Baratza Vario Coffee Grinder
Item# Vario with sleep mode/timer
Regular Price: $450.00 US Dollars
Sale Price: $449.00 US Dollars

More Baratza products listed here.

Baratza Vario Coffee Grinders

Overview:

The Vario is a commercial grinder with 54mm ceramic flat burrs with a throughput of 1.9 grams per second and an innovative, macro/micro grind adjustment with 230 settings. The sleek contemporary design, small foot print, and adjustability for any style of coffee also make it perfect as a home grinder.

Effective 3/25/2010, 1st-line now carries the Vario with the upgraded sleep mode, and timer with battery backup.

Features:

• Mahlkönig 54mm ceramic flat burrs:
  • Stay sharper longer. Ceramic has a 1.5 -2.0X longer life than steel burrs.
  • Keeps the coffee cool by limiting the amount of heat transferred from the burrs to the grinds.
• Grind on Demand with Electronic Dosing:
  • Grinds only the coffee you require for each shot directly into your espresso portafilter.
  • Eliminates the risk of stale ground coffee common in mechanical dosing units.
  • 0.1 second adjustable steps (0.2 grams).
  • Three, user programmable grind time buttons.
• Innovative dual cam grind adjustment:
  • The right hand lever lets you choose what type of grind you'd like.
  • The lever on the left lets you fine tune the grind within the range you've selected for a perfect grind.
  • Over 230 grind settings available.
• PortaHolder.
  • Universally adjustable brackets for any portafilter.
  • Allows for hands free operation.
• Super quiet operation using belt drive.
• Powerful DC motor turns slowly resulting in cool, quiet operation and permits extended grinding time. The circuitry is equipped with an automatic reset thermal switch.
• In the box: Grinder, Hopper, Lid, Grounds bin, PortaHolder, and Instruction manual.

Specifications:

• Measurements: 14.5" H x 4.5" W x 7.25" D (369mm H x 115mm W x 185mm D).
• Weight: 10 pounds (4.6 kilograms).
• Power: 240 watts, 110 volts.
• Grinding speed: 1.9 grams/second.
• Made in Taiwan.
• UL Listed.

Notes:

1. Printable manual can be found here.
2. Top and bottom burrs are each held on with three visible screws and are easily changeable. Once the upper burr carrier is removed you can see the mounting screws for each burr. The Vario's burrs are ceramic so the need for replacement should be rare, but 1st-line can provide replacement parts for the Vario as well as other grinders should the need arise.
3. The recent Vario instruction manuals mention a brush that is not included. This is a typo from Baratza.
4. Vario Upgrade: In December 2008, Mahlkönig introduced the Vario Home (230V). Due to specific European electrical standards, they chose to stop sales of the Vario until changes were made to the motor and internal circuit board. In October 2009, Mahlkönig re-introduced the Vario Home with the following upgrades:
   
   
   1. Redesign of the grounds chute to reduce spraying.
   2. Better support system for the Portaholder.
   3. Improvements to the micro adjustment lever.
   4. Memory, so that the programmable setting would not be lost when the grinder is unplugged.
   5. Sleep mode feature.
   
   In February 2009, Baratza introduced the Vario to the US and Canada markets. Improvements have been made to the Baratza Vario throughout 2009. The Baratza Vario includes upgrades 1, 2, and 3. In March 2010, Baratza introduced the memory and sleep feature.
   The Memory and Sleep upgrade is fully contained in the front display panel. Baratza made the new display panel available to all Vario owners for $20. It is simple to change the display panel. It takes about 3 minutes and requires a Phillips screwdriver. You can order the new panel here.