how it broke down for me:

1) Whirly blade - just didn't play well with my Mukka Express, Mokapot, or french press. Everything from dust to grit came through, and of course there's no way to control grind size, so I quickly gave this up and went in another direction.

2) Ground by the store - this was a *significant* improvement in my end result, but there were a few caveats. First, I had to more or less choose my method for making coffee for a week at a time, given that the grind was being done at the roaster; one week of french press, one week of Mokapot = not a lot of variation. Also, after about the 2nd or 3rd day, I noticed that the quality fo the cup went down, as if the flavors were being siphoned off slowly. By the end of the week, even the most perfectly roasted beans became dull and lifeless.

3) Rocky - although I *must* defer to Moo about the quality, as I'm just a coffee neophyte, this thing *feels* like it's made for a lifetime of good grinding given that I have no plans to expand the family nor to open an espresso storefront on the porch every Saturday. Weighs a ton, or 20 lbs, something like that. Grinding fresh each morning, the grind being dialed in exactly for whatever my needs might be, I never fail to get a cup that's far superior to anything from Charbucks, or from most other indie coffee shops save for the places with the very best baristas. I've made everything from regular drip coffee to Turkish coffee using this grinder, and the results are always nothing short of fantastic.

I have no doubt a Mazzer would take my cup to the next level if I were to augment it with a great espresso machine and months--years--of practice. No doubt at all.

However, the value-add of the $250-300 it takes to go up to a good quality grinder like a Rocky is a no-brainer--I've spent less on coffee at coffeehouses since getting the Rocky, because I know I can usually match their cup or go them one better, for a fraction of the over-the-counter cost.