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Pull espresso on a Baratza Vario+ between 1A and 2N, per Honest Coffee Guide's compiled Vario+ chart. Park the macro lever on 1 or 2 and do the real dialing with the letter lever: a fast, sour shot wants a letter closer to A, a choked, bitter one wants a letter deeper into the alphabet.
Baratza Vario+ grind settings by brew method
| Brew method | Baratza Vario+ setting |
|---|---|
| Espresso | 1A to 2N (macro number plus micro letter) [1] |
| Pour over | 2V to 8M (V60 in the tighter 2T to 6B band) [1] |
| AeroPress | 2A to 8T depending on steep time [1] |
| Moka pot | 2J to 5O [1] |
| French press | 6A to 10V [1] |
| Cold brew | 7E to 10V [1] |
Every numbered range above was checked against the source in the footnote it carries; where a manufacturer publishes nothing for a method, the row says so instead of inventing a number. Ranges are windows, not verdicts. Beans, roast age, and dose move the right setting inside each window, which is why the dial-in ladder below matters more than any single number.
How the Baratza Vario+ adjustment works
The Baratza Vario+ uses two levers: a macro lever numbered 1 (finest) to 10 (coarsest) and a micro lever lettered A to V, so a setting reads as number plus letter and 1A is the finest position; Honest Coffee Guide charts the range at 230 to 1150 microns. Find your zero before trusting any chart: with the hopper empty, tighten toward fine until the burrs just touch, call that zero, and count from there. If your zero point is calibrated differently from the chart's, every range shifts by the difference, which explains most "the chart is wrong" complaints.
Dial it in from the chart in 3 steps
1. Set the middle of the espresso range above and brew once, changing nothing else. 2. Taste against the two failure directions: sour, thin, or fast means grind finer; bitter, harsh, or stalled means grind coarser. The full logic lives in why espresso runs sour and why it runs bitter. 3. Move in small steps, one variable at a time, and write each attempt down; the free dial-in logbook exists for exactly this, and the printable dial-in cheat sheet keeps the correction table next to the machine.
Get the grinder
The Baratza Vario+ is on Amazon: check the current Baratza Vario+ price. Prices move often enough that we link the search rather than quote a number that will be stale by Friday.
Related reading
FAQ
What is the best Baratza Vario+ setting for espresso? 1A to 2N (macro number plus micro letter). Treat the range as a window, start near its middle, and adjust on taste: coarser if the cup is bitter, finer if it is sour or weak.
Can the Baratza Vario+ grind for espresso? Espresso on the Baratza Vario+: 1A to 2N (macro number plus micro letter). See the table on this page for every other method.
How do I read the Baratza Vario+ adjustment? The Baratza Vario+ uses two levers: a macro lever numbered 1 (finest) to 10 (coarsest) and a micro lever lettered A to V, so a setting reads as number plus letter and 1A is the finest position; Honest Coffee Guide charts the range at 230 to 1150 microns. Zero is with the burrs fully closed, and higher numbers or more clicks mean a coarser grind.
Sources
- [1] Honest Coffee Guide's Baratza Vario+ chart: https://honestcoffeeguide.com/baratza-vario-plus-grind-settings/
Improving your brew? Browse our free coffee tools, print the brew ratio card, and try our method: the descending pour.