Compare: Baratza Virtuoso vs. Breville Smart Grinder

[RustyTroller]

I went thru 3 awful Capresso grinders and did much research for a replacement. I bought this Breville based on your review. I LOVE IT! I've had awful grinders for years because the taste of the coffee using this grinder is like NIGHT and DAY. Wow! The grinder is KEY to a good cup of coffee. I use this grinder with my Technivorm. I wish the Technivorm carafe would keep the best cup of coffee hot!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@RustyTroller Great to hear!!!! I always love a grinder convert :D - Kat

[fitshumor]

For me, the baratza was tedious to clean, the rubber collar rather flimsy and difficult to reassemble. I have the breville now, and love the consistent grind, ease of cleaning, and all the other small touches that make it a winner for me.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@fitshumor Great to hear! Thanks for sharing your experiences :) - Kat

[lyoung0216]

What grind do I want for a by pass doser? How fine/course should it be? Love the videos!! Thanks for all your hard work!

[lyoung0216]

I know in another video you said it should be about like sugar, does that mean I can buy ground espresso?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@lyoung0216 If you're using a pressurized portafilter, sure - Kat

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@lyoung0216 For most espresso machines, you want it to be on the coarser side of things - like a fine drip or close to a drip. The brew groups on these can't handle actual espresso grind fineness, and using that in them could damage the brew group (this is a repair we see often). - Kat

[JtothaR06]

@SeattleCoffeeGear Moral of the story, If you have a Mazzer Major, just man up and pull a semi-auto shot, don't put the grounds in a Jura....

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@JtothaR06 Hahaha - Kat

[leopmoreira]

Hey, very good video and the comparision is very relevant! These are two strong players at the entry level. Did you perform any tests pulling shots from these two grinders side-by-side? It'd be useful to have impressions about flavor from these. I have a Smart Grinder for almost a year and I'm very satisfied with it but would like to know how it compares with Baratza line, regarding flavor profile from ground coffee.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@leopmoreira We didn't have time to do shot comparisons but plan to do that in the future - Kat

[roman21000]

@Kat.

Which one would you go with???

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@roman21000 Tough call! I am a fairly simple gal, though; I'd probably go with the Virtuoso - Kat

[YoungJim409]

There is a widget I saw on How Its Made for checking ground mustard; it is basically a plate with a tapered groove in the middle so you can smear a sample across it and see what size the particles are. It might be fun for checking grinder output :-)

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@YoungJim409 Ooooo - I will see if we can find it and see how well it works (I like semi-hacks like this!) :D - Kat

[MacGuru15]

Woohoo!! 720p!! :D

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@MacGuru15 :D Yeah, my laptop was upgraded a few months ago so finally able to process in HD ;) - Kat

[MacGuru15]

@SeattleCoffeeGear Awesome! :)

[klarinetta]

Oh man it has been snowing like there's no tomorrow here in capital city of Iceland Reykjavík. Last winter was also bad but it was more ice. The wether has not been this bad during the winter in over 20 years. I have tough time driving my Nissan Almera and now I can't park in front of my block or I will be stuck.

[ClassicsCafe]

@klarinetta Get out the coffee! :)

Greetings from Canada!

[klarinetta]

@ClassicsCafe Yeah I definitely will have coffee to warm me up. The weather here has not been so bad in over 20 years.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@klarinetta Stay safe!!!! :) - Kat

[klarinetta]

@SeattleCoffeeGear Thanks it's difficult to work in the post these days.

[thePowerPlant]

Both are good grinders, but I still prefer the Baratza line of grinders.

[simonmccenright1]

what would be the best grinder for a Rancillio silcia v3 for having a consistent shot/amount of ground coffee each time ?? No price restriction. Right now I have a gaggia MM and i'm ready to upgrade. Thank you very much (all your videos are very informative !)

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@simonmccenright1 I would check out the Baratza Vario; if you want to go stepless, the Mazzers are excellent -- or rock it hard with the Mahlkonig Pro M :D - Kat

[Warrenff5]

breville.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@Warrenff5 :D

[pertileluca]

Breville of course!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@pertileluca :D

[runupscape]

Breville Smart Grinder FOR THE WIN

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@runupscape :D