Hey guys, I have just upgraded from the Rocky to the Vario. My rocky may have been a bit of a lemon to begin with. I was never happy with it as even with blades starting to scrape it would still not grind fine enough to choke my v3 silvia. The vario is no where near max fine setting and it will choke my silvia easy. The grind coming out of the vario looks totally amazing, zero clumping, lightly fluffy, totally uniform. I think it has great potential for me. I also love that i can put in 16.5 grams and literally 16.5 comes out in grind. It is freakishly consistent. Anyway, I have started off in the 16.5 gram double basket range. I should probably post a video of my extractions soon. The shot cycle... I seem to get a very nice 1 oz.. first half of shot is dark, tiger stripey, mouse tail for 1 oz, then the 2nd ounce goes fairly blond. I stop the shot at this first sign of it going watery 30-35sec (I stop when the stream forms in a twisting shape... as soon as that happens I kill the shot and have roughly 2oz). It goes fairly blond half way through and I was hoping to carry the shot a little bit more before it blonds out that much near the end. Should I updose to say 17-17.5? or maybe down dose to 15.5-16gm and tighten the grind? I also have a triple basket so maybe I should give the triple a try and if so what is a good starting point for grams in the triple? I did have 2 flat whites yesterday that were quite nice def an improvement from the rocky, but felt maybe I am still not getting as much out of the coffee as I could since it is blonding up a lot. Thanks for any advice on my next direction to take!

How old are the beans?

Don't worry about getting 2oz out of your pour. If you always aim for 2oz, you will always be frustrated. Try stopping the shot shorter. You don't really mention any off flavors that you are getting, or a flavor / taste that you are trying to achieve. That kind of information would help out a lot.

Are you using the Vario in a single dose mode? Dumping 16.5 grams of beans in at a time?

It sounds like you might be using old beans. Again, how fresh are they?

I've had an easier time getting a consistent pour by down dosing with the Vario. However, I don't know if that is a Vario issue or a Vivaldi issue. I suspect the latter. I also agree that not worrying whether your shot is 1.5 v 1.8 v 2 oz is key. Quality trumps quantity!

ok so far have opted for same 16.5 dose, finer grind, lighter tamp. My shot looked spot on, nice pour, nice flecks etc. However I am not liking the beans at all. Bit of a medium roast (supplied by the coffee shop that sold me the grinder). I've roasted up a batch of my own (behmor1600) and will hit those in a couple days. I prefer a darker roast. Will report back then