I've had my Forté for about 11 months now. We've gone through about 5 lbs. of coffee per month, and I think this grinder was the perfect choice based on our requirements (small footprint, under-cabinet height, not messy, minimal retention, etc.). However (and it's a BIGGIE), I've now had to remove the faceplate and chute for the FOURTH time to unclog it. I'm getting faster at this, but this is NOT what I'd expect from a $900 grinder.

A few months ago, Baratza offered to replace it. I declined, since this is clearly a design issue that would not be remedied by replacing the grinder.

And no, the beans are not particularly oily, I use a fairly light-roasted blend. I don't freeze them, so condensation isn't an issue.

Has anyone figured out how to prevent this?

Thanks.
Jack

JR_Germantown wrote:And no, the beans are not particularly oily, I use a fairly light-roasted blend. I don't freeze them, so condensation isn't an issue.

Never heard of this being an issue before.

Have you been using the same fairly light-roasted blend for 11 months? Or are you using different blends from different roasters?

I've used about 55 lbs. of Red Bird Espresso, from Red Bird Coffee. I did try a local roaster, and that's one of the times it clogged. It was definitely darker, and more oily. But three of the clogs were from the lighter roasted coffee from Red Bird.

Jack

Even though you describe these as relatively light-roasted beans, I suspect some oils migrate to the surface of these beans as they age. This is basically a natural process. So the coffee that you are grinding in Week 4 will be more oily than the coffee you are grinding in Week 1. That could explain what you're experiencing.

Maybe so, but I'm pretty chaffed (no pun intended, it just happened) that my $900 grinder isn't bean-proof.

Jack

If you single dose, I bet this issue goes away. But that's just a different kind of work. These grinders don't retain a lot in the chute if you single dose.

If fact, you can probably find a way to clear the chute regularly just by using the open/close lever on the hopper.

I'm confused on what the issue is. Do you mean the beans aren't feeding from the hopper into the grinder properly? Mine does this and it's always the oil. Every batch of beans I have to remove the hopper and wipe the inside out with a paper towel to remove the residual oil. After that it's back to working like a champ.

I haven't had any issues with my Forte in the 1.5 yrs I've owned it, however it's the BG model so I'm not grinding as fine as you are if yours is used primarily for espresso. I replaced the standard Forte hopper with a Vario hopper and always single dose. Not sure if that would help you, but it may be worth a try.

I'd also suggest reaching out to Baratza again with pictures or perhaps video of the problem. They are VERY good at costumer service and I'd be surprised if they didn't go out of their way to solve your problem.

Good luck!

Eastsideloco wrote:Even though you describe these as relatively light-roasted beans, I suspect some oils migrate to the surface of these beans as they age. This is basically a natural process. So the coffee that you are grinding in Week 4 will be more oily than the coffee you are grinding in Week 1. That could explain what you're experiencing.

I think you may be onto something. I'm at the end of my 5 lb. bag. I don't recall the other times, whether the beans were just-roasted, or almost stale.

SonVolt wrote:I'm confused on what the issue is. Do you mean the beans aren't feeding from the hopper into the grinder properly? Mine does this and it's always the oil. Every batch of beans I have to remove the hopper and wipe the inside out with a paper towel to remove the residual oil. After that it's back to working like a champ.

Occasionally, the basket doesn't fill in the usual time (7.4 seconds is about my average setting). Then the grinder completely jams up. Coffee doesn't come out, and the grinder sounds like the belt is jumping teeth. I have to remove the touch pad, remove the chute, brush out the chamber exit, and run it to flush out all the grounds from the chamber, vacuum everything, and put it back together.

It's a huge waste of time and coffee. It seems to happen at the worst possible times, too.

Capitol wrote:I haven't had any issues with my Forte in the 1.5 yrs I've owned it, however it's the BG model so I'm not grinding as fine as you are if yours is used primarily for espresso.

You're exactly right This only happens grinding for espresso. I doubt you'd have the same issue, unless you grind pretty much exclusively for espresso.

Eastsideloco wrote:If you single dose, I bet this issue goes away. But that's just a different kind of work. These grinders don't retain a lot in the chute if you single dose.

Capitol wrote: I replaced the standard Forte hopper with a Vario hopper and always single dose. Not sure if that would help you, but it may be worth a try.

I agree, it would probably "go away", but nope. Not going to single dose. I did it for years with my Cunill Tranquilo, mainly because of its retention issues. I'm just not a fan of single dosing, for a number of reasons. If I were willing to single-dose, I'd probably have bought a Mazzer Mini E instead, because grinds retention isn't an issue when single dosing (just run it until it's all clear). I bought the Forté for the convenience of having a hopper full of beans.

Capitol wrote:I'd also suggest reaching out to Baratza again with pictures or perhaps video of the problem. They are VERY good at costumer service and I'd be surprised if they didn't go out of their way to solve your problem.

As I've often said, their customer service is excellent, but they'd be better off fixing design flaws than having to do damage control with customers. They were kinda stumped before, and offered to replace it (but with an identically flawed machine).

Eastsideloco wrote:If fact, you can probably find a way to clear the chute regularly just by using the open/close lever on the hopper.

That may be the most practical suggestion for me (and I may get a little help from a vacuum cleaner while grinding).

Thanks all!

Jack