Hi everyone,

After my Capresso ceramic flat burr grinder wore out its motor in like three weeks, I decided to up the game and get the virtuoso.

Then I made a rookie mistake. I thought the silicone gasket was packing material, so didn't use it the first few times I ground my coffee.

The coffee was fine. I did think it was a little unusual that beans and debris were left around the grinding burr.

And then I realized what the gasket was for.

I got rid of the beans and debris around the burr, turned the machine upside down and wiped it out. I think it's okay.

So did I do damage to my machine?

I have to unfasten the hopper and put the machine on a tiny shelf after each use. That gasket worries me. Looks like it will wear out and it's easy to lose. It's also black which means, again, easy to lose.

Hope I didn't ruin the machine.

Thanks.

I haven't seen a Virtuoso in person, but I unboxed a Baratza Encore (quite similar design), and I did the exact same thing. Didn't even notice the gasket in the packaging. If I remember correctly, all that gasket does is keep the beans from getting stuck between the hopper and the grinding blades. It might also keep the hopper from jiggling around. It has nothing to do with the grinding mechanism. I think you're fine.

The silicone gasket is to keep grounds out of the inside of the grinder (the electronics)

Verio and Forte do not use this gasket but I have modified a few to use with my Forte grinders.

It does keep the inside clean. I wish they made a "universal" gasket/seal that would work on all of their grinders so that I do not need to chop and modify the ones they sell to fit the larger grinders.

You can take the case apart and brush out any grounds that have fallen inside the case.

Pretty easy to break apart the smaller Baratza grinders (no tools required, case pops off with a flat blade screwdriver). Case removal is the same for all of their conical burr grinders (Encore, Virtuoso, Preciso)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0oxFolHbNA

Two good answers. Thank you. I tried to pry off the case per the video this morning, but seems there's a trick to it. I'll figure it out.

All is well. Made Costa Rican coffee roasted five days ago this morning, using water filtered by at catalytic carbon filter by Aquasan. Delicious.