Today, Baratza has introduced revamped versions of their ground breaking consumer grinders in the Vario lineup, introducing the Baratza Vario+ ($529 MSRP) and the Baratza Vario W+ ($599 MSRP) models, which will be available for sale at the end of November, .
The original Vario and Vario W grinders from Baratza were truly ground breaking, game changing grinders for the consumer market when they were first introduced. We wrote about the Vario during its 2008 introduction and also covered the Vario W model and its ground breaking weight-based dosing in 2011.
Fast forward to 2021, and the company has decided that both grinders needed a big refresh, and they are now here. CoffeeGeek has early production models of both grinders and we will be doing first looks on the grinder as soon as they begin shipping (projected for January, 2022), and full reviews on both soon after. For now, let’s introduce you to these two new grinders from Baratza.
Both grinders look superficially exactly like the old models, but there's a lot of changes inside and out.
Baratza Vario+ and Vario W+ Improvements
Both the Vario+ and the Vario W+ share most of the same components, so before we get into each individual grinder, let’s talk a bit about improvements and changes have come to the model line up, compared to the original Vario and Vario W.
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Same internal chasis as the Forte
This is big news because it means the grinders will have more longevity and structural stability going forward. This equals longer operational life.
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Grind chamber all metal construction
This is another big positive improvement, because the lifespan of the grinder is increased by this (some plastic Vario and Vario W grinding chambers would wear out after several years, requiring a replacement), and it also aids in better grind selections and further tuning of the grinder to tight specifications.
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Burrs can be hyper-aligned
The burrs inside the Vario+ and Vario W+ can now be hyper-aligned via shims, like the Forte, for super geeky tweaking of the grinder. One of the reasons why people love the Mahlkonig EK43 so much is because it can be hyper-aligned, levelling out the burrs in micron amounts. The same can be done to the + and W+ models of the new Varios.
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New upgraded internal shaft
The shaft on the motor has been upgraded (borrowed again from the Forte) for better torque and longevity.
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White on black LEDThe displays on both grinders are now black with white LED lettering, making it much easier to read in different lighting conditions.
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Coffee grinds area lighting
The grinds area is now lit, allowing easy viewing of the grinds going into the grinds bin, or into a portafilter. This modus is carried on from the Virtuoso + grinder.
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Cast metal grind selection knobs
New and beefier cast metal knobs used now for selecting the macro and micro grind adjustments.
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Symbols now instead of words
On the front control panels of both grinders, symbols are now used instead of words, for better worldwide usage of the grinder.
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New colour option
Grinder is now available in two colour choices: the blacks, greys and metals of the original Vario, and a new ghost white model (that looks amazing, to be honest!)
One of the main goals with these + improvements to the Vario lineup is longevity of the product. Baratza has long had an operating mantra that their products should not be disposable or discardable – that they should give you years, if not decades of use. This is why the company has so many videos on their website walking customers through easy after-warranty home repairs, and why they sell so many spare parts for their grinders at very reasonable prices. With these improvements to the Vario lineup, they hope their grinders will see even more worry free years of use on consumer kitchen counters.
Baratza’s also keeping a keen eye on the grinder marketplace, and they’ve noted the success of grinders from companies like Fellows and Niche. They’ve also recognized that people felt the range and tweaking of grinders from those companies is limited, compared to most of the Baratza lineup; the demand for more user-servicable and user-tweakable grinders by higher end users is another thing the company paid attention to. This is one of the main reasons why they added the ability to hyper-tune the level settings of the burrs in the new grinders. They also retain the ability to tune the grinders coarser or finer over their range, just like the old Vario models did.
Environmentally Friendly
“The Beautiful Brown Box”. When I had a phone call with Joyce Klassen and Kyle Anderson from Baratza on the new Vario+ lineup, this was something they were particularly excited about and wanted to make sure I knew about.
For years, Baratza has been much more environmentally friendly in their packaging, as say compared to Breville. No styrofoam makes it into Baratza packing for their grinders, and hasn’t for a very long time. Breville uses tons of the stuff. Almost all of Baratza’s packaging is recyclable (cardboard) save for the plastic bags they used to protect the grinders from scratches in transport.
However, Baratza’s grinders are heavy beasts, so to protect them in transport, they’d often come in a series of thick cardboard boxes, nested inside each other like a Russian Nesting Doll. Have a look at the packaging of a Vario grinder, vs the packaging of a Vario+ grinder. That’s a lot of cardboard.
With the new Vario+ lineup, Baratza wanted to take an even bolder, sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to packaging. Gone is the shiny, coated outer box. Gone is the nesting layer of boxes inside. Instead, you get a brown box with minimal, recyclable friendly ink used for the branding, specific formed cardboard forms inside, and the grinder. Better still, all the “plastic bags” you see inside protecting the grinder aren’t plastic at all – they’re compostable bags (and they even say use them as such!).
Because Baratza is now owned by Breville, they really had to press Breville to get this done, and have succeeded not only in doing so, but also in showing Breville there’s a way beyond styrofoam and shiny boxes, so we may see that bigger brand taking similar steps down the road.
Now let’s take a look at each individual grinder.
Baratza Vario+ Grinder
All the changes outlined above for both grinders are of course found in this new Baratza Vario+. Where it differs from the Vario W + is in several areas:
- Full all purpose grinder. The Vario+ is targeted as Baratza’s all purpose grinder, from espresso to press pot use.
- Includes grinds bin and Portaholder. The Vario+, unlike the W+, comes with both the beefy (and quite excellent) Portaholder and the grinds bin for grinds delivery. The Portaholder is adjustable to different sized portafilters.
- Ceramic burr set. Baratza does use their tuned and custom ceramic burr set for the Vario+ model. It does produce a bit more fines in the coarser range compared to their steel burr (used in the Vario W+ model), but has really good fines production throughout its grinding range. It can be swapped for an optional steel burr set.
- Digital timer with 3 presets. The Vario+ has a .1 second digital countdown timer that you can set 3 different presets for and access easily.
The new Vario+ Grinder comes in the original black, grey and metal finish, and a new all white design. It will retail for a MSRP of $529 US once it is available for sale.
Baratza Vario W+ Grinder
Again, all the changes outlined in the first section of this post apply to the Baratza Varo W+ model, just like the Vario+ version. Here’s where the Vario W+ is different.
- Brew grinder first, but still all purpose. Baratza positions the Vario W+ as a brew grinder, meant to be used primarily for doing pour over coffee, auto drip, siphon coffee, manual brews and press pot coffee. It’s also tuned out of the factory to produce a grinding range from moka pot (not as fine as espresso) on up to coarse press pot. It can easily manage a quality espresso grind if you tune it to do so.
- Built in scale. The “W” stands for weight based dosing, and you have it in the Vario W+. It is important to note this is not Acaia scale technology inside, but a different weight load cell that is still very fast and very accurate.
- No timer. This grinder’s settings are all weight based, and there are no grinder timings available. Which is exactly what you’d expect. There are 3 presets available for weight settings.
- No portaholder. Again, because this has a weight load sensor and is designed primarily as a brew grinder, the machine does not ship with a portaholder, which does help to keep the costs down a bit.
- Metal burr group. Baratza believes their custom designed metal burr group works better (and a bit faster) in the brew group range, so they ship this machine with that burr group. You can order an optional pair of the ceramic burrs and swap them out.
The Baratza Vario W+, available in white or in the original black, grey and metal finish has a MSRP of $599.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
