Which to buy · Every setting
Breville Barista Express Impress (built-in) vs Rancilio Rocky
Conical against flat — the Barista Express Impress (built-in)'s scale curves where the other runs straight. The Barista Express Impress (built-in) is numbered 1–25; the Rocky is numbered 0–55.
Which to buy
Choose the
Barista Express Impress (built-in) if you…
- want grinder and espresso machine in one, with the dose calculated from the last grind
- want assisted tamping — a 22 lb press with a 7° twist
- want to buy new
Choose the
Rocky if you…
- pair it with a Rancilio Silvia — Rancilio pitched the Rocky as its partner
- brew drip as well as espresso — Rancilio pitched it for anything from espresso to drip
- are buying used — Rancilio no longer lists it
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Rancilio no longer lists the Rocky (its page now returns 404) and sells the Stile as its home grinder, so you'd be buying the Rocky used.
Sources: Breville — Barista Express Impress · Breville — Barista Express Impress manual · Rancilio Group — Rocky (archived Jan 2022) · Rancilio Group — Stile
| Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Rocky | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Breville | Rancilio |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 25 | 0 – 55 |
| Burrs | Conical | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 2.6 numbers | 20 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 4.8 numbers | 23 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 13 sits at grind index 0 on the Barista Express Impress (built-in) but 15 on the Rocky — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Rocky |
|---|---|
| 15 | 5 |
| 17 | 9 |
| 18 | 32 |
| 19 | 42 |
| 21 | 45 |
| 22 | 48 |
| Rocky | Barista Express Impress (built-in) |
|---|---|
| 5 | 15 |
| 9 | 17 |
| 14 | 17 |
| 18 | 17 |
| 22 | 17 |
| 26 | 17 |
| 29 | 17 |
| 32 | 18 |
| 36 | 18 |
| 39 | 18 |
| 42 | 19 |
| 45 | 21 |
| 48 | 22 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Rocky |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 16 | 8 |
| Moka pot | 17 | 13 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 17 | 18 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 17 | 24 |
| Siphon | 17 | 26 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 17 | 27 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 17 | 28 |
| Drip / batch brew | 17 | 29 |
| Cupping | 17 | 30 |
| Chemex | 18 | 32 |
| French press | 18 | 38 |
| Cold brew | 20 | 44 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Breville Barista Express Impress (built-in)
Rancilio Rocky
Dialing in the Barista Express Impress (built-in)
The Impress version adds assisted dosing and tamping, but the grinder underneath dials much like the standard Barista Express. Its range is built around espresso; treat filter settings as the far edge of what it was designed to do.
Dialing in the Rocky
A stepped espresso grinder that has been the budget recommendation for a very long time. The 55 steps across 50mm flat burrs are its limitation — for espresso you will sometimes want a setting between two of them and there is not one, and a single step can move a shot by seconds. Twenty of those steps cover espresso through filter, which is more resolution than the fine end usually gets at this price. Two things make it an espresso grinder in practice rather than a general one: changing setting means holding the locking lever while twisting the hopper, and it keeps a couple of grams in the chute, so every switch between espresso and pour over costs you both fiddling and coffee. Most owners pick one end and stay there.