At the point I didn't have spritzing, the coffee was pretty bitter. I ended up sinking a couple of shots and moving coarser. I finally got a drinkable shot around the same time that the spritzing re-appeared. I guess a Bartaza Vario is going on my wish-list...

Grant,

The Vario is worth the purchase and you won't regret it. Apparently the Preciso is worth considering as well. In using my Vario with the TWIST, however, it's still fairly common to get a bit of spritzing at the coarser end of the espresso grind. Personally that doesn't bother me, though I've found a good sweet spot with no spritzing that gives me a 35-40 second double which is intense and syrupy, some would say over-extracted. But I like it, especially in milk drinks.

Chris, a few months ago you were going to try down dosing to 18g with a finer grind on the TWIST. I didn't notice your post until now. How did it go and what do you find you prefer?

Dom

So, just to follow up, I got a Vario today as a surprise college graduation gift from my parents. I've pulled about 5 shots with it and the 'pressi, and I'm loving the results. Very tasty espresso - I'm pulling an Ethiopian Harrar today, nice wild cherry and dark chocolate. Might try heading more ristretto with it tomorrow and see where it goes.

This seems to have solved my problems though. Thanks for the help everyone!

Yep, all other errors in the flavor profile are my fault. I actually had a perfect extraction cone earlier today. Unfortunately, the coffee I have is a dry-processed Ethiopian Harrar, not such a good espresso coffee. It ended up tasting like dirt.

MH: does the twist and/or the 53mm basket fit in the portafilter holder of the vario? I've been pondering upgrading to it from the virtuoso.

Haven't checked this site in a few weeks so I'm a bit late to the party. Grant, I'm really happy to hear you've got the Vario. What a great grinder it is. It's especially suitable for the dose-and-grind approach I use, as it retains only 0.2g of beans and grinds surprisingly evenly with no beans in the hopper.

With the TWIST, I've also been using 18g of late. For a time I settled on 18.5g, which I still use when I do lighter roasts with Ethiopian or some Brazilian coffees. But 18g at a slightly finer grind has a better flow rate than at higher doses.

Jed, the 53 mm basket fits perfect. Do this:

1. Buy a small Jello pudding or a Kozy Shack Tapioca pudding/rice pudding.

2. Eat the pudding. Make sure you enjoy it.

3. Carefully cut the bottom of the (presumably round) base (I cut at about 1/8" from the bottom).

4. Test by putting into your portafilter basket and shaving a little more off if needed to get a nice snug fit. You now have a perfect dosing funnel for the Vario.

5. Get a thick rubber band, about 1 to 1.5" long, the kind they use to hold wads of asparagus together.

6. Put the band around the portafilter holder metal ledge on the Vario.

7. Slide your basket with plastic dosing funnel onto the Vario's holder. The rubber band will keep it snugly in place.

8. Grind away and be amazed at how you never have any mess whatsoever.

Dom

Dude, thanks for the tip on the jell-o cup. Fits perfect, way way way better than the yogurt cup and the see-through is helpful. Sadly, I didn't like the pudding. I'm spoiled by mom's home-made version we enjoy every winter when it's still hot and has a little fresh whip cream and chocolate shavings melting all over. Mmmm.

Now to wait until end of july for the vario-e.

@Jed: The vario-e (actually now called the vario-w) will only grind by weight into the large hopper, not for portafilter use. I don't even do everything that Dom does - the PF part of the twists sits on the forks and the hook grabs the edge of the assembly quite well. It does make more mess though.

@Dom: I've been going a touch lighter, around 17.5g, trying to knock some over-the-top brightness out of my espresso. Now I'm just learning how to chase those "perfect" shots. It's actually a lot of fun. I've had some pretty delicious espresso in the past few days, nothing I'd call a god shot, but well inside the "tasty" range of things.

I've found that if things are too bright, I should grind a little finer and does a little lower (to maintain the ideal extraction time) and that if things get too bitter I should does higher and grind coarser. This is all of course assuming that I am within "ideal" parameters to begin with, and am just playing with flavor.

I'm starting to accept that some small amount of spritzing is going to happen, no matter what I do. But things are much better than they where a few months ago, taste-wise. I'm making almost as good of shots at home as the highly experienced barista at my local roaster.