By redefining the grinding and brewing experience, Baratza Virtuoso has set new standards in the range of home grinders.
Virtuoso has been designed to grind everything ranging from espresso to French Press and produces a consistent and quality product. Installed with metal casing and 40 grind settings, Baratza Virtuoso Grinder is an ideal selection for a home brewing setup.
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Besides producing high-quality grind products, Baratza Virtuoso Grinder comes in a size which is compatible with every pantry, office or kitchen. If you are a user who grinds a lot of coffee on a daily basis, you can put Baratza Virtuoso Grinder to the test and I’m sure it will not let you down.
The sturdy base guarantees long-term use along with a strong grip. Before jumping to the Baratza Virtuoso review, let us acknowledge some facts about choosing a perfect grinder for your kitchen.
Product Review
* Baratza Virtuoso Coffee Grinder
Whether you intend to grind a course French Press or superfine Turkish coffee, Baratza Virtuoso is a conical burr coffee grinder designed to fulfil all your brewing requirements.
It is specialized to encompass all grinding ranges from coarse to fine ends. Further, the perfect uniformity of coffee grains provide a consistent taste.
Besides being a high performance and functional machine, this Baratza Virtuoso Grinder is elegant and quality kitchenware. Due to its specialized functions, it is highly preferred by experts and professionals.
The secret behind such a smooth grind is the presence of an efficient DC motor which keeps the coffee beans cool. Additionally, a combined electric and gear speed reducer aids in slowing down the burr to 450 RPM to ensure a smooth bean feed with reduced heat, noise and static build-up.
Specifications:
- Manufacturer: Baratza
- Conical burr made with hardened steel
- Burr diameter: 40mm
- 40 grinding setting– ranging from espresso to press
- Grind Range: 250 – 1200 microns
- Powered by a 240-Watt DC motor
- Comes with 1-year warranty
- Bean hopper with a capacity of 8oz (227g)
- Grounds bin with a capacity of 5oz (142g)
- Base made with brushed satin metal
- High grinding speed of 1.5 gram/ second – 2.4 gram/ second
Case material is plastic and metal- A weight of 8lbs (3.6 kg)
- High burr speed of 550 RPM
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 12cm x 35cm x 16cm
- Comes with an antistatic coating
- Incorporates both timer and ON/OFF switch options
- Designed and Engineered in Seattle, WA, USA
- Manufactured and assembled in Taiwan
Features:
- Incorporated with 40 different grinding settings, Virtuoso enables us to dial the grind option to our grinding needs.
- Front-mounted Pulse button eases grinding while grinding directly into the brew basket.
- 60-second timer eases the replication of ideal grind time.
- Consistency is ensured by adding both a pulse button and timer, even after multiple grinds.
- Its anti-static design minimizes chaotic coffee dust.
- Conical burr is designed to produce an even consistency grind.
- The large size of the hopper (8 ounces) and ground bin (5 ounces) allows you to grind plenty of coffee bins in one slot.
- Minimizes ground coffee left in grinder to avoid messes.
- Additionally, it comes in an eco-friendly packaging which is 100% recyclable.
Baratza Virtuoso Parts
Burrs: The Virtuoso conical burrs can grind at a speed of 1.5 g/sec – 2.4 g/sec depending upon the settings. The feature that makes Baratza Virtuoso Grinder different from its competitors is the uniform grind without any compromise to quality.
The versatile burr enables Virtuoso to grind for expresso, manual brewing method, drip and Press Pot via its impressive 40 grind settings. The conical burrs are made sturdy to last long and remain sharp for years.
The burrs come with a precision mounting system that ensures accurate grinding.- Gearbox: Baratza Virtuoso coffee grinder uses an efficient and simple direct drive gear reduction transmission to transmit power from DC motor to the rotating cone burr. The motor is prevented from overheating due to excessive use via a thermal overload cut-off.
- Grind Adjustment: With the help of the hopper and 40 grinding settings, it is very easy to switch from coarse for French Press to fine for espresso. The range of the grind is from 250- 1200 microns.
- Motor: Generally, conventional grinders contain an AC motor. The efficient DC motor enables a grinder to yield up to 4 times the output with twice as much as efficiency as an AC motor.
Baratza Virtuoso burrs are powered by a powerful and high torque DC motor. The slow turning of the motor results in cool and noiseless operation.
It also allows for longer grinding duty-cycles. The circuit also contains an automatically resetting thermal cut-off switch that protects the machine from overheating and resets the motor when it cools down.
Since the motor spins at a speed that is one-third the speed of the grinder, Virtuoso is the quietest grinder in this price range.
- Calibration: Virtuoso comes with an advanced burr calibration system to ensure that each grinder acquires the full range of grind. When necessary the grinder can also be calibrated by the user.
Speed Control: Virtuoso comes with a specialized speed control system which is a combination of gear and electronic speed reduction. It is used to keep the burr rotation to 500 RPM.
This speed control ensures reduced heat, noise, and static in the machine. And more importantly, smooth feeding of beans into the burrs.- Timer Switch: Baratza Virtuoso is fitted with a 60 second timer with segmented graphics to ease the repeating of grind times.
- Portaholder: A substitute for the grounds bin which is used to hold the espresso portafilter for direct hands-free grinding. It also eases the cleaning process.
- Hopper Extender: An extension container can add 9 oz. of capacity to the already existing 8 oz. bean hopper. Several extenders can be added to achieve your required volume for the container.
How To Properly Clean Baratza Virtuoso?
Cleaning of a grinder should be done with extra care. You may need to turn the grinder upside down to get a part out for cleaning.
However, it is important to know that in regards to Baratza Virtuoso cleaning, only burrs need to be cleaned and not the whole grinder. When it comes to Virtuoso, both burrs and hoppers can be easily removed for cleaning.
Cleaning the Housing and Hoppers:
- Switch off the grinder and remove its plug from the power supply.
Remove all the coffee beans from the bean hopper, if there are any left remaining.- Take the hopper off by rotating it in an anti-clockwise direction as far as it turns.
- Lift the bean hopper from the housing.
- Wash the hopper, ground coffee bin and hopper lid in warm soapy water.
- Rinse and let dry to be used again.
Cleaning the Burrs:
- In case of daily use, burrs should be removed and cleaned every few weeks.
- Most consistent grinds can be ensured by cleaning the burr regularly.
- Coffee oils are also removed by cleaning. Otherwise, they stale and spoil the flavor of ground coffee.
- Burrs should not be washed.
Cleaning the Ring Burr:
- Any loose coffee residue on the ring burr or the center cone burr can be removed with the bristle brush which comes with the grinder.
Automatic Cleaning
A fast, deep and easy cleaning can be achieved with the help of a Grindz grinder cleaner. Grindz specifically designs products that remove coffee particles and eliminate unnecessary odors and coffee oil residue.
All you need to do is:
- Place a packet of Grindz into the empty grinder hopper.
- Adjust the grind setting to 20 and operate the grinder as if you are grinding coffee beans.
Continue the process until all the Grindz is grounded.- Once completed, it is recommended to pass about 4 tbs. of coffee through the grinder to ensure that all the Grindz residue is removed.
- Now discard this ground coffee.
Use and care
Use
- Made for grinding whole roasted coffee beans.
- Grinder should not be operated when empty. This may damage the burrs.
Care
- Bean hopper, storage bin and lid should be hand washed.
- Base should be cleaned with a damp cloth.
- For regular cleaning of grinder’s interior, use the bristle brush.
- In case of daily use, take off the burrs every few weeks for cleaning with the bristle brush. Silicone seal should be hand washed.
Pros and Cons of the Baratza Virtuoso Grinder:
Pros:
- Consistent and quality grinds for various brewing methods
- 4
0 grind settings for different brewing modes - Size is compact and can fit in smaller spaces
- High efficiency powerful motor with slow spin results in quiet and cool operation
- Noiseless with less static
Cons:
- Much costlier than competing home grinders
- Due to small size, the ground coffee container cannot contain a large quantity of coffee beans at one time
- When left running for a full minute, the machine heats up
- Can be messy when large quantities are poured in
Things to Consider While Choosing A Grinder
Buying a grinder can cost you a lot of money. So you should know your exact preferences and requirements before making a long-term decision. Here I have listed some points to keep in mind while looking for a high-performance grinder.
Burrs
If you are looking for a quality coffee grinder, it is obvious you will need a burr grinder. The prime point to consider is whether the grinder has steel or ceramic burrs. Steel burrs maintain a good quality at a cheaper price but wear out at a faster rate. Whereas ceramic is costly but lasts longer.
When talking about flat versus conical burrs, conical burrs are a better choice. But again, they come at a higher price.
Your brewing preferences
Brewing can be of many kinds, ranging from a coarse French Press grind to fine espresso or finer Turkish or Greek coffee. It is important to make sure that your grinder has enough grinding settings to complement your brewing processes.
Durability
It is always advised to go through a detailed product review to learn the durability and consistency of the product. It will tell you whether the product is a good buy according to its functions, warranty and strength.
Ensure that the grinder you are buying produces an even consistency grind. Otherwise, it would be very tough to brew coffee bearing a consistent taste.
Conclusion
The Baratza Virtuoso is a specialized coffee grinder which has remarkable grinding abilities and features. Its compact and sleek design makes it an elegant and smart addition to your kitchenware.
Since it comes with 40 calibrated grind settings, Baratza Virtuoso coffee grinder is capable of grinding coarse grind for French Press or a super fine espresso grind. It has the skill to quickly transform whole roasted coffee beans into consistent and uniform grounds.
The Italian- made conical burrs ensure uniform grind consistency so that you have optimal flavor every time you brew.
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Multiple impressive features like a powerful motor, noiseless operation, consistent grinds and forty built-in grinding settings have helped it to attain prime position as a nearly perfect home grinder on the market.
One of the concerns about the grinder is due to its exterior body. The grinder consists of metal parts for the top and bottom only. The rest of the body is made of plastic.
However, there are no better alternatives available on the market in such a price range. It is a sure bet to choose Baratza Virtuoso over other coffee grinders.
We hope that this review of the Baratza Virtuoso coffee grinder was of great help to you. Let us know your views about the product in the comment section and stay tuned for more product reviews to make your cooking experience better and smarter.
