Baratza Vario+ User manual

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January 2022 (v1.5)
VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing the Vario+ coffee grinder! The
Vario+ makes it easier than ever to make professional
quality coffee at home.
The Vario+ is a compact, time-based grinder that is capable of grinding for
a wide range of brew methods. The Vario+ has a small footprint, an intuitive
control panel, and macro/micro adjustment levers for accurate grind adjustment.
The grinder is tted with 54mm at ceramic burrs. The replaceable ceramic burrs
generally last around 10 years of standard home use.
The included PortaHolder allows for convenient grinding directly into a
portalter. It can be adjusted to t various sizes of portalters.
Vario+ ™

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
CONTENTS
SAFETY INFORMATION 3
PARTS IDENTIFICATION 4
GRINDER SETUP 5
GRINDING OPERATION 6
BURR CALIBRATION 8
CLEANING THE GRINDER 10
WARRANTY & SERVICE 13

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
SAFETY INFORMATION
Keep these instructions for future reference. Read the information
below very carefully as it contains important safety information for
use of this appliance.
! Use only with AC current and the correct voltage.
See the label on the base of the grinder to
determine the correct voltage.
! Only clean the grinder housing with a dry or slightly
damp cloth. Do not immerse the grinder, plug or
cord in water or any other liquid.
! Baratza will not accept any liability for damage,
injury, or warranty if the grinder is used other than
for its intended purpose (i.e. grinding roasted whole
coffee beans) or is improperly operated or repaired.
! Do not operate the grinder with a damaged cord
or plug. If the supply cord is damaged, it must be
replaced by the manufacturer, its service agent
or similarly qualied persons in order to avoid a
hazard.
! Keep the appliance and its cord out of reach of
children aged less than 8 years.
! Do not leave your grinder unattended while
turned ON.
! This appliance can be used by children aged from
8 years and above and persons with reduced
physical, sensory or mental capabilities or lack
of experience and knowledge if they have been
given supervision or instruction concerning use
of the appliance in a safe way and understand the
hazards involved.
! Cleaning and user maintenance shall not be made
by children without supervision.
! Always unplug the grinder from the electrical
supply before assembling, disassembling or
cleaning. To unplug, grasp plug and remove from
the outlet. Never pull on the cord.
CAUTION: ALWAYS unplug the electrical supply cord prior to cleaning the grinder.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
PARTS IDENTIFICATION
1. Hopper Lid
2. Bean Hopper
3. Bean Shut-off Knob
4. Grind Time Preset
Adjustment Buttons
5. Micro Adjustment
Lever Knob
6. Macro Adjustment
Lever Knob
7. START/STOP Button
8. Manual Mode Button
9. Grind Time Presets
10. PortaHolder
11. Burr Calibration Tool
12. Burr Removal Tool
13. Grounds Bin
14. Upper Burr Carrier
15. Ceramic Burrs
15
1
2
3
10
5
7
4
6
8
9
14
11
12
13

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
GRINDER SETUP
1. Place the grinder on a level surface.
2. Hand wash the hopper (2), hopper lid (1) and grounds bin (13) with warm soapy water. Let air dry
or dry with a clean cloth.
3. To install the hopper: With the hopper upright and the shut-off knob (3) pointing toward the
back left of the grinder, place the hopper on top of the grinder and nd the point where it settles
into place. Push down and rotate the hopper clockwise to center the shut-off knob and lock the
hopper into place. The hopper must be locked into place to engage the microswitch so that the
grinder can operate.1
4. The grinder will come with the PortaHolder (10) installed. To use the grinder with the included
grounds bin instead, pull the PortaHolder straight out and replace it with the grounds bin.
a. The PortaHolder arms can be adjusted up or down to accommodate different sizes of
portalters. To adjust the PortaHolder arms:
i. Pull the PortaHolder out of the grinder.
ii. With a Phillips head screwdriver, loosen the two screws in the back of the PortaHolder.
iii. Move the PortaHolder arms up or down so that the portalter ts. If the arms are
dicult to move, loosen the screws further.
iv. While holding the arms in position, tighten the two screws to lock the arms into place.
5. Plug in the grinder. The display should illuminate and go through its startup process.
6. Reference the grind settings chart on page 7 and use the micro adjustment (5) and macro
adjustment (6) arms to select a grind setting.2
7. Add beans to the hopper. Ensure bean shut-off knob is turned open. ‘OPEN’ should be facing up
on the knob.
1Installing the hopper with the lid on top may make for easier installation.
2 Beans between the burrs will cause resistance when adjusting to a ner setting. Make ner adjustments either with the unit running,
or completely empty of coffee.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
GRINDING OPERATION
After setting up the grinder as outlined in the previous section, press a
preset button (9). The screen will show the corresponding programmed
grind time in seconds. Press START/STOP (7) to begin grinding. While
grinding, the screen will count down the seconds to 0.0. When the
screen reaches 0.0 seconds, the motor will stop, and the display will
reset again to the programmed time.
ADJUSTING THE GRIND SETTING:
The Vario+ has a micro adjustment lever knob (5) to the left of the display and a macro adjustment lever
knob (6) to the right. The Micro adjustment arm is used to make smaller changes to the grind size, while the
macro adjustment arm is used to make larger changes. Twelve micro adjustment clicks are equivalent to
one macro adjustment click. The grind setting is adjusted by moving the micro and/or macro adjustment
lever knobs up or down. Moving a lever arm up will result in a ner grind, whereas moving a lever arm down
will result in a coarser grind. When making a ner grind adjustment with coffee in the hopper, the motor
must be running.
At setting 2Q and settings ner, the burrs (15) will audibly contact each other. The grinder is calibrated for
the burrs to touch at this point, and it will not damage the burrs to grind at their contact point or ner if
there is coffee being ground. However, running the grinder without coffee while the burrs are touching for
extended periods of time will reduce the lifespan of the burrs.
CHOOSING A GRIND SETTING FOR A BREW METHOD:
The settings shown in the table below should be used as a general starting point. The actual grind size needed
for a particular brew method will vary depending on many factors, such as: degree of roast (light vs. dark),
freshness, environmental humidity, variety of bean, oil content, etc. Practice and personal preference will
ultimately determine which setting is right for the desired taste, brewing style, and the particular beans used.
Espresso AeroPress Hario V60 Automatic
Drippers
Chemex French
Press
2Q 4M 6M 7M 9M 10M

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
Some recipes use visual descriptions to describe the grind size required, such as “ground to the consistency
of kosher salt.” To visually determine the necessary grind setting, grind a small amount of coffee into the
grounds bin (13) by pressing the START/STOP button, then press it again to stop the grinding. Check the
grind size. If the grind size is close to what is desired use the micro adjustment lever to ne-tune the grind
size. If the grind size needs a large adjustment, adjust the macro adjustment lever to a new position.
TIME PRESET PROGRAMMING:
The Vario+ is equipped with three programmable buttons labeled 1, 2, and 3. Each button comes standard
with the following time presets (in seconds): 1 = 10s, 2 = 15s, 3 = 30s. The time saved under each preset can
be adjusted by doing the following:
1. Select either preset 1, 2, or 3 (9).
2. Press the up or down arrow buttons (4) to adjust the time preset. Once the desired time value is
reached, press and hold the numbered preset button for 3 seconds. The time value on the display
will blink to indicate that the new preset setting is stored.
3. To program the other presets, repeat steps 1 and 2. These grind time settings will still be saved
even if the grinder is unplugged and then plugged back in.
MANUAL MODE:
To grind continuously without using a preset, press MANUAL (8), then press START/STOP. The grinder will
run, and the display will count up until START/STOP is pressed or until the max run time of 60.0 seconds is
reached. When the grinder is stopped, the motor will stop, and the run time will be displayed for 1 second.
SLEEP MODE:
To minimize standby power consumption, the Vario+ will go into “sleep mode” automatically after 3 minutes
of non-use. While in sleep mode, the screen goes blank. To “wake up” the Vario+, press any button.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
CALIBRATION
PORT
BU R R CA LIBR AT ION
The Vario+ factory calibration will accommodate a wide range of brew
methods and calibration should not need to be adjusted out of the box
for most brew methods. However, if the Vario+ is unable to grind nely
enough or coarsely enough for a particular brew method at the nest
and coarsest settings, respectively, follow the instructions below.
TO RECALIBRATE THE GRINDER TO FACTORY SETTINGS:
1. Empty all beans from the grinder.
2. Lower the micro (5) and macro (6) levers all the way to
the bottom of the range.
3. With the hopper and grounds bin (13) in place, press
MANUAL (8), then START/STOP (7) and run the grinder
long enough to expel any remaining coffee; when
remaining coffee is expelled, press STOP/STOP.
4. Remove the grounds bin and insert the calibration tool
(11) into the round hole behind the discharge chute
until the tool settles into the head of calibration screw
inside.
5. Press START/STOP to run the motor.
6. With the motor running, move the macro arm up to
setting 2 or until burr contact is heard, whichever
comes rst.3 If there was no burr contact sound when
adjusting the macro lever, move the micro arm to Q or
to the point at which the burrs make contact, whichever
comes rst.
7. If the grind setting is at 2Q and the burrs are not in
contact, use the calibration tool to turn the calibration
screw toward the ner direction (as indicated on the
tool) until a change in motor pitch is heard. This will
bring the grinder back to factory calibration.
BARATZA
3 With ceramic burrs installed, burr contact is indicated by a change in motor pitch.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
8. If the burrs make contact prior to reaching setting 2Q:
a. Insert the tool and turn the calibration screw in the opposite direction of the arrow on the
tool to loosen the calibration screw and thus coarsening the calibration.
b. Move the macro arm to 2 and the micro arm to Q. If a change in motor pitch is heard before
reaching this setting, the calibration screw may need to be loosened further.
c. With the lever arms at setting 2Q, use the calibration tool to tighten the calibration screw
until burr contact is heard.
The calibration point can be set anywhere between 1A and 3Q depending on
user preferences. It is not recommended to set the calibration point to a setting
outside these parameters.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
CLEANINGTHE
GRINDER
Routinely cleaning the grinder is important to ensure that the grinder
performs as intended. With standard home use, the grinder should be
cleaned at least once per month. If darkly roasted coffee, oily coffee,
or avored coffee (which has added oils) is being used, more frequent
cleaning may be necessary.
Caution: Do not put the bean hopper, hopper lid, grounds bin, or PortaHolder in the
dishwasher. Hand wash only. Do not immerse the grinder housing in water. Do NOT
wash the burrs with water.
REMOVING THE HOPPER:
1. Ensure the bean shut-off knob (3) on the hopper (2) is in the closed position. The side of the tab
on the bean shut-off knob that says ‘CLOSED’ should be facing up.
2. Grip the hopper and rotate it counterclockwise to unlock it.
3. Lift the hopper up and off the grinder.
CLEANING THE HOPPER AND GROUNDS BIN:
1. Empty the hopper and the grounds bin (13) if there is coffee in either.
2. Wash the hopper and grounds bin with warm soapy water with a soft sponge or cloth. If
necessary, rinse. The parts can be dried with a clean dry cloth or set aside to air dry.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
CLEANING THE BURRS AND GRIND CHAMBER:
To manually clean the burrs (15) and the grind chamber, the upper burr carrier (14) will need to be removed
from the grinder.
1. Place the included burr removal tool (12) on the upper burr carrier so that the notches on the tool
interlock with the wings on the upper burr carrier.
2. Rotate the burr removal tool clockwise to unscrew the upper burr carrier from the grind chamber.4
Set the burr removal tool aside.
3. Once the upper burr carrier is unscrewed completely, lift it up to remove it from the grinder.
UPPER BURR CARRIER AND UPPER BURR CLEANING:
1. With the upper burr carrier in one hand, use a non-metal, bristle brush such as a toothbrush to
clean around the burr carrier and on the surface of the top burr.
2. For a deeper clean of the upper burr carrier area, use a small at-head screwdriver to remove the
screws holding the burr in the burr carrier. Set the screws and burr aside and use a non-metal
bristle brush to clean the rest of the upper burr carrier as well as the back of the burr. Once
cleaning of the burr and carrier is complete, use the screwdriver to reinstall the screws and burr.
Take care not to overtighten the screws during reinstallation.
GRIND CHAMBER, LOWER BURR CARRIER,
AND LOWER BURR CLEANING:
Note: It is not recommended to remove the lower burr carrier.
1. Use a non-metal, stiff bristle brush such as a toothbrush to clean the area around the lower burr
and the surface of the lower burr.
2. For a deeper clean of the lower burr carrier, use a small at head screwdriver to remove the
screws holding the burr in the burr carrier. Set the screws aside and lift the burr out of the burr
carrier. Then use a brush to clean the top of the lower burr carrier, the back of the burr, and
the opening of the coffee exit chute. Once cleaning of the burr and carrier is complete, use the
screwdriver to reinstall the screws and burr. Take care not to overtighten the screws during
reinstallation.
4 If the upper burr carrier does not rotate clockwise with the burr removal tool alone, a set of pliers can be used to grip the tool
for additional leverage

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
UPPER BURR CARRIER REINSTALLATION:
1. Place the upper burr carrier on top of the grind chamber. It should sit level with the grind
chamber. It will not thread on properly if it is not level.
2. Use the burr removal tool to rotate the upper burr carrier counterclockwise to carefully thread it
into the grind chamber. Threading the upper burr carrier into the grind chamber should be uid
with minimal resistance. If the upper burr carrier is dicult to rotate, rotate the upper burr carrier
clockwise to free it from the threading, make sure it is level and that the threads on both the grind
chamber and burr holder are free of ground coffee, and try again.
USE OF CLEANING TABLETS
Grinder cleaning tablets are designed to absorb and remove odors and coffee oil residue and should be
considered supplementary to normal cleaning. Grinder cleaning tablets should be the only substance used
to clean the internals of the grinder. Note that cleaning tablets do not take the place of normal cleaning
steps listed above and cannot be used to remove a clog. For grinder tablet cleaning:
1. Remove all beans from the hopper and use the START/STOP (7) button to run the grinder to expel
any coffee that remains in the grinder.
2. Adjust the grind setting to 10 and place the recommended amount of the chosen cleaning tablets
into the empty bean hopper.
3. Insert the grounds bin, then press the MANUAL (8) button and then the START/STOP button.
Grind all the tablets into the bin, then press START/STOP once again.
4. Once complete, we recommend grinding approximately 30g coffee (or the recommended amount
in the cleaning tablet instructions) to remove any tablet residue.
5. Discard the ground tablets/coffee.

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VARIO+ OPERATIONS MANUAL
WARRANTY & SERVICE
U.S. & CANADIAN WARRANTY
INFORMATION
Limited Warranty for Baratza Grinders is 1 year from
the original date of purchase. This warranty covers all
defects in materials and workmanship (parts and labor)
including free ground transportation to and from our repair
facility within the US and Canada. This warranty does not
apply to: improper use, lack of cleaning, abuse, normal wear
and tear, lack of proper adjustment, foreign objects (stones,
screws, etc.) in the beans, or uses outside the intended use
of grinding whole roasted coffee beans (roasted beyond
1st crack). If the purchased grinder fails within one year,
email [email protected] or call +1 425-641-1245 or
toll free 877-701-2021. For additional warranty, support, or
troubleshooting information, go to www.baratza.com.
Please note: Grinders that are purchased in the US or
Canada and shipped or taken out of the country have a
one-year warranty for parts only. If the grinder fails within
one year of date of purchase, simply email us at support@
baratza.com or call +1 425-641-1245. Please have the
following information prior to contacting Baratza: 1) Proof
of date of purchase and 2) Model and serial number (located
on bottom of the grinder). A Baratza representative will
respond to determine the problem and suggest a solution
path. The customer is responsible for paying the freight
charges and any duties and taxes for replacement parts
that Baratza may send. The customer is also responsible to
provide any labor required to repair the grinder.
INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY
INFORMATION
For all countries outside the US and Canada, the
warranty, support and service is provided by the
International Retailer the grinder was purchased from. If
the grinder was purchased from a retailer outside of the
country the customer resides in, the customer may be
responsible for any shipping costs to service the grinder,
and may need to pay for service.
PROOF OF PURCHASE &
PRODUCT REGISTRATION
The grinder can be registered at www.baratza.com/
register-your-grinder. Registration will enable us to
contact the registrant in the unlikely event of a product
safety notification and assist us in complying with the
provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The serial
number is located on the bottom of the grinder. Please
keep the sales receipt that shows the date of purchase.
FOR REPAIRS OR QUESTIONS
Email: suppor[email protected]
For Parts and Information go to: www.baratza.com
For Troubleshooting Help:
www.baratza.com/troubleshooting
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