The Baratza Virtuoso is a beautifully designed burr coffee grinder, offering professional level performance with an elegant appearance. It has been designed for home, office and light commercial applications. The professional grade 40mm conical burrs produce a consistent, fine grind which is critical for the perfect espresso.
The Virtuoso also excels at producing a a consistent grind particle size for French Press. This consistency at both the coarse and fine ends of the grind range puts the VIrtuoso in a class all by itself. A convenient front mounted pulse On/Off button allows you to grind directly into your espresso brew basket if desired, while a 60-second timer can be used to easily replicate grind times. Additional features of the Baratza Virtuoso include a large 8-oz. bean hopper and a 5-oz. removable anti static ground coffee bin.
The Virtuoso is a perfect all rounder. Good for both manual brew coffee and espresso. Would make a great pourover grinder for a small to medium coffee shop as well as a great all round grinder for home.
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Baratza Virtuoso
4
Average Rating 4/5 (2 reviews)
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Baratza Virtuoso
4 stars
Baratza Virtuoso Written by miket
Firstly, this is our first coffee grinder, so I can only describe my experience with this machine. The decision to buy it came about after quite a bit of research on the internet. Initially we were going to buy the Baratza Maestro, then decided to go for the Virtuoso as it was only £40 more, and offered much higher quality mechanicals.
The Virtuoso is very well made and looks good. There is still quite a bit of plastic used in the housing, but it is pretty substantial and shouldn't pose any problems with longevity. The heavy metal base and top section provide a nice solid feel to the machine. The receptacle for the beans and the grinds are heavy duty plastic and should last for years, provided they are washed by hand. The anti-static nature of these is very good and retains almost no residue whatsoever. It is very easy to disassemble the burrs for cleaning, which is a bonus.
The machine is quiet and runs quite slowly. This seems to avoid any heat build-up even on a fine grind. I suspect that, as with any mechanical device, it requires 'running in' to achieve the best results.
I would say that the results for the coarser settings are a little uneven, but there are forty of them to choose from! A little more experimentation might be required. Fine grinding seems pretty good. I only have a stovetop espresso pot and a French Press, so I can't vouch for the level of grinding you might require for various coffee machines.
Overall, the Virtuoso is a high quality grinder, which should last for a long time. Replacement parts are readily available from Baratza. Coffee made using a good grinder is startling leap in the whole taste experience. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is disheartened by pre-ground coffee!
The only negative point was that it arrived from CoffeeHit with a euro plug fitted. I contacted them about this, and they said it should have been changed by the supplier, and that they would look into it. If you're thinking of buying one, I would advise checking with them first.
10th Jan, 2012
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Baratza Virtuoso
4 stars
Works great with the Gaggia Classic Written by Johnnie Walker
I read some negative reviews about this grinder and even thought I might regret buying this as some people suggested that the Virtuoso doesn't grind fine enough for the Gaggia Classic.
Well I'm using setting 3 most of the time and grinding directly into the portafilter.
I fill halfway, stirring with a cake tester ( thin pointy metal thing I found at the back of our cutlery drawer ) and then continuing to fill until there is a small peak of coffee grounds in the basket, then drag the cake tester across the top of the coffee to level out and remove any excess.
Then tamp firmly and you're good to go ( just remember to pre-heat both machine and portafilter for at least 30 mins first! )
I only gave it 4 stars as I think the ground coffee is a bit more clumpy than some other machines I've looked at.
8th Sep, 2011
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