I love this grinder! (Hope the photo shows up better than I?m seeing here?it is great looking!) I like how the hopper locks into place plus it is super strong and pretty easy for a novice high end home user like me to use.

Yes it’s an expensive coffee grinder. But it should be the last coffee grinder you need for your home. It’s heavy, and built to last. My favorite part is the ability to set the weight of coffee to grind; it makes having a consistent coffee taste every time. You can also accurately change the grind setting to meet ensure the saturation time of your coffee is perfect.I use mine for a drip coffee maker, the Technivorm 1-cup. If using coffee beans from Starbucks, your drip coffee will taste like Starbucks if you put in the correct setting of grind size and weight. I love how it has ‘favorite’ settings. This way I have two different settings, for two different sized cups. For an after dinner coffee, I use a smaller cup.

Very happy with machine; instructions accompanying the grinder were minimal, but online SCG videos aided tremendously in educating us.

works well, very consistent.

We have a Breville 920XL Dual Boiler and for the last two years we have used a low to mid price range grinder from a quality Company. But, that grinder has been just "OK". We use high end espresso beans and the old grinder only barely came close to an optimum grind at the absolute max espresso grind setting. It could help to just barely achieve a 9 bar pull @ a 30 psi tamp. With various beans the result was often a slightly bitter to fairly bitter with an OK crema and some chocolate favors. So, pretty good for lattes but usually yielded only mid range quality espresso shots. That grinder has been getting even less capable with age so buying a new grinder has been imminent for the last six months while doing research, studying, reading blogs, watching demo videos and talking to espresso friends and baristas. Our $$ limit was an absolute $1,400 max with a preferred price point under $1,000. Strictly for home use with usually 4 to 6 doubles every day and occasionally 10 or 12 doubles at a gathering of friends.Additional criteria for us included under 15" tall if possible, as quiet as possible, powerful but lower RPM operation to better protect the beans, and yes, a classy looking heavy machine of near commercial quality. Weight based grinding was also desirable but not a deal breaker. However, a good quality portafilter holder option was essential.For our needs, it kept coming down to the Baratza Vario W, the Baratza Forte AP, or the various Mazzer Mini E's. We finally chose the Forte AP. We ground through 3 pounds on the first day to break it in and to get a feel for bracketing the likely espresso grind settings. By the third day and after maybe 30 double shot grinds we felt we had a good ball park. Somewhere between the 3C and 2S grinder settings seemed to yield the results we desired. The machine can also do Turkish and French Press grinds that satisfy our coffee needs. A little coarser would be nice for the French Press, but this is close enough.The real test is of course the espresso shots. The Forte AP brings out the nuances of each bean we've tried. Caramels, chocolates, and more delicate tastes are enhanced while minimizing any distracting bitterness.The end product is certainly leap years ahead of the previous grinders we've owned over the last seven years of home espresso enjoyment.Summing it all up, the Baratza Forte AP is a nicely heavy machine with very high quality overall construction exhibiting excellent engineering tolerances and attention to detail. The time and weight grind features offer great flexibility, the touch screen controls are easy and intuitive, and the portafilter holder has proved flawless. I would have to surmise that this machine will be a blueprint for the next generation of high end electronic controlled grinders for either home or commercial use.As usual, SCG made the purchase and delivery easy, fair, and quick. Many thanks to SCG.

We have a Breville 920XL Dual Boiler and for the last two years we have used a low to mid price range grinder from a quality Company. But, that grinder has been just "OK". We use high end espresso beans and the grinder only barely came close to an optimum grind at the absolute max espresso grind setting. It could help to just barely achieve a 9 bar pull @ a 30 psi tamp. With various beans the result was often a slightly bitter to fairly bitter with an OK crema and some chocolate favors. So, pretty good for lattes but usually yielded only mid range quality espresso shots. The grinder has been getting even less capable with age so buying a new grinder has been imminent for the last six months while doing research, studying, reading blogs, watching demo videos and talking to espresso friends and baristas. Our $$ limit was an absolute $1,400 max with a preferred price point under $1,000. Strictly for home use with usually 4 to 6 doubles every day and occasionally 10 or 12 doubles at a gathering of friends.Additional criteria for us included under 15" tall if possible, as quiet as possible, powerful but lower RPM operation to better protect the beans, and yes, a classy looking heavy machine of near commercial quality. Weight based grinding was also desirable but not a deal breaker. However, a good quality portafilter holder option was essential.For our needs, it kept coming down to the Baratza Vario W, the Baratza Forte AP, or the various Mazzer Mini E's. We finally chose the Forte AP. We ground through 3 pounds on the first day to break it in and to get a feel for bracketing the likely espresso grind settings. By the third day and after maybe 30 double shot grinds we felt we had a good ball park. Somewhere between 3C and 2S seemed to yield the results we desired. The machine can also do Turkish and French Press grinds that satisfy our coffee needs. A little coarser would be nice for the French Press, but this is close enough.The real test is of course the espresso shots. The Forte AP brings out the nuances of each bean we've tried. Caramels, chocolates, and more delicate tastes are enhanced while almost eliminating any hints of distracting bitterness.The end product is certainly leap years ahead of the previous grinders we've owned over the last seven years of home espresso enjoyment.Summing it all up, the Baratza Forte AP is a nicely heavy machine with very high quality overall construction exhibiting excellent engineering tolerances and attention to detail. The time and weight grind features offer great flexibility, the touch screen controls are easy and intuitive, and the portafilter holder has proved flawless. I would have to surmise that this machine will be a blueprint for the next generation of high end electronic controlled grinders for either home or commercial use.As usual, SCG made the purchase and delivery easy, fair, and quick. Many thanks to SCG.

About the best you can get unless you have the room for a super jolley. More and more I see this grinder in Seattle's best indy espresso shops.

This machine fills a portafilter with espresso grind in about 7.5 seconds with the hopper nearly empty, and in about 6 seconds with it filled to the half way point. The grind is consistent. The motor doesn't have any whine or protest, the machine is quiet, I expect it to last for years. It a nice and heavy, well built and looks great on our granite beside the Breville 920 dual boiler. The only negative is the portafilter holder isn't fully adjustable and while it does hold the porta-filter that came with the Breville... it isn't tight and I usually don't let it go while grinding into the portafilter. Anyway this is the only way I grind... right into the portafilter and right before I brew espresso. So for me it doesn't really make a difference - those 6 seconds can be used to fill my espresso cup with hot water to preheat... or just spent smelling the freshly ground beans.

I have to believe that there are good Baratza Fortes out there, because there are good reviews, but so far with my new one my experience 100% confirms my experience with Baratza: lousy quality control that often results in defective products reaching hands of customers. I have been struggling with my Forte for 3 weeks now, thinking I just had to get used to it and dial in the right grind for my setup. But I have reached the conclusion that my Forte is defective. The grind adjustment levers seem to have absolutely no relationship to the grind of the coffee that comes out. I will get it in a good setting and make a few perfect shots. Then all of sudden the grind radically changes and the shot either chokes or flows through in 8 seconds. No amount of tinkering can get it back. I can put the lever on 10 and still get a grind so close to Turkish that my espresso machine won't put out a drop. Then all of sudden after grinding that way 5 or 6 times, without changing the adjustment it will start putting out coffee the consistency of gravel. The burrs in my machine seem to be slipping all over the place with no relationship to the lever settings. I guess I will have to deal with Baratza customer service and figure out what is going on, but this is an annoyance that is like my prior experience with their products and many people I know: if you get a working product on the first try you're lucky.

I bought this grinder because I wanted one machine that would do everything from drip to espresso, and it really delivers. The machine is fast, quiet (for a grinder), and the grinds are very consistent. The stainless steel is very attractive (much better than the cheaper Baratza models) and the touchscreen is nice looking as well. The grinder is also not very big - it's shorter than my brewer and doesn't take up a lot of counter space. For drip, I love the by-weight grinding feature: when I change beans, I don't have to guess how long to grind to get the right amount. I was expecting it to be gimmicky but it's actually awesome! And it does it FAST - enough for a full pot on my Technivorm takes less than 20 seconds. Lastly, the machine is very heavy and seems extremely well built - heavy duty belt drive motor, etc. I highly recommend the Forte, if you're willing to shell out the cash. You won't regret it.