Approaching 1 year now with my Gen 2 VS3. Works just as good as the day I got it. It’s never stalled and I pretty much exclusively drink light roasts. I use it on average twice a day for both espresso and filter (v60). Clean it once a month. If you get the black model like me then none of the discoloring issues he mentioned are a problem, plus the bellows matches so it looks more aesthetic when it’s on the grinder. RDT is definitely necessary, thankfully Varia includes a tiny spray bottle with the packaging. If I had to pick a gripe, it would be that the catch cup doesn’t fit the rim of a 58mm portafilter, but they do have a separate catch cup on their website you can buy that does fit if that matters to you. All in all, I think it’s best budget or entry level grinder on the market. And if you ever get the itch to switch things up they have different burr sets to upgrade to which do make a BIG difference, and save you from having to go buy another grinder. If you’re on the fence like I was when I purchased a year ago I’d say go for it. You won’t regret it.
thanks for pointing out the reddit forums. this is so true. i have vs3 gen1 and 2, fellow ode, timemore sculptor, and df64v. they all make good cups of coffee. in terms of just longevity and build quality , fellow is the way to go. my gen1 broke when i started doing more espresso. you save 50 dollars with the varia but you need to be fine with having a useless brick and brick on your countertop in a year or two. i took gen 1 apart. it's cheap inside compared to the fellow ode and even df grinders. going to sell my gen2 soon.
Daddy, I'm really looking forward to a review from you on the VS6. I hope you're able to get your hand on one in the near future. Clear and thorough reviews as always.
I have owner a Varia VS3 since June 2023. The motor died last week, two days before the one year mark and I’m working with Varia and they are going to send me a replacement unit. (I will use it as a secondary grinder because I just purchased a Fiorenzato AllGround Sense). The Varia looks amazing, made great coffee (mainly medium roast espresso and some filter), the magnetic accents around the dosing cup and chute are satisfying to use. The biggest issue I had with it was the ground size selectors drifts towards a coarser setting with every grind. If I set to setting 3 by the end of 18g espresso grind it will be at 3.05, so I had to constantly readjust to keep things consistent. Otherwise it’s a great grinder for the price.
@@karash501I had both. Gen 1 and it broke and got it replaced and then gen 2 and it broke and I got my money back and decided to not buy a grinder from Varia again. Now I have a Timemore 078s and love it. It’s too bad. The VS3 looks super cool (though it is painfully high pitch when grinding). They should just charge a little more and put gears that will not break.
A little birdy told me Varia failed to pay the last installment of payments to its first Chinese manufacturer - due to non-specified reasons - and the manufacturer decided to sell the last batch of VS3 under different brand names to recoup their lost, hence the ridiculous amount of VS3 knockoffs on Aliexpress. This is also why Varia came out with a gen 2 less than a year after gen 1 hit the market: they got another manufacturer and made minor adjustments, such as switching "from 38mm burrs to 48mm burrs (wink)"
@@DaddyGotCoffee only if you are fluent in Mandarin😉 to be fair to Varia: judging from the abundance of lagom mini knock-offs, it was bound to happen to VS3 regardless, fail-of-payment notwithstanding. It's just that for once, the perpetrator actually have a semblance of a reason to do so🤣
@@lilteyang sometimes I think one of the best things I could do for the quality of my reviews (and the research that goes into making them!) is learn Mandarin 🤣☕️ Thanks for dropping this!
Great review! I really appreciate that you include more budget friendly options in your reviews. You mentioned the DF54 but didn't bring up the SK40? Why not? It's virtually a direct competition, and it would be great to see them compared head to head.
Great video! I've had my VS3 for almost a year now, grinding 1-2 espresso shots a day and haven't had any issues, other than the step-less grind adjustment would actually turn while grinding. I fixed the issue with a little bit of grease making it a bit sticky and harder to move. Retention has been almost zero. I do use the bellows as it looks better on the black model but you've inspired me to remove it and see how that goes. I only really drink Counter Culture Big Trouble which is a med/dark roast. Would love to know what you think about upgrading the burrs. Mine are just stock. Also, I keep mine set around 4.5. Any lower than 4 and I'm choking my espresso machine but from what I've seen, most are grinding at 3.5. Not sure what that's about!
I’ve got the gen2 since November 2023 and I agree with everything you’ve said, about the powerbank, the Matt finish accumulating coffee etc but that’s all superficial, I quite enjoy the coffee it produces at a very affordable price point. Also, in my research before buying, most of the dead ones were gen 1, varia updated the motor in gen 2. Let’s hope it doesn’t die after a year. lol
Also, I bought their AKU scale at the same time as the vs3, I had an issue with the scale - it just died. The customer service was great, they sent a new one, which unfortunately for me, had stability issues but again the customer service were super awesome and refunded my money for the scale in full. I was very pleased with the outcome.
I really debated whether or not to hit this as hard because of the G2 updates. However, there is a clear track record of failures and the G2 updates have yet to (IMO) prove themselves in the long run. Also, when varias own manual says to use caution with light roasts, that’s a warning to me. They very well could be fine but I felt like it did need to be highlighted. Besides that, very solid and good tasting grinder overall
@@DaddyGotCoffee I agree with everything you’ve mentioned in the review, I’m glad that you mentioned manual advising caution with light roasts. It’s not something I’ve seen in other reviews, I feel like you’ve been fair and unbiased as I experience those things as a user and it was a very good review. People who rely on UA-cam reviews need to know the risk they are taking and that they are making an informed decision.
@@DaddyGotCoffeeI had gen 1 and gen 2. Both had the gears shred. The gen 2 broke on medium roast slow fed… I did actually take both apart before returning and they had the identical issue of gears shredding. (I have pictures for both) Also, I would say the high pitch squeal of it running was pretty horrible to us. After the gen 2 broke I gave up on Varia and switched to 078S and so glad I did. Side note: I got my Varia through Eight Ounce Coffee and they are such an incredible company.
Nice review - honest and succinct! As a 'mostly espresso' drinker, I find the very small wiggle room for grind fineness concerning. You ground it more coarsely than the mfg recommend (3-4), over their 1-2 setting. Likely insufficient for a variety of drinks or roasts or dosing sizes (say extra fine for 8g single-dose espresso or 22+g for 1:1 ristretto, 1:2 normale or a 1:3 lungo). These require significantly different grind settings on my grinder. Then there is Turkish coffee. Thanks for the review.
Justin, I bought this grinder along with my Ascaso Duo after watching your great review of said machine. I'm loving both and think they each represent a very good value proposition in today's coffee world. I have been using the grinder for both filter and espresso coffee. With espresso I'm finding that RDT is really only necessary with darker roast beens which is what my wife drinks. I drink light to med roasts and find that I can get any bean dialed in for a 30 second shot within about 3 trys. It's very interesting how far the spread can bee from roast to roast. For light to med I find I'm between 3 and 3.7. For my wife's dark roast I'm dropping down to 2.5. I bought Black in both machines and I just hide the power block of the Varia VS3 behind the Duo so there is no unsightliness on the counter. I'm thinking I might try one of the better bur options to see if I can get an even better espresso shot. Thanks for your work on this channel. I'm very happy that I discovered Daddy Got Coffee. Cheers from Vancouver.
I am returning my Varia for the grond dial drifting issue and I will probably go for the new Lagom Casa. Funny thing is that varia has not updated the manual for the gen2. You can tell that from the specs part and the rpm(they have changed the rpm in gen2) so maybe the light roast would not be an issue in the gen2. However, I still have concerns about the longevity and the grind dial drifting issue is also so frustrating. I also want to mention that Eightounce customer service is fabulous! If you wanna get it at lease get it from a trustworthy retailer such as Eightounce.
I went through Eight Ounce as well for both Gen 1 and 2 breaking and completely agree. They are a phenomenal company. I buy through them whenever possible.
I purchased my vs3 from eight ounce after varia tryed to shake me down for 45 dollars on shipping despite my "free" shipping code. Customer service on Varias end is a joke, but the grinder has been largely pleasant to use.
0:10 Am I the only one having some artefacts in the image (not only at 10 seconds, happened sometimes in the video)? Changing the video quality doesn't seem to effect it. Maybe a rendering issue? Anyway, great review. Didnt know this grinder exists and now I'll maybe want one?!
I have a gen 2 for 6 months and the grind dial shifted a lot when grinding. It wasn’t consistent anymore. Varia customer support isn’t good they say they can’t do anything about it and i needed to contact my seller. I got a new one luckily but who knows for how long… i’m very happy with it it makes GREAT espresso but be aware if u want one buy it from a good seller
@@DaddyGotCoffeeI have the exact same issue, seems fairly common and it’s always intermittent, I find it disappears for like a week then comes back, really frustrating
This issue infuriated me for a while but it can be solved by applying ample food grade grease on the hopper thread. This issue hasn't bugged me ever since. I apply grease everytime after I clean it. It doesn't worry me much since food grade grease is cheap. It's kind of a hassle though. But overall, happy with this grinder!!
How does grease help something stay pit when it reduces friction? I have a white vs3 gen 2 and 58mm varia cup for dispatch in 2 days! Hope I don't get a lemon
Great video, thanks. I was initially interested in this because of the good reviews but then i started to find the issues you have mentioned... Now im not sure I want to take the risk?! I have contemplated trying the non varia version for 1/2 the price from AliExpress/Alibaba 🤷♂️
I don’t trust much from alibaba, especially when it’s clearly ripped from an existing product. I get that supply chains and offshore manufacturing are complex but I have a hard time supporting that
Good review but really wish you had done a deeper dive on those burrs. They do change the price and experience of the grinder very significantly in my experience.
I saw you use the Avensi cups. Those are the BEST! Also if you are gonna get the Varia VS3 for 299 and the Option o Casa for 389. Do you think the $90 price difference is worth the bump to get the casa or is it only if you prefer light roasts. I typically grind light to medium coffees. Great review by the way as always. Yours have become some of my favorite reviews!
Thank you so much!! I really enjoyed both grinders at their respective price points. On medium and medium darks I often gravitated to the VS3 in a side by side, although I’m not sure I would have said that unless I actually had the two shots side by side. Light roasts I preferred the Casa every time. The Casa has some drawbacks which I covered in my review. If they aren’t deal breakers it sounds like you would enjoy it. Also the Casa is one of the lowest retention grinders I have tested! The VS3 is still compelling at price though ☕️ Not sure if that helps! 🤣
I'm considering this grinder that's for the review DGC. I'm also considering the rancillio STILE. DGC CAN YOU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a review on this grinder because there's not much out there that does the breakdown like you... Just my opinion. All the best!
The Stile is on my list! However, a huge part of this decision is single dosing vs on demand (hopper grinders). If you are switching beans a lot, I would almost discount any hopper grinders. If you almost only have one bag on the go at a time, an on demand grinder can be a good and convenient option. Big price jump between those two as well!
Always appreciate your opinion dgc. I've been doing a lot of research on varia since this review I'm deciding to pass on it. Seems when it's working it's pretty good and competitively priced but the cons outweigh the pros and for me that's a deal breaker imo. As always keep up the great work and I'll be watching. 👍
Are you using RDT? That made a huge difference for me and I was able to get by mostly without the bellows after I had about 2kg through the grinder. Relative humidity and the coffee you are using could have an impact here as well. I’m at about 60% and using mostly medium-lights. Darker will get more staticky. Regardless, static can certainly be an issue here!
@@DaddyGotCoffee thank you for the tip. I am using rdt and medium dark roasted coffee. My Issue is more that the long Distance from Spout to the Dosingcup makes a lot of the fines miss when Using the bellows resulting in a messy Counterspace. Im gonna try not using the bellows and just giving the grinder a good whack :)
Many thanks. I have the LX Italia Edison 65. I change the burrs by the SSP HU and it is working super well. Now I am looking for a SD experience and I am in between those 3. I love the Mazzer but I want to listen from you before buying. I love your reviews, the details, clear explanation and first of all, honesty. Many thanks!
I've been watching numerous coffee grinder views over the past months and I'm no wiser off. What I need is an App where I can enter my requirements and it'll rank the grinders accordingly. Failing that, please, please, please.... What would be the recommendation for a coffee grinder that best meets these requirements:- 1. Top results for sweet, fruity and textured expresso but also providing plenty of adjustability if I try different coffee bean types, etc 2. Great for pour-over as well but a priority on expresso if a choice has to be made 3. Doesn't make a banshee noise when grinding 4. Excellent retention, preferably no bellows. 5. Relatively compact - not too big either in footprint or height 6. Single dose 7. Excellent design, good engineering + lifespan 8. Easy to clean/maintain 9. External power transformer/block involved as with the Varia 10. Under $1200 ish Thank you in advance!
Sounds like you’re looking for a Mazzer Philos with 200ds 👀 Depending on how much texture you’re looking for in the espresso. Lots of texture in espresso is usually mutually exclusive with great pour over and not found in the same grinder. Also it may be too large. Also making an assumption on single dosing. There is no one “silver bullet” when it comes to grinders but the Philos checks most of these boxes.
i had the grinder for 1.5 yeaars and all i can say its that it was a fantastic grinder. However, 1 week after a year mark the grinder broke on me, gear stripped. varia CS is bad and do not offer a replacement but ask me to get a new motor which cannot guarantee will work (their words). thankfully my distributor is fantastic and fix the grinder on his own at his cafe and been using since. However, it is stalling more often these few days so might consider that its at the end of its lifeline
While a good looking grinder, the external power supply is an unfortunate design choice. From your review and others, it seems to perform well all around which is what I want in a grinder. If they can fix the longevity problem and integrate the power supply into the body of the grinder, I would have one on my counter. Great review! Oh and who makes the bean dosing cup you are using? Love the look of it👌🏻
Just curious which burr set was used? And was the season ing needed for the taste profile? I tried the hypernova ultra s and thought the burrs gave a balanced taste with clarity and some body. immediately though likely they will get better. However I tried the hypernova iridescent burrs and I'm thinking they need seasoning as not much clarity comes thru.
Your videos are great! Can you tell me, which single dosing grinder is your favourite? Also, what do you think of the Ascaso Duo Steel PID Plus? Cheers mate!
I should A/B them against the SSP line in a side by side. I would say they are not 100% in line with any of them but the cast may be the closest. They remind me of some of the nicer timemore hand grinder burrs
Forget the power supply. It dying right on warranty time is THE deal breaker. As long as alignment is solid, I'd rather have hefty plastic grinder that keeps on chugging than fancy metal grinder that will break after a year. That's sad cause I was only hearing interesting things about VS3.
For what it’s worth, a lot of the problem components have supposedly been updated. But.. that still needs more time to be proven IMO. Absolutely fair criticism
Thanks for mentioning! That’s mostly what I grind, for both CleverDripper / pour-overs and Espresso. There are those burr upgrades he talked about at the start - I’ll read up and see if any of those are good for light roasts!!! And there has been a Gen 2 since this video too!
If you develop a good relationship with a local roaster you can often get your hands on seasoning coffee for super cheap/free. Usually it’s sub par roasts, old green, prep roasts etc! I def don’t go out and buy new, top tier specialty for this but do think it’s something that is at least important for a year reviewer to test as there can sometimes be significant changes over the first period of a grinders life-cycle. Also doubles as a stress test! Some grinders have taken me 7-10kg to fully season! 😵💫
Approaching 1 year now with my Gen 2 VS3. Works just as good as the day I got it. It’s never stalled and I pretty much exclusively drink light roasts. I use it on average twice a day for both espresso and filter (v60). Clean it once a month. If you get the black model like me then none of the discoloring issues he mentioned are a problem, plus the bellows matches so it looks more aesthetic when it’s on the grinder. RDT is definitely necessary, thankfully Varia includes a tiny spray bottle with the packaging. If I had to pick a gripe, it would be that the catch cup doesn’t fit the rim of a 58mm portafilter, but they do have a separate catch cup on their website you can buy that does fit if that matters to you. All in all, I think it’s best budget or entry level grinder on the market. And if you ever get the itch to switch things up they have different burr sets to upgrade to which do make a BIG difference, and save you from having to go buy another grinder. If you’re on the fence like I was when I purchased a year ago I’d say go for it. You won’t regret it.
What burr do you recommend for better espresso?
Just here to echo your sentiment. I've never had an issue after over a year of daily use. It's about the same noise level as anything else, too.
that is one of the best Varia VS3's reviews I have seen on UA-cam! thank you so much! I'm getting one after watching this.
Thank you so much!
thanks for pointing out the reddit forums. this is so true. i have vs3 gen1 and 2, fellow ode, timemore sculptor, and df64v. they all make good cups of coffee. in terms of just longevity and build quality , fellow is the way to go. my gen1 broke when i started doing more espresso. you save 50 dollars with the varia but you need to be fine with having a useless brick and brick on your countertop in a year or two. i took gen 1 apart. it's cheap inside compared to the fellow ode and even df grinders. going to sell my gen2 soon.
Daddy, I'm really looking forward to a review from you on the VS6. I hope you're able to get your hand on one in the near future. Clear and thorough reviews as always.
I have owner a Varia VS3 since June 2023. The motor died last week, two days before the one year mark and I’m working with Varia and they are going to send me a replacement unit. (I will use it as a secondary grinder because I just purchased a Fiorenzato AllGround Sense).
The Varia looks amazing, made great coffee (mainly medium roast espresso and some filter), the magnetic accents around the dosing cup and chute are satisfying to use.
The biggest issue I had with it was the ground size selectors drifts towards a coarser setting with every grind. If I set to setting 3 by the end of 18g espresso grind it will be at 3.05, so I had to constantly readjust to keep things consistent.
Otherwise it’s a great grinder for the price.
Good luck. I had gen 1 and 2 and both had the gears shred.
They will probably replace it but it might break again. It is a common issue.
Man lucky timing on that!
was it the gen1 or gen2?
@@karash501I had both. Gen 1 and it broke and got it replaced and then gen 2 and it broke and I got my money back and decided to not buy a grinder from Varia again. Now I have a Timemore 078s and love it.
It’s too bad. The VS3 looks super cool (though it is painfully high pitch when grinding). They should just charge a little more and put gears that will not break.
A little birdy told me Varia failed to pay the last installment of payments to its first Chinese manufacturer - due to non-specified reasons - and the manufacturer decided to sell the last batch of VS3 under different brand names to recoup their lost, hence the ridiculous amount of VS3 knockoffs on Aliexpress. This is also why Varia came out with a gen 2 less than a year after gen 1 hit the market: they got another manufacturer and made minor adjustments, such as switching "from 38mm burrs to 48mm burrs (wink)"
I wish I had unearthed this when doing my discovery! 😮💨🤣 If there is a public forum/post I’d love to see it!
@@DaddyGotCoffee only if you are fluent in Mandarin😉 to be fair to Varia: judging from the abundance of lagom mini knock-offs, it was bound to happen to VS3 regardless, fail-of-payment notwithstanding. It's just that for once, the perpetrator actually have a semblance of a reason to do so🤣
@@lilteyang sometimes I think one of the best things I could do for the quality of my reviews (and the research that goes into making them!) is learn Mandarin 🤣☕️ Thanks for dropping this!
aahh.. thats why it's becoming relatively easy to find Varia knockoffs grinder here in Indonesia (around $180-200)
@@wenderisgen1 knockoff? Whats the name? Im Indonesian too
Great review! I really appreciate that you include more budget friendly options in your reviews. You mentioned the DF54 but didn't bring up the SK40? Why not? It's virtually a direct competition, and it would be great to see them compared head to head.
Great video! I've had my VS3 for almost a year now, grinding 1-2 espresso shots a day and haven't had any issues, other than the step-less grind adjustment would actually turn while grinding. I fixed the issue with a little bit of grease making it a bit sticky and harder to move. Retention has been almost zero. I do use the bellows as it looks better on the black model but you've inspired me to remove it and see how that goes. I only really drink Counter Culture Big Trouble which is a med/dark roast. Would love to know what you think about upgrading the burrs. Mine are just stock. Also, I keep mine set around 4.5. Any lower than 4 and I'm choking my espresso machine but from what I've seen, most are grinding at 3.5. Not sure what that's about!
13:51 oh man that power supply is a deal breaker
Not a fan of this either. Great to see other manufacturers moving away from these slowly.
I’ve got the gen2 since November 2023 and I agree with everything you’ve said, about the powerbank, the Matt finish accumulating coffee etc but that’s all superficial, I quite enjoy the coffee it produces at a very affordable price point. Also, in my research before buying, most of the dead ones were gen 1, varia updated the motor in gen 2. Let’s hope it doesn’t die after a year. lol
Also, I bought their AKU scale at the same time as the vs3, I had an issue with the scale - it just died. The customer service was great, they sent a new one, which unfortunately for me, had stability issues but again the customer service were super awesome and refunded my money for the scale in full. I was very pleased with the outcome.
This is great to hear on the customer service! Anything negative I have seen there has been on forum posts only. My experience has only been positive
I really debated whether or not to hit this as hard because of the G2 updates. However, there is a clear track record of failures and the G2 updates have yet to (IMO) prove themselves in the long run. Also, when varias own manual says to use caution with light roasts, that’s a warning to me. They very well could be fine but I felt like it did need to be highlighted. Besides that, very solid and good tasting grinder overall
@@DaddyGotCoffee I agree with everything you’ve mentioned in the review, I’m glad that you mentioned manual advising caution with light roasts. It’s not something I’ve seen in other reviews, I feel like you’ve been fair and unbiased as I experience those things as a user and it was a very good review. People who rely on UA-cam reviews need to know the risk they are taking and that they are making an informed decision.
@@DaddyGotCoffeeI had gen 1 and gen 2. Both had the gears shred. The gen 2 broke on medium roast slow fed…
I did actually take both apart before returning and they had the identical issue of gears shredding.
(I have pictures for both)
Also, I would say the high pitch squeal of it running was pretty horrible to us.
After the gen 2 broke I gave up on Varia and switched to 078S and so glad I did.
Side note: I got my Varia through Eight Ounce Coffee and they are such an incredible company.
Brother, where is the full Mazzer Philos review?
Hoping to have this out within the next few weeks!
Nice review - honest and succinct!
As a 'mostly espresso' drinker, I find the very small wiggle room for grind fineness concerning. You ground it more coarsely than the mfg recommend (3-4), over their 1-2 setting. Likely insufficient for a variety of drinks or roasts or dosing sizes (say extra fine for 8g single-dose espresso or 22+g for 1:1 ristretto, 1:2 normale or a 1:3 lungo). These require significantly different grind settings on my grinder. Then there is Turkish coffee. Thanks for the review.
I hear you, personally even accounting for singles it’s pretty fine but not totally unreasonable at the price. Turkish is a bit of a different animal
Justin, I bought this grinder along with my Ascaso Duo after watching your great review of said machine. I'm loving both and think they each represent a very good value proposition in today's coffee world. I have been using the grinder for both filter and espresso coffee. With espresso I'm finding that RDT is really only necessary with darker roast beens which is what my wife drinks. I drink light to med roasts and find that I can get any bean dialed in for a 30 second shot within about 3 trys. It's very interesting how far the spread can bee from roast to roast. For light to med I find I'm between 3 and 3.7. For my wife's dark roast I'm dropping down to 2.5. I bought Black in both machines and I just hide the power block of the Varia VS3 behind the Duo so there is no unsightliness on the counter. I'm thinking I might try one of the better bur options to see if I can get an even better espresso shot. Thanks for your work on this channel. I'm very happy that I discovered Daddy Got Coffee. Cheers from Vancouver.
I am returning my Varia for the grond dial drifting issue and I will probably go for the new Lagom Casa. Funny thing is that varia has not updated the manual for the gen2. You can tell that from the specs part and the rpm(they have changed the rpm in gen2) so maybe the light roast would not be an issue in the gen2. However, I still have concerns about the longevity and the grind dial drifting issue is also so frustrating.
I also want to mention that Eightounce customer service is fabulous! If you wanna get it at lease get it from a trustworthy retailer such as Eightounce.
I went through Eight Ounce as well for both Gen 1 and 2 breaking and completely agree. They are a phenomenal company. I buy through them whenever possible.
I love the eight ounce team as well!
I purchased my vs3 from eight ounce after varia tryed to shake me down for 45 dollars on shipping despite my "free" shipping code. Customer service on Varias end is a joke, but the grinder has been largely pleasant to use.
@@SolemnPsychoeight oz doesn’t carry Varia anymore, they’re redirecting all costumers to the Varia website
0:10 Am I the only one having some artefacts in the image (not only at 10 seconds, happened sometimes in the video)? Changing the video quality doesn't seem to effect it. Maybe a rendering issue?
Anyway, great review. Didnt know this grinder exists and now I'll maybe want one?!
Let me look at this more closely next time I’m at my desk!
I have a gen 2 for 6 months and the grind dial shifted a lot when grinding. It wasn’t consistent anymore. Varia customer support isn’t good they say they can’t do anything about it and i needed to contact my seller. I got a new one luckily but who knows for how long… i’m very happy with it it makes GREAT espresso but be aware if u want one buy it from a good seller
Thanks for dropping this feedback, I have not had any issues with drifting so this is helpful. Let us know how your experience is with the seller!
@@DaddyGotCoffeeI have the exact same issue, seems fairly common and it’s always intermittent, I find it disappears for like a week then comes back, really frustrating
This issue infuriated me for a while but it can be solved by applying ample food grade grease on the hopper thread. This issue hasn't bugged me ever since. I apply grease everytime after I clean it. It doesn't worry me much since food grade grease is cheap. It's kind of a hassle though. But overall, happy with this grinder!!
@@ymditiw this is a great tip that I can pass on to others!
How does grease help something stay pit when it reduces friction? I have a white vs3 gen 2 and 58mm varia cup for dispatch in 2 days! Hope I don't get a lemon
Great video, thanks. I was initially interested in this because of the good reviews but then i started to find the issues you have mentioned... Now im not sure I want to take the risk?! I have contemplated trying the non varia version for 1/2 the price from AliExpress/Alibaba 🤷♂️
I don’t trust much from alibaba, especially when it’s clearly ripped from an existing product. I get that supply chains and offshore manufacturing are complex but I have a hard time supporting that
Good review but really wish you had done a deeper dive on those burrs. They do change the price and experience of the grinder very significantly in my experience.
I’ll put a burr comparison on the list 🤝☕️
Definitely! The only review of the different burrs is from a seller of the grinder.
Hi! Love to see burrs comparison of this grinder
This is a great idea!
I saw you use the Avensi cups. Those are the BEST! Also if you are gonna get the Varia VS3 for 299 and the Option o Casa for 389. Do you think the $90 price difference is worth the bump to get the casa or is it only if you prefer light roasts. I typically grind light to medium coffees. Great review by the way as always. Yours have become some of my favorite reviews!
Thank you so much!!
I really enjoyed both grinders at their respective price points. On medium and medium darks I often gravitated to the VS3 in a side by side, although I’m not sure I would have said that unless I actually had the two shots side by side. Light roasts I preferred the Casa every time. The Casa has some drawbacks which I covered in my review. If they aren’t deal breakers it sounds like you would enjoy it. Also the Casa is one of the lowest retention grinders I have tested! The VS3 is still compelling at price though ☕️ Not sure if that helps! 🤣
@@DaddyGotCoffee It definitely helps. Thank you so much!
I'm considering this grinder that's for the review DGC. I'm also considering the rancillio STILE. DGC CAN YOU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a review on this grinder because there's not much out there that does the breakdown like you... Just my opinion. All the best!
The Stile is on my list! However, a huge part of this decision is single dosing vs on demand (hopper grinders). If you are switching beans a lot, I would almost discount any hopper grinders. If you almost only have one bag on the go at a time, an on demand grinder can be a good and convenient option. Big price jump between those two as well!
Always appreciate your opinion dgc. I've been doing a lot of research on varia since this review I'm deciding to pass on it. Seems when it's working it's pretty good and competitively priced but the cons outweigh the pros and for me that's a deal breaker imo. As always keep up the great work and I'll be watching. 👍
Ive got mine since christmas now. Big issue for me is using the bellows being necessary and it makes a huge mess
Are you using RDT? That made a huge difference for me and I was able to get by mostly without the bellows after I had about 2kg through the grinder.
Relative humidity and the coffee you are using could have an impact here as well. I’m at about 60% and using mostly medium-lights. Darker will get more staticky. Regardless, static can certainly be an issue here!
@@DaddyGotCoffee thank you for the tip. I am using rdt and medium dark roasted coffee. My Issue is more that the long Distance from Spout to the Dosingcup makes a lot of the fines miss when Using the bellows resulting in a messy Counterspace. Im gonna try not using the bellows and just giving the grinder a good whack :)
Are you planing to review the Orbit? And maybe compare Orbit vs Zerno vs Philos? Thanks
I’ll reach out to their team and see if I can get my hands on a unit 😊🫡☕️ You aren’t the first to ask me about the orbit!
Many thanks. I have the LX Italia Edison 65. I change the burrs by the SSP HU and it is working super well. Now I am looking for a SD experience and I am in between those 3. I love the Mazzer but I want to listen from you before buying. I love your reviews, the details, clear explanation and first of all, honesty. Many thanks!
I've been watching numerous coffee grinder views over the past months and I'm no wiser off. What I need is an App where I can enter my requirements and it'll rank the grinders accordingly. Failing that, please, please, please.... What would be the recommendation for a coffee grinder that best meets these requirements:-
1. Top results for sweet, fruity and textured expresso but also providing plenty of adjustability if I try different coffee bean types, etc
2. Great for pour-over as well but a priority on expresso if a choice has to be made
3. Doesn't make a banshee noise when grinding
4. Excellent retention, preferably no bellows.
5. Relatively compact - not too big either in footprint or height
6. Single dose
7. Excellent design, good engineering + lifespan
8. Easy to clean/maintain
9. External power transformer/block involved as with the Varia
10. Under $1200 ish
Thank you in advance!
Sounds like you’re looking for a Mazzer Philos with 200ds 👀 Depending on how much texture you’re looking for in the espresso. Lots of texture in espresso is usually mutually exclusive with great pour over and not found in the same grinder. Also it may be too large. Also making an assumption on single dosing. There is no one “silver bullet” when it comes to grinders but the Philos checks most of these boxes.
i had the grinder for 1.5 yeaars and all i can say its that it was a fantastic grinder. However, 1 week after a year mark the grinder broke on me, gear stripped. varia CS is bad and do not offer a replacement but ask me to get a new motor which cannot guarantee will work (their words). thankfully my distributor is fantastic and fix the grinder on his own at his cafe and been using since. However, it is stalling more often these few days so might consider that its at the end of its lifeline
Where can I get that ceramic dosing cup that you have?
While a good looking grinder, the external power supply is an unfortunate design choice. From your review and others, it seems to perform well all around which is what I want in a grinder. If they can fix the longevity problem and integrate the power supply into the body of the grinder, I would have one on my counter. Great review!
Oh and who makes the bean dosing cup you are using? Love the look of it👌🏻
Is it the VS3 or the VS3 Gen2? That’s quite a difference! Chances are, since it’s a newer review, it’s the Gen2, but can we get confirmation on that?
Confirmed! It’s the gen 2
Just curious which burr set was used? And was the season ing needed for the taste profile? I tried the hypernova ultra s and thought the burrs gave a balanced taste with clarity and some body. immediately though likely they will get better. However I tried the hypernova iridescent burrs and I'm thinking they need seasoning as not much clarity comes thru.
Hi, my vs3 is stalling after 30sec of grinding medium light beans, yet i do slow feeding
Your videos are great!
Can you tell me, which single dosing grinder is your favourite?
Also, what do you think of the Ascaso Duo Steel PID Plus?
Cheers mate!
Hi.which the best coffee grinder for single dose?
I really enjoy the juicy sweet taste profile of the varia. What would be a similar tasting grinder? Flat burr with ssp Cast?
Im allso not opposed to a hand or Manual grinder
I should A/B them against the SSP line in a side by side. I would say they are not 100% in line with any of them but the cast may be the closest. They remind me of some of the nicer timemore hand grinder burrs
actually, i'm wondering. can we replace varia burr with another manufacturer burr? e.g Timemore, Lagom mini, etc
I probably wouldn’t recommend this because of the structure of the outer burr casing, and I wouldn’t recommend just changing the inner burr
This or mhw3 bomber sniper?
Forget the power supply. It dying right on warranty time is THE deal breaker.
As long as alignment is solid, I'd rather have hefty plastic grinder that keeps on chugging than fancy metal grinder that will break after a year.
That's sad cause I was only hearing interesting things about VS3.
For what it’s worth, a lot of the problem components have supposedly been updated. But.. that still needs more time to be proven IMO. Absolutely fair criticism
O wonder if the"finger guard" is also an anti-popcorn accessory.
If it is it could be more effective 🤣
Had this grinder for two weeks and it died every time I tried to grind 18 grams of light roast beans. Sent it back and got a Niche zero.
Thanks for mentioning! That’s mostly what I grind, for both CleverDripper / pour-overs and Espresso. There are those burr upgrades he talked about at the start - I’ll read up and see if any of those are good for light roasts!!! And there has been a Gen 2 since this video too!
Unfortunately changing the burrs won’t really help if the motor is not strong enough to turn them. That’s was the issue I had with the grinder.
It’s -> its
🤝☕️💪
Umm... why can't Varia make a stronger motor? Hello !!!
2-3 kg of coffee for seasoning?! are you sleeping on money stacks? wow
If you develop a good relationship with a local roaster you can often get your hands on seasoning coffee for super cheap/free. Usually it’s sub par roasts, old green, prep roasts etc! I def don’t go out and buy new, top tier specialty for this but do think it’s something that is at least important for a year reviewer to test as there can sometimes be significant changes over the first period of a grinders life-cycle.
Also doubles as a stress test! Some grinders have taken me 7-10kg to fully season! 😵💫
Looked like a great unit until found out it has a brick. I'll keep looking.
First
☕️💪
More quiet... there is no quieter, that snot a word int eh English language
The last half of that sentence has to be self-trolling, but every part of this gripe needs a dictionary