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Just picked this up off Craigslist for $45 I think it will be a nice upgrade from my Mr. Coffee model.

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Flawless Victory said:
Just picked this up off Craigslist for $45 I think it will be a nice upgrade from my Mr. Coffee model.
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Now there's the under statement of the year. As long as it's working well that was a smoking good deal!

Dave
 
Ya I might have hit a little gold mine. While getting info about the Grinder as her Ad had no pictures I discovered that she misspelled Esspreso and did not know if the grinder was a doser or not. So she seemed to be a novice in this area at best. When asked why she was selling it her father is aparently a coffe fanatic and just hands down his stuff when he gets new ones. Not Sure what he has now but this http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/baratza-vario-burr-grinder-with-upgraded-h2-display she had on her counter in her Kitchen. So I requested that she rember my number next time she gets a hand me down so I can be third in line. :groucho:
 
The Baratza grinders are very nice. I haven't looked back since I bought the Preciso.

Dave
 
I had that Baratza Vario for a year but found it to be inconsistent from shot to shot. It worked OK if you kept the hopper full of beans but when you wanted to dose one shot at a time, my shots were all over the place. The last straw was when I started having static clumping issues. I tried to clean everything but no luck resolving the static. I then bought a used Super Jolly off CL for about $125 bucks and the difference was like night and day. Shot times stayed consistent and I was happy. But... It wasn't long before I got "curious" about a a grinder with larger burrs, so I got a Mazzer Major. To be honest, I cant tell much of a difference between the SJ and the Major.... So if you're serious about espresso, I highly recommend a SJ.
 
Maybe I can score a baratza to play around with some drip or pour over coffee. I have never really drank many types of coffee, just went straight to espresso. Only one grinder as well. Nice score there.
 
If you are a dedicated espresso drinker probably any of the multi-grinders are going to disappoint compared to the Mazzer, Rocky etc. However if you want a machine that can jump from FP to pour over and still get good results for some espresso machines then the Baratza Preciso is a very good option. What you get out of the Vario depends on the burr set you use. I thought about going that route but I there was a very detailed article on line that concluded the precisco actually is more consistent and costs a lot less.

Dave
 
I tried the Vario-W and found that it would never go back to the same settings.. Vario indeed.
I ended up with a big Kitchenaid and kitted it to work with high end burrs.
Much better! When I turn the knob.. Things change!
 
AFKitchenknivesguy said:
Let me know your thoughts on it Randy.
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I received the Bonavita last week and wanted to give it a few days of use testing and tasting.. Before I reported on it..

Overall. I am IMPRESSED! I have recently had some of the worst luck with coffee pots. in the last 6 months I have went through 4 pots. this makes number 5. I wish I would of started with this pot when I first started roasting beans. :)

My new Bonavita BV1800 makes a great cup of coffee, and by far the best cup I have experienced at home. My wife also has stated more then once this week about the coffee being the best she has ever had. ;)

Thanks so much for the recommendation.
Randy
 
HHH Knives said:
I received the Bonavita last week and wanted to give it a few days of use testing and tasting.. Before I reported on it..

Overall. I am IMPRESSED! I have recently had some of the worst luck with coffee pots. in the last 6 months I have went through 4 pots. this makes number 5. I wish I would of started with this pot when I first started roasting beans. :)

My new Bonavita BV1800 makes a great cup of coffee, and by far the best cup I have experienced at home. My wife also has stated more then once this week about the coffee being the best she has ever had. ;)

Thanks so much for the recommendation.
Randy
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Now don't be stirring up my AD! My current list of coffee toys will likely last me forever but that is definately the one to get right now. I wish more people would learn the buy once, cry once mantra!
 
Im just really pleased with this coffee pot and wish I would of spent the cash to begin with rather then wasting all them fresh roasted beans on inferior brewers!

Live and learn. :)

Blessings
Randy
 
Finally getting around to replacing my crappy Krups grinder with a real espresso grinder after having found a decent deal for a Vario on eBay.

Vario users: what should my initial settings for espresso be before I start dialling in? I have just received a fresh 5 lb. bag of Red Bird (roasted Friday), and will be pulling with an unmodded Silvia through a VST basket. I plan to PID Miss Silvia soon.
 
I have a Silvia and an older Mokita machine (which is running strong after 12 years). I grind my coffee with a Rocky grinder. Despite the great coffee these machines make I find myself turning to my Nespresso machine a lot just for the convenience factor.
 
ECM Espresso Machine myself with Mazzer Mini Mod B grinder 64mm Burrs.
Did a quick test shot video yesterday of it and usually with a triple basket.
Got the VST basket on the way.

Coffee is a big love of mine, right up there with cocktails, and cooking.
Yes knives are part of that cooking thing :)

[video=youtube;pdNzBV0zqyw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNzBV0zqyw[/video]
 
I did a couple of test pulls this morning with the factory-recommended starting point of 1-K on the Vario. My usual 19.5 g in a Synesso 18 g basket choked the stock (but fairly well-used) Silvia. 23 g in the VST triple yielded a slightly bitter, powdery shot but a pretty decent cone with the naked PF. Dialled the micro back to O and dosed the same and the VST blonded a bit early, but there was no powder. I'll play some more this afternoon, but MAN what a difference from a cheap burr grinder! ;)
 
I had a Baratza Vario for about a year. It worked pretty well, as long as you had some beans in the hopper. It was horribly inconsistent if you were dosing one shot at a time. If you use the manufacturer's instructions to calibrate your zero point, I think I was usually grinding around 1 notch down on the left (macro) side and about a third of the way down in the micro adjustment. If I changed beans, I normally only had to change the micro adjustment up or down a few notches. it was very rare that I had to move the macro lever.
 
SameGuy said:
I did a couple of test pulls this morning with the factory-recommended starting point of 1-K on the Vario. My usual 19.5 g in a Synesso 18 g basket choked the stock (but fairly well-used) Silvia. 23 g in the VST triple yielded a slightly bitter, powdery shot but a pretty decent cone with the naked PF. Dialled the micro back to O and dosed the same and the VST blonded a bit early, but there was no powder. I'll play some more this afternoon, but MAN what a difference from a cheap burr grinder! ;)
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How you liking the VST filters? I have mine on the way (somewhere in the mail) and pretty excited to use.
I been advised that a flatter tamper is also better well currently I am using a slightly convex version.
Today I came down to 22grams and got a much better extraction. Still they are pulling a bit long over the 34 second mark, but taste great.

My steaming though for milk has taken a turn for the worse. Not sure if its the milk I have (same brand) or if I am just off.
 
I learned this morning not to use the naked PF after working a taxing graveyard shift and taking muscle relaxants before bed. What a mess! :)
 
DerSnap said:
How you liking the VST filters? I have mine on the way (somewhere in the mail) and pretty excited to use.
I been advised that a flatter tamper is also better well currently I am using a slightly convex version.
Today I came down to 22grams and got a much better extraction. Still they are pulling a bit long over the 34 second mark, but taste great.

My steaming though for milk has taken a turn for the worse. Not sure if its the milk I have (same brand) or if I am just off.
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You really have to try different milks out. When I lived in Germany, I had a hard time finding milk that wasn't ultra pasturized/shelf stable; it's hard to get good microfoam with it. Try finding the freshest milk you can find, and use whole milk.
 
Just didn't do something right, dosing, distribution, tamping... I'm still honing the new grinder for Red Bird. Had three different micro-jets beside the main cone, one spraying the backsplash of the machine, one my hand and one the counter and even the floor. Tiny little espresso dots everywhere!
 
image.jpg



Yes, the chrome has peeled off the plastic group head cowl...
 
AFKitchenknivesguy said:
You really have to try different milks out. When I lived in Germany, I had a hard time finding milk that wasn't ultra pasturized/shelf stable; it's hard to get good microfoam with it. Try finding the freshest milk you can find, and use whole milk.
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I use a good Organic (Bio) Milk here Alpine stuff with 3.8% fat. It was just this specific one that was a bit flat for frothing. Today it was fine.
By off I meant my latte art is just not as fancy as when I used to make 400+ a day as a barista.

VST 20 gram just arrived last night, and dialing it in. So far seems pretty good.
 
SameGuy said:
Just didn't do something right, dosing, distribution, tamping... I'm still honing the new grinder for Red Bird. Had three different micro-jets beside the main cone, one spraying the backsplash of the machine, one my hand and one the counter and even the floor. Tiny little espresso dots everywhere!
Click to expand...

When I get uneven extractions, I often fall back to using the WDT and/or dosing down. For whatever reason, dosing "too much" in a basket makes my shots more prone to channelling.
 
SameGuy said:
image.jpg



Yes, the chrome has peeled off the plastic group head cowl...
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It looks like the coffee is coming out fast here. How long did this shot run? Was the picture taken towards the end?
 
Towards the end, yes. This was at about 24 seconds. I'm still dialling in the grind, but the channeling is definitely just operator error. I'll try dosing down and refining my initial distribution.
 
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