Thread: Coffee Enthusiasts

I've been a fan of Baratza since the first prototypes of the Vario. I was a supplier to OE for years and bought it through them. I really like Baratza's customer service.

Powered grinders are not the only answer!
OE Design makes some fantastic quality hand grinders.
oehandgrinders
They used to refurbish vintage hand mills and learned the trade for new design and quality.
~Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

I've been a fan of Baratza since the first prototypes of the Vario. I was a supplier to OE for years and bought it through them. I really like Baratza's customer service.

Powered grinders are not the only answer!
OE Design makes some fantastic quality hand grinders.
oehandgrinders
They used to refurbish vintage hand mills and learned the trade for new design and quality.
~Richard

In my case the powered grinder is my final answer. Ive spent enough on a single cup a day! LOL. These OE grinders look interesting but $200 is a lot for hand grinder when I've invested in a Sette. If my wife was a coffee drinker, it might change things. But one person with one, maybe two, cups a day is not enough to justify any further investment. BTW, I'm not saying this to convince you of this. This is mostly for my own purposes. LOL.

Aloha!

I discovered (or should I say RE-Discovered) the amazing Moka Pot a few years ago. I love the coffee (or should I say Espresso) that it brews. I used to do a bit of motorcycle camping and I travel on business. The small Moka pot goes with me. I can make amazing coffee (espresso) in my room or at camp so easily.

In Hawaii, Kona is plentiful, so Kona is my brew of choice. Walk into any Long's Drug Store and you are presented with 20 linear feet of Kona Coffee in the aisle. Kona beans offer me amazing flavor without getting me wired. Colombian and Kenyan and other varieties tend to wire me up way more than Kona. Yet Kona gives me the flavor I love.

I always grind my own beans with Kona.

I also happen to love Jacobs Kronung coffee from Germany. Amazing coffee. Jacobs doesn't wire me up that badly either. But Kona is the king of mellow when it comes to caffeine. Jacobs is the only coffee I don't mind buying ground. The vacuum pack is superior and I can't taste any difference between grinding my own beans and them grinding them for me.

I also keep a can of Cafe Du Monde coffee in the freezer. Personally, I can't just "drink" this coffee. It's for drinking WITH sweet deserts like cake and pie and beignets. On it's own? No thanks. With sweets? Yes please.

-Zip

I bought my Vario W around a year ago. it comes with ceramic Burrs and it simply does not grind even close to coarse. So Baratza suggested I get the optional stainless burrs for it. So another $60 down the drain and it still does not provide a coarse grind. Probably by definition it's in the coarse range but barely. My brewer (Ratio 5) needs pretty coarse grinds so I got tired of bitter coffee from the improper grind so I broke down and bought a Virtuoso with the Esatto accessory. The Vario is a great grinder but not for coarse grind. The Virtuoso is really what I needed. It ain't bad really.

They were selling a crowd funded hand grinder earlier this year. It's probably one of the best designed hand grinders I've seen simply called Handground at around $100. The only thing with hand-grinders is they grind slow and you lose some of the delicate coffee essences during the time you are grinding.

Found a local Espresso machine dealer. Chatted with him and he has guided me to some machines in my price range and my usage area. Going to do more reading and studying on them, but sure is nice to find and support a local, to my state, dealer.

I own an OE Lido E-T hand grinder, and I can certainly vouch for their superior build quality. If I hadn’t acquired my Fiorenzato Dogé Conico at $1,200 off of retail, I might have complained about the price, too.

I had the Baratza Solis for many years before I picked up an espresso machine. It was a great grinder that worked like a mule for years. For drip coffee, it was fine. I'm sure there were better grinders but it served me well for a long, long time. That was the main driving force behind my second purchase of the Sette. It was the long lasting performance of the previous grinder.

The Sette 270 arrived yesterday. 1st report:

First impressions:
1. Printed instructions are minimal! See the videos (YouTube)by Baratza!
2. un-boxing and assembly is a simple process.
3. It is about twice as heavy as my Vario.
4. Small foot print; twice as deep as my Vario; same width. Saves counter space


Last night
I removed the burr unit to look at it it.
a. Couldn't get it back to what I thought was correct setting at 5; it stopped at about 19. Panic!
b. after watching the videos again I put it back to what the video showed and then ran the machine and that allowed me to set the grind while running.

First trials: This AM.
Adjusted the PF holder on the Sette.
Set the grind to 6 E My Cremina likes a larger particle size.
Weighed and dumped exactly 15g of Yirgacheffe light roast into the hopper and started the machine on manual and flipped the dump lever on the hopper.
I watched the timer and 5 seconds finished the grind and filled the double PF half way with a very light fluffy grind!

This is the first time all the grind went into a 49mm Pf with any grinder I have had; no funnel!

I placed the PF into the Cremina and did a light pre-pull to saturate the puck. Then, I did a normal pull.

Result, as good a latte as I have had with those beans. Time and a little adjusting will get the grinder to a higher level for my needs.

Yes, It is worth the price FOR ME

Having gone through a few grinders, Vario, Mazzer Jolly, Rocky, Breville, Mr coffee, Cuisinart, etc, high and low end; I like this grinder!

JMO
~Richard

Added Info:
Second try this afternoon; same dosage.
Added one # to the grind size and came away with an even better cup; sweeter and better mouth feel.

Originally Posted by Geezer

The Sette 270 arrived yesterday. 1st report:

First impressions:
1. Printed instructions are minimal! See the videos (YouTube)by Baratza!
2. un-boxing and assembly is a simple process.
3. It is about twice as heavy as my Vario.
4. Small foot print; twice as deep as my Vario; same width. Saves counter space


Last night
I removed the burr unit to look at it it.
a. Couldn't get it back to what I thought was correct setting at 5; it stopped at about 19. Panic!
b. after watching the videos again I put it back to what the video showed and then ran the machine and that allowed me to set the grind while running.

First trials: This AM.
Adjusted the PF holder on the Sette.
Set the grind to 6 E My Cremina likes a larger particle size.
Weighed and dumped exactly 15g of Yirgacheffe light roast into the hopper and started the machine on manual and flipped the dump lever on the hopper.
I watched the timer and 5 seconds finished the grind and filled the double PF half way with a very light fluffy grind!

This is the first time all the grind went into a 49mm Pf with any grinder I have had; no funnel!

I placed the PF into the Cremina and did a light pre-pull to saturate the puck. Then, I did a normal pull.

Result, as good a latte as I have had with those beans. Time and a little adjusting will get the grinder to a higher level for my needs.

Yes, It is worth the price FOR ME

Having gone through a few grinders, Vario, Mazzer Jolly, Rocky, Breville, Mr coffee, Cuisinart, etc, high and low end; I like this grinder!

JMO
~Richard

Added Info:
Second try this afternoon; same dosage.
Added one # to the grind size and came away with an even better cup; sweeter and better mouth feel.

It really does seem to rock the price point that its in. You could spend a little less and get what seems to be a lot less or you can spend a lot more and get what seems like only a little more. I don't have the experience with other brands. I had a Baratza, wanted another, and saw nothing but rave reviews. I was a little grumpy when I encountered problems with the first one. But that evaporated when the new one arrived. The new one is improved. It seems to have more power behind it. Not that the first one was laboring to grind but the new one rips through beans with what seems like even less effort. They also improved the portafileter/grind catch holder. I don't grind into the portafilter directly but use the cup it comes with. It used to kinda swing somewhat freely on the holder. The new one is more secure and grips more. Over time you may see a need to adjust the grind finer and eventually install the shim kit that probably came with it. Once it breaks in it seems to need an adjustment.

I saw this posted on FB today. It sums up my experience with Baratza.

https://www.baratza.com/dont-dump-it...form=hootsuite