Find the perfect grind size with 40 individual settings for any method you feel in the mood to brew, from espresso to French Press. Easily control and replicate the perfect grind amount for your brew with the help of a digital screen and an intuitive interface. The Virtuoso Plus is designed to be a step up from the Encore, and as such, has a few more advanced features. Rather than simply switching the grinder on and off, the Virtuoso allows you to time your grind. This feature is different from Encore. This was a side-mounted dial for the 60-second timer on the original model, with timing marked into 10-second increments. The front panel featured the pulse button.

Grinding is a natural next step for any aficionado. It is the best way to ensure you always have fresh coffee. Based in Seattle, WA, Baratza specializes in coffee grinders. Since 1999, they have designed some of the best grinders on the market. They offer a wide range of home, prosumer, and commercial-grade equipment. Since the Vituoso+ doesn’t measure by weight, it will take a bit of fiddling to get precisely the amount of ground coffee you are after. But, once you know, it becomes a touch-of-a-button job each morning for the perfect grind of your beans. Day-to-day cleaning of the burrs, hopper, and grounds catcher is fairly straightforward and similar to what you would find with most electric grinders. Before investing your hard-earned cash into a new grinder, it’s important to research which grinder would be the better fit for you.

Winner: Virtuoso Plus. This is a close one. You could argue that it’s a tie for the most important parts like the motor and grinder, but the addition of the metal body parts gives the additional Virtuoso sturdiness. Grind settings and grinding speed No! The Virtuoso+ uses the M2 burr, which gives a more consistent, quieter grind. Is the Virtuoso+ the same as the Virtuoso?

A grinder is the most important piece of gear in your coffee-making arsenal. Without a consistent grind, your coffee will never live up to its full potential, and some of the money you spend on high-quality specialty beans will go to waste. The Baratza Virtuoso+ is a mid-range grinder aimed at intermediate homebrewers looking to improve their coffee game by taking their grinding to the next level. The Virtuoso+ isn’t Baratza’s top-of-the-line model, but it isn’t an entry-level grinder either. If you already own a low-priced entry-level grinder, the Virtuoso+ will probably be a significant improvement, but for beginners, it might be a bit on the expensive side. The number one complaint is the grind retention we discussed previously. It is easy enough to work around, but many people find it bothersome to weigh their coffee twice, and inconsistent dosing can be a problem if you’re not careful and aware of the problem.

The older model’s side-mounted timer switch has been replaced with a centrally-placed timer dial that also acts as a pulse-grinding switch. Above this knob sits the digital display that helps you set the timer for grinding. The digital timer can be adjusted from 1 to 40 seconds in 0.1-second increments. This gives you a level of dosing control that was previously missing from the Virtuoso. Alternatively, the most cost-effective option for you could be getting the Baratza Virtuoso refurbished, since the motor is of high quality and will last you a lot longer anyway. Then you twist the central knob until it displays the length of time you would like to grind for. You have the choice of 0-40 seconds, changing in 0.1 second intervals, allowing excellent precision and repeatability. Though it goes up in 1-second increments and only down in 0.1 second ones. The Baratza Virtuoso+ has a 180W DC direct drive motor, a gear reduction system, turning the 40mm Etzinger burrs inside at a constant 550RPM under no load. Within its 40 selectable grind settings, it can output ground coffee between 1.4g a second, and 2.3g a second (tested).

The Virtuoso+ delivers a clean, café-quality taste to your cup thanks to a high-performance conical burr set that produces uniform grind particles for balanced flavor notes. Find the perfect grind size with 40 individual settings for any method you feel in the mood to brew, from espresso to French Press. Ditching the pre-ground coffee should be your first step towards a better cup of joe. And this is true even if you’re new to home brewing. And if you really want to taste the difference, skip the blade grinder and head straight for the burr kind. This is why we’ve given you a detailed rundown on two popular models: Baratza Encore vs Virtuoso Plus. In late 2020, Baratza introduced the first major update to the Virtuoso since 2012, when they changed the grinder’s burr set and adjustment collars. Baratza retired the original Virtuoso, and introduced the Virtuoso+ grinder, with a super simple to use digital timer and one control interface for the entire machine. The great thing about the Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is that it will be as simple or as sophisticated as you want to make it. If you don’t want to tinker much with this machine, you can use it on its 40 grind settings with the base 450 rpm speed. It’ll perform just fine. Customizable Burr RotationWe love coffee, and learning how to brew like a pro has been fun and exciting. This grinder has been a great addition to our morning ritual. It makes fine-tuning the perfect mug or shot simple.