Wow, I guess the Vario is the new black. You know people love this thing when long passionate responses are invested. I just bought my second Mini, wonder if I made a mistake

jherm77 wrote:I just bought my second Mini, wonder if I made a mistake

Not at all. The Mini is a fine grinder.

dialydose wrote:Generally, people who make such aggressive statements about the quality of the Vario based on ZERO experience have an axe to grind. I am interested in what yours is.

Please, this thread has already been dragged far off topic by JT's comments. Let's move on. Thanks.

UPDATE: Split follow-on discussion to What's with the grinder manufacturers?

I just received my Vario and fired it up for the first time this morning. I have had a cheapo blade grinder till now so this is a new world for me. I have carefully read through the literature and also some personal advice Seattleguy (whom I had noticed made the same purchase recently) kindly provided for me, but something is wrong.

When I plug in the Vario, there is power. The LED timer display activates, and the blue lights all do The Wave (you know, like at a stadium). I put the beans in the hopper and pressed Start, as the instructions said. Nothing happened. I pushed the Manual button. Nothing happened. I pushed the Espresso button. Nothing happened. I unplugged it and took the hopper off and spilled the beans all over the counter. Doh! I cleaned all that up and made sure none of the beans were in the annular space outside the burr area. I started over and all the same things happened but this time I realized the timer was counting down, so the problem is just that the grinding function isn't happening.

There is something that looks like a switch inside and just below the top rim of the base at the rear (i.e. the base of the hopper slides in front of it). I tried to slide it without putting too much force, but it didn't slide. I bought my Vario from Chris Coffee but they must be closed on Saturdays b/c no one answered the phone just now. I had them replace the board with the new board that retains the timer settings. I wonder if that is part of the problem, though I imagine they would have checked that it worked before shipping it. Until I can call Chris Coffee Monday, does anyone have a suggestion? Sorry this is so long. I'm verbose. Cheers, Tracy

Hi Tracy,
It sounds like maybe the hopper isn't fully engaged. It takes a little "oomph" to twist it into position, and there is a little nub that actuates an electrical switch residing inside the hopper opening of the grinder.

That electrical switch is a safety interlock, to prevent the burrs from spinning without the hopper in place.

Insert the hopper, and give it a careful but firm twist to lock it into position. Once properly engaged, the grinder should start to operate normally.

Hope this helps,
Jon

Hello Tracy. Congratulations on the B-Vario.

Jon's comments are correct.

You can verify if this is the case by testing with the hopper removed and pressing the switch with your finger. Be careful with the other finger and keep them out of the grinder. The switch is a little black lever like rectangle in the back side of the throat.

Good luck.

Yup -- I know it FEELS like the hopper is in place, but it's not. Same thing happened to me, but then I remembered reading about the interlock -- tried it again, and voila!

Bingo! I don't remember reading that the hopper needed to be twisted a little to be fully seated, but that little manual encouragement did the trick. Thanks y'all!

I will have BOTH a Super Jolly and B-Vario by this Tuesday:D

I am looking forward to running the 2 side by side for a little while.

My SJ has brand new burrs as well FWIW

My Vario just came in today.

I read the startup instructions and it took 1 adjustment to get my espresso button dialed for 16 grams, the time = 13.2 seconds.

I set the grind to about where everyone said to: macro(1 down from the top) and micro(6 down)

I also ordered an espro tamper to go along with it. My thoughts were to be able to build consistency as this is my first setup.

So i put my double basket in my bottomless PF, hit espresso, NO WDT OR ANYTHING, tamped w/my espro.


The shot timed out to 27 seconds for exactly 1.5 ozs of crema loaded spro.

The first shot I pulled off the Vario = the best shot I have made to date. PERIOD. And not just by a little bit. I finally know what you are all referring to by mouthfeel, chocolatey taste and so forth. I know am new to espresso and lack experience but I am literally blown away by the quality of this grinder.


I'm kinda at a loss for words right now b/c that shot was soooo amazing and I am so happy I bought this grinder! best decision I've made in a long time!