Hi all. I have a 5-year-old Baratza Virtuoso that is used a few times a week for decaf espresso. Of late I noticed that my grinds, usually at a setting of 3-4, were resulting in fast pours. They worked at grinder setting of 2 for a while, and then became too fast. Yesterday I did a careful cleaning based on several YouTube videos: remove hopper; remove and gently wash gasket; remove and thoroughly brush upper burr assembly; with brush and probe (I used a toothpick) clean lower burr assembly and chute. Reassemble by aligning the red tab on the upper burr with about 30 on the grind scale and making sure it is firmly in place; replace gasket; replace hopper.

During the cleaning I found quite a layer of oily residue on the bottom of the upper burr. I cleaned it carefully.

The coffee is now coming out way too coarse. Even at a setting of 2, where I was previously getting a 2:1 pour ratio in 15-20 sec, it's now about 2:1 in 10 seconds. I've disassembled and reassembled everything twice to make sure nothing is spreading the burrs apart, but cannot find anything wrong.

Any thoughts on what I am missing would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff

Did you do the recalibration?

See this link. They also have a video for those who need it.

https://baratza.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... ration.pdf

This sounds like classic symptoms of broken upper burr holder. When it breaks the grind is coarse and inconsistent. Pull your upper burr assembly and inspect the plastic piece that holds the burr.

Here's more info from Baratza:
https://baratza.com/having-a-weak-link- ... ood-thing/.

Edit:
In the video he shows a tab broken off. In my experience it would usually crack right through the body. It can be difficult to notice if you do not inspect it closely.

Thanks, STG, you may have hit it. The burr holder is split along the side, top-to-bottom. I was trying to figure out if it was a seam or a crack. If it's not supposed to have such a seam, then it's time for a replacement. Many thanks!