Baratza - Forté (Modified)

I currently have an alicorn aligned Forte and LOVE the coffee it produces from Light to medium, no problem. However, I am so tired of hand grinding for espresso, I use a JMax for that, so I want to get a second electric grinder. I am willing to get a espresso grinder and keep the Forte as a Brew Grinder, or IF there is a better brew grinder available (sub $1k) get that for brew, and dedicate my Forte to espresso. The only reason I am considering the 078 is because Lance, in his review of the Sculptor lineup, the ONLY one that he rated above the Vario/Forte was the 078, which according to him, is THE BEST brew grinder under $2000. So now I'm interested, and looking for others opinions. Edit: I was looking at the DF83v prior to this, but at the same price point I figured the Timemore was better overall, and also I really prefer it in white aesthetically.

I appreciate the detailed comparison. I may be grasping at straws here, honestly out of the few different grinders I've had coffee from, including local shops, the coffee produced from my forte is clearly the best, I'm such a huge fan of it. I think I may be better served finding another espresso grinder and dedicating my Forte to my daily brews. Even your description of the Vario brew is very much in line with my experience, just vibrant, colorful, and and juicy cups, time and time again. But I am staying tuned, in case you have any more great cup comparisons even down the line 👍🏽

My Baratza, ordered from Baratza, ground unevenly (dust, ground coffee, and biggish pieces) with a loud cracking noise at regular intervals (not just the usual burr grinding sound) from the git-go, and broke irreparably within a year -- as I drink coffee only two or three times a month, that would be more like a few weeks for most users. The on/off switch doesn't have a timer and if you fill the top -- if you put in more than a few tablespoons, actually-- and turn your back for a moment it will clog. As I put up with it for about a year, having no other option for grinding coffee, service was nonexistent. The years old Baratza this was supposed to be a replacement for had a timed switch (the same switch from the outside, and the little glitch of turning on until YOU turn it off wasn't mentioned in any review or Baratza's description), ground delightfully evenly at all settings, and never clogged despite my ex-husband -- the main coffee drinker-- never cleaning it and me only cleaning it (running rice or cleaning grains through it) when I thought of it, which wasn't often. I guess the gist is, be sure of what you're getting if you get a Baratza.

Baratza is the answer. I've had mine for over 20 years. I recently contacted the company to buy the little rubber feet that deteriorated on the bottom and they sent me the feet, some extra other parts, stickers and postcards. Years ago I contacted them to buy a few other normal wear and tear parts and they sent those free too. Buddy at work has one, they've sent him new circuit boards and gearboxes for free. Outstanding product and customer service you just don't find anymore.

Baratza is great.

Get a used grinder on marketplace for sure. Oxo and Breville are the bare minimum, but if you see a sub-$50 Baratza, that’s even better. If you don’t want to then start buying more beans, just resell it yourself when you finish the bag. Anything lower-end than those and I wouldn’t bother. Blade grinders ruin beans, as do super cheap “burr” grinders like Cuisinart and Shardor. As far as storage, if you brew coffee daily, I’d just keep them in a resealable container (with a “burp” valve if possible; old bags from previous coffee purchases should work) in a cool and dry place.

I got the Sage Barista Pro with the Baratza-Grinder and love it.

☝️this, I have 2 Mazzer Minis for regular and decaf espresso, and a baratza mainly for French Press and cold brew

I use a Comandante hand grinder with a Hario electric attachment to make pour over. I have a Baratza that rarely gets used.

I 2nd that. I got the one with the scale used on eBay. It's been great. Baratzas are great too. Better reliability and fix ability. But they are also a lot noisier.

We've had an OE Lido3 for years, and it's an excellent manual burr grinder. Have a Barazta that was just too damn loud, particularly first thing in the am. It's been collecting dust since the Lido3 showed up. But the Lido is $$$.

I recommend a Baratza coffee grinder. They are a quality product and the company sells replacement parts and stands behind their products.

Couple things to keep in mind: * Never underestimate the difference a good quality grinder will make, a cheaper machine with a good grinder will almost always beat an expensive machine with a bad grinder. Baratza makes excellent affordable machines, start with them. * Like with most products, the more complex it is, the more points of potential failure it will have. This is why I avoid all-in-one machines and fully automatic machines. Keep the grinder and the espresso machine separate, it will save your dad headaches down the road— and if he really gets into it, will give him the option to upgrade components independently * Espresso machine market is changing. Good home espresso is becoming increasingly within reach. You can get good value with some of the newer brands like Casabrews— but it'd still TBD how reliable these machines are, time will tell.

Agree. Barritza ($150?) plus Aeropress ($60?) work great together for me.

baratza is really bad, idk why people keep recommending it for espresso. K4 is also good and cheaper than K6. And lastly, even timemore C3 is a good option if you want something cheap and decent.

>it's really not that much time or effort to grind the beans by hand It actually is tiresome. Secondly, people in general want their coffee asap and grinding manually for 2 minutes in the morning is not that ... entertaining, let's say. And I would know as I've used one on and off for a year because baratza's bad qc.

Really hoped that the Varia would make a better showing here.  I wonder if the dial can be modded a bit to keep it from wandering (add friction material somewhere, maybe?) The noise of the Baratza puts me off, too.  I get offended these days by design decisions that don’t seem to care about the end user’s happiness.  I shouldn’t be forced to hate grinding coffee in the morning even if it’s just for thirty seconds. I did a lazy “noise analysis” vid of the earlier £500 grinder video to help me visualize their differences: https://youtu.be/3ELGcSK1G_4?si=5QGq5dh2InxT0DlP

I got a home grinder initially so that my coffee wouldn’t go stale as fast.  Whole beans last longer than preground.  Part of the bonus was, hopefully, that I could buy a larger bag for cheaper and still get good coffee for less money per cup. Then I got better at dialing in my grind size and getting the smoothest flavor I could, so now rather than spending ten dollars per kilo of commodity-grade coffee, I’m happy spending twenty per 300g of specialty coffee. 🤣 For the same money, you’ll get much better grind quality in a hand grinder than you would for electric.  Get a Timemore or 1ZPresso and it’ll rival electric grinders costing double or triple as much.  It’ll take a bit longer, but with the modern class of hand grinders, you’re only looking at maybe 45 seconds for a 3-cup pot without working very hard (which is much better than multiple minutes in a Hario Skerton). In electric grinders, the bare minimum I’d recommend would be an Oxo or a Baratza.  But I’d rather step up to, say, the DF54, Eureka Mignon series, Urbanic, and some others.

Side bar, but I would actually get the grinder first (I love my Bartaza). I got both at once and I found myself drawn to grinding the beans fresh for a French press makes wonderful coffee, to the point I hardly use my espresso machine anymore. You can use a grinder with any coffee method to make better coffee pretty quickly. Plus, using pre ground coffee for an espresso machine is .....not advised.

I got the Specialita and I believe - from my multiple reviews - the DF54 is up there is due to it's pricing. I've had the Baratza but the level up from previous to current one is not comparable. Eureka is just solid!

Just looking at it, I can see it's got the same internal design as the burr grinder Cuisinart has been making for decades now. It's better than a blade grinder, but it's on the lowest quality rung of electric burr grinders. The cheapest baratza is significantly better.

Baratza makes repairable grinders that will improve the taste of the coffee as well by having a more uniform grind.

+1 for this analysis!! Like yes a Ferrari is a great car but if you’re frequently going to national parks, camping, gravel roads, and/or need some carrying capacity, then a Ferrari will be a nightmare. I'd get a combo of the Baratza and K6; the former will get through volume when you need it, and the latter will be a fun way to treat yourself when you have more time or want a slightly more fun cup.

For your needs you could look into the Fellow Opus or a Baratza. ETA: top end of your budget but the Niche

If it's volume you want go for the Baratza or Baratza ESP (this will future proof it if you decide to drive into espresso) That has a hopper that you can load with a bag of coffee. You just press go and stop it when you've ground the amount you want. It can act as a single dose grinder too, you just weigh out the amount and grind that.

Exact same situation as me. I just ordered the baratza as it seemed to have the best overall reviews for the $

Why wouldn’t Baratza be a good pick?  People clamored over the Fellow Ode but they botched the launch hard and had to offer replacement burrs.  I’ve never heard of Baratza doing anything like that. 

No complaints from my Baratza.

K6 is best bang for buck. Baratza is the same for electric

I have the kingrinder and the baratza, go for the second. My coffee tastes so much better and it's way easier to operate.