I stand by my theory that it is the grinder heating up.

I use 0.01g scales, weigh what goes into 18g VST, Pullman tamp with naked portafilter.
After much testing along side other grinders and with coming back later after the grinder has cooled down.

I really doubt much heat is generated by grinding the first 18 gm. I would look for other potential causes.

OldmatefromOZ wrote:I stand by my theory that it is the grinder heating up.

I had a similar experience when I owned a W (1st gen). If I happened to be dialing in a new coffee in the evening (4-5 shots in a row), the first few shots the next day were slooooow.

I eventually called Baratza and explained the problem. The person at Baratza was able to reproduce the behaviour on their end.

I switched grinders shortly thereafter.

FWIW an electric robur that you walk up to and hasn't been used in a while will spit out more coffee than otherwise because of something to do with the old grinds being happier to get out of the chute. Wouldn't be surprised if the vario does the same.

Boy do I feel stupid, but the half asleep comment got me thinking. Hhhmmm. I cleaned my grinder about a week ago and this problem started about a week ago, and I've been chasing the grind unsuccessfully for about a week. So yesterday I stopped fiddling with the levers and just let the grinder settle in at what had previously been the right grind for the beans I'm using. After a couple of shots everything was just fine and today all is good.

Lorne,

Thank you for your last comment! It takes a lot of confidence to post the final "well, this is what I found " post, particularly if it's user error. And yet, it's the most valuable piece of information in the entire post! We all postulated, you identified and isolated, and happily solved your problem.

Thanks for being that (seemingly) rare OP that figured out the "problem" from a variety of answers, and REPORTED BACK!!! You're much to be applauded.

Thanks for the high 5!

turbo290 wrote: Boy do I feel stupid, but the half asleep comment got me thinking. Hhhmmm. I cleaned my grinder about a week ago and this problem started about a week ago, and I've been chasing the grind unsuccessfully for about a week. So yesterday I stopped fiddling with the levers and just let the grinder settle in at what had previously been the right grind for the beans I'm using. After a couple of shots everything was just fine and today all is good.

The only thing that struck me a bit funky with the V-W engineering was the bar used for adjustment. It was easy to get it knocked out of place while manhandling it. Baratza has redesigned the part, which pretty much solved the problem. If you have an older Vario give them a call or email them. The part is inexpensive and they have repair guides on the site.