I'm still newish to the espresso world. I've been collecting odds and ends of equipment from hand me downs in the family, and I'm finally ready to make my own purchase. The shakiest step on my stairway to coffee nirvana is my KitchenAid Proline grinder. I need help finding my next grinder.

My espresso machine is an Ascaso One with a PID. It's been working fairly well for me. I would have thought that a machine with a PID would be a little bit more stable in the temperature department. That said, I like it just as well as the Silvia's I've used in the past. The KA is killing me though. It is awful. The other part of my daily coffee routine is my press.

I prefer different roasts for each brew method. On stressful days and late nights, I can switch beans three or four times. I have a SMALL kitchen. My counter space is too valuable to keep 2 grinders out, particularly when the grinder I have is the sizable KA. I brew my small press once a day and pull shots once or twice a day.

To summarize, I need a grinder that costs less than $400, can easily switch beans, can grind for press and espresso, and smaller is better. I am thinking that a Rocky might be difficult to bean swap with. I know the Vario is the hot item right now, but it looks so plastic to me. I am really hesitant to go beyond my budget for an 11 pound piece of plastic. The Compak K3 Touch looks like it might have a close gate on the hopper? Either way, it a touch expensive, and I don't know how well it works for press grinds. If I'm missing an obvious choice or there is a clear winner in the group, I am all ears.

I have patience and can make do until my budget accommodates more, but I am not looking to upgrade my espresso machine for a good few years. I don't need anything lightyears ahead of my Ascaso. Thanks, this is a great site. It was a real asset for my mum when she was upgrading her setup recently (she has a Rocket Cellini and Macap MC4 doserless). And, I can't imagine Forest Gumping my way through the beginnings of home brewing without it.

I don't think you can do much better than the Vario in your price range. It even fits your requirement for press pot and espresso, and is in fact probably the only espresso grinder than does. Pretty much everything I've read about it has been overwhelmingly positive.

How about a hand grinder for press pot? Small, cheap, and the manual work could help you unwind when it gets stressful. It takes less than a minute to grind the beans for a 6-cup press pot. For espresso, you can then get any of the classic budget recommendations.

I have a B-Vario and single dose with it exclusively. It does a great job at it and I believe that not only would it be a great choice at your price point, but most likely the best choice.

See massive testimonial here: The Baratza Vario Grinder Owner's Thread. (Coffeegeek)

Its a lot to read, but to give you some cliff notes:

- Terrific customer support directly from Baratza
- High percentage of satisfaction amongst large variety of owners
- Vario has been "de-bugged" and nearly all current Varios for sale are updated*

The grinder has been described as yielding the quality of the legendary Mazzer Super Jolly but having a kitchen friendly footprint. It interchanges between press pot and espresso in a split second and has enough precision to adjust quite well to any coffee. An available timed dosing feature makes repeatability a snap.

But to cut straight to the point for YOU, the OP, the grinder has minimal grounds retention which will be great when you want to single dose and switch beans. If you were to go with a Super Jolly, the grind chamber will hold more coffee, the chute will need to be swept after every dose, and perhaps even a simple doser vane mod may be in order to help keep the doser tidy. For the Vario, you may run a couple grams of coffee through it at the beginning of session to ensure previous grounds are discharged and you are only getting the desired blend/SO. I would say that you would probably want to do this with a doser as well, it's just that the Vario doesn't require all the other work and will simply dispense your pre-measured coffee into the PF basket.

Thats not to say a doser style grinder wouldn't suit you, they certainly have their upsides. I'm just not a doser-type guy so I'll leave that up to other members who can paint a better picture.



Cheers,
Jackson


*The only revision you may have to search for is the updated board. The new board has a sleep function and will store your time settings for dosing. Personally I find it quite trivial and it costs an extra $20.00. Units with the old board are ~$429 and units with the new board ~$450.

The Vario feels every bit as "robust" as my Rocky ever did. But grind quality isn't even comparable and forget comparing the "user expereince" in my opinion the Vario is the grinder you should be looking at.

Tim,

maybe could post a link to that recent youtube vid you posted pulling Blackcat for an example - thats a great vid;)

Baratza Vario. Period.

Thanks for the quick feedback. I think that I'm sold on the Vario. I do have one question though; how difficult is it to swap out the beans? Am I better off learning to measure my doses in whole beans and just grinding until the hopper is empty?

I suppose I lied, I have another question. I found a place that sells the first version (with the old board) at a discounted price ($390). How hard is it to find the upgraded board? The only thing more valuable in the kitchen than counter space is outlet access so the upgrade would be uber helpful, as it will inevitably get unplugged now and then. Thanks again.

How hard is it to find the upgraded board?

Chris' Coffee has them http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/repairparts/varionewcontrolboard. $20 as mentioned previously.

Awesome. I'll try to get the vario sometime next week. Then, I can start on really honing in on a good espresso with my setup. I can't believe the poor quality from the KA. It even makes a cloudy cup of press. Oh well, I suppose I should be happy that I've gotten my setup for next to nothing so far (being from a family of caffeine addicts has its perks.)