New Vario

[txrpls]

The Vario will be here on Thursday. I normally grind 15.5 grams (by weight) and dump into the Mini Mazzer and thwack the doser until I get as much of the grind as possible. Any hints on using the Vario and tuning it in without wasting a lot of coffee?

[Endo]

Fist calibrate your zero point:

With no beans in. Move left micro slider all the way down (coarsest). Turn on the grinder using "manual" and "start". Move the right macro slider all the way up (finest). From there, SLOWLY move the micro up until you hear the motor noise start to change very slightly (you'll here it start to slow down slightly). This is the zero point. If you get to the middle of the micro setting and still no noise (not zeroed), use the supplied calibration tool to turn the small set screw behind the chute to make it finer.

Once calibrated, next move to setup your typical espresso grind point:

Once the zero is set at min macro and mid micro, move the macro down one notch coarser and leave the micro in the middle. Add the beans (make sure they are fresh...no older than 3 weeks). This is should get you close if you use a 30 lb tamp, but you may need to go a notch or 2 finer.

Lastly, set your timer to 12 sec for about a 16g dose.

Good luck!

[txrpls]

Endo, Thanks fro the info. I still want to measure my dose by weight, I assume there is a way to just turn it off and on.

[JohnB]

I've found that you really NEED to check your dose on a scale as the timed dose will vary from day to day. I'm using the Vario primarily for vac pot grinding and the changes are quite noticeable as the coffee ages over a 3 day period. Also switching from one light roasted S/O to another the changes are surprisingly large. The more I use this grinder the less impressed with timed dosing I become. I see a used Bunn grinder in my future for brew grinding & a used Vario on the market at that point.

[Endo]

Endo, Thanks fro the info. I still want to measure my dose by weight, I assume there is a way to just turn it off and on.

You can just push "start" again to cut it off. Or use "manual" then "start" for it to run forever, then "start" again to stop (just like Windows XP).

The more I use this grinder the less impressed with timed dosing I become.

I know how you feel. I had the timed doser on my SJ for a few months. The novelty wore off and soon I couldn't stand the dose variability. I went back to weighing each dose and everything started feeling right again.

I was hoping the Vario would be different, but of course, there is no magic. I also can't seem to get the same perfect, slow accelerating center pours I was getting with Mazzer. I've been heavily experimenting with techinque and even used WDT to see if I can improve things. That's the trade-off with the Vario, you gain in convenience, but lose in consistancy.

I'll hold on to my Vario for another 6 months to see if things improve, but if I'm stuck doing WDT to match my Mazzer, or weighing every third dose.....this Vario is off to E-bay.

[LJCoffeeGuy]

Yeah, the timer isn't very consistent for me, either. I use it more as a general timer and then keep adding and weighing the basket until I get it right. Weight the empty basket, time grinder, add, subtract.....you get the picture.

What is your serial number? My new one from 2 weeks ago from Chris' is 1935.

Anybody want to put up some videos of their shot pours using their vario?

I haven't used my SJ with the new Vivaldi / Vario. I figure I ought to try it - maybe tomorrow. I already am getting a lot better shot quality with the new equipment, but perhaps my old V2 was just finicky. The new 7/2009 V2 I just bought from Chris' has a better build quality and seems to do better for me that the previous...don't know why!

[txrpls]

Wow! I thought you guys where pretty high on the Vario. I don't care about the timer, just the grind quality. I don't see how any timed grinder can deliver consistent doses. If the grind quality is as good as my mini, I'll be happy.

[JohnB]

The Vario does a good job with the grinding so you should be happy with the results. The ceramic burrs are the best feature of the Vario & the only reason I bought one (used). Espresso grind quality is on par with an SJ & the brew grinds are superior so you should see an improvement over your Mini. Build quality, ease of adjustment & eye candy award definitely go to the Mazzers.

[JohnB]

What is your serial number? My new one from 2 weeks ago from Chris' is 1935.

Most recent number I've heard was near 2400 but I don't think there have been any changes for quite awhile now. My used Vario was in the 870 range & the replacement they sent when the Micro lever got a mind of its own is 1356.

[Endo]

Wow! I thought you guys where pretty high on the Vario. I don't care about the timer, just the grind quality. I don't see how any timed grinder can deliver consistent doses. If the grind quality is as good as my mini, I'll be happy.

I don't think the Vario is a bad grinder at all. Infact, it would be my first recommendation to anyone looking for a grinder to pair with the Vivaldi.

It's simply that many people put it on par with the Mazzer Super Jolly. I'm just challenging that particular taste claim (And it seems I may be the only one ).

Keep in mind, I'm still not totally settled on this (since I still have some experimenting to do)...but,

I find it slighly (yet noticeably) inferior to my SJ. I'm not talking "horrible" by any means. Just a notch below the SJ. I suspect the same way a Mazzer Major would be better than my SJ, let's say. I'd say it was closer to my Mini Mazzer than my SJ, so you should be happy taste-wise, and with the added convenience, it's a no-brainer.

Many people own the Vario and SJ on other forums and claim there is no difference, but few have run both on the Vivaldi. I've run both side-by-side on 53mm and also on 58mm machines now. I agree on the 58mm basket, there is a smaller difference (perhaps because I am less familiar with these machines). On the other hand, my 53mm Vivaldi definitely prefers the SJ. I suspect it has something to do with the Vario grind (which has to be different considering how different the burrs are). I suspect the grind from the Vario is more prone to channeling and the deeper basket on the Vivaldi highlights this more.

I can't even bring up this subject on other forums since criticizing the Vario is akin to blasphemy. There is no discussion, only Vario zealots who repeat "It must be you. Grind finer, tamp softer". But I think it's a healthy discussion to have.

I'll post a Vario video next chance I get so others can compare it to my SJ naked pours already on YouTube and Vimeo.

[LJCoffeeGuy]

Yeah Endo, you don't want to get banned from CG again, do you? or was that a myth :-) Understand the blasphemy....

I roasted a brazil and red sea (yemen/ethiopia) blend a couple of days ago and decided to try running it through the vario. Oh my...nor enough rest or it's truly a bad roast. I had the levers to macro 2 and micro 12 for Chris's Black Pearl, and had to adjust to macro 2 and micro 1 at 15.5 to get anything sort of like 2 oz in 25. Perhaps more rest will calm it down. Still, no visible or bad clumping.

I am about to make some labels for my Vario for the settings. Probably out of white electrical tape to start with, but will put it on the computer to show all the stops and number them. Therefore I can quickly adjust from 2.12 to 5.19, etc. A visual marking on the machine would be helpful.

Would you guys be interested in a printable click setting chart for the macro and micro?

[Endo]

Banned from Home-Boreista (twice actually), not CoffeeGeek. (So much for freedom of speech.....the Bore-istas must be operating out of China).

I got another good shot from the Vario yesterday and another bad one today. I'm starting to think most of the problems I've had with the Vario are caused by the dose variability. I then over (or under) compensate by changing grind size, time, tamp, etc.....and I'm all over the place. I need to weigh more, tamp the same, use the same beans, and basically try to get things constant.

[JohnB]

I'd be interested in some adhesive labels if you make some up.

As for Vario pet peeves I'd have to mention the "supposed" ease with which you can switch from Espresso grinding to a Press Pot grind. It's true that you can move the levers easily into the Press Pot position but if you had a nice Espresso grind you won't see anything approaching a decent Press Pot grind without completely recalibrating the burrs. This is a real PITA if you just want to make some P/P or cold brew & then go back to Espresso or Vac Pot. With temps hitting 100* today Iced Coffee is a priority & I'm beginnig to regret selling my KA Pro which was a great P/P grinder. Since I'm using the Vario primarily for Vac Pot & would like to use it to grind 80g of S/O every night for Iced Coffee (Hario Mitzudash Grande) I'll probably recalibrate it to the coarse side & grind my Vac Pot coffees on the Espresso setting.

[txrpls]

If I'm reading correctly, it sounds like I might be happy with the Vario if I continue my present regimen of weighing my dose and then grinding. I only use my grinder for espresso, so I won't be changing the dials much once I get it tuned in. I rarely adjust the grinder on the Mazzer, but I pretty much stay with one blend.

[Endo]

I dont think anybody would be unhappy with the Vario. I'm only splitting hairs with regard to the Mazzer SJ and Vario.

If you weigh your doses you lose most of the convenience advantage of the Vario, but the trade-off will be improve dose consistancy (which is especially important on the Vivaldi in my opinion).

One other strange Vario observation:

After 3 weeks of use, it now makes a LOT more mess than when new. I'm not sure if it's a break-in thing, a static build-up or a weather phenomena. Just messy.

[slo]

Just chiming in with my 0.5 cents worth...

The B-Vario, in my experience does better with a bean load in the hopper. By this I mean that the quality of the ground and the timed dosing repeatability are much better than if one would single dose. I use the Vario a secondary grinder so, for me, it is almost always used in single dose mode and I am very much happy with the quality. certainly I do not get channelling because of the grinder. I think that the Macap MXKR does a much better job (on all criterion) but for single dose, when sampling, using decaf and just varying the coffee, the vario is great.

I have found that the timed dose volume repeatability of the B-Vario is somewhat dependant on the beans and weather conditions. I have had very stable and repetitive dose (within 0.1g) with some coffees but have had variability in the 1.5 g for others. There is definitely more variability in the dose volume with smaller dose. I personally always weight the dose.

I can easily cover my range of Espresso/french press/filter drip with my current B-Vario calibration. I don't even go all the way down on the macro for drip and I am 1 notch down from the top with the espresso range. Maybe I am grinding too fine for filter drip... but it seems to please my wife and occasional guests. I do not drink drip, so this comment is worth what you think it is.

The B-vario is a messy sprayer of coffee whenever the conditions for static are present. I have grounded the P/F fork with a wire to the hook that is grounded to the machine. That helped a lot. I have fabricated a dosing funnel, kinda like the Orphan espresso funnels, by pressing an aluminium measuring cup into the basket to shape a ledge and cut the bottom. That pretty much solved the issue for me.

Finally (for today), there is already a guy on Coffeegeek (http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/grinders/459122) that created a numbered label for the B-vario. The graduations are not aligned to the Vario graduation but to the actual notches (you may have noticed that the notches and the graduation do not match!!! I have complained to Kyle at Baratza about this). I have printed it and installed it. It fits perfectly and it is much easier to get your previous setting back.

Just giving a second opinion to our grumpy bunch here The B-Vario is not perfect sure but it is a great bang for the buck!

[JohnB]

I'm following several Bunn grinders on fleabay.

[Endo]

What? A boring Bunn LPG?

You have a Speedster. Nothing less then a Swiss made Ditting will do!

[JohnB]

No, I'm looking at the G1 & G3s as well as a Mahlkonig Guatemala. A little tall but my wife was disappointed when she saw the relatively small plastic Vario after having the Major on the counter. I think she would find one of these much more impressive.

[JohnB]

Brought home a mint 3 year old Bunn G3 this afternoon. I'll post some pics of the beast tomorrow. Anyone looking for a nice, lightly used Vario?

[Endo]

Oh man. I couldn't afford that.

Not the grinder....the fact that it can grind one lb of coffee in 30 sec ! That's about $30 per minute at the going rate!

How big are the burrs on that thing?

[JohnB]

I'm single dosing with the Bunn so it grinds what I want for each use. It is fast & grounds retention is minimal after the first use following a cleaning. I had it all apart this morning but never thought to measure the burrs. They are at least as big as those in the Major if not larger.

[txrpls]

Was out of town until last night and unpacked the Vario. Did a coup;e of adjustment and then ground a shot and pulled it. The result tasted good, but the time was a little on the short side. adjusted the grind a couple times this morning and all seems to be operating well. I can't tell any taste difference from the grinds from the Mini; the Vario clumps less. My wife darn sure loves the looks. I am a Little perplexed though, I normally use 15.5 grams on the Mini to reach the insert line. On the Vario this is leaving the dose a little below the line. I figured the Vario would be high from less loss due to the dosser on the Mini.

[LJCoffeeGuy]

txrpls-
The height of the tamped puck is a little bit different using my Vario instead of the old mazzer mini and the super jolly. My Vario puck tends to be several mm below the 'ridge' on the basket. I've adjusted the grind and dosing and 15.5 seems to be great, regardless of using Vario, Mini or SJ.

If you aren't doing this already, I highly recommend weighing your dose after you grind to make sure you achieve 15.5, etc. The timer isn't always consistent :) I'll typically grind for 11.2 second, weigh, and add using the manual setting until I reach the desired dose.

Remember - start by weighing the basket, tare it out, then grind into the basket, weigh the basket, repeat as necessary. I have removed the spring from my portafilter so that the basket is loose to remove/insert with each and quickness.

Each bean is different.

[txrpls]

txrpls-


If you aren't doing this already, I highly recommend weighing your dose after you grind to make sure you achieve 15.5, etc. The timer isn't always consistent :) I'll typically grind for 11.2 second, weigh, and add using the manual setting until I reach the desired dose.

Thanks for the reply, but I am not using the timer I weigh my dose and then dump in the hopper. I would seem that I should be getting more than the Mini, not less.