AustinRob -

I know you were directing your comments/questions to someone else, but I own both the M4 and the Vario so I can probably provide some insight. I keep the M4 at the office and the Vario at home. I only make espresso at the office. I make espresso, drip, press and "clever" coffee at home. To me, that is one of the key benefits to the Vario. I use one grinder for all those methods. Pure espresso, I think the M4 and the Vario both produce great espresso. I like having the M4 at the office because there are 6-8 people making espresso on a given day and the doser serves the purpose it was intended for and I think the M4 was built more for that type of volume. As far as taste, it is so subjective, someone could prefer either grinder and be right.

For me, if someone is brewing more than one method, likes a small footprint, quiet grind, no waste, doserless, flat burr grinder, than the Vario is a wonderful option. If all you are doing is espresso and you prefer dosers, maybe you would prefer another grinder. Having said that, there are numerous posts regarding the quality in the cup of the Vario (Jason posted a link to a CG post with a good collection) being on par with or better than much more expensive grinders. I have compared it to both a SJ and CMH owned by friends. Tough to make a clear call (by everyone).

With respect to the upgrade from a mazzer mini to a Vario, I think that is subjective, but at this point should not be shocking. Maybe the term upgrade should be exchanged with replaced. I have had plenty of shots from a mini and frankly saw no improvement over the M4 and certainly not over the Vario. Considering, the price difference, I would certianly "choose" the Vario over the mini.

BTW - I am headed to Austin next Thursday for ACL. My brother and his wife live in Tarrytown (sp). We are really looking forward to it. Any suggestions on coffee shops in Austin? I know they like to go to Mozarts (they don't drink espresso -- only drip, etc). Any other options?

The Mazzer Mini has so many drawbacks for the price that at this point I would choose the Vario over the Mini without ever having used the Vario just out of word of mouth alone. I've had a Mini for a while too.

brad

Brad, what are the drawbacks you have found with the Mini? Though I have little experience with other grinders, the Mini seems to do a nice job. True, I probably would not buy a new one for the price, but a good used one would serve well for years to come.

dialydose wrote:BTW - I am headed to Austin next Thursday for ACL. My brother and his wife live in Tarrytown (sp). We are really looking forward to it. Any suggestions on coffee shops in Austin? I know they like to go to Mozarts (they don't drink espresso -- only drip, etc). Any other options?

Thanks fro your input regarding the Vario, I'll pass along your thoughts to my buddy.

As for good CONSISTENT espresso in Austin...Man, I can't promise you anything - that's actually what drove me to getting my own set-up. But, when I do go out for a macchiato (I've given up on straight shots in this town) I like to try my luck at either Progress Coffee, Cafe Medacci, or possibly a new joint that has really been improving (they just changed their beans a few months ago), Lift (south Lamar by Hill Country Running).

Have fun at ACL, I'm so bummed the Beastie Boys had to drop out...OH, and pray for the rain to stop, it hasn't rained all summer but it has suddenly turned into the monsoon season here lately!

gj91 wrote:Thanks for helping me blow $500 bucks too. I am going to buy one this week.

Call up Chris @ ChrisCoffee in NY. They are running a sweet discount on the Vario for a limited time! At their price it's crazy!

How do I know for sure that if I order the Vario, I have the latest version? I remember seeing someone explain how to check the difference between the older and newer versions but i can't find the thread anymore. Is it safest to order from somewhere like Chris Coffee or WLL since they are most likely to sell through older inventory the fastest?

I'd say Chris Coffee or maybe Orphan Espresso who have recently taken on the line (so would have current stock) and check each one out before shipping.

Jason,

I had the same concerns and emailed Chris Coffee about the revisions Baratza has made to the Vario. He responded saying that he was on his 5th batch of Varios, so his stock is the latest directly from Vario. My Vario shipped out in a day and was packaged as carefully as I could ask for in a much larger box completely enveloped with a good couple of inchees of styrofoam peanuts at every side. And if there's any doubt he is listed on Baratza's own website as an authorized reseller, so your warranty will be valid.

sweaner wrote:Brad, what are the drawbacks you have found with the Mini? Though I have little experience with other grinders, the Mini seems to do a nice job. True, I probably would not buy a new one for the price, but a good used one would serve well for years to come.

The doser that throws to the left and doesn't sweep very clean at all without modding. The grounds retention in the chute. Also, you can buy several grinders that will give an equal or better grind but that cost 100 bucks or more less than the Mini. By all accounts that I've read once it's dialed in the Vario will give a grind that, depending on who you listen to, either equals the Mini or surpasses it and for a good bit less money. I've seen more than one report of fluffier grounds and slightly better shots with the Macap M4 although I've never compared them. There were more drawbacks in my generation of Mini - namely flimsy grounds tray and cord out the side but at least those have been fixed in the new generation. If I'm buying a grinder tomorrow and it had to be a Mazzer under $700 it would definitely be a used SJ over a new Mini.

brad

Got to use my Vario for the first time today and I must say I've never seen grounds that are so fluffy! NO CLUMPS! Love it! I just need to get my grind dialed in a bit more.

ASFx wrote:How do I know for sure that if I order the Vario, I have the latest version? I remember seeing someone explain how to check the difference between the older and newer versions but i can't find the thread anymore. Is it safest to order from somewhere like Chris Coffee or WLL since they are most likely to sell through older inventory the fastest?

If your Vario has the secondary calibration adjustment screw, which is located between the discharge spout opening and the rubber grommet, you have the latest model. Chris has these in stock and is offering a very nice discount to boot but you have to call them directly in order to get this discount.

As a side note: The latest model offers two types of adjustments. One for adjusting if your grind is too fine and one if it isn't fine enough.

Here are three links that explain those different adjustments:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espres ... 856#416856 Scroll down to the post from KyleAnderson

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espres ... 682#432682 Scroll down to the post from germantownrob

and the last one is from ddr Recalibrating the Baratza Vario [photos] BTW, ddr's thread is based on a prior model of the Vario and does not show the secondary adjustment screw opening.

Dodger1 wrote:Here are three links that explain those different adjustments:

Thanks Dodger1, that was incredibly helpful. I wish I'd found the post from germantownrob quoting Kyle about the new 2mm adjustment screw before I got my Vario! I had found the other two posts about the 2.5mm screw under the grommet and thought that was the only adjustment.

My Vario arrived with the factory setting which was too coarse for espresso. It could choke my machine with a 14g dose, but only with the macro and micro levers at the very highest setting. I was sure I'd need more headroom than that, so I proceeded to adjust the 2.5mm screw. It was set all the way forward, at the coarsest setting (just as Kyle says.) It was difficult to change the range with that screw, to say the least. Eventually I found you have to remove the fixed burr for the screw to slide smoothly. Since the 2.5mm screw is not intended for small adjustments, it took a lot of fooling around with the setting to get the grinder into a range where I had enough headroom for espresso. In the end, it worked but I wondered if there was a better setting.

After reading germantownrob's post, I went back and set the 2.5mm screw back to the factory setting for max coarsness (after removing the fixed burr.) After reinstalling the fixed burr, I found that motor loading began with the macro lever all the way up and the micro lever close to all the way up, just like when my grinder arrived. I then set the micro lever to the mid-point and used the 2mm screw to increase fineness until the motor just started to load. The resulting grind was just about perfect for a 14g dose of fresh coffee, and I think there should be enough headroom for smaller doses. If not, the 2mm screw is very easy to access and adjust. Much, much easier than the 2.5 mm screw under the grommet.

How I wish the instructions for fine tuning the grind were in the owner's manual! That would have saved me a bunch of frustration when I first got the grinder. I shouldn't have to get lucky and find just the right post on CoffeeGeek to do that.

My only other (very minor) beef is that the plastic knob for the macro lever had come off in shipment and was rolling around in the box. The plastic is fatigued on one of the legs, so it doesn't snap on firmly and will come off if handled with too much force. I need to call Baratza to get a replacement knob.

Otherwise, I love the grinder

itch808 wrote:So the Baratza Vario has been out now for a couple months now, how are owners liking it so far? Any new reliability issues? Does anyone have buyer's remorse and wish they had opted for something else?

I'm pretty happy with it. Took me a while to get over my Rancilio Rocky habits and figure out how to dial in the Vario properly, but now that I've had it for a couple months I'm very pleased with it. For a while there I was wishing I had bought a Mazzer Mini instead.

My Vario arrived yesterday from Chris'. I'm hoping it will be a suitable replacement for my Macap M4 stepless/doser. I don't really think of the change as an upgrade as I love my M4, but we have a baby in the house now and the thwacking of the doser lever early in the morning is sometimes a problem.

So far I'm pretty happy with the speed and low noise level, but I can tell I will need to re-learn my espresso making routine. For the other Vario users: after grinding directly into the portafilter do you do any kind of leveling or do you just tamp directly onto the nice mound of coffee that the grinder produces? I've seen a few videos posted of people just tamping right away but I'm so used to my old routine that it just feels wrong.

BrianG wrote:For the other Vario users: after grinding directly into the portafilter do you do any kind of leveling or do you just tamp directly onto the nice mound of coffee that the grinder produces? I've seen a few videos posted of people just tamping right away but I'm so used to my old routine that it just feels wrong.

Depends on the basket and dose. For updosed baskets, I've been doing a NESW level with my finger. For standard doses (14g in a double basket), I've been just tamping. Sometimes I tamp right on top of the mound in the center of the PF. Other times I shake the PF right after grinding to evenly distribute the grounds. Sometimes I tap the PF on the counter to settle the grounds before tamping, other times I don't. It doesn't seem to matter.

For tamping, I like to make sure the edges are seald and the puck is level. I usually press the tamper straight down lightly, run my thumbs around it to make sure it's level with the basket rim, then lift and tamp NESW with maybe 5-10 lbs. Sometimes I do a nutating tamp instead. Then I run my thumbs around the edge of the tamper again to make sure it's level with the basket edge, then do a 30 lb tamp straight down. This sounds like a lot of stuff, but it takes just a few seconds.

Well... I just bought my first piece of equipment, a Baratza Vario from Chris in NY. Should be here not soon enough.

I wanted a grinder that could hopefully do espresso and drip grinds, but we'll see how much longer I use drip for. Taking my parent's older machine for now, although I don't even remember the brand. By no means a professional machine, but should suffice with the Vario for the time being.

Now to learn how to use any of this. I'm excited to give it a try, although I truly don't know good from bad yet.

What seems to be the consensus on if the Vario is commercial duty or not? What was Chris Coffee's view on the Vario? What type of "special discount" was applicable at Chris? Price of replacement burrs?

Caferetro

caferetro wrote:What seems to be the consensus on if the Vario is commercial duty or not? What was Chris Coffee's view on the Vario? What type of "special discount" was applicable at Chris? Price of replacement burrs?

Caferetro

1. Some reviews have described it as "light commercial." I see it more as "heavy duty home."

2.(Chris view). I'd call Chris directly They are very reponsive and would be better than a second hand response

3. Discounts? (See 2 above).

4. Replacement burrs. (See 2 above).

I ordered a Vario from espressotec out of Vancouver about a month ago. It's a fine upgrade from my $8 blade grinder! (I'm just getting into this tasty "sport" of espresso making).

I've used Vario to grind espresso, drip coffee and a french press and am pretty stoked on the results. Unfortunately, the grinder needs to be exchanged on warranty. The LCD display goes out after random periods of time and does not come back on unless I "reboot" the grinder by unplugging & plugging back in. I was a little apprehensive about buying a grinder with electronics, and this is doing nothing to quell that fear. Hopefully the replacement unit will be problem free for many years.

Has anyone else had any problems with the LCD?