Nicholas, as this is purported to be an "multi-purpose" grinder, I'd appreciate it if you'd also grind for vac or press pot, and compare that result (tastewise and grind evenness) to whatever you use for that purpose.
If you don't drink anything but espresso, perhaps borrow a Rocky or some such and take a crack at comparing brew form those 2?
Obviously, the ability to switch back and forth without disturbing your espresso setting(s) too much will be an important quality to verify.
I do realize that right now, the focus is first impressions, especially as it regards espresso. As crazy as we all are here, I hardly expect ANYONE (except perhaps Michal... ) would spend $400+ for a French Press grinder.

Does that include old grinders which were repurposed to drip? If so, then I'd bet a lot of folks have a $400 drip grinder. Dunno what Michal has planned though LOL

Nicholas...I'm going to throw something out here.
It is my belief that you might want to put a moratorium on this thread, UNTIL you receive the final production version of the Vario.
Baratza folks are super, and I'd hate to see any negative stuff posted that would perhaps "falsely" influence folks to cross this grinder off their list. You are doing as best as can be expected, but as you stated early on, 2 of the issues you report as troublesome are being corrected.
Why not wait and then give it a REAL go!
I would ask those as curious as I to be patient. Kyle, at Baratza told me today that the Vario will be shipping on the 18th of February.
Again, you are certainly entitled to do as you feel best, but if I were Baratza, I'd want to show a new product in it's very best light, with no excuses.
Sincerely,
Rob J

IMAWriter wrote:Nicholas...I'm going to throw something out here.
It is my belief that you might want to put a moratorium on this thread, UNTIL you receive the final production version of the Vario.
Baratza folks are super, and I'd hate to see any negative stuff posted that would perhaps "falsely" influence folks to cross this grinder off their list. You are doing as best as can be expected, but as you stated early on, 2 of the issues you report as troublesome are being corrected.
Why not wait and then give it a REAL go!
I would ask those as curious as I to be patient. Kyle, at Baratza told me today that the Vario will be shipping on the 18th of February.
Again, you are certainly entitled to do as you feel best, but if I were Baratza, I'd want to show a new product in it's very best light, with no excuses.
Sincerely,
Rob J

Hmm... Sounds viable to me... Best to get the read on the product that will be mass produced instead of a proto-type...

Nicholas..my last post was awkwardly worded. I shouldn't have said "my belief"...how pompous
I just meant "might you consider", or some such.
Sorry!

I'm not overly concerned about misrepresenting the final version of the Vario in this thread. If it turns out to be an issue, we can always edit/split out the irrelevant parts when we kick off Part II. I encourage Nicholas to focus on the end product-- not ergonomics, construction, or usage --since that's unlikely to change in the production version.

Hi Nicholas,

I'm going to be a bit annoying here and ask again whether you're planning to take the cover off and look underneath it, maybe post some photos of the setting change mechanism? I'm very curious how that's done.

It might be a good idea to switch from you chosen espresso setting to a coarser one and than go back to the same exact setting and see if it gives the same results.

I'm also interested to see how they managed to solve the static issue (in the production model as the one you're testing doesn't offer that). I'm guessing a grounded wire grid on the output, something similar to Mazzer solutions (although they have a patent on that).

Regards,
dsc.

Related to dsc/Tom's question above, I'm really curious how the two slider knobs feel... do they feel mushy or very direct? Do they feel like a '92 Mazda 626's gear shift or a little '84 Toyota Tercel's gear shirt?... ahem... that probably doesn't make any sense...

Basically what I mean is do they feel like they are quite directly moving the position of the burr or do you feel there a lot of stuff between the knob and the burr?

Thanks, Henry

hbuchtel wrote: Do they feel like a '92 Mazda 626's gear shift or a little '84 Toyota Tercel's gear shirt?... ahem... that probably doesn't make any sense...
[snipped'

Thanks, Henry

Henry...I AM confused. What in Great Caesars Ghost is a gear "shirt?"
Seriously, nice analogy,especially coming from a Lever aficionado.

Interesting thoughts, guys. Sorry for the delayed response, I've been very busy with other things since last night.

First of all, regarding dealing with pre-production grinder problems: so far, it seems like there's only been one that I have mentioned, indeed, that I have found: the static issue. I realize that it is slated to be fixed in the production version of this grinder, which I am really looking forward to. That said, I don't understand the logic behind not mentioning it. I'm not dissing the grinder as a product when I say this, and I don't think there's anyone foolish enough to be legitimately worried by the static problem, given that it's going to be repaired. I have discussed the problem as a matter of it a) being part of my experience with the grinder thus far and b) being a matter of interest to readers. As I very explicitly said, if they fix the static problems, you should be impressed.

Static is a serious problem on doserless grinders, one that Mazzer fixed on their grinders with a wire grid that causes really significant grinds retention in the cavernous chutes of their larger machines. It's held up La Marzocco's fancy new titan grinder in pre-production for a long time, according to rumors. If they've fixed it, I think they deserve a lot of credit for that, and I think a chance to see just some glimpse of where they've been with the issue will give some valuable perspective on what they had to deal with. That's just my honest opinion, and I'm sorry if you don't agree. I've said what I've said, and I hadn't planned on continuing to discuss it--there's not a lot more to say about it until the new machine comes out. Thank you for bringing up the issue, though, Rob. It's certainly something that's important to consider when being in the curious position of reviewing a pre-production but very near final production unit.

HB wrote:I'm not overly concerned about misrepresenting the final version of the Vario in this thread. If it turns out to be an issue, we can always edit/split out the irrelevant parts when we kick off Part II. I encourage Nicholas to focus on the end product-- not ergonomics, construction, or usage --since that's unlikely to change in the production version.

Indeed, I think it will be quite worthwhile to leave this thread as it is here and begin anew in The Bench with the final grinder. I can reference this thread as needed, and begin the thread with a whole new "first look" at the final grinder. I will indeed be focusing on the end product as my testing continues, although I don't intend to throw ergonomics/construction/usage completely by the wayside. I understand that this grinder is extremely close to the final production unit. There cannot possibly be much that changes in the final version; I expect that most observations that I can make about the build quality and ergonomics will transfer over to the final unit. That said, I believe that I am mostly done with my initial observations about these things, so I don't expect to spend much time on it between now and when I receive the final unit.

dsc wrote:I'm going to be a bit annoying here and ask again whether you're planning to take the cover off and look underneath it, maybe post some photos of the setting change mechanism? I'm very curious how that's done.

It might be a good idea to switch from you chosen espresso setting to a coarser one and than go back to the same exact setting and see if it gives the same results.

Tom, sorry that I forgot to get back to you on this. I can say that the grind adjustment feels decent; it's hard to tell how directly it's driving the 'real' adjustment mechanism, and I am rather curious about this. That said, I am not aware that I have permission to disassemble this grinder to that point. I will have to discuss with Bryan and the guys from PT's, but I don't anticipate I will actually be able to do such invasive work until the final one gets in, if they are amenable to me doing this to the pre-production unit at that time, before I return it.

IMAWriter wrote:Nicholas, as this is purported to be an "multi-purpose" grinder, I'd appreciate it if you'd also grind for vac or press pot, and compare that result (tastewise and grind evenness) to whatever you use for that purpose.
If you don't drink anything but espresso, perhaps borrow a Rocky or some such and take a crack at comparing brew form those 2?
Obviously, the ability to switch back and forth without disturbing your espresso setting(s) too much will be an important quality to verify.

I will certainly try to do some "alternate lifestyle" grinding with the Vario. I have limited experience with press pot (I've been meaning to get a hand mill for this purpose--haven't gotten around to that), but I will give it a shot. If I am lucky, I may be able to get JonR to come over and work with me on that part. I may get lucky there, but I think I am mostly going to have to defer to Dan on the point of press-pot quality with this grinder. Regardless of that, I will definitely be experimenting with its "grind setting memory" as things go forward, of course by making large adjustments and coming back to the original setting.