My new Baratza Virtuoso Preciso conical burr grinder arrived today - this is a pictorial review of the "new owner" experience available to you also from your favorite internet retailer for only $300.

Kitty is always thrilled with my new espresso toys...



The retail box:



The cool cleaning tool:





The Manual - Read this please!



If you want a portafilter holder you got it - it comes standard:



I admit I am picky about conical burrs - these however are sweet.



Virgin chamber - 18g in...



17.4g out (Note - I spilled some grounds)



forgot to tare the scale - glass is 57g so shot is 42 - 43g. Not bad for second dial in shot on my new grinder.

11 second grind - forgot to mention that...

Eric, congrats! I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine ... truly is a sweet little grinder! BTW, what setting did you use to pull that shot?

dcupstateNY wrote:Eric, congrats! I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine ... truly is a sweet little grinder! BTW, what setting did you use to pull that shot?

The grinder is set at 4 Macro and F micro. I still have plenty of adjustment on the finer side if i need it. Tomorrow morning I plan to go coarse for French press - do you have a setting you can recommend to help get me in range?

The grinder is set at 4 Macro and F micro. I still have plenty of adjustment on the finer side if i need it. Tomorrow morning I plan to go coarse for French press - do you have a setting you can recommend to help get me in range?

4 I've never been below 9, but that's with my Pavoni and Twist. To be honest, ever since getting my Yama Syphon along with a SS mesh filter, I never do Frech Press anymore. As far as grind range goes, I've been going with Mark Prince's recommendations which can be found in both his "White Paper" and "First Look" over on CG.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the numbers - these grinders can be calibrated to grind coarser or finer but the lower the number for fine grinding means more range on the coarse end - I probably would get the coarseness you see at 30 at 25 on mine which should be a good press setting to try. Nothing needs ground coarser than 25 - 30 that I want to brew though.

I probably would get the coarseness you see at 30 at 25 on mine which should be a good press setting to try. Nothing needs ground coarser than 25 - 30 that I want to brew though.

Agree. I have a tendency to grind a little finer than most too when doing pour-overs, FP's, Siphon, etc. and reduce the steep time to compensate. Also, I think that's why I've been able to get away with using my Hario's ... have always had good results brewing this way.

But, with both the LP and Twist, I've been going with a coarser grind, nutation and a firm tamp, and have been consistently pulling some pretty amazing shots.

EricBNC wrote:The grinder is set at 4 Macro and F micro. I still have plenty of adjustment on the finer side if i need it. Tomorrow morning I plan to go coarse for French press - do you have a setting you can recommend to help get me in range?

Its good to know that someone grinds finer than me (7 macro). I know that calibration of each machine varies, but I was feeling a bit out on a limb.

The numbers on a grinder (any grinder) are simply there as an index and are only valid on that exact grinder. A 5 on one may be a 10 on another. It is just there to help you make wide adjustments and end up close to where you started when you go from espresso to French press and back to espresso.