Baratza Vario Flat Burr Coffee Grinder

Pros:-Solid construction-Looks great on the counter top-Portafilter holder is convenient as you can prep other things while you grind-Abundance of fine tune settings to enable dialing in of espresso shots-Consistent grinding once broken in-It has programmable timing pre-sets which I imagine could be helpful but don't personally useCons:-Takes a bit of time to break in (~1lb of coffee) before clumps go away and consistency kicks in-It's a little bit loud, a consideration when grinding really early in the morning-ExpensiveThe Review:I recently replaced my older espresso machine (Delonghi pump) after realizing that it wasn't the real deal and couldn't quite make what's considered real espresso. After much research, I decided to go big as I've found that quality products, while more expensive up front, generally tend to last much longer and therefore make for a much better deal in the long run. This was no exception.I read a ton about different grinders and decided to go with the Baratza Vario. I would highly recommend reading up on grinders and taking into consideration what you intend to use it for. If you're mainly going to grind for espresso, I think this is a great grinder.First off, the construction on this product feels great. It's not light and flimsy at all - the pieces are hard plastic (the front display) and metal on the sides and the portafilter holder that it comes with is solid metal and quite heavy. Really gives you that feeling that if taken care of, will last a long time.Setup was very easy. The burrs were already installed so all I had to do was install the hopper basket (simple place and twist) and then it was ready to go.On to the most important part - the grinding. To begin with, this grinder takes a little bit to get broken in. By that, I mean that during the first ~1-2 lbs of coffee, the grind can be a little bit clumpy and not as even as it ends up being once broken in. Though I had read this in my research, I kind of forgot about it as I began to try and dial in the espresso I had first bought. I ran into some difficulty with this and I was a tad bit worried that I had bit off more than I could chew with regards to espresso making. Well, turns out I just needed to break the sucker in and after going through a bit of coffee, it really started to shine and now grinds beautiful, consistent espresso every time. To avoid this, I would recommend either running some Grindz through the machine (Grindz is a cleaner that you should consider buying - it's a fake coffee bean that you just toss in the grinder and grind as normal, but it removes residue from your burrs and grinder and cleans it well) to get the burrs broken in or run ~1lb of old beans that you don't care about through it. This will save some money and some frustration as it's much easier to dial in your shots after the grinder has gone through some beans.*TIP* I only grind what I drink each morning as the freshness of the espresso is very important. I would consider doing this if you only brew 1-2 shots per day as having a lot of coffee sitting in the hopper will not keep it as fresh as a mason jar, for example.The fine tuning available on this machine is incredible. Espresso making is a sensitive activity - too coarse and it splashes out the portafilter and tastes sour. Too fine and it chokes the machine or comes out too slow and is bitter (these are generalizations - definitely ready into it! :D). Once broken in, there is no such problem with this machine as the fine tuning options are numerous.As you can probably see in the picture, the left side contains steps from A-W while the right side contains steps from 1-10. The right side steps are considered macro steps (they each equal a full A-W change in coarseness) and the left side is for fine tuning (micro steps) in between each macro step. Therefore, you can adjust the fineness of your grind 23 times (A-W) for each change in your macro setting.An easy way to think of it is this: Step 1 on the right is the finest you can get. Put the left setting on A and you have 1.A, the finest setting the machine has. To coarsen up your grind, you can either do so in tiny increments by moving up the left side (up to 1.W) or, you can increase a full step by using the right side (going to 2 in this case), until you reach your desired coarseness. Once you feel you've found the right macro setting (1-10), use the micro settings on the left to get it just right. Also, keep in mind that each grinder differs a bit and can also be calibrated individually, so my 3.L might be very different from somebody else's Vario 3.L.Overall, I'm really happy with this purchase and with proper care, I imagine this will last me a long time. It grinds incredibly consistent coffee, which is critical to making good espresso. Before I started, I had read in many places that the grinder is actually more important than the machine. I wasn't convinced of this as it sounded counter-intuitive, but after several months with my new setup, I believe it. Espresso making is sensitive - everything from the grind, to the tamp to the temp of your machine's water to the extraction time, all make a difference in the end result. Therefore, getting the proper grind size and consistency at the beginning of the process is very important in my opinion.

I purchsed this Vario model over 5 years ago and could not be happier with the performance and support.This was considered and entry level machine for making espresso, even though it was close to $500.I use this grinder daily for 2-3 double espresso pulls on my Profitec Pro 500.Candidly, I have only had it apart once for a part upgrade (pre-covid, great customer service support)and just recently to clean and remove a small piece of wood debris (see photo) that looked exactly like half a coffee bean in shape and color. The grinder made a loud noise and I stopped the grind sequence half way through a 10.5 second run. I removed the debris, cleaned, and it was back to normal.The 54mm ceramic burrs are the key to the consistant grinds over many years. There are 3 pre-sets anda tool is included to remove the top burr. A bin is included or you can used the forks, which work fine onmy 58mm portafilter. It is the perfect size to fit on my kitchen counter while still leaving adequate room under the cabinets. The footprint is small and it isn't as loud as other machines I have observed.The negative reviews for support and quality are unfortunate and I believe in this very well known brand.It seems like their covid era support has defaulted to email and voice mail, but a question I recently hadabout the ceramic burr lifespan was answered and I received a follow-up.*** More research has disclosed that Breville purchased Baratza in 2020. I have Breville small appliances and believe they typically are well made and have good customer service.***Summary: My experience with the Baratza Vario has exceeded my expectations for longevity and support.I highly recommend this brand for any coffee enthusiast. They have entry level grinders on upto commercial quality machines with lots of modern bells and whistles.

This machine is made to grind beans for espresso. I didn't get that when I ordered it - ! However, putting it on the coarsest setting produces a nice grind for ordinary coffee. Not what one would describe as 'coarse', however.The consistency of grind is amazing. It's also pretty quiet, and extremely fast. The beans don't get overheated.The only reason it doesn't get a 5-star from me is that static electricity sticks the ground beans tenaciously to the inside of the collection bin. I use a soft paintbrush to sweep out the inside of the bin, then vacuum the floor & wipe the counter. Every time! every time! Those teensy coffee grounds fly out everywhere no matter how careful!We actually cut a coffee bean bag to fit into the collection bin - yep, the ground coffee sticks to that as well. Fixing that problem would make me very happy; the ground coffee makes an excellent brew.