Baratza Forte AP (All-Purpose) Ceramic Flat Burr Commercial Coffee Grinder

I didn't think a grinder could make such a difference. I upgraded from the Encore. It made such a difference.

This grinder is a solid 5 star unit. I know there's word about static in reviews, but I see no issues at all. I do grind only my own fresh roasted beans, thus likely have slightly higher moisture content. The resolution of the step adjustments is perfect. A few clicks north or south of the fine adjustment gets me dialed right in. It's quiet (within reason) and fairly quick. The scale lands me perfectly measured doses every time - it's great having two variables under complete control (dose and grind management). Two thumbs up on this unit. Update - I had one of those 'user induced' issues with my Forte - now almost 2 years after purchase. After contacting customer service via e-mail, not only did they take great care of me, they got me up and running in no time. A few days later, I got my parts needed, and started grinding espresso once again. Great service! I use it for 100% fresh roasted beans, only for espresso grind. It's used at least 5 days a week on the weight function. Since I grind by weight, I simply set the grams for a tad over my porta-filter's needs. Pour from the buck into my porta-filter (over a sink), and sweep off the small amount of excess w/ my finger. Minimum waste and easy. If I need to adjust the grind (as my beans age, or change batches), it's a simply click (while grinding), and the next pour is accurately adjusted. I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of my grinder..

Unit is dead 3 months after the short 1 year warranty expired. Continuously operates as soon as it is plugged in, controls do not work. Almost like it was programmed to die. Lost 1/4 lb of beans as it ground through whole hopper before I unplugged it to stop. Cleaned and removed burrs and still the same. Problem seems to be electronic or sensor related, if I move the grinds catch cup in and out I can sometimes get it to stop. Spend your money on a higher quality company. My gaggia lasted 12 years. 1 year is just unacceptable.

The Forte AP is well built, fast, quiet, and as long as you have the burrs calibrated in the neighborhood of your grinding application, it is very consistent. I brew from espresso to Filtron and everything in between. Rather than calibrating this for the coarse side, and messing up the espresso end, I just leave this set up for drip/pour over/espresso, and I use the Virtuoso+ for Filtron and grinding for bagging. The conical burr set is good, although it does popcorn. The flat burrs of the Forte AP are very good, but if you are grinding for 20-28 cup airpots as I do, grinding 110-120 grams at one sitting will gum up the chute, and it's kind of a pain to clean out. I just hit 60 grams, dump and hit 60 again to work around this. Make sure to clean the oils out of the hopper bottom and burr chamber if you are brewing darker roasts.

This is a great machine if you like your coffee ground fine. If you prefer your pour-over not to look like mud that sits and pools on even the most coarse settings (after adjusting so coarse that the set screw almost falls out) you won't love this grinder. At the most coarse settings, we get finely ground coffee (too fine for our liking). At the most fine setting, we get such a fine powder that it will barely come out the discharge port. We use light roast whole beans. Calibrated per instructions, contacted support, got another grinder ... it's just the way it is. Love the apparent quality and weight of the machine. Love the light that illuminates the ground coffee.

I upgraded to the Forte from Baraza' Vario. With the Forte, every shot pours at the exact same pressure. (Machine: Expobar Brewtus 4.) The shots are much more consistent than they were with the Vario. My only complaint - beans remain on a flat ring around the perimeter of the base of the hopper. I dose by weight (18 grams of beans / shot.) So the only way to ensure all the beans gring is to brush them off the ring at the bottom of the hopper during grinding. After I come up with fix for that, it will be my last grinder. 04.06.15 Edited to change to 5 starts. Baratza's tech support is top-notch! I emailed them about the "beans stay in the hopper" issue, and they replied with a link to a regular style (non-shutoff) hopper: https://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=6011

Llego a tiempo y en perfectas condiciones.

Fantastic. Easily switches modes, from espresso to drip, easy enough to change small adjustments for espresso with different beans. Has a portafilter basket cradle that doesn’t seem perfectly balanced (I have to hold the basket handle, on a prior grinder that died the handle cradle was secure), but otherwise the flexibility to measure by ground weight, time, or manual is a huge convenience.