Here is a list of sections – just scroll to the part you want to read. 1. SUMMARY 2. KEY SPECS 3. BACKGROUND 4. UNBOXING 5. WORKFLOW 6. IN THE CUP 7. AESTHETICS 8. RETENTION 9. SPECIAL FEATURES 10. COMPARISON TO OTHER GRINDERS 11. WHAT I DON’T LIKE 12. WHAT I LIKE MOST 13. VALUE FOR MONEY 14. BEST FOR 15. CONCLUSION 16. MANUFACTURERS RIGHT OF REPLY [URL=https://i.imgur.com/BAxB96j.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/BAxB96j.jpg[/IMG][/URL] **1. SUMMARY** - A little ripper and one of the few grinders I intend to keep. - Small footprint. - Slow RPM so be prepared to wait. - Worth upgrading the burrs for espresso to the Hypernova. - The wandering grind dial issue in early editions appears to be fixed. https://youtu.be/x0EsTAth8-s 2. KEY SPECS AU$589 plus shipping (~US$400 ~£330 ~€365 at time of writing) Add ~AU$150 for the Hypernova burrs (~US$100 ~£80 ~€90) Main unit 3.14kg. Charger 500g. Total 3.64kg (verified) 160rpm (I didn’t count them so I’m taking Varia’s word for it 😊 ) 100 watt motor / 100-240 variable voltage 38mm conical burrs Three burr sets to choose from **3. BACKGROUND** I’m a bit obsessed with grinders having averaged one new grinder a month across my espresso bench over the last 24 months with prices ranging from AU$300 to AU$6,000. And I’ve bought each one with my hard earned. No loaners, no freebies. “Why the heck would you do that?” I hear you ask. Firstly, I’m fascinated by the extraordinary difference that a burr set can make in unlocking the flavor of a coffee bean. And secondly, I can. It’s not that I have an endless budget, but I have enough, and I enjoy a four day weekend, every weekend. In short, I have the budget and the time to indulge in a quest to find the bottom of the espresso grinder rabbit hole. (Tip: it’s very deep and to date, I still can’t see any end to it. And I’m quite happy about that). And my obsession may not be quite as expensive as some imagine because I resell most of the grinders, normally at a discount to other espresso tragics who are members on the CoffeeSnobs forum. I don’t do these reviews with any aspiration to be an influencer. I buy grinders because I’m fascinated by them and writing a review provides me with a reason to document my thoughts, which is very helpful for someone with my super-power which is forgetting things. Having written the review, I figure that I may as well publish them in the hope that it helps someone. And provided I buy carefully, my loss is about the cost of renting a grinder (I wish that were possible) for the three months that I typically try a grinder out for. I bought the Varia VS3 on a whim on January 20th 2023, which means that at time of writing, I’ve been using it daily for just on three months. I prefer to conduct a review after three months of near-daily use because it means that the honeymoon period is over and it’s had real world, day to day use. The Varia’s budget-friendly price, classically simple design lines and small footprint made it irresistible for me to give it a whirl. I’ve used the VS3 in the roastery paired with an ECM Puristika and alongside my travel grinder which is a Lagom Mini and I recently bought a second VS3 so I can test the different burr sets side by side and simultaneously in my new grinder lab (results will be posted in due course). **4. UNBOXING** [URL=https://i.imgur.com/VFKrO22.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/VFKrO22.jpg[/IMG][/URL] The VS3 came very well protected in custom cut foam and double boxed. It would withstand a drop or two no problem. I’d love to see Varia move towards more sustainable packaging though. For example, the Olympia Moca SD had 5 grams of plastic in total in the entire box and packaging. Something to work towards perhaps. The VS3 came with a little packet of tools and bits so that burr changing apparatus is taken care of. Included in the box was: The grinder (d’uh!). 1 x DC power adapter (a country specific cord and plug) 1 x Magnetic dosing cup. 1 x Silicone bellows for the hopper. 1 x 5mL RDT spray bottle. 1 x Cleaning brush. 1 x Replacement set of 4x burr chamber springs (nice touch) 1 x Allen key for burr housing screws. 1x Spanner for loosening the central nut holding the burr carrier in place. **5. WORKFLOW** Not bad at all, with one caveat. The lid that sits on top of the hopper is magnetic and the magnets on the second unit I bought are stronger than on the first unit. That extra strength makes it hard to remove. If you use the bellows (I don’t) then it’s a non-issue because the steel lid sits on top of the rubber bellows. But it’s quite tricky getting the lid off otherwise. It’s something I’m used to now, and a fingernail inserted between the lid and the hopper does the job. I just wish they had stayed with the original magnets because they were more than strong enough, and I didn’t have to wrestle to get the lid off. A small knob on top of the lid would also solve the problem although it may not be visually appealing . Whilst on the subject of workflow, there are three things that are most important to me in a grinder. Number one is the in-the-cup result. The second is the look of the grinder. Workflow is number three. That’s just me; I really don’t mind a bit of extra faffing around if the in-the-cup experience is tops. But if you gave me the choice between a great looking grinder that requires a bit more faff, and an ugly looking grinder that was number one for workflow, I’ll take the beauty ahead of utilitarian benefits every time. Maybe there is an Italian lurking in my ancestry somewhere? That’s just to put into perspective my take on workflow: it’s not as important to me as it may be to you. That said, the workflow on the VS3 is pretty darned good, in large part to it’s low retention. Magnetic lid excepted. Like almost all grinders, the VS3 benefits from RDT (a light misting of the beans using a spray bottle prior to grinding). And like every grinder, expect a lot of static until the burrs are partly seasoned which is going to take between 1kg of beans for uncoated and 2 kg for coated burrs. Changing the dial results in a predictable difference in grind size, right out of the box. IMHO that’s the number one indication of a great burr set and a well-designed and superbly engineered grinder. Seasoning the burrs will affect the grind but it’s one of those grinders, like the Niche and Moca SD, that don’t require seasoning in order to enjoy consistent results. I’ve found that other grinders, like the DF83 or Malwani Livi, are a pain in the butt because until they are fully seasoned you’re going to be chasing the dial around and getting zero consistency of pour for the first 2 to 4 kg of beans. You get none of that with the VS3. Whilst on the subject of seasoning, like most single dose grinders, the grounds clogged the chute while I was pouring beans into the hopper almost continuously. If I was seasoning it again, I could avoid choking it by feeding 20 grams at a time and using the bellows before the next 20 grams. Tedious, but not as painful as clearing a clogged and choked grinder every few minutes. If you choose not to season the VS3, just run 200 grams through it and know that your espresso will improve as the burrs are seasoned. If you like what you taste straight out of the box, it only gets better from there. After deep cleaning or burr changing, the collar always screws on and returns the zero point to 6 o’clock (bottom of the dial) every time, just like the Niche Zero and just unlike the DF grinders on my bench. That’s the type of precision I’ve come to expect from grinders in a higher price bracket so it’s a very pleasant surprise to have it in the VS3. **6. IN THE CUP** For my style of espresso, being medium/light and medium roasted beans, the VS3 with the Hypernova burrs is a clear winner in the flavor and body department and the area that it really surprised me was its ability to produce espresso with detectable differences in flavor notes and after taste. I think it is very special for a grinder in this price range using beans roasted above light. I had another espresso tragic around last weekend and asked him for his impressions of the espresso from the VS3 in comparison to the Lagom Mini (see below) and he pretty much said the same thing, with no prompting or prior opinions offered: more body, more notes, longer after-taste with distinct flavors coming and going. It’s may be of interest to note that the beans used for these samples were well roasted (if I say so myself 😊) top quality Kenyan AA beans. I’ve only used the VS3 paired with the E61 equipped ECM Puristika. **7. AESTHETICS** The surface of the VS3 features a matt finish i.e. not smooth or gloss, and I really like it because it’s aesthetically appealing and different to other grinders. I think that the white model especially highlights the matt finish particularly well. Which underlines why I tend to prefer white grinders and espresso machines: because it’s easier to notice and appreciate the form of white machines than it is of black machines. Black tends to camouflage form. Again, just my preference. **8. RETENTION** Precious little. I measure retention in two categories. There is the “shot to shot” retention i.e. how much of the previous grind is pushed out in the initial part of the next grind. Then there is “stuck” retention i.e. the grinds that get stuck in the screw heads or around the perimeter of the burr chamber and stay there until I open the grinder up for a deep clean. The Varia suffers from very little of either type of retention. My guess would be around 0.2 and 0.3 grams of shot to shot retention and maybe 1 gram of stuck retention over a month of grinding one shot a day. Retention would be even less if I used the bellows, but I don’t want to do that unless they make a significant difference like they do in the case of a DF64 or DF83. Those are grinders that need bellows and actually work very well in regard to retention provided you are OK with all the huffing and puffing that goes with bellows. But in the case of the VS3, assuming even 0.25 grams of shot to shot retention, the retained grounds are less than 1.5% or 1 part in 67 of the next grind. I can live with that. Bellows begone. I’d say that if you use the VS3 for two or three grinds per day then it’s worth doing a deep clean once a month or so. And that’s quite an easy exercise so long as you take careful note of where the washers go (important!) and to make sure that the little springs all stay where they are meant to (critical!). Thankfully, Varia thoughtfully provide spare washers and springs for ham-fisted absent-minded people like me. **9. SPECIAL FEATURES / CHARACTERISTICS** Die cast “space-grade” aluminum body Matt exterior of slight rough texture looks and feels great CNC machined internal components which as I understand it equates to precision manufacturing Magnetic lid and base so the lid and dosing cup snap into place easily and precisely Stepless grind adjustment with satisfyingly predictable results 30 gram hopper capacity which is fine for espresso but not ideal for filter or brew Slow RPM so expect to wait around 50 seconds for a grind The VS3 also features a medium size “power brick” which is external to the main machine. I personally prefer this set up because I use my grinders on benches with a shelf underneath and having a separate power brick keeps the grinder’s benchtop footprint smaller. For those with a standard kitchen bench, be aware that the brick is going to be a potential eyesore. You can hide it partly behind the grinder but it’s not small enough to make it visually disappear. It will however fit easily behind most espresso machines so that may be a solution for some. The power brick is not a biggie for most, but it may be a deal breaker for some “better halves”. (Tip: it’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.) **10. COMPARISON TO MY OTHER GRINDERS** [URL=https://i.imgur.com/x0Cy4V9.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/x0Cy4V9.jpg[/IMG][/URL] IMHO, in terms of in-the-cup quality, the VS3 offers ten times the espresso quality over a Breville Smart Pro and more flavor separation than the Niche. Frankly, it’s not far off the Olympia Moca SD in that department and that grinder (still my favorite of all time) is four times the price of the VS3. The Lagom Mini will probably be regarded as a close competitor to the VS3 because they are within $100 of each other, and both have a small footprint grinders with smaller burr sets (48mm for the Lagom versus 38mm for the VS3). But how do they compare in-the-cup? The flavor out of the VS3 with the Hypernova burrs for medium and medium/light roasted espresso is fuller bodied and tastier that then espresso from the Lagom with the Moonshine burrs. I still rate the latter highly and for light roasted espresso or filter it would likely outshine the Hypernova-equipped VS3 but I haven’t tested that. And yes, I’m still very happy with the espresso from the Mini and it’s always a delight to use when I travel. **11. WHAT I DON’T LIKE** The bellows, but you don’t really need them so I can hardly complain, I guess. Consider them an optional extra. If you are a perfectionist, you may want to use them. (Or just get a Niche Zero?) The slow RPM. Note that I also list this in “What I Like Most” because it’s a bit of a love-hate relationship. Based on the reports of others, a slower RPM will produce less fines, increasing clarity. So that may be a plus. But having got used to six second grinds with the Moca SD, there is a bit of thumb twiddling that goes on waiting for the VS3. I don’t mind the power brick but I’m listing it here because some won’t want to live with it. Regarding the power brick, why would you bundle a white grinder with a black power cable and a black power brick? Ironically the Lagom Mini that comes in black, features a white cable and white power mini-brick and the latter is about 1/3rd the size of the VS3’s power brick. Also, the Lagom Mini’s mini-brick works just fine with the VS3. That said, I know nothing about power bricks and there is probably a good reason that Varia and Lagom have chosen their respective color-mismatched bricks. Note to Varia: maybe have a chat to the nice Aussies at Lagom and see if they will swap all the black power bricks you bought for some of their white ones 😊 I’d like to see Varia add 5mm to the catch cup height. Lagom nailed this with the Mini. It means you have to be a little more careful inserting the catch cup with the Lagom but the payoff is zero fines escaping. To be fair, there is not a lot with the VS3 though. **12. WHAT I LIKE MOST** - The slow RPM (see above) - The look - The heft (feels like quality) - The burr choice (would still benefit from a filter-only burr set) - The price / value for money - The espresso [URL=https://i.imgur.com/xK4hZoM.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/xK4hZoM.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Above: sans hopper **13. VALUE FOR MONEY** Exceptional value for money. At AU$289 the Breville Smart Pro grinder is, like most things Breville, the best “bang for bucks” grinder at the budget end of the market. It’s an OK grinder that is my minimum benchmark for only-just-drinkable espresso. I know that’s not exactly high praise but that’s the way I see it: it’s fine for dark roasted milk drinks and certainly better than grinding with a pestle and mortar. But compare “it’s OK I guess” (Breville) to “I’m excited to drink this espresso” (Varia VS3) then you may understand why I think that every cent of the extra $300 is worth it as well as a bit more for the Hypernova burr set. In terms of other options around the same price, the Timemore 064S will soon come into focus but it has yet to be tested thoroughly “in the wild”. It’s probably great, but we don’t know yet. The 064S sold for ~AU$460 during the Kickstarter launch. Timemore state that they expect a retail price for the 064S to be ~AUD$630 (US$120 to be added to the price post-KS). If that’s the case then the Varia will still be competitively priced. And yes, I realize that the 064S has larger burrs but as Etzinger proved many years ago, espresso flavor is far more about burr geometry than burr size. The VS3 is around one half the price of a Niche Zero and whilst I love my Niche and won’t be selling it any time soon, I truly wouldn’t miss it too much if it was stolen, so long as the burglars were good enough to leave me with the VS3. **14. Who it would be BEST FOR** The VS3 would certainly fit the bill for anyone who was mindful of budget and/or counterspace and who enjoys medium/light, medium, or medium/dark espresso. It may also be great for filter but that’s not an area I’ve ventured into yet. **15. CONCLUSION** I’m really quite charmed by the VS3. As mentioned, I have two of them and after I’ve completed some side by side, blind taste comparisons, I’ll sell one of them. I frankly don’t know what I’ll do with the other one but I’m so enchanted by it that I’ll find some reason to hang on to it. Maybe as a back-up? (Yes, that’s what I’ll tell myself). Top quality espresso, small footprint, superbly designed and engineered, very good workflow. And all for a modest price relative to the in-cup experience. There is really very little “not to like” and this little charmer. **16. MANUFACTURERS RIGHT OF REPLY** As is my standard practice, no part of the above review has been altered in response to the manufacturers right of reply and no changed was asked for. Here is the manufacturer’s unedited reply: We have enjoyed reading your review and we think that you are completely fair in all regards. As for commenting on it, we wish to mention these simple points and you are welcome to summarize them in your way: As we aim to be innovative, we are continuing to add some minor tweaks to our VS3 grinders with each batch and we try to add any possible improvements wherever its relevant. As for the power brick, we have tried testing multiple options and we have ended up with the results that the current one is the most stable and durable option. The included bellows are only there for customers who wishes to use them. It is difficult to offer an aesthetically pleasing grinder with a bellows and we believe that our VS3 has minimum retention without the need for the bellows. One final point to mention, we are proud to state that our customer service and after-sales support are at the highest levels. We offer full attention to all our customers, and we value them. In case of any questions, we are always here to help at support@variabrewing.com

You say it grinds slowly, have you timed it?

@"Dusk"#p42981 50 seconds. please view the video too.

Good write up, I bet that power brick will put a lot of people off sadly. Burr size similar to some of the really popular hand grinders.

@"tompoland"#p42980 A good detailed review! Please keep us posted as you always do and let’s know if you end up finding the end of the rabbit hole. 😊

@"tompoland"#p42980 Any issues with the grind setting drifting during use (though this may have been fixed since the review I saw) Great review - this one I had missed !

> @"MattH"#p42995 Any issues with the grind setting drifting during use (though this may have been fixed since the review I saw Right at the start of the review, 5th point in 1: Summary: > @"tompoland"#p42980 The wandering grind dial issue in early editions appears to be fixed.

@"MattH"#p42995 What he said (MRS) and no issue whatsoever. A very easy grinder to dial in and once it's dialed in, it stays in.

@"tompoland"#p42982 Busted, I prefer a written review so I definitely skipped the video! It sounds almost hand grinder speed, my Knock Aergrind isn't much slower than that.

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p42997 🙄I read it twice and missed it 😂

Tom, Could you double sided tape the power brick to the back of the grinder to hide it?

Varia VS3. Three month review, April 2023

tompoland

delta76 not with stock burrs.

But what the VS3 has over the Zero is a range of proprietary burr options that offer different flavor profiles.

This includes the yet to be announced “Hypernova Ultra S” that I’ve seen but not yet tried. It is promoted as having much greater clairty / brightness that the Hypernova Ultra.

delta76

tompoland is it Hypernova Ultra Plasma 2nd Gen or something else? if anything, terrible name

MWJB but diameter is a much easier to measure. and they also stated 38mm inner burr :)

Cuprajake

tompoland

acquired bought or acquired given,

and the grind time
Giphy - James Corden Time GIF by The Late Late Show with James Corden

tompoland

Cuprajake bought.

If it’s given I would say so.

MWJB

delta76 It’s all easy to measure for a manufacturer with the tool to do so.

tompoland

delta76 haven’t heard of that one!

The name I was given was Hypernova Ultra S.

The original Hypernova is my personal favourite and then the Hypernova Ultra came out which in theory gave more uniformity and less fines. The cynic in me wonders is it didn’t quite hit the mark and hence the need for the Hypernova Ultra S.

Anyhow, I have the S variant coming ETA mid Feb. I will post impressions.

MWJB

delta76 MWJB but diameter is a much easier to measure. and they also stated 38mm inner burr :)

They actually say, “38mm inner diameter”, not ‘inner burr diameter’.

Is this inner, outer, outer burr diameter, or outer inner burr diameter? :-)

See those 4 lugs on the outer burr on the new design, replacing the pinned carrier on previous models? What’s the betting those lugs are each 5mm tall?

If the inner burr were 38mm in diameter this would be about the same as the 63mm Kony burrs in the Niche. Does this seem likely?

Cuprajake

Cheers for the clarity. It was the wording

JHCCoffee

Very well done review @tompoland ! Really appreciate your taking the time to do these.

Question: Is there an earlier vs layer model of the VS3? How do I distinguish? If so, what is the difference? I saw one for a very good price of $400 CDN, but am wondering if it’s the most current model. I think that I will buy one of these for auto travel trips and for use as a second grinder.

And … what are your further thoughts on the taste profiles of their various burrs, say compared to the NZ as a baseline.

tompoland

JHCCoffee

Thanks.

If you buy then look for the VS3 that’s promoted as “Gen 2”. The differences otherwise are not visible, the main two being that the Gen 2 has a steel gears versus plastic and a much stiffer dial collar so that the issues of drift are a thing of the past. The Gen 2 also doesn’t stall with light roasts like the Gen 1 did. I’d still recommend feeding the beans for Nordic roast though. Oh, actually the 3rd significant change with the Gen 2 is changing the burrs is now much simpler. Super easy . In fact I’d say it’s a three minute job now versus 12 minutes for the Gen 1.

Re comparison to the NZ flavor profile. With stock burrs I prefer the NZ but Josh from AlternativeBrewing seems to like the VS3 stock burrs more.

But where the VS3 has the edge in the cup is a top notch range of other burr options. Supernova is great for when you want chocolate bomb in a milk drink. Hypernova is my favorite all rounder but if I want something more refined then it’s the Hypernova Ultra.

There is a Hypernova Ultra S coming my way in February which is promoted as offering even more clarity. It’s not on their website yet.

MWJB

tompoland Re comparison to the NZ flavor profile. With stock burrs I prefer the NZ but Josh from AlternativeBrewing seems to like the VS3 stock burrs more.

What he likes is his prerogative, but I’d take those grind distributions with a pinch of salt. Not sure why anyone would be using 900 or 1000um grinds for filter (or why, if going by distribution, you’d set one grinder coarser than the other).

Also, I’m unsure what the problem is grinding beans from a cold start?

coffeewithhew

tompoland Re; “Supernova is great for when you want chocolate bomb in a milk drink.” , as my wife fancies a good ol’ choc bomb i.e. more sweeter latte, would you say the upgraded gold/black titanium supernova is best for this flavour profile than when compared to the stock burrs? and also, the blue hypernova? It’s the first I’ve heard someone mention online the supernova being great for choc bombs, as usually most say the hypernova to be best for this? They also tend to say it’s very hard to distinguish the difference between stock vs upgraded supernova. Currently, really happy w/ hypernova (tried hypernova ultra - and found they were too acidic upfront/clean ending). Cheers!

tompoland

Short video on grind time (TLDR: 55 sec) and static spray (TLDR: not much) using the Varia VS3.

[

DavecUK

tompoland The length of grind time is not good (fast enough) for an electric grinder, and the motor sounded a bit struggly, like it wasn’t super happy, and you could hear it speed up once it finished grinding.

tompoland

MWJB Also, I’m unsure what the problem is grinding beans from a cold start?

Me neither. Not sure that it bothers me either way. Obviously the Niche grinders have to have a cold start and the VS3 can do either but for the beans I mostly use in it (medium/light) I cold start.

It’s not a grinder I’m likely to use for a Nordic Light but I’d play it safe and hot start for them.

MWJB

MWJB I’d take those grind distributions with a pinch of salt. Not sure why anyone would be using 900 or 1000um grinds for filter (or why, if going by distribution, you’d set one grinder coarser than the other).

Josh has responded to my question on the Niche’s setting for filter in the video, which he thinks is 55-65 after calibration, this is way finer than 1014um average - at 94 on the Niche I only get 19% over 1180, so even that is nowhere near 1014um average.

Cuprajake

well,, seen as these new grinders cant grind from a start they have to make something up to make this a new feature,

just like stalling isnt stalling, its a safety cut out….

tompoland

DavecUK not sure how ‘not good’ looks like. Can you be a bit more specific please? Perhaps you are referring to the potential impact on the motor? The VS3 will grind dark roast in closer to 40 seconds. The one in the video was longer longer because it was quite close to a light roast.

The motor seems to cope just fine. Not sure what other people hear and sometimes digital recordings have a way of making things sound different than in the physical world. Only time will tell if it is durable or not. The Gen 2 handles very light roasts without stalling.

As for in-the-cup, I’m not a big fan of the stock burrs but the Hypernova and Hypernova Ultra are up there with the best for medium/light and medium beans.

Dusk

tompoland

When you say it will grind darker roasts faster, is that because it’s a coarser grind setting or on a similar setting?

FadedFrontiers

tompoland I believe it’s to let the burrs get up to full speed first for consistency, nothing to do with stalling on most grinders.

tompoland

Dusk yes because it’s a coarser setting.

tompoland

tompoland A grind time of 80 seconds (city roast)

actually this seems to be under 60 seconds.

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