# Good starting point for mahlkonig vario settings for espresso / aeropress



## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

thanks to coffeehit I have the vario I ordered yesterday sitting besides me (haven't opened it but the box looks HUGE!) which means I get to play with my new toys this weekend.

in an attempt to minimise the amount of completely wasted coffee what settings would the existing vario owners recommend as a good starting points for both espresso and the aeropress.

I'll be buying some cheap beans to mess about with but would prefer to start in the right sort of ballpark


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

The issue with buying cheap beans is that the right ballpark for old beans will be no where near for good beans. The other thing with Baratza grinders is that you can calibrate it to give a coarser/finer grind meaning that a setting that works with someone else won't work for you necessarily if their calibration is different (it could be out by a whole macro setting quite easily). The other thing is that it is quite basket and dose dependent!

Hopefully someone will chip in with their starting point soon which is a good place to start, but I'd go with decent beans from the off. Ideally find out where the burrs just about touch then back off a few micro settings and start from there! Aim to choke a shot then adjust back rather than wasting 5 shots on gushers as you adjust finer (at least this is where I start from). One other thing to say is that Square Mile beans tend to need a really fine grind compared to hasbean or some other roasters so there is a chance you'll need to do the calibration to get your grind fine enough.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Each Vario is configured slightly differemtly and can be micro adjusted over time, so its difficult to give you an accurate starting point.

Aeropress

Try 5 down on the left and 4 down on the right. Adjust left first then right to micro adjust.

Espresso

Try 2 or 3 down on the left and 4 down on the right. Adjust left first then right to micro adjust.

Agree about using good beens from the start. You'll only waste less than 50g with these guidelines


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

Cheers guys, all my bits have arrived now and i managed to fit my silvia wand this eve so i will spend sunday afternoon flushing the machine to get it ready for use and then i can crack on and get started pulling shots


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

When I first got my Vario I used about 2D for espresso but since sending a good few kg's through it, it seems to have settled at about 1H usually or there abouts.

For things like brewed and Aeropress I'd only worry about the macro setting to be honest. You're never going to be able to tell the diffrence of a few notches on the micro side when it's at that kind of coarseness it my opinion. I just tend to wack it up to 10 and leave the micro where it is so it's ready when I next put it back for espresso.

Also, although the Vario doesn't really retain grinds I tend to find you have to through 6-7 beans in at least and run it for a bit for it to settle into the newly set coarseness. Just throw them in, run it for 5 secs into the grind bin, then lob it in the bin (or what I do which is to save it for the backflush proofing shot after a backflush)

You don't really want to be storing beans in the hopper and using the timing feature as they'll just go stale (unless you get through a hopper a day) It's best to chuck the amount you want in each time. I hit the 20sec button and it does 19g and has time after to spit the last few retained grinds out. I've found this the best way to use it.

Ruddy good grinder though. Really good quality and you can tell just by the sound of it.


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

So I flushed the machine through and ran the complimentary bag of grindz through the grinder yesterday and set about trying to dial in some beans.

I was using some wote yirgacheffe from monmouth that I bought on saturday(mostly for use in the aeropress at work).

I started out based on chimpsinties estimate at 2a and immediately choked the machine.

dropped to 2e, another choker.

dropped to 2i, not a choker but a veeeeeery slow pour circa 50seconds. smelt horrific and tasted like lemon scented washing up liquid might taste. bitter bitter bitter.

by this point I got a bit bored and had other things to be doing so I left it for the day.

this morning I tried again, dropping down to about 2q, pour was a little slow (circa 33sec for two shot glasses to the 1oz line) again quite a bitter tasting shot on it's own but crema looked passable if on the v. dark side (but no oil spots) although by the time I'd steamed the milk it had all but dissipated. made up a latter, poured my best heart latte art so far :] and had an 'ok' coffee at the end of it, although the coffee kind of disappeared into the milk somewhat.

I think i'm in the right sort of neighbourhood now so I'll be able to look at things a bit more in depth (extraction weight rather than pour times). am still very clueless about temp surfing the classic and have no idea if I'm pulling shots at the right time or not. but i guess that comes with time.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I wrote up a post about temp surfing on the classic somewhere on here. I'll try and dig it out. It's best to experiment yourself so you get it clear in your own head but it might inspire you to get your themometer out









You Vario will probably settle down soon. I'd run a good few (like 10-15) bags through it before I started using the low 2's and 1's on the dial. Now I'm pretty settled on 1H ish.

How are you distributing in the PortaFilter?

Remember not to tamp the hell out of it.Better to grind finer and tamp less.

What's the weight of beans you putting in?


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Here is that link to the temp surfing thread so you can see how I settled it in my head and the "equipment" I used.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?6049-Get-your-thermometers-out-we-re-doing-some-tests-on-the-Classic&highlight=temperature+surfing


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

am using 18g, giving the portafilter a light tap on the counter to spread them out a bit (on a folded bar-towel) and admittedly giving it quite a hefty tamp although I'm realising it doesn't need to be that hard so am going more for evenness than pressure now.

I've had another play today and worked my way down to 2M or so and am pulling about 58g of coffee in about 20 seconds from 18g. however as I split the bag in half to take some to work for the aeropress I only managed 2 decent shots before running out of the monmouth yirgacheffe so I'll be starting on a different bag now hopefully much less of it will end up in the sink this time.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

58g is a lot of coffee to take from 18g. Have a read at page 3 of this thread: http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?7619-Any-unwanted-perfect-crema-devices-going-spare

You should be aiming for about 30g in about 25-30seconds.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Yes, what he ^^^ said.

That's far too much to be getting from 18g. Also, with all that room on the grinder to play with, why are you aiming for 20 secs. In my experience the best shots have always been the ones that run over 25s. I'd say aim for 25s as a minimum and don't worry too much even if you end up at 50s to get 32g out.


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm not aiming for 20s that's just where I am at the moment. I am slowly working my way back down the fine adjustment on the grinder to try and bring the shot time up.

and I've been using 2x 2oz glasses (one under each spout in the pf) and pulling the shots to around the 1oz line on each to get a double shot. but i guess I misunderstood something along the way. will try aiming for 32g instead.


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

so ~18g red brick on 2F with a nice light but even tamp yielded 34g in 30 seconds. sadly I had to share it with the girlfriend so the enjoyment was fleeting before i ran out the door. will see if it's repeatable tomorrow and then I think I can consider this red brick dialled in for now. with probably 200g left in the bag too.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Give a girlfriend half your espresso and she'll thank you, however teach a girlfriend how to make her own and you'll never have to make her one again


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

ha! sadly she professes to have no interest in 'decent' coffee, however whenever I'm making one she suddenly perks up and adopts a 'oh well if you're already making one, then i may as well have one' attitude.

before I got a coffee machine (the morphy richards i had before the classic) she drank almost no coffee at home. now strangely she drinks it more often than tea.


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Then you're going to have to do 2 shots. That's all there is to it. Work out whether the 1st shot or 2nd shot tastes better and always give her the one that doesn't







Espresso is precious little liquid as it is, let alone having to share it.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

You could get a bigger basket (triple) and split that in two, meaning each half will be slightly longer, then do milk for both drinks in one jug. Good excuse for a 21g vst /strada basket!

Michael

Fun in a Cup Coffee Training


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## Hatbeard (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm slowly working towards a solution (http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?7657-two-cappucinos-one-classic)

today was a one-off as I overslept and didn't have time to pull two doubles so just stuck two espresso cups in place of my shot glasses and steamed enough milk to fill them in a single jug. works ok for a quick fix but not really good enough for the first coffee of the day where caffeine is king.


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