Baratza Virtuoso

[King James]

On amazon for $150

Was thinking about a maestro but some reading said the different burr set and some other upgrades make the virtuoso worth it. I think it is normally $200.

Got one of these units just before the Holidays. DONT DO IT! Biggest POS I have ever owned.

[King James]

or maybe this one http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/lelitpl53grinder for $239

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by King James

On amazon for $150

Was thinking about a maestro but some reading said the different burr set and some other upgrades make the virtuoso worth it. I think it is normally $200.

I have the virtoso and don't think it is a POS. I went with the virtuoso over the maestro since I do a lot of brewing in moka pots, it works great. It seems that if you get into making your own espresso then a better grinder with more grind control is needed and more money.

[muziq]

Originally Posted by King James

On amazon for $150

Was thinking about a maestro but some reading said the different burr set and some other upgrades make the virtuoso worth it. I think it is normally $200.

A friend has one and she swears by it. Prior to the Virtuoso she had a whirly blade; she makes only drip coffee (it's a good maker, though) and french press, so to my knowledge she's not experimenting with very fine grinding. She said she likes the footprint, being smaller than my Rocky.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by muziq

A friend has one and she swears by it. Prior to the Virtuoso she had a whirly blade; she makes only drip coffee (it's a good maker, though) and french press, so to my knowledge she's not experimenting with very fine grinding. She said she likes the footprint, being smaller than my Rocky.

It grinds very fine and does a good job. I don't get much below 10 on the grind setting (goes from 0-40) for the moka pot so there are much finer grind setting than I use. I believe the problem that would arise for espresso would be how consistent the super fine grinds would be. Coarse grinds for press pot or cowboy coffee is no problem and it does an even job with little dust.