Ah. I believe we're using different terminology; my mistake, I'm sure.

I was referring to the aluminum discs that the upper and lower burrs are physically mounted to. In any case, I'm looking forward to the Vario because most of the reviews have been very positive.

As to my issue with Toscano, I am thinking more and more that it's grinder related. I realized that there's a possible explanation for why Starbucks House Blend does well on my setup: even though they call it "medium roast," it's significantly darker than Toscano and therefore softer and easier to grind. And indeed, my grinder produces a quick, fluffy grind from Starbucks coffee whereas the Toscano is clumpy and takes an absolute eternity to grind. Perhaps the grinder is too dull to cut the beans, and is destroying the coffee via friction and heat?

On the PID Alexia from Quickmill, the machine comes with a secondary relay which disables the heater during pump operation. This is supposed to help with the fluctuations in the pump pressure due to voltages dipping with the heater. More of a 120 volt problem I think.
I changed the PID to a variable time base, disabled the relay, and the heater stays on now with no visible change in the espresso stream or pressure gauge. The PID temperature doesn't take a big dive now either.

D.

Update.

I received my new Vario grinder, and really love it. However, Toscano still tastes wretched.

The Vario did amazing things for other coffees. I can get delicious, silky, smooth, aromatic, sweet shots from local roasters. Unfortunately, the local blends I've found tend to have fruitier or more floral notes. Those are interesting, but I'm really just looking for big bass notes of caramel, nuts and chocolate.

The new bag of Toscano I received today isn't ashy-bitter like my previous orders were. Now, I'm just getting assaultive sourness. It doesn't go away even with higher brew temps or very fine grind/slow flow rate.

I think I'm about ready to give up on Toscano and cancel my subscription. Are there any other blends that might offer that "candy bar" flavor profile I'm after?

You may want to try Rustico. I found the Toscano I found that its a bit more fruit forward than Rustico.

This was discussed in another thread, but I recently tried a batch of Toscano after not having any for a few years and noticed it had a smaller time window where I liked it. Something like 6 days post roast to 9 days only. Someone else mentioned that Toscano is currently a single-origin and not a blend which apparently causes some of these "behavioral" differences. Rustico and Number 46 seem to be less hassle for me.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I noticed that Counter Culture's blog post today mentions some recent changes. The Toscano has just switched from a Bolivian to a Mexican bean. Interestingly, the blog post mentions the "brightness" in Toscano. I know a lot of people like bright, acidic shots, but I feel a bit duped. That's not what the product description indicates, and it's not what I'm looking for. If they had simply said on the web site that the current Toscano tastes like red wine and soy sauce, it would've saved me a lot of frustration.

So, on to something else. Has anyone tried Blue Jaguar recently? The official description sounds great, but...