It seems I have to grind a couple of shots before my Vario settles back into the proper grind. My first shot of the day is too fine so I tweak the micro lever down 1 or 2 notches . However I always end up back at the original grind setting from the previous day as I pull subsequent shots. Tomorrow I'll try lowering the burrs then reset to original setting before I grind and see if that helps.
Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Never had that issue when I used a Vario-W.

Interested to see what you find out even thought I no longer own a Vario.

turbo290 wrote:It seems I have to grind a couple of shots before my Vario settles back into the proper grind. My first shot of the day is too fine so I tweak the micro lever down 1 or 2 notches . However I always end up back at the original grind setting from the previous day as I pull subsequent shots. Tomorrow I'll try lowering the burrs then reset to original setting before I grind and see if that helps.
Does anyone have an explanation for this?

How do you know the grind is too fine? Is your shot pulling a bit longer? Two micro adjustments equals about 5 seconds with my vario.

My guess is that it's not the grind that's too fine, but that your machine is not completely warmed up. Try a flush to insure the group head and portafilter are warmed completely, if you don't already do that. The fact that you come back to the previous grind says it's likely prebrew routine and not a variation in the first grind of the day.

The other possibility is stale grounds retention, and purging a few grams may clear the way for your desired consistency. The vario has low retention, but wasting a bit of coffee can help you see if that's the culprit.

If I don't completely prewarm my machine, I see a similar phenomenon. However, I've found I like the slightly different flavor profile of a different first pull, and so I've gone away from over attention to prebrew warming and enjoy a different flavor profile for the first shot.

I appreciate the reply, but it is the grind. Machine warms up 1.5 hrs and is flushed. I grind some beans to purge the chute, but the pour is about 10 sec too long. As I pull shots and tweak the grind I always come back to the original setting.

turbo290 wrote:It seems I have to grind a couple of shots before my Vario settles back into the proper grind. My first shot of the day is too fine so I tweak the micro lever down 1 or 2 notches . However I always end up back at the original grind setting from the previous day as I pull subsequent shots. Tomorrow I'll try lowering the burrs then reset to original setting before I grind and see if that helps.
Does anyone have an explanation for this?

I'm not sure about timing, but I find that I drift around quite a bit on my Vario-W... only after I make a few subsequent adjustments does it stabilize and stick where I need to.. I go through this every few weeks.

I can confirm that I had the same issue and it was maddening... First shot of the session would be 23g output and the second roughly 35g.

Other than stale grinds, I can't think of what could cause this. I simply gave up and got my hands on a SJ and never looked back...

I had a Verio-W for about 6 months before "trying" to switch it to steel burrs.

In the short time I used it with the ceramic burrs, I never changed the grind settings once I got it dialed in for each roast.

Being weigh based I always got the weight I needed and my pull times were pretty consistent.

It has been over a year now so my memory may have a pair of rosy glasses fogging things up.

I ran the SJ and Vario-W back to back and both were pretty consistent. In fact I liked the Barataa a little better as it was much faster as I did not need to weigh beans and manipulate the doser for what seemed like an eternity before making espresso like I did with the SJ (I was single dosing with the SJ back then).

It was not until after I modded the SJ heavily that I decided to make the Baratza a brew grinder. This attempt failed miserably but Baratza came to the rescue and took it back in trade for a new Forte BG and I have been a happy home barista ever since.

mikeness wrote:I can confirm that I had the same issue and it was maddening... First shot of the session would be 23g output and the second roughly 35g.

Other than stale grinds, I can't think of what could cause this. I simply gave up and got my hands on a SJ and never looked back...

I haven't tried weighing the grounds out, but I weigh them going in for every dose so that shouldn't be an issue. I feel better knowing this does not appear to be a one off situation. As a home barista I look at it as part of the challenge. a small bump in the road so to speak. I'll figure it out.

I have this happen with Vario, and simply put it down to how quickly the grinder gets hot after grinding a few shots in quick succession, especially with hard beans that are not roasted dark.

So first shot or 2 I will lower the dose by 1gram to get the same flow rate. Keep using this lower dose and as the grinder heats up the flow rate speeds up. Returning to usual dose results in usual flow.

Chasing the grind on Varios is not much fun and can be wasteful. I have observed the same phenomenon single dosing and using at least half full hopper.

Even if you are single-dosing, weigh the coffee coming out. Sometimes a gram or so can get stuck in the grinder, especially first thing in the morning.

About a year ago I had "first shot in the morning" troubles and I thought for sure that it was the Vario, because it would always resolve itself on the second shot. First I found the retained grinds issue above - but the problem didn't go away. Further careful research showed that the issue was entirely on the handle side of the portafilter - my half-asleep tamping was canted .