# Upgrade time! Alex Duetto III & Baratza Forte



## Pooper (Jun 14, 2015)

Coming from a Gaggia Classic and Iberital MC2. Can't wait to tame these bad boys


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Be interested to hear how it goes with the grinder. Don't see a lot of them on here.

The Alex Duetto is very shiny, but I'd suggest getting some matting for the top if you want to keep it scratch free!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Nice looking set up !


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## Pooper (Jun 14, 2015)

risky said:


> Be interested to hear how it goes with the grinder. Don't see a lot of them on here.
> 
> The Alex Duetto is very shiny, but I'd suggest getting some matting for the top if you want to keep it scratch free!


Yeah I can already see some light scratching where I've slid the tray back on







Wouldn't be an issue if I get it plumbed in I guess, because I'd never need to move it.

Will most likely post some more vids and pics once i've got her all figured out. Looking forward to playing with the Forte


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

risky said:


> Be interested to hear how it goes with the grinder. Don't see a lot of them on here.
> 
> The Alex Duetto is very shiny, but I'd suggest getting some matting for the top if you want to keep it scratch free!


Yeah I second that - I've seen this grinder online and it looks interesting but be great to hear/see more!


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

It has 54mm ceramic burrs does it?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Nice choice of machine (I have one myself)

You'll have years of enjoyment with this setup


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## Pooper (Jun 14, 2015)

jonc said:


> It has 54mm ceramic burrs does it?


It does, and mine also came with the stainless steel, which effectively makes it the AP + BG all in one!


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## Pooper (Jun 14, 2015)

Glenn said:


> Nice choice of machine (I have one myself)
> 
> You'll have years of enjoyment with this setup


Thanks









Question - after a few runs, mine seems to have switched to sounding a little more.. rattly(?) when the rotary pump comes on. Nothing huge.. but just wanted to check if yours does that, and if it's just something that happens randomly? (or maybe it was just that the first few runs were really quiet, due to it being brand spanking new?)


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## Fevmeister (Oct 21, 2013)

Looks great, how different on the inside is the forte to the vario?

v nice set up!!


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## Fevmeister (Oct 21, 2013)

Also, the weight function, looks like you've got the portafilter attachment in there, do you need to put a different attachment in to use the weigh function? Otherwise I can't get my head around how it works


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Nice large LCD display aka eye candy on that grinder! ?


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## Fevmeister (Oct 21, 2013)

DoubleShot said:


> Nice large LCD display aka eye candy on that grinder! 


a liquid crystal display display?


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Lol! Well spotted!


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## Pooper (Jun 14, 2015)

Fevmeister said:


> Also, the weight function, looks like you've got the portafilter attachment in there, do you need to put a different attachment in to use the weigh function? Otherwise I can't get my head around how it works


Yah that was more for the aesthetics of the photo









You can only weigh when you have the grounds bin in (as the portafilter holder covers the weighing bit at the bottom).

BUT... the cool thing I like... you can dial in your grind, then weigh out 18g into the bin (or whatever amount floats your boat), then immediately press TIME and one of the preset numbers, and it'll save that exact time (the time it took to grind 18g at the given coarseness). So you can still kinda grind by weight, with it in.


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## titan_uk (Jan 15, 2012)

Pooper said:


> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Should be in tech faults but ...Air? Check your water pressure. Rotaries vibrate... some sympathetic vibration? (my girlfriend had one of those)


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## Fevmeister (Oct 21, 2013)

Just bought a forte myself

its arriving tomorrow! As far I know it's just the two of us on the forum


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## gareth2j (Aug 30, 2014)

Make that three, I've had my forte for about a year alongside my trusty SDB.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

@gareth2j, what's the Forte like as a espresso only? Is it worth the money in that case? I am thinking of getting one myself, mainly because it is a small and compact grinder. What grinder did you have before? How does it compare?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Pooper said:


> Yeah I can already see some light scratching where I've slid the tray back on


Get some "Cookamesh" matting to go between the cups and the lid. It's heatproof, discreet (ish) and will stop the ceramic from scratching the cup warming plate. I've got a piece on top of my R58 and also on the drip tray (not a wire type one like the Duetto).

Looks lovely BTW, hope you're enjoying it.


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## gareth2j (Aug 30, 2014)

I had a Hairo hand grinder before the forte so not much to compare it to I'm afraid. It's a good little grinder. For me it was finding the right balance between a fairly consistent grind and something small and neat on the kitchen work top.

In terms of grind I think it's fairly consistent, and it can definitely grind fine enough for espresso (I have the Fotre AP with ceramic ditting burrs), I'd say on the finest you'd not be far off of Turkish, but I never get anywhere near that as my machine would choke.

Couple of things I find problematic with it are:

1. Retention: I think it really messes with the timed grind. I get quite varying amounts out (almost up to 1g difference sometimes, I'm putting it down to retention but as I'm not too experienced on that front it could be other factors). I tried single dosing but the beans popcorn a bit so I tend to leave some beans in the hopper

2. Adjustment: even though there are quite a lot of steps, I do seem to find I'm always looking for a place in between two of the micro steps. This could be my poor technique though. It does make me think that I'd be likely to consider a stepless grinder in the future

Overall, I'm happy with it as it ticks the right boxes for me and to be honest it's incredibly sturdy, feels like a good bit of kit and I think it's one of the best looking grinders on the market right now.

G


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## dillonmr (Jan 1, 2015)

i see you have a click mat? find it any use? i had one and didn't find it at all good. lovely machine btw


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## nicholasj (Nov 11, 2013)

That's very impressive.


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## Darrenb80 (Dec 27, 2015)

Love that grinder being a gadget man it's beautiful might have to have a look at that one


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## migsterr (Apr 29, 2014)

That is one nice looking setup.


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