Grinder Advice, for Cupping?

[Amhas]

I'm using a Baratza Virtuoso as well.

 

[ChefDavid]

I love the price of the Baratza Virtuoso but is it practical for Cupping different Coffee's and Blends, at larger Cupping?

I intend to Cup 6-8 different Coffees or Blends at each Cupping.

With the 5 oz hopper isn't it better for grinding for a Pot, not a Cup?

I am asking this as a genuine question, not a sarcasm.

When a Burr Grinder grinds into a cup, isn't it easier to regulate the amount?

 

[peterjschmidt]

It might not be ideal, but it wouldn't be very hard to make it work. You would be weighing each coffee, yes? So can grind into either the hopper or directly into a portafilter. So if you had a small measuring cup to catch the ground coffee, rather than empty the hopper each time, that would save a step. Or, you could grind enough for several cups and then weigh the amount being cupped. If that makes any sense. I typically grind 28g for a single cup; open lid, turn on grinder, dump beans in. You would just need to decide how many cups/bowls of each sample you need, and go from there; some cuppers will have three bowls of each sample to evaluate uniformity.

 

[Musicphan]

I love the price of the Baratza Virtuoso but is it practical for Cupping different Coffee's and Blends, at larger Cupping?

I use a Baratza Virtuoso for home use.. and I think it would be fine for your application. I never fill the hopper... I simply weigh out whatever I'm going to brew, grind, and dump the grinds into my filter. There is very little residual coffee left in the grinder.. and the grind 'bin' is easy to wipe out with a paper towel. Sometime a real chaffy coffee will have static clings (mainly in winter when dry) to the bin. But no biggie, IMO. I do want to mention they are not built like tanks.. you get what you pay for. Its mainly a plastic grinder so be careful when you moving around.

IF your willing to lug around a much heavier grinder... the Mahlkonig EK43 or Guatemala Lab would be better long term/durable choice... but obviously much more expensive.

Regarding the Vario... I ran across this on accident... who actually makes the Vario? I was always under the impression it was a Baratza product. Is there some type of partnership or co-branding?

https://www.baratza.com/flat-burr-grinders/vario-grinder/
VARIO home

 

[Redswing]

Far as I know, the Vario is a Baratza product only.

FWIW, I bought the Vario, decided not to spend the extra money on the weigh feature of the Vario-w. I can see the automatic weight based grinding handy for a shop where you leave the same beans in the grinder for cup after cup. Not as important for cupping when you are frequently grinding different kinds of bean in the same grinder, and probably weighing them out before dumping them in the hopper.

 

[slurp]

Lol Charlie and I have the same grinder in different colors mahlkonig lab grinder. This grinder is awesome and a must for any real roaster or coffee professional.

As far as lugging it around I normaly enlist one of the coffee groupies when it travels. Most of the time it stays is the coffee lab. still waiting for Topher to come carry it for me!