™
Ceramic Burr Coffee Grinder
Operations Manual
™
Ceramic Burr Coffee Grinder
Operations manuals are available in
the following languages at
www.baratza.com
English.pdf
Spanish.pdf
French.pdf
™
Innovative grind adjustment
system
Thank you for purchasing the
VARIO™ Coffee Grinder. With the
VARIO™, it’s now easier than ever
to make professional quality coffee,
whether at home, the office, or your
café. Below are detailed descriptions of the features that put the
VARIO™ in a class of it’s own.
Macro and Micro adjustments are
quickly and repeatedly achievable
with the intuitive VARIO™ adjustment system. The range of grind
and the accuracy of the settings are
truly impressive. The VARIO™ has
230 distinct settings of grind from
Espresso to French Press.
Precision, commercial-quality
ceramic burrs
Quiet drive system
Manufactured in Germany by
MAHLKÖNIG, the VARIO’s™ ceramic burrs are of the same material and durability as the industry’s
highest-quality line of commercial
coffee grinders. Ceramic burrs
remain sharp for up to twice the
lifetime of the highest quality steel
burrs.
The VARIO™ houses a high torque
DC motor with a belt drive transmission. The precise timing belt
drive provides for smooth, quiet
operation and thermal disconnection of motor and burr casing. Additionally, the VARIO™ possesses
an auto-reset thermal safety circuit
that protects the motor from overheating.
Grind on Demand with electronic
dosing
Grind on Demand operation with
electronically controlled dosing
grinds only the coffee you require
for each shot directly into your
espresso porta filter or ground coffee bin for Filter and French Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents ................................................................................. 2
Parts Identification ............................................................................... 3
Safety Information ................................................................................ 4
Initial setup and operation ................................................................... 5
Setting the Macro and Micro grind adjustment ............................... 5
Normal grinding operation ............................................................... 6
Programming grind dosing times .................................................... 6
PortaHolder™ set up and use ........................................................ 7
Care and Cleaning ........................................................................... 8
Cleaning the Housing and Hopper ................................................. 8
Cleaning the Burrs .......................................................................... 8
Remove the Upper Burr ................................................................. 8
Replacing the Upper Burr ............................................................... 9
Replacing the Bean Hopper ........................................................... 9
Automatic Cleaning ......................................................................... 9
Help and Troubleshooting ................................................................... 9
Warranty .............................................................................................. 10
Grinding Notes .................................................................................... 11
Baratza Contact Information ................................................................ 12
™
Parts Identification
Hopper lid
Whole bean hopper (8 oz.)
LCD grind time indicator
Grind time adjustment buttons (2)
Start / Stop button
Manual grind button
Programable grind setting buttons (3)
Grind button LED (3)
Macro grind adjustment lever
Micro grind adjustment lever
Ground coffee bin (8 oz.)
Upper burr carrier
Ceramic burrs
Important Information
visit the web at www.baratza.com
for assistance.
Please read the information below
very carefully. It contains important tips for the use, the safety and
the maintenance and care of this
appliance. Please keep these operating instructions for future reference.
Repairs are to be performed only
by authorized service centers. An
improperly repaired grinder is a
source of risk to the user and voids
the warranty.
Your new VARIO™ is rated for either
120 VAC or 230 VAC. Please confirm the voltage of your VARIO™
on the nameplate attached to the
bottom of the grinder. The 120
VAC Vario can be used from 100 to
130 VAC and the 230 VAC VARIO™
can be used from 200 to 240 VAC.
Please insure your supply voltage
range matches the nameplate voltage on you VARIO™.
Baratza will not accept any liability
for damage or injury if the grinder
is used other than for its intended
purpose or is improperly operated
or repaired. All warranty claims will
be void.
For Your Safety
Do not operate the grinder with
a damaged cord or plug, or if the
grinder malfunctions.
Only clean the grinder housing with
a dry or slightly damp cloth.
Do not leave your grinder unattended while turned ON.
Do not use this grinder for anything other than its intended use
(i.e. grinding whole roasted coffee
beans). Maximum continuous duty
cycle is 25%. Longest continuous
grind time is 90 seconds.
Shut off and unplug the grinder
from the electrical outlet before
cleaning. To unplug, grasp plug
and removed from the outlet-never
pull on the cord.
Disassemble your grinder only as
directed in the care and cleaning
section of this manual. If you cannot remedy a malfunction, please
Do not immerse the grinder, plug or
cord in water or any other liquid.
pending on many factors, including: degree of roast (light vs. dark),
freshness, humidity, type of bean,
oil content, etc. With use, you will
determine the setting that is right
for your taste, brewing style and
your favorite beans.
Initial Set Up
Place the VARIO™ Grinder on a
level surface; Insert the plug into
an AC outlet. Remove the lid from
the hopper by lifting off. Pour the
desired quantity of roasted whole
coffee beans into the hopper up
to a maximum of 250 Grams. Replace the lid. Ensure the ground
coffee bin or PortaHolder™ is fully
inserted.
Setting the Macro and Micro
Grind Adjustment
Move the Macro lever up or down
to the desired range of grind size.
Set the Micro adjustment lever to
the middle of the scale. Grind a
small amount of coffee by pressing
the START button, then pressing it
again to stop. Check the particle
size. If the particle size is close to
what you desire, now use the Micro lever to “fine tune” your grind
size. If the particle size needs a
big change, then adjust the Macro
lever to a new position, then fine
tune with the Micro lever. The full
range on the Micro scale is equal to
one “click” or position on the Macro scale. With both levers, moving UP produces a smaller particle
size and DOWN produces a larger
particle size. The actual grind size
for a particular setting will vary de-
Note: Partially ground coffee
beans may remain between the
burrs after the grinder is turned off,
adjusting the grind may be easier
when the grinder is running.
Normal Grinding Operation
If the grinder is unplugged, the
grinder resets to the factory-preset times. After adjusting the grind
(particle size) to your desired setting, press the desired button, and
then press START. The grinder will
run and the display will count down
from the preset time.
Press the desired button (Espresso, Filter or Press). The blue LED
next to the button will light and the
display LCD will show the corresponding programmed grind time
in seconds. Press START button
to begin grinding. While grinding,
the LCD will count down the seconds to 0. When the LCD reaches
0 seconds, the motor will stop and
the display will reset again to the
programmed time. For greater
quantities of ground coffee, press
the MANUAL button then START.
The grinder will count up to a limit
of 120 seconds then shut off automatically. At any time during MANUAL, you can stop the grinding by
pressing the START button. The
motor will stop and the LCD will
reset to 000. The limit of 120 seconds is not user adjustable.
The grinder will stop automatically
when time reaches 0. To stop at
any time during grinding, just press
the START button again. Depending on the amount of coffee ground,
you can easily program more or
less grinding time as follows:
Programming Grind Dosing
Times
The VARIO™ is equipped with
three programmable dosing grind
times. The buttons are conveniently labeled for Espresso, Filter and
Press. These programmable buttons only adjust the grinding TIME,
they do not adjust the coarseness
of the grind. Each button comes
from the factory with a preset time:
Espresso: 10 seconds, Filter: 20
seconds and Press: 30 seconds.
1. Press the up or down arrow just
below the LCD display to adjust
the time. Press and hold the arrow
for 3 second to advance the time
more quickly.
2. Once you have reached the desired time setting, press the corresponding button (Espresso, Filter,
or Press) and hold for 3 seconds.
The time shown in the LCD display
will blink to confirm the setting is
stored.
lines up with the hole in the bracket
(you will probably need to slide the
bracket down a little bit to align the
hole). Insert the provided screw
and secure it with a screwdriver.
The goal is to have your porta filter
supported as close to horizontal as
possible.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above for
each of the other two buttons.
The quantity of ground coffee you
need depends on the type of bean,
coarseness of the grind, brewing
method and personal taste. With
use, you will find the most suitable
settings for your personal taste.
To use the PortaHolder™, insert
your porta filter into the PortaHolder™ while tipping the handle up
and the basket down (to hook under the tab), then release the porta
filter and press the desired dose
button, then press START. The
grinder will run for the preset dose
time and stop automatically.
PortaHolder™ Setup
and Use
Before installing the lower bracket
on your PortaHolder™ you will need
your espresso machine’s porta filter. Insert the lower bracket (included in a small plastic bag along
with a screw) into the two slides at
the rear of the PortaHolder™. Place
the vertical section of the bracket
facing downward so the rear part
of the bracket is lower than the two
arms that stick out horizontally toward you. With the bracket in the
lowest position, place your porta
filer on the bracket and move the
bracket up until the small hook at
the top rear of the PortaHolder™
hooks over your porta filter and
prevents it from tipping out of the
grinder. Locate the hole that best
Care and Cleaning
Cleaning the Burrs
Cleaning the Housing and
Hoppers
If the grinder is used daily, the
burrs should be cleaned every
few weeks. Cleaning enables the
burrs to achieve the most consistent grind possible. Cleaning
also removes coffee oils which will
stale and degrade the flavor of the
ground coffee. Do not wash the
burrs.
Remove any remaining beans
from the bean hopper. Press the
START button to run any remaining beans through the grinder until
all grinding is finished.
Make a note of each of the three
programmed grind times to be
used when re-programming grind
times after cleaning. Remove the
plug from the AC power outlet. Remove the hopper by twisting it in a
counterclockwise direction until it
stops and then lift the bean hopper
from the housing. Wash the hopper, hopper lid, and ground coffee
bin in warm soapy water, rinse and
dry.
Caution: Do not put the bean hopper, hopper lid, or ground coffee
bin in the dishwasher. Hand wash
only. Do not immerse the grinder
housing in water.
Remove the Upper Burrs
Rotate the metal burr carrier clockwise until it stops then lift straight
up and out of the grinder housing.
Clean the burr using a stiff brush.
Use the bristle brush (included with
your grinder) to remove any loose
coffee residue on the fixed burr
and the lower burr mounted within
the motor housing.
Replacing the Upper Burr
Need Help?
While rocking the burr side to side,
push down firmly on the burr carrier to ensure that it seats properly.
Rotate the burr carrier counterclockwise until it stops.
For FAQ’s or to troubleshoot a
problem, please see the FAQ
section at www.baratza.com
Replacing the Bean Hopper
To replace the bean hopper, line
up the two small tabs on the base
of the hopper with their respective
slots.
Automatic Cleaning
A thorough fast, and easy cleaning
can be accomplished using GRINDZ™ grinder cleaner. GRINDZ™
is a product designed to dislodge
coffee particles and absorb and remove odors and coffee oil residue.
Simply place the recommended
amount of GRINDZ™ (35g) into the
empty grinder hopper. Adjust the
grind setting to Filter, press MANUAL, then START until all of the
GRINDZ™ has been ground, and
then press START again to stop
the grinder. Once complete, we
recommend passing through some
coffee to remove any GRINDZ™
residue. Discard the ground coffee. For information on GRINDZ™
go to www.urnex.com.
To purchase GRINDZ™ go to www.
baratza.com.
Warranty and Service
Length of Warranty: One-year
the unlikely event of a product
safety notification and assist us in
complying with the provisions of
the Consumer Product Safety Act.
The serial number is located on
the bottom of the grinder.
from date of purchase.
United States
Warranty Information
If your grinder fails within one
year: e-mail: support@baratza.
com or call
877-701-2021. Baratza will deliver an identical or comparable
replacement grinder to your door,
free of charge, and arrange to
have your “failed” grinder returned
to us.
Please keep your sales receipt
that shows the date of purchase
and complete the following for
your personal records:
Serial Number (located on bottom
of grinder):
When you receive your replacement grinder, please use the
carton and packing material and
the return shipping label supplied
to return the “failed” grinder to us.
Also, please include your name,
address and telephone number.
Date Purchased:
Store:
International Warranty
Information
For repairs or parts contact
Go to: www.baratza.com or call
425-641-1245 for international
warranty information.
Baratza LLC
3923-120th Ave. S.E.
Bellevue, WA. 98006
877-701-2021
e-mail: support@baratza. com
Parts: www.baratza.com
Proof of Purchase and
Product Registration
You can register your grinder at
www.baratza.com. Registration
will enable us to contact you in
10
Grinding Notes
11
© 2008
Baratza, LLC
3923-120th Ave. S.E.
Bellevue, WA. 98006
www.baratza.com
rev: 111908
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