jbb Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 134 Location: Riverside, CA Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: silvia v2, la spaziale s1v1 Grinder: rocky, b. vario
Posted Mon Feb 28, 2011, 3:15pm Subject: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
I'd be interested in hearing what people think of this grinder for pour over and vac pot, especially in comparison with the B. vario.
If you had the choice
a) would you prefer the convenience of having the barista as a dedicated grinder for pour over/vac pot and the vario as a dedicated grinder for espresso. no daily switching back and forth.
b) use the vario for both and forget the barista. i have to say i'm really impressed with the filter coffee i'm getting from the vario but don't know how the barista performs in this regard (reviews seem to say its "good").
jbb Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 134 Location: Riverside, CA Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: silvia v2, la spaziale s1v1 Grinder: rocky, b. vario
Posted Mon Feb 28, 2011, 10:57pm Subject: Re: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
......so sure its not difficult to grind by dose or dump out/refill the B. vario hopper. that's what I've been doing and its not a problem. In our house the espresso bar is downstairs and filter coffee happens upstairs in the kitchen. so there would be a convenience factor in having a grinder in each place. plus the solis/barista in question belongs to a colleague whose been limping by on the tape mod for espresso. one possibility is that i could sell him my rocky and make it more manageable by factoring his barista into the deal.
hence my interest in how the two grinders might compare for pour over/vac pot grinding.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,642 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Thu Mar 3, 2011, 2:10pm Subject: Re: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
I have a Solis 166 that I use as a travel grinder. It does a great job for other than espresso work. If you can get it at a good price, I don't think you could go very wrong.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Posted Thu Mar 3, 2011, 5:05pm Subject: Re: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
I have a Dualit grinder which is a rebadged Solis 166. It works fine for filter, vacuum, moka pot, napoletana and (dare I say it) the occasional percolator brew. I don't use it for a Cafetiere/french press, but given it works for all of the above I'd be sure it will give similar results.
It is so much more convenient than using a single grinder.
I haven't ever seen let alone used a Vario; but irrespective of its merits, I'd come down on the side of having 2 grinders just to keep life a bit simpler.
jbb Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 134 Location: Riverside, CA Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: silvia v2, la spaziale s1v1 Grinder: rocky, b. vario
Posted Thu Mar 3, 2011, 11:43pm Subject: Re: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
calblacksmith Said:
I have a Solis 166 that I use as a travel grinder. It does a great job for other than espresso work. If you can get it at a good price, I don't think you could go very wrong.
hi Wayne-good to hear from you. I think if he decides to go for the rocky, i'll probably factor it into the sale. he's strictly espresso so i imagine he will not be too sad to see it go. at some point might be fun to have have a shoot out between the bv and your sj's?
__________ Said:
I have a Dualit grinder which is a rebadged Solis 166. It works fine for filter, vacuum, moka pot, napoletana and (dare I say it) the occasional percolator brew. I don't use it for a Cafetiere/french press, but given it works for all of the above I'd be sure it will give similar results.
sounds like a completely reasonable addition to the arsenal. I found a Mark Prince review (mostly focused on the Maestro) that reached similar conclusions.
I heard starbuck require their barista to be slow,I think I can wait if they can make good coffeeKind of a silly name for a grinder, isn't it. The MP review cited above had a bit of the history of Starbucks involvement. I try not to gripe about Starbucks too much. my family travels a lot during the holidays and, well, any port in a storm. last Xmas had a busted vacuum hose that had to get fixed in Las Cruces NM. real low point. went into a starbucks and had what was actually a quite decent latte, very friendly, handing out free Christmas cookies for my kid. Starbucks got bumped up a notch in my book.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,642 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Fri Mar 4, 2011, 7:27am Subject: Re: solis/starbucks barista for pour over/vac pot
Jeff, any time you want to, come on by and we will crank up anything you like. :D At the moment, I have my 2 gp Brasilia setup along with my ECM.
Only this morning, the pump on my ECM started making noise. Rather, there is something vibrating inside the case when the pump is on. I need to crack it open and find out what is going on. It still makes great coffee but the noise is annoying, that and if it is the pump, the head alone costs more than a whole vibe pump LOL!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
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