Baratza - Virtuoso+

The M40 doesn't have external grind adjustment- no way I would ever get it. Copying an outdated grinder like the commandante is a weird business model. I have used a K6 every day for the past 2.5 years. I also have a baratza Virtuoso+ that I've basically not touched since I got the K6.

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 have the virtuoso +, and I never use the timer…I always weigh them.

Fair point. I don’t leave beans in the hopper exposed to air. I store them in an airscape canister and weigh out what I need for a brew. I leave mine set at 40 seconds, and turn it off when the beans are through.

Fair point, one best or won't break the bank. I'm looking mid-range, and after a ton of research and reviews or reddit threads, the [Baratza Virtuoso+ Grinder](https://www.reddit.com/user/its-creator1036/comments/1n4xbv2/i_researched_best_coffee_grinders_under_500_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) stood out to me. It's very consistent for pour over, easy to use with timed dosing and baratza support and parts availability make it reliable long term. Its also handle espresso well enough with fresh beans, and what impressed me most was it solid build quality and user friendly design. Honestly, it felt more practical than a lot of pricier grinders i came across.

The Bratza Virtuoso+ ($250) would work and probably be an improvement. It has the premium M2 burrs. For brewed coffee, you don't need flat burrs, and machines that have them are usualy harder to clean.

I suggest the Baratza Virtuoso+ It's as good as the Ode2, if not better. And it's considerably cheaper. It's also much easier to clean and produces far fewer fines; basically zero if you give the beans a spritz of water. Better customer service as well.

I'd look at the Baratza Virtuoso+. I think it's superior to the Ode2, at least for brewed coffee, and it's much cheaper. It's also much easier to clean. Baratza support is clearly better, too.

That's what i have and use the timer all the time

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

Not sure I understand the comment completely - but just want to note that a Baratza Encore is not good for light roast pour over. I had a Virtuoso+ (which is basically a better Encore) and it was terrible for light roast.

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 Plus would be in that range and is good. For some more the Fellow Ode or Ode 2 is good but it's above $250 new. Fellow also has the Opus at like $200 which I've read is good but I'm not certain how good. From my experience the Baratza grinders kind of dominate that price point but there definitely could be others to consider.

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).

Yea I have the baratza virtuoso and I ❤️it!

Fellow Ode II is maybe a bit more, but well worth it. Better than a Virtuoso I had before.

I have a (kinda old) Baratza Virtuoso, Ode Gen2 and Timemore 064S. You can't grind for espresso with the Ode. The 064S is just a bit fiddly for espresso because the available range is compressed/coarse -- but I use mine every day. My Baratza experience is "emergency use only" but a friend is quite happy with the ESP (filter/drip).

A bonus of the Encore and Baratza grinders in general: you can get parts and fix them. I've replaced almost everything on my Virtuoso

It’s because the grinders launch a long time ago. If they launched recently, they would be completely ignored. I replaced a virtuoso with an ode v2. The ode is more expensive but it’s close when it often goes on sale. The ode completely blows away the virtuoso. It was a used virtuoso but I don’t think they upgraded the burrs since then which is kind of the problem. Baratza is great for support and repairability. If cup quality per dollar, isn’t the number one priority it’s a decent option.

I have the Baratza Virtuoso and I agree. As stated, very easy to disassemble and clean.

First - encore and virtuoso have the same motor (I’m 90% sure) so noise won’t be better. What do you mean by “fussy”? the ode is quieter and faster - I think the speed is really the thing that you’ll appreciate. I hear (ha) the Eureka Silenzio is very quiet. Lots of good grinders out there, take a look at r/pourover if you want more ideas

I had a Baratza Encore that held up to heavy-duty use for years before the motor gave out. I replaced it with a Virtuoso five years ago and gave the old one away to someone who might repair it. About a week later, the electrical tinkerer reached out and said that she fixed it for something like $50 including expedited shipping and would I like it back? I had already settled on the upgrade so was happy to give it away, but even more impressed by Baratza that they could get out a replacement motor within a few days including shipping so cheaply for the new owner!

Am I the only one that doesn't like Baratza grinders? My Fellow opus is much faster and quieter and easier to clean. I've had an encore and a virtuoso and wouldn't go back to that brand.

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.

we're very close to the same- I have a Baratza Virtuoso (the old base model that's now discontinued) and the Eureka Mignon Zero for espresso. I have loved the Eureka

I do. I still have my old Baratza Virtuoso that I bought 8 years ago. Still works great and when I have issues, Baratza's service is excellent. I bought a Eureka Mignon Zero a couple years ago, which I use exclusively for espresso, and I use the Baratza for pourover.

Idk how it is now but the Viruoso line at Bartaza used to be noticeably quieter than the Encore line

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

You will notice a dramatic increase in clarity and ability to taste the proposed notes of your coffee with a grinder of higher quality than the Cuisinart. Even for me, just swapping from the Baratza Virtuoso to the Kingrinder K6 gave me a noticeable increase in flavor and consistent quality. As someone who used to push for automatics, I can say the K6 is delightful, easy to use(and much easier to clean) than any of my other automatics. I can’t speak to the $1000+ range grinders, but if I had the chance to go back with all my knowledge now… I’d buy a really nice hand grinder and save that $$$ for more coffee.

I would say the Wilfa uniform or the baratza virtuoso for clarity. Or if you want more traditional or espresso the df54.

The baratza esp or virtuoso, the fellow opus, there are a lot of hand grinders, but they can be a pain. A good one for all style of coffee, even espresso if it's a home machine, is the jx or even the j series from 1zpresso. They also make some cheaper ones that will work, just not as clear in flavor. A good one in USD starts at 200, but under that, you can still make a good cup just not clear in flavor more a muted generic coffee flavor.

The Baratza Virtuoso has literally changed my coffee into the best coffee Ive had out of my Breville Precision Brewer and my Moccamaster.

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 used to do this — it was very difficult to get a consistent size. But, shaking did work better than just hitting go on sitting beans. My coffee is better with a baratza virtuoso.

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!

Have you looked at a virtuoso either new or used? I think it’s a bit better user experience than the Encore.

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)

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.