# Time for upgrade - Baratza Forté?



## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

I'm looking for a successor to my six year old Rocky dl. I'm looking for a (rocky sized) grinder that can do everything from espresso) or even Turkish) to French press.

A fellow coffee nerd mentioned Baratza Forté. It's a bit out of my intended budget but it looks like everything I want from a grinder. All purpose, fast and quiet and pretty good-looking. The best price I've seen so far was a Danish site. http://www.kaffemm.dk/collections/kaffekvaerne/products/baratza-forte-ap-espressokvaern

Can I find a better price for this particular grinder anywhere, or is there a better option in this segment?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

hi, are you based in the UK? Do you know what the price on that forté is including delivery?

I hadn't heard much about the forté before but thought they sounded good when I was having a look recently.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

jlarkin said:


> hi, are you based in the UK? Do you know what the price on that forté is including delivery?
> 
> I hadn't heard much about the forté before but thought they sounded good when I was having a look recently.


Ah, no. I'm based in Sweden. Haven't checked the shipping rate yet. It's still a bit expensive I think.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Espressomento do this too. Not sure how delivered price will compare?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Exactly - I think it's worth dropping Dragan an email or note on here (@EspressoMento.com we're looking for you) he's very quick to respond and helpful .


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

Well. The price before shipping is around £ 70 lower from the Danish site at least. But I know nothing about this retailer.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

BloodyMezzo said:


> Well. The price before shipping is around £ 70 lower from the Danish site at least. But I know nothing about this retailer.


They also have zero stock...


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

Good point. And I have zero cash.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

Here's another Danish retailer by the way. About £ 20 more expensive. Did the service if they had the machine in stock. Regards it's like £ 160 cheaper than the price I've seen on Swedish sites.

Please feel free to present me with other options. Right now I'm just a bit starstruck. There might be better grinders out there at this price.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

Or is this a good option? More for the espresso purist probably. But price seemed ok!

https://kaffemaskiner.se/kaffekvarnar/fiorenzato-f4-e-nano-electric-kaffekvarn/


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

BloodyMezzo said:


> Or is this a good option? More for the espresso purist probably. But price seemed ok!
> 
> https://kaffemaskiner.se/kaffekvarnar/fiorenzato-f4-e-nano-electric-kaffekvarn/


Sorry, I haven't seen much about those grinders. I think others on here are better placed to help with advice - would you prefer to buy new?


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## EspressoMento.com (Jun 15, 2015)

Hey guys,

Sorry about my late response.

That price is really good and I'm not sure how they actually make a profit. With this price they literally have 15 EUR profit which is simply not enough to run healthy business. Our price is a bit higher so maybe you should go with them because we're not able to beat their price.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

EspressoMento.com said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Sorry about my late response.
> 
> That price is really good and I'm not sure how they actually make a profit. With this price they literally have 15 EUR profit which is simply not enough to run healthy business. Our price is a bit higher so maybe you should go with them because we're not able to beat their price.


It's not in stock anyway! So they may as well 'sell' it for €5 or €50000.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

EspressoMento.com said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Sorry about my late response.
> 
> That price is really good and I'm not sure how they actually make a profit. With this price they literally have 15 EUR profit which is simply not enough to run healthy business. Our price is a bit higher so maybe you should go with them because we're not able to beat their price.


But maybe you've got something else that you would recommend?

I'd like something...

rocky sized (not to high)

Fast

Quiet

All purpose

My first idea was the vario, but I think it's a bit sad with so much plastic besides a beautiful chromed espresso machine. Ideas?


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## EspressoMento.com (Jun 15, 2015)

I can offer you 10% discount on Forté-AP or maybe you're interested in Mazzer Super Jolly?


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

EspressoMento.com said:


> I can offer you 10% discount on Forté-AP or maybe you're interested in Mazzer Super Jolly?


Hm. Do you mean 10 % off from the € 859 = € 773 including shipping? In that case I'll have a serious thought about it.

I'm sure the super jolly is a dream machine. But I want more flexibility.


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## EspressoMento.com (Jun 15, 2015)

Sorry I wanted to write 5% but mistakenly added 10%.

So with 5% discount you still get free shipping.

With 10% discount I'll not be able to offer you free shipping.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Does it have to be a single grinder? I feel you're really limiting yourself there. With a budget of approx £500 (based on the price of the forte in the first post) you could buy a good used Super Jolly for about £250 and have £250 left to buy something more suitable/easier to use for various brewed methods. Maybe a cheaper Baratza?

I think with a one size fits all solution, certainly, at this price range, there is going to be a compromise somewhere.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

EspressoMento.com said:


> Sorry I wanted to write 5% but mistakenly added 10%.
> 
> So with 5% discount you still get free shipping.
> 
> With 10% discount I'll not be able to offer you free shipping.


Oompf. I think we're past the line here. But I appreciate your offer. I'll be thinking about it.



risky said:


> Does it have to be a single grinder? I feel you're really limiting yourself there. With a budget of approx £500 (based on the price of the forte in the first post) you could buy a good used Super Jolly for about £250 and have £250 left to buy something more suitable/easier to use for various brewed methods. Maybe a cheaper Baratza?
> 
> I think with a one size fits all solution, certainly, at this price range, there is going to be a compromise somewhere.


Good call. From what I've read about it, it seems pretty solid. But regardless what brand and grinder type it (the grinder I use for espresso) must still be compact enough so that I can feed the hopper where it stands under my kitchen lockers. So any good ideas?


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

BloodyMezzo said:


> Oompf. I think we're past the line here. But I appreciate your offer. I'll be thinking about it.
> 
> Good call. From what I've read about it, it seems pretty solid. But regardless what brand and grinder type it (the grinder I use for espresso) must still be compact enough so that I can feed the hopper where it stands under my kitchen lockers. So any good ideas?


A Super Jolly fits under most kitchen cabinets if you don't use the hopper (most people don't) and use a lens hood or similar.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

risky said:


> A Super Jolly fits under most kitchen cabinets if you don't use the hopper (most people don't) and use a lens hood or similar.


Hm. But I'd like some kind of hopper. Even if it's a small one. Preferably one that is wide and easy to fill up. I'm spilling beans already with my rocky as there's so little space above it.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

How exactly are you planning on using it? Most people single dose.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

risky said:


> How exactly are you planning on using it? Most people single dose.


Well, I tend to fill the hopper every third day or so. It gets too time consuming to dose for every cup. It may sound ridiculous but with two small kids around that crave your attendance you try to cut every corner. It's also that as the house barista I try to make everything as fast and smooth as possible so that I can enjoy my latte with my friends instead of when they're done drinking theirs.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Did you say you had a doserless rocky? How are you currently measuring your dose?


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

risky said:


> Did you say you had a doserless rocky? How are you currently measuring your dose?


Doserless, yes. I'm actually not measuring at all. I think I can nowadays do it pretty consistently without tools. But I thought a timed grinder might be a good help as it's hopefully a time efficient way to get more control over a variable.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

BloodyMezzo said:


> Doserless, yes. I'm actually not measuring at all. I think I can nowadays do it pretty consistently without tools. But I thought a timed grinder might be a good help as it's hopefully a time efficient way to get more control over a variable.


A very consistent on demand grinder may allow you to avoid weighing the dose, but you really need to weigh everything if you want consistency.

And I presume you're OK with periodic purging to avoid stale grounds working their way in? If you're OK with purging then by all means consider an on demand grinder. I can't really help here I'm afraid as I have no experience of them.

I'd still recommend a separate grinder for brewed though. Just feel it makes life easier.


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

risky said:


> A very consistent on demand grinder may allow you to avoid weighing the dose, but you really need to weigh everything if you want consistency.
> 
> And I presume you're OK with periodic purging to avoid stale grounds working their way in? If you're OK with purging then by all means consider an on demand grinder. I can't really help here I'm afraid as I have no experience of them.
> 
> I'd still recommend a separate grinder for brewed though. Just feel it makes life easier.


Hm. I tried to write you back but the cyber deamons ate my post.

I'm a bit confused about the terminology. Until very recently I thought an on demand grinder was the same as a doserless. That you grind exactly the amount you DEMAND and WHEN you do it. But apparently I was wrong. So what's the difference?

How fast is a jolly really? How many seconds do you need for a double?


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

A question regarding the Forté. Can you do a simple "press and hold to grind" in any way or do you have to do it by time or weight?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

BloodyMezzo said:


> A question regarding the Forté. Can you do a simple "press and hold to grind" in any way or do you have to do it by time or weight?


You can do it by time, weight or manually grinding. You can set the amount of time/weight with 3 preset buttons or manually will run up to 40 seconds


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

jlarkin said:


> You can do it by time, weight or manually grinding. You can set the amount of time/weight with 3 preset buttons or manually will run up to 40 seconds


Cool. Do you know if manually means press and hold on the touchscreen or how it works?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

BloodyMezzo said:


> Cool. Do you know if manually means press and hold on the touchscreen or how it works?


I think you press manual and then start and then either it times out at 40 second or you press stop. Actually worth just double checking - I was interested in the Brew Grinder not the one that also did espresso.

The manuals for them are pretty concise: https://www.baratza.com/flat-burr-grinders/forte-all-purpose/


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## BloodyMezzo (Jul 14, 2015)

jlarkin said:


> I think you press manual and then start and then either it times out at 40 second or you press stop. Actually worth just double checking - I was interested in the Brew Grinder not the one that also did espresso.
> 
> The manuals for them are pretty concise: https://www.baratza.com/flat-burr-grinders/forte-all-purpose/


From what I saw in a YouTube video even the brew grinder seem capable of delivering espresso grinds when used at its finest settings. And if you change your mind I think you can just change the burrs to ceramic ones if you get interested on espresso.


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