Baratza's New Vario Burrs for Non-espresso Brew Only - Page 2

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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shadowfax (original poster)
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#11: Post by shadowfax (original poster) »

It's a bit of a task, to be sure. The burr can be a little difficult to unseat after you remove the screws, and dou have to clean out the mating surfaces pretty thoroughly to make the new burrs sit right. If you don't use the right screwdriver or it slips, you can easily chip the ceramic stock burr. I don't think I would recommend making a habit of doing this, but if you're careful and willing, I don't think there's any show-stopping reason not to do so.
Nicholas Lundgaard

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yakster
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#12: Post by yakster »

I would not want to regularly swap burrs on the Vario.

I removed both burrs for a cleaning and I didn't do a good job of making sure that it was completely clean before reinstalling and I think I messed up my burrs. Luckily, Baratza has affordable replacement parts so I was able to get back up and running with no problem.

These metal burrs would be more interesting in something like the new Baratza Encore rather than the Vario as a coffee grinder for me, not sure if there's technical reasons why this wouldn't work (different burr size probably).
-Chris

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Louis
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#13: Post by Louis »

Peppersass wrote:I noticed that the Baratza store has a number of Vario parts available.
http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce ... egory=PBVA
Good! One of my remaining questions about the Vario was the price of replacement burrs, an information that was not available 1-2 years ago:
- $40 for the OEM ceramic burr
- $60 for these new metal non-espresso brew only

portamento
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#14: Post by portamento »

yakster wrote:These metal burrs would be more interesting in something like the new Baratza Encore rather than the Vario as a coffee grinder for me, not sure if there's technical reasons why this wouldn't work (different burr size probably).
Wouldn't work. The flat burr Vario has a significantly different burr carrier than the rest of the Baratza grinders, which are all conical.

I agree however that it would be nice to see a less expensive Baratza grinder that can support the 54mm flat burrs. I don't need the digital timer or dual cam grind adjustment for making brewed coffees. Just a simple direct drive motor hooked up to the metal burr carrier. Kyle, if you're reading -- any mid-range flat-burr grinders on the horizon?
Ryan

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jammin
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#15: Post by jammin »

Nicholas,

Thanks for the review. Kyle at Baratza offered me a great deal on swapping my Vario out for a Vario-W with a set of the new burrs. I am very excited to try them out for press pot and vac-pot. I had a Virtuoso (old burr set) for a year and have always felt like it performed better than the Vario at coarse settings. Much better actually. I hope to get some of that grind quality back. It will be nice to not weigh beans out for press and vac anymore as well.

cheers

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jammin
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#16: Post by jammin »

Grinder came in yesterday. Didnt take long to notice the night and day difference in grind with the Ditting burrs.

I did a press pot and a vac pot of some kenya I have been working through. Both cups are MUCH sweeter.

These burrs are the real deal. Best purchase I've made in a while.

Fwiw, I am loving the vario w combo with Ditting burrs. So nice to just hit a button and get the perfect amount of coffee. I have a button set for two sizes of press pot and 1 for my Hario 3 cup vac pot. Even the SWMBO is good with using it.


Cheers

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jsolanzo
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#17: Post by jsolanzo »

That's great to know! I'm thinking about purchasing these burrs soon as I've been doing drip coffee more than espresso lately. $60 does seem a lot, but if it makes a lot of difference, like less fines, then I'm down!
LMWDP #355

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portamento
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#18: Post by portamento »

Removed my ceramic burrs this morning and ran into a snag when trying to install the metal burrs. Lower burr went in just fine. Upper burr doesn't quite fit the aluminum upper burr carrier. I've been polishing the inside of the burr carrier with steel wool to allow the burr to slide into place, but it's still too snug to go in all the way and mate with the screw holes.

Going to run to the hardware store for some more aggressive steel wool. A Dremel tool would probably come in handy right about now...
Ryan

RE*AC*TOR
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#19: Post by RE*AC*TOR »

Don't do that. Put the burr in your freezer, put the carrier in the oven (on low).

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cafeIKE
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#20: Post by cafeIKE replying to RE*AC*TOR »

with the caveat that you may unable to remove the metal burrs at a later time

Depending on the tightness of the fit, you may have to freeze the metal burr and carrier, then apply heat quickly to the carrier to expand it.

Try swapping upper and lower burr, there maybe enough tolerance to allow both to fit.