Baratza - Virtuoso+

Baratza Virtuoso+ has served me well for three years with my Breville Bambino.

I just got a Comandante C40, and compared to my Virutoso+, it is in a completely different league. There are virtually no fines with the C40. The cups from pour over are fantastic. I have heard good things about the 1zpressos but could not justify the extra expense compared to the C40 in my location. People complain about longer grind times with the C40 due to smaller burrs, but for pour-over, I don't understand why. It is a joy to use.

I’ve had a Baratza Virtuoso+, a Baratza Vario+, and now a Mazzer Philos, and I’d rank them in Bottom, Mid, and Top Tiers, respectively. 

Baratza occasionally has refurbed virtuoso+ on their site. That’s a helluva deal and plenty of folks use it with the MM If you don’t care about saving $$ just buy it new

My Baratza Virtuoso+ was a workhorse for me for many years. I then received a 1zpresso K-Ultra as a Christmas gift. After being skeptical of hand grinders for a long time (particularly since my only experience with them was with the Hario Skerton), I was surprised that I almost immediately fell in love with my K-Ultra. I sold my Baratza on Craigslist three days ago.

Baratza Virtuoso. Great for every budget. Incredibly consistent. My go-to for home grinding. https://firelightcoffee.com/product/baratza-virtuoso-grinder/?srsltid=AfmBOoqQlgB0VaOkZNMuLHvui1qBt1r_oxzFWCIO6XOlVVf1wLkyiGrn

I recently "upgraded" from an electric Baratza Virtuoso to a manual ZP6. I like the ZP6 a lot. It takes up less space and really doesn't take much time or effort to grind coffee. I do pour over with 15 or 20 g of coffee at a time, and it takes seconds to grind. I can't see myself going back to an electric grinder (unless I for some reason bought a Mr. Coffee and needed a lot of coffee grounds).

Can I ask you what your grind setting is for the aeropress? I just purchased this grinder as an upgrade to an aging Capresso grinder, always produced reliably full bodied cups, and the past few brews with the Virtuoso have been bitter (grind setting 12) or flavorless (grind setting 14). Not sure what to do, and I threw away the box so can’t return.

Thanks for the reply. Honestly the only reason I’m unhappy with grind consistency of my virtuoso, is from making decaf. Decaf just grinds differently, creating lots of fines. I have to go up to at least 32 before I see less dust to clog my filters. I never had a complaint about the virtuoso until I started with decaf. That said, maybe the virtuoso is still a great grinder. Could be the problem lies in the decaf and not the virtuoso.

Yes. It’ll just take you a while and might get old fast. I kept my Baratza Virtuoso around for anything over 20-30g

I have the Baratza Virtuoso. I love the work it does. I started roasting my own coffee to "save money" or just have fresher coffee.

I went back to my old trusty Baratza Virtuoso after years of disappointment using Fellow Ode V1 with SSP, and finally getting delicious and consistent cups again. Go figure

Baratza Virtuoso has worked well for me. I’ve never used a hand grinder, but considering checking one out.

I’ve been on 11 and ok but 14 wasn’t great so I took it to 11 and been fine. I also looked up a guide for that grinder that provided a range of grind settings for AeroPress. Are you using the Aeromatic app? You can select your grinder and it corresponds to particular recipes. The Hoffman recipe suggested 11 for the Virtuoso. I’d keep tweaking til you find the right one. I’ve been mostly a pour over or moka pot drinker, so I’m still experimenting. Good luck!

I started out with a modded Baratza (stepless plus the burr from the Virtuoso) and a Flair Neo, and I got… 'okay' espresso for a while, but really I didn't get anything decent and truly tasty until I upgraded (+ took off the flow control on the Neo basket)

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.