Hi all!

I am looking to upgrade my grinder to go along with a Pre-Millenium La Pavoni that I will be restoring this summer. I really want something that can "do it all" and serve me for making great traditional coffee and improve my espresso game. Since James Hoffmann featured the new Vario line in his 500,000 dollar grinder test video, I've been really attracted to it. It seems to meet my needs on paper, able to switch on the fly to pourover and espresso while still producing excellent cups of coffee. I actually like the stepping setup a lot too, since it seems it will be super easy to redial in espresso after switching brew methods.

I've been doing a lot of research and verifying to see if this grinder actually meets my needs, but I can't find a whole lot on it. Most coffee youtubers did review it and gave it a lot of praise, but on forums I don't really see much love. Some say it can't do espresso, that it's 'toy grade', or that it's unreliable. I can't really find much to back those points up. Yes its exterior is plastic, but the interior pieces are mostly metal. I also really like the fact that parts are available and Baratza is a well reputed brand.

I know the grinder game is heating up a LOT right now, but for someone who wants something that 'just works', would a Vario W+ be a good fit? I know the niche gets a lot of love, and I LOVE how it looks, but I don't see tons of replacement parts online. The conical burr setup is also meant to be great for medium roasts, but it struggles with light single-origin beans (which is what I drink daily for non espresso drinks). The flat burred baratza seems better suited for my needs.

Is there something I am missing? This purchase is pretty significant for me, so I want to ensure I buy something that won't end up in the bin or have to be upgraded a few years from now. Super appreciate any insight!

Are you tied to having a hopper grinder, or are you open to single dosing?

I currently single dose with my breville smart grinder. I don't find the hopper to be something that inhibits that. The baratza supposedly has good retention too, so I figured it would be fine.

BrawlPaul wrote:... It seems to meet my needs on paper, able to switch on the fly to pourover and espresso ... it seems it will be super easy to redial in espresso after switching brew methods.

I've been doing a lot of research and verifying to see if this grinder actually meets my needs ...

I'd say that if you did research of many years of prior posts on this forum, then you'd read that the Vario will not be "super easy to redial in espresso" - that going from espresso to pourover is fine, but going from pourover back to espresso will be unreliable and, depending on your tolerance for random sink shots, frustrating.

I did see that, but I haven't seen that as a problem for the Vario+. However, I can't exactly find much that confirms or denies that fact with the new grinder.

If Baratza changed from the Vario/Forté's adjuster design, then don't you think that they'd be highlighting that improvement? IIRC, what they did do is put in the Forté arms in the Vario+ so that worn arms won't move on their own during grinding now, but that doesn't address the adjuster design.

Fair point. Are there any alternative grinders you'd recommend? I could take another look at the niche. The espresso sounds fantastic, but I am a little worried about the v60 performance. The Lagom mini is super cool, but it scares me that they have all these warnings about resting the grinder and not grinding too much espresso. The niche duo is also on preorder, but that's a bit of a jump in price. It's also untested, but I am willing to pay the extra if it actually fulfills my needs. I was looking at the df64s and df83s, but they don't strike me as super well built, and longevity is going to be a priority for me. I know many say to use two grinders, but I really would like to save myself some counter space. Thanks again for the help!

Sorry, I don't know of anything with good-for-light-roast flat burrs that has been proven in the marketplace at the Vario W+'s $600 price that does what you seem to want a grinder to do (stock as-delivered). I'd even surmise that most Varios would need to be disassembled, modified, and hyper-aligned to get the best espresso from the steel burrs. I really like the light-roast espresso from my (modified, hyper-aligned, etc.) steel-burred Vario and that is mostly what I use that grinder for (and thanks to Lance Hedrick's videos, I don't have any FOMO with all the new unproven grinders that are coming).

A DF64 with some SSP's is right around $600 but I have no experience. However, to me the DF64 is like my TCL TV. My TCL has just as good a picture as the equivalent SONY, but a bit rough on the amenities, but also at quite a significant discount. What I gave up was that I had to play the panel lottery: TCL's quality control is nowhere near SONY's - if I got a TV with a good panel then I'd be happy; but if I got a TV with noticeable dirty screen effect or dead pixels then I'd be stuck (returning a big TV for picture quality issues is a PITA). I think DF64's are the same: if you get a good one then you'd be happy (after doing some mods), but if you got a bad one then you're essentially stuck with a sub-par grinder (unless you have access to a machine shop).

... so I'd guess that you're pretty much stuck on compromising on something, even at $600.

A year ago I was considering a Vario as a single grinder for all uses. I ended up with a DF64 instead as the Vario was basically sold out everywhere and the Vario+ not yet available.
I have been using the Df64 daily now for a year mostly medium roast espresso with some grinding for drip or aeropress. Aside from 30 min doing a marker test to check alignment I have been using it as delivered stock and it seems to be fine. I have never had it completely plug up the chute and the retention is negligible if you use the bellows. It seems solidly built and haven't had any issues with it.
I haven't noticed any major difficulty switching from aeropress grind back to espresso.
I can't evaluate the in the cup performance as I have not used any other grinders for comparison.
If I was purchasing today I would still be considering the Vario. The main reason would be longevity. There are a lot of grinders being introduced now, a new one every few months and many are small companies that may not survive an oversaturated grinder market. Meanwhile Baratza has a great reputation for standing behind their products.