Complete with 3 lbs. of PT's... I could get used to this.
My first impression, opening the box, was wow, that's a lot bigger than I'd expected. Perhaps I've forgotten the size of my first grinder, the Solis Maestro, but this is a lot bigger than I remember it being. I suppose my memory probably is skewed by the Robur, though...
I am headed out of town for the weekend, in about an hour, in fact. They're doing some silly electrical work here at the apartment complex, and the power is out, so I can't even grind a first test shot yet. However, I do have more pictures:
The first thing you do when you get a grinder, right?
The burrs are dramatically different from most other flat burr designs that I've seen, with the exception of the K30 (also designed by Mahlkönig)... maybe. I can't seem to find a picture of the latest burrs, and I could be having a brain fart.
As we all know, the burrs are mounted in plastic, but it's an impressively snug fit, at least. It was a pain in the rear to get the top burr off. That's a good sign, one presumes. Still, my first impression looking at the burr mounting in person is still, this is as consistent/good as a Robur? Right..... Naturally, I'll be working hard to keep an open mind, and I'll be sure and work out some blind taste comparisons with it after I get used to it. I have a couple of coffee enthusiast friends who have pretty decent palates (certainly on par with my own), so that should be pretty easy to work out.
3/4 View: A little metal goes a long way.
Controls Closeup: Reminiscent of the K30 in terms of timer (minus the cool dial). I like.
It's a cute grinder.
Closing comments. Please note this is a pre-production model and changes are expected soon. You can read more about the Vario in Mark Hoy's thread here and Coffeegeek's writeup here.
