Stainless burrs, recently went through Baratza’s repair service and they upgraded the burr carrier to the forte/vario+ version. Feels like the grind setting stays put a lot better with the new carrier which was really the only thing I didn’t like about the vario before.
Oops actually looking at the date on this video it would have still been the ceramic burr set 😅 I swapped out to stainless and had the service done at the beginning of 2022.
@@DavidLikesCoffee curious how you like them? I got the steel set as well as the metal internals for my Vario, and the steel set was definitely frustrating to use. I didn't give them a proper seasoning, because I just didn't have the patience for it. My shot quality was horrible for a few weeks before I switched back. Currently using my ceramic burrs again. I drink cortados most of the time, so while the ceramic burrs might not produce as much clarity as the steel, I find I enjoy how forgiving they are due to the fines they create. Plus I'm mixing milk in so not sure I will miss that clarity. Thinking about trying the steel again though sometime. So curious to get another perspective on that.
Regarding your pre-infusion, are you not disturbing the surface of the puck too much by starting with the pump, going half way down and then turning on the pump again? I would think this would contribute to channeling. I have a Lelit Mara and when I open slightly past the click I get water trickling through the screen and onto the puck, so I pre-infuse this way and once I turn on the pump I never stop it...I can cut it short and let it finish on a trickle to the weight desired. Are you turning on the pump right away because no water comes out on the half raise of the lever?
I typically get very little to no water flowing through with the lever raised up just half way. Really depends on how long the machine has been on in my experience. Either way, I've found this technique to work pretty well for me to get single origin espressos tasting better on the Rocket where you only have visuals to guide you. At some point I'd love to get on a machine with a more robust pressure profiling setup and really test it compared to other techniques.
Do you always keep your preinfusion to the same time or are you looking for something specific. It would be great to see a video where you go a bit more in-depth into it. Loving your videos by the way. Thank you
Are you using the ceramic or steel burrs? Have you made any other mods to the vario?
Stainless burrs, recently went through Baratza’s repair service and they upgraded the burr carrier to the forte/vario+ version. Feels like the grind setting stays put a lot better with the new carrier which was really the only thing I didn’t like about the vario before.
Oops actually looking at the date on this video it would have still been the ceramic burr set 😅 I swapped out to stainless and had the service done at the beginning of 2022.
@@DavidLikesCoffee curious how you like them? I got the steel set as well as the metal internals for my Vario, and the steel set was definitely frustrating to use. I didn't give them a proper seasoning, because I just didn't have the patience for it. My shot quality was horrible for a few weeks before I switched back. Currently using my ceramic burrs again. I drink cortados most of the time, so while the ceramic burrs might not produce as much clarity as the steel, I find I enjoy how forgiving they are due to the fines they create. Plus I'm mixing milk in so not sure I will miss that clarity. Thinking about trying the steel again though sometime. So curious to get another perspective on that.
Regarding your pre-infusion, are you not disturbing the surface of the puck too much by starting with the pump, going half way down and then turning on the pump again? I would think this would contribute to channeling. I have a Lelit Mara and when I open slightly past the click I get water trickling through the screen and onto the puck, so I pre-infuse this way and once I turn on the pump I never stop it...I can cut it short and let it finish on a trickle to the weight desired. Are you turning on the pump right away because no water comes out on the half raise of the lever?
I typically get very little to no water flowing through with the lever raised up just half way. Really depends on how long the machine has been on in my experience. Either way, I've found this technique to work pretty well for me to get single origin espressos tasting better on the Rocket where you only have visuals to guide you. At some point I'd love to get on a machine with a more robust pressure profiling setup and really test it compared to other techniques.
@@DavidLikesCoffee thanks for the reply and wouldn`t we all want a profiling machine ;)
Do you always keep your preinfusion to the same time or are you looking for something specific. It would be great to see a video where you go a bit more in-depth into it. Loving your videos by the way. Thank you
Usually around 15 seconds to get to full saturation. I do have a video talking about e61 preinfusion specifically from early this summer.