I've been using a Baratza Vario for the past 6yrs and while its served me well I feel like its time for an upgrade. My main issue with the Vario is how inconsistent it is day to day and bag to bag. Feels like I'm missing a lot more shots than I'm making.

After doing a little research I'm starting to narrow in on 3 options:

1. Eureka Mignon Specialita
2. Baratza Sette 270Wi
3. Fiorenzato F4E Nano V2

As you'd expect there is no clear winner and each has their pros and cons but what I'm primarily looking for in my next grinder is:

1. Grind Performance
2. Consistency
3. Maintenance
4. Speed
5. Noise
6. Looks

We'll be using this grinder for espresso only, no single dosing and it would be great to get anyone's thoughts on the options above

Hi,

I have both, Specialita and Sette 270wi and really like them both. Sette was an anniversary gift and I bought Eureka because

it is so pretty and small and Italian made. I was going to keep the one I like better and sell the runner-up. At this point, I am keeping them both and will use one for the daily driver and the other one for decaf, as hubby can't hold his caffeine at night.

Grinder performance - both produce wonderful.uniform grinds. If I had to be picky, Eureka's are a bit fluffier. Both do an amazing job with breaking up clumps, so no clumping. If I had to choose, Sette would have a slight edge on that.

Maintenance - Hands down, Sette is the easiest to clean. You just drop down the burrs, clean it and you are good to go. Specialita I only had for a little over a month, so haven't taken it apart to clean (can't figure out how). So I just ran the grindz through it.clean the chute, take off the hopper and clean that way etc.

Speed and Noise. Sette is really, fast and very noisy. Loud enough to wake the house and the neighbors. Not the best to use when the house is asleep. Eureka is very quiet. You can easily talk when it is working and it's pretty fast but not as fast as Sette. It grinds 18 grams in about 10 seconds.

In the looks department, Eureka is a clear winner. Although, I oddly like the looks of Sette. Another thing to consider longevity and long-term performance. Eureka is all metal, solidly made, Italian grinder. Sette is all plastic case, made in Taiwan grinder. Will it last as long...maybe, maybe not.

I'm curious why you would compare the 7-270Wi to two time-based grinders. I'd have though the 7-270 would be closer to the other two in features (and less costly). Don't get me wrong, I'm not panning the 7-270Wi (I have one and love it). It's just that I'd have thought the basic decision would first be weight-based or time-based, then select among the grinders. FYI, the Wi has to be used in weight-based mode...there's no time-based mode (like on the Forte).

baristainzmking wrote:Hi,

I have both, Specialita and Sette 270wi and really like them both. Sette was an anniversary gift and I bought Eureka because

it is so pretty and small and Italian made. I was going to keep the one I like better and sell the runner-up. At this point, I am keeping them both and will use one for the daily driver and the other one for decaf, as hubby can't hold his caffeine at night.

Grinder performance - both produce wonderful.uniform grinds. If I had to be picky, Eureka's are a bit fluffier. Both do an amazing job with breaking up clumps, so no clumping. If I had to choose, Sette would have a slight edge on that.

Maintenance - Hands down, Sette is the easiest to clean. You just drop down the burrs, clean it and you are good to go. Specialita I only had for a little over a month, so haven't taken it apart to clean (can't figure out how). So I just ran the grindz through it.clean the chute, take off the hopper and clean that way etc.

Speed and Noise. Sette is really, fast and very noisy. Loud enough to wake the house and the neighbors. Not the best to use when the house is asleep. Eureka is very quiet. You can easily talk when it is working and it's pretty fast but not as fast as Sette. It grinds 18 grams in about 10 seconds.

In the looks department, Eureka is a clear winner. Although, I oddly like the looks of Sette. Another thing to consider longevity and long-term performance. Eureka is all metal, solidly made, Italian grinder. Sette is all plastic case, made in Taiwan grinder. Will it last as long...maybe, maybe not.

Thanks for the quick response... forget to setup notifications so i missed these responses

I know you mentioned you've only had the Eureka for a month but any thoughts on which one requires less fiddling and is more set it and forget it? Also any thoughts on in the cup differences on taste?

Lastly, you also mentioned one is your daily driver and the other is for decaf. Can you share which one is which

Nunas wrote:I'm curious why you would compare the 7-270Wi to two time-based grinders. I'd have though the 7-270 would be closer to the other two in features (and less costly). Don't get me wrong, I'm not panning the 7-270Wi (I have one and love it). It's just that I'd have thought the basic decision would first be weight-based or time-based, then select among the grinders. FYI, the Wi has to be used in weight-based mode...there's no time-based mode (like on the Forte).

@Nunas, I'm not tied to either weight vs timer approaches. Ideally if a weight based grinder is reliable/consistent i would opt for that but do have some concerns over longevity.

I'm not tied to either weight vs timer approaches. Ideally if a weight based grinder is reliable/consistent i would opt for that but do have some concerns over longevity.

While my 7-270W was troublesome and was replaced, twice, by Baratza, my 7-270Wi is dead nuts on. All the issues I had with the W went away upon installing the Wi upgrade. I agree about longevity, but only time will tell if the 7-series will stand up. However, it is as big an issue for me as it seems to be for some other correspondents. First, the price I paid wass way lower than any other weight based grinder (which are rare in the first place), and even better if comparing the 7-270 time-based to other time based grinders. Second, the warranty is good; their service is legendary and I have first-hand experience with my 7-270W to know it is true. Finally, parts are easy to get from Baratza. I still have my Baratza Preciso/Esatto and despite having run countless pounds of coffee through it, it still runs just fine with never any service of any kind.

lotOfLatte wrote:Thanks for the quick response... forget to setup notifications so i missed these responses

I know you mentioned you've only had the Eureka for a month but any thoughts on which one requires less fiddling and is more set it and forget it? Also any thoughts on in the cup differences on taste?

Lastly, you also mentioned one is your daily driver and the other is for decaf. Can you share which one is which

When it comes to espresso and grinding for it, there is no such thing as set it and forget it. Even when beans are perfectly dialed in, they usually need to be tweaked a little day to day and sometimes throughout the day, depending on ambient conditions, temperature, humidity, etc. The Sette is a bit more forgiving and needs a little less adjusting. By the same token, you can dial in the Eureka a little better and it does take a bit more adjusting. So yes, it's easier to dial in and do less fiddling with Specialista.

Taste in the cup is what we are trying to determine and so far there is no clear winner. With Sette I pick up more variety, for the lack of better word. I pick up more brightness, fruitiness and also the chocolate and caramels, depending on the beans. They also don't hit you all st once, some hit you later. Specialita is smother and more even. More balanced. I am really not sure which one I prefer and therefore while still deciding I using both for regular espresso. I can confidently say that I am seriously over caffeinated.

I'm also picking between the F4 nano and another grinder (one you didn't mention) so I appreciate this post. From all I've read, I think the F4 would be a solid way to go. In short, I read about clumping/hard to clean issues with the Eurekas and a "it's not really a game changer" theme with the Sette. Again, I don't own any of these machines, but that's my two cents. I'm sure you've done your own reading.

Best of luck, and don't forget to report back with your experiences!

lotOfLatte wrote:I've been using a Baratza Vario for the past 6yrs and while its served me well I feel like its time for an upgrade. My main issue with the Vario is how inconsistent it is day to day and bag to bag. Feels like I'm missing a lot more shots than I'm making.

After doing a little research I'm starting to narrow in on 3 options:

1. Eureka Mignon Specialita
2. Baratza Sette 270Wi
3. Fiorenzato F4E Nano V2

As you'd expect there is no clear winner and each has their pros and cons but what I'm primarily looking for in my next grinder.

We'll be using this grinder for espresso only, no single dosing and it would be great to get anyone's thoughts on the options above

I have the F4,
1. Grind Performance - nice fluffy grinds, no clumping
2. Consistency - fairly consistent, once it's dialed in on a given coffee there isn't much time spent having to adjust. Timer for single or double shots can be adjusted to 0.1 sec to allow quick repeat of a dose once you have coffee dialed in, good for allowing others in the house to use it.
3. Maintenance - ok, the collar is really tight to take on and off, would recommend a small amount of food grade grease on threads and ensuring the threads are perfectly clean before putting back together, very little retention. Machine itself is very solid.
4. Speed - about 12sec for 17g
5. Noise - I went from the baratza encore to the F4 and the F4 is a huge improvement, actually one of the main reasons my SO loved the new grinder so much was how quiet it is.
6. Looks - very slick looking grinder, comes in a variety of colours that can help with making it fit into kitchen devour a little better. Digital screen is nice, not to bright or flashy.