For a long time, the espresso niche in my kitchen was filled with a PID-controlled Rancilio Silvia and a Baratza Vario. The espresso was okay, but a bit hit or miss. Sometimes I could get all the stars to align and get a good shot, but mostly it was just acceptable. I was doing it mostly by feel and my innate Italian sensibilities.

Recently I upgraded the Silvia to a GS3. Now, I am no longer willing to put any blame on the machine at all. (Aside: This is why I love having good tools. I hate not knowing whether I am screwing up or whether the tool is letting me down. Now I know.) When everything is dialed in and the stars are aligned... absolute brilliance. The rest of the time, meh, it's okay. Better than the Silvia? Sure. Good? Maybe not.

Time to act like an engineer and figure it out. So I spent a lazy morning and a pound of beans last weekend getting the Vario set up again. Reset the alignment, pulled a ton of shots that went directly into the sink, converged on a sweet spot in grind setting: a very consistent 19 gram dose (in an 18 gram VST basket) that pulled a luscious 30 gram shot in 29 seconds. Delicious, balanced, wonderful espresso. Great baseline. Three days later? Eh... getting kind of off. Grind settings maybe slipped, I tweak it a bit and get something acceptable. Today? Nope, 30 grams takes 18 seconds at the most. Beans (type and age) are consistent weekend to weekend.

I can go back to the beginning and recalibrate the Vario again... or I can throw up my hands, figure that the Vario is just outclassed and the weakest link here, and get a new grinder. The new crop of high-end grinders (EG-1, Monolith, etc.) look spectacular, but it may be a long wait to get one. Pick up an HG-1 and try hand grinding for a while?

Or am I missing something with my poor little Vario? Tips? Advice?

If you're up to hand grinding, the HG-1 I is awesome. Incredibly consistent and well built. Note that with a single dosing grinder you'll have to do some more prep with the dose like wdting

Sounds like your Vario needs the shims if the grind settings are slipping like that. I had a problem recently and couldn't figure it out, ended up being something wrong with the calibration plate, Baratza fixed it, been solid since.

Vario is more than fine for pulling shots on a GS3, but there are a lot of grinders above it that will allow you to get the best out of the machine. Just depends on what you want to spend.

I would contact baratza directly. Their service and assistance is great. I don't get that kind of variation with my Vario, and I've had it for about four years. I find that for a given bean, I just have to adjust a few notches (on the fine side) for aging. I'm able to stay in a consistent range, even when changing coffees.

Reliability is the Achilles heel of the baratza grinders. You get what you pay for..

If you can shell out the dough for a GS3 , a high quality Titan class grinder should pair with it!

I recently bought a refurbished Vario from Baratza, and I think I am having the same issues as you. I keep having to re adjust it. If it happens again I will contact them.

If you like the Vario when it is "on", then the Forte is certainly an alternative to consider. More rugged controls that stay put.

SAB wrote: I don't get that kind of variation with my Vario, and I've had it for about four years. I find that for a given bean, I just have to adjust a few notches (on the fine side) for aging. I'm able to stay in a consistent range, even when changing coffees.

I am a newbie and have only had my Vario for six months or so but my experience mirrors yours. If I need to vary my grind it is in a very small range. Plus I go from Chemex grind to espresso on a daily basis and the Vario handles it. My beans (Ethiopian, Guatemalan and Colombian mostly) are all home roasted using my Behmor.

The shims (free) might be the solution.