It has the most uniform grind I've ever seen. No powder, just perfect grind. I also like the very low residual hold (about a half gram). That suits the way I measure a scoop or two of beans, then grind and brew it all. Many grinders hold five grams of residual. Which means that I'd be brewing a mix of fresh and stale.
Negative Product Points
I'm hoping that forthcoming improvements will reduce static. However static is common to many grinders and this is no worse than others.
Detailed Commentary
To me, the Virtuoso's two greatest virtues are the uniform grind and the low residual hold. I've tested other grinders which fail both of these criteria.
Most espresso grinders hold about five grams residual. I know people who keep a vacuum cleaner in their kitchen and vacuum the residual out every time they use the grinder to avoid stale carry-over. I'd do that too if my grinder held five grams. But there's no need for such bother with the Virtuoso.
I use the Virtuoso with my AeroPress and the uniform grind makes for very smooth and rich pressings. It works so well that we take it to trade shows and use it in our AeroPress booth to grind hundreds of servings.
Buying Experience
An evaluation sample provided to me by Baratza.
Three Month Followup
Since writing this review, I've had the opportunity to test several other, much more expensive, grinders. But the Virtuoso is still the champion for uniformity of grind and low residual hold.
