Hello, I just received a Baratza Vario W for Christmas from wife. I drink mostly espresso and my father gave me his old 1980's La Pavoni Europiccola that's in need of repair and is unable to be used at present, so I've been drinking French press as a substitute.

Since I received the Baratza Vario W, I've been reading a lot about grind settings for French press and espresso and found some information that has me worried. I've read that multiple people say that the Baratza Vario W is not a good grinder to use if you're changing grind settings for different brewing methods. The whole reason I went with this grinder is because it was recommended for espresso as well as French press and that it would be much easier to change between the 2 grind settings than say a Mazzer would, which was originally my first choice, but due to cost and the difficulty of changing grind settings, the Vario W seemed to be a good compromise.

Since I don't know when the Europiccola will be in working order, I planned on drinking French press and using the Vario W. So, will it be a problem to change the grind settings to espresso once the Europiccola is working again? At that time, I will drink almost only espresso but my wife really likes French press so I can't say I would never change up the grind settings although it will mostly be used for espresso. Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance for any input.

Marc

I'll preface my answer by saying the obvious:

There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" or "Swiss Army knife" grinder.

The Vario W if equipped with ceramic burrs is a decent espresso grinder. I used the one I had for years as an espresso grinder until I modified a super jolly, then the Vario-W got steel burrs and was relegated to grinding for all other brew methods.

The Vario-W is a very nice grinder and the weight grinding is something you will never step back from once you get "spoiled"

All that said......

It will grind fine for espresso and should grind coarse enough for press but it won't be perfect. Depending on how picky you are about your coarse grinds it may be acceptable to you (it was for me).

One thing to remember...... Rather important.

DO NOT change the grinder's settings unless it is running. This goes for any and all grinders but especially Baratza grinders as they are prone to breakage and failure of the plastic internal parts if you try to FORCE the burrs closer together when it is not running.

I've come to the conclusion that 2 grinders are the bare minimum. One dedicated to espresso, the other dedicated to everything else. You will also come to this conclusion over time. Keep the Vario-W as it can be turned in to an exceptional brew grinder by replacing the ceramic burrs with metal ones.

My current grinder "bull pen" consists of 2 Forte BG and a highly modified supper jolly... BUT... I am rather picky about my grinding.

Thanks for the reply and also to whomever changed my thread title. At the time I couldn't think of anything else but the new one seems more fitting.

I understand that there's no Swiss Army knife of grinders but I thought that the Vario W would be good at changing settings. Like I said once my espresso machine is operational again, I'll be using the grinder almost strictly for espresso grinding. Another reason I asked the question because at the present time it isn't feasible for me to have 2 separate grinders. I had to fight tooth and nail with my wife about getting the Vario W had is nowhere in the price range of a more desirable espresso grinder.

Maybe a few years down the road that will be the case but at the present, I can't get another grinder. It will definitely cause a huge problem if I do right now. So do you think for the present, I can use the Vario W for French press and then switch to almost strictly espresso grinding?

Thanks.

What grinder were you using prior to the Vario W? Yes you can go back and forth for espresso and press with it, is it something you will want to do every day? Only you can can answer that. Is it that you have no more for another grinder? A capresso infinity is alright for french press, have a look at the Baratza line of entry grinders, you can usually get a reburb at a good price, my guess is you will be looking soon anyway.

If your plan is to use the grinder for coarse press grind until your espresso machine is up and running this will work just fine. The Vario-W with ceramic burrs will do coarse ground coffee acceptably.

Any grinder will suffer trying to grind espresso then press then espresso then press then a pour over all in the same day.

you will find that it might take you 4 or more pulls to get the grinder "dialed in" for your espresso machine. If you move it to press, it will take another 4 (or more) pulls before it is back to grinding consistently for your espresso machine.

If you are willing to have a number of sour or bitter cups of espresso while you get it dialed in again.... You see where I am going.

I can go through as much as a quarter of a pound before I get my espresso grinder dialed in when I change beans. This can take me as long as several days of drinking just ok shots. Once dialed in, the grinder is usually just fine until I get into another batch of beans. I roast my own beans and I try to be uber consistent in my roasting but things such as temp and humidity can throw a roast off enough that even with the exact same beans roasted using the exact same profile my grinder will require "tweaking" of the settings to get it perfect once again.

If you want good pulls you need to keep your grinder untouched between uses so that your first pull is as good as you can get, not starting from scratch every time you want a pull which is like using a new grinder each time you pull shots.

If you do not have room (or the resolve to fight for one) think about getting a decent small hand grinder for your press coffee. I use a OE modified Kyocera CM-50 that I take with me when I travel to grind for pour over. It is small and will grind a 38 gram 1 liter pour over in a few minutes.

It really all boils down to how much hassle you are willing to endure if you only want to use one grinder to do all grinding tasks

Personally, though the Baratzas are advertised as capable of doing espresso to press, I wouldn't. Will put extra wear and tear and generally is what causes issues. The Forte is much more stout and can handle the switching back and forth. The regular Varios, best left to either only espresso or coarse use.

While I love my Vario, grind settings will slip, especially when making larger movements in grind fineness. So if you are on 2J, for example, and move a few macro settings for coarse, when you return to 2J, it may not be the same fineness of grind, forcing you to re-dial your espresso settings. This gets tiresome quickly and can waste a lot of coffee if you switch back and forth from brew to espresso.

I know you mentioned the cost of another grinder is not really an option, but I'd consider something like a LIDO ($175-200) for brew. It will work well and, as I noted, you may waste a lot of coffee with having to dial-in your espresso with grind changes, costing you more money as well.

The Lido 2 would make quick work on french press grinds.

This might be stepping out on a limb, but I'm going to say it anyway based on personal experience.

In desperation, leaving for a trip, I had my Vario dialed in perfectly for my travel machine. (Rossa hand crank) I did the unthinkable. I ground enough for about 10 shots, rolled the grounds tightly in a ziplock bag and wrapped rubber bands around it to keep the air out. I was amazed how well it performed. I expected day 5 to get a rush of water though the espresso bed, but it held up surprisingly well. Maybe my coffee being very fresh needed quick aging.

So, you could in a squeeze (especially if the coffee is fresh) Grind a few days worth then seal it from outside air. Then dial in your French Press and stick with that grind setting for 4 days or so. Then grind 4 days more French press, then dial in for espresso. This could limp you along with only changing grind settings once a week.

What others have said is true though, it's hard to make those big jumps with the Vario, both dialing in maybe a bit hard on the grinder. Ideal is still two grinders.

"Any" grinder suffering may be a bit of an exaggeration - my super caimano does just fine... It's a simple system with threads and a pin, no springs or levers to screw up