Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (Model ZCG587BLK)
The Baratza Virtuoso+ is the latest evolution of Baratza’s classic home grinder, now enhanced with a digital timer display and backlit grounds bin. Whether you’re brewing a French Press, pour-over, AeroPress, or even experimenting with espresso, the Virtuoso+ offers exceptional grind consistency and intuitive controls.
The design focuses on usability, repairability, and performance, backed by Baratza’s reputation for quality and customer support. This grinder is engineered for the long haul, making it a worthy investment for serious home brewers and coffee enthusiasts.
Product Highlights & Features
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Digital Timer with Precision Control:
Allows grind time to be set to the tenth of a second for repeatable dosing. -
40 Grind Settings:
Covers a wide range from fine to coarse, making it compatible with all brew methods including espresso (with modification), pour-over, Chemex, and French Press. -
Commercial-Grade 40mm Conical Burrs:
European-made hardened steel burrs deliver uniform grind size and excellent flavor extraction. -
Modern Aesthetic:
Sleek design with a sculptured metal top and base, fits beautifully into any kitchen or coffee nook. -
LED-Backlit Grounds Bin:
Illuminates the bin for clear visibility during grinding. -
Repairable & Sustainable:
Built to last with easily accessible parts for maintenance and long-term use. -
Quiet DC Motor:
Durable motor operates at a steady grind speed of 2g/sec without overheating beans.
Technical Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Brand | Baratza |
| Model Number | Virtuoso+ (ZCG587BLK) |
| Grinder Type | Conical Burr Grinder |
| Burr Material | European-Made Hardened Steel |
| Burr Size | 40 mm |
| Number of Grind Settings | 40 |
| Digital Timer | Yes, adjustable to 0.1 seconds |
| Grind Speed | ~2g/sec |
| Bean Hopper Capacity | 230 grams |
| Voltage | 230V |
| Weight | 6.88 lbs (3.12 kg) |
| Dimensions | 5.91″ L x 5.12″ W x 13.39″ H |
| Color | Silver |
| Material | Metal & High-Quality Plastic |
| Style | Automatic |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
| Recommended Uses | All brewing methods (with limits for espresso) |
Final Verdict
The Baratza Virtuoso+ stands out as a top-tier home grinder for those who value precision, consistency, and quality craftsmanship. Its 40 settings offer versatility for nearly all brewing methods, and the digital timer makes it easy to reproduce your favorite cup daily.
While it isn’t ideal for true espresso aficionados without recalibration, it still performs admirably for most casual and intermediate espresso setups. Its repairable build and exceptional customer support elevate it as a long-term investment in your coffee journey.
If you’re serious about upping your home brewing game, the Virtuoso+ delivers professional-level results in a compact, stylish, and user-friendly package.
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
Highly Recommended for Everyday Coffee Lovers & Enthusiasts
KenB –
Consistent grind just tastes better!
An article I read in the NYTimes Wirecutter reviews discussed how cheaper conical burr coffee grinders produced an inconsistent coffee bean grind size affecting taste. It explained that small particles (“fines”) produced bitter flavor coffee and larger particle size (“boulders”) produced weak coffee. It seemed logical to me and since I wasn’t blown away with the taste of my coffee in my Mocamaster drip coffee maker I decided to splurge and buy the reviews top recommendation — the Baratza Virtuoso+ Coffee Grinder.It produces a very consistent grind size. I was easily able to try several different grind sizes around the recommended “medium” until I found a setting that really pleased me. At this point, I should say that I could really taste the flavor difference. I could taste flavors in my morning coffee that I had never tasted before. I think the biggest difference maker insofar as flavor is concerned is not so much the coffee maker as much as the coffee grinder.Once I got the flavor dialed in, I experimented with different time settings that would yield the exact amount of beans I needed for my morning coffee. The Baratza allowed me to make tenth of a second adjustments. It keeps the last setting used so that all I had to do was load the hopper with several days worth of beans and just push the button and the Baratza would produce the exact amount of perfectly ground coffee to go into my Mocamaster without further adjustments.The other thing I liked about the Baratza is that I didn’t find ground coffee adhering to the sides of the plastic collection cup from static electricity as with my previous grinder—a big improvement. All in all, I couldn’t be happier with the Baratza+ Coffee Grinder. If you enjoy good tasting coffee, you can’t go wrong with this product. I should note that the cheaper Baratza Coffee Grinder produces similar consistent particle size and great tasting coffee for $100 less but lacks the timer which enables one button push in the morning. You have to add a measured amount of beans and hold the button for the desired amount of coffee.
12 people found this helpful
Judi F –
Easy to use, even grind and looks good
This gets nearly daily use. Very easy to have fresh grind. Easily adjustable for the kind of grind preferred. We tried others and this one is the one we kept. Have only had about 3 months so we will see how it holds up longterm. Be sure not to do large amounts at a time as the instructions designate. No reason to do that anyway as this is small and fitswell on a counter and looks good sitting there.
Kathleen –
If you want something that lasts, get this!
After buying a Cuisanart (my first one lasted 10 years, the second one only 1), I bought an OXO (highly rated). Well it barely lasted 8 months before clogging up from the coffee (I grind Espresso, and it never failed to clog). So I looked for a “better grinder” on Google, and Baratza was mentioned as the best grinder on 5 websites. If you go to the Professional level, they cost $1000. This one was $250, and worth every penny. It grinds coffee very fast, and works so well, with anything from a fine Espresso grind to coarse for my cold brew coffees! It’s capacity is about 8 ounces at a time to grind, and it grinds in about 28 to 40 seconds. The coffee bin is also lit, so you can see when it’s getting full. It bin cleans out with soap and water. Love it!
One person found this helpful
C –
Great for typical brewing methods, Okay/decent for espresso IF you recalibrate
For french press, pour overs, aeropress, etc, this is a fantastic grinder. The grind is fairly uniform, the grinder is easy to use, and the entire thing is well made and made for repairs–an investment that will last a lifetime or more!However, for espresso, you *can* recalibrate the grinder to grind down to small enough grinds. This taking off the shell and essentially shifting the grind size range down. By this I mean let’s say 0-40 is the range for however your Virtuoso + is currently calibrated. If you recalibrate it to the finest setting, the range, relative to the original, then becomes something like -8-32.As such, this does work for espresso–I managed to dial in some recipes with the use of puck screens and such to compensate for pressure. But the step size itself is fairly big for espresso. What I mean is that the ideal grind size for whatever espresso you want to make is very likely in between grind sizes–and there is no way for you to calibrate this grinder to be in that middle ground. Well, there is: you can do the stepless mod, but per Youtube, this comes with its own compromises (the hopper will shake a lot so you will have to stand there holding the hopper for consistent grinds). Either way, works well for my current espresso skill level and usage.That being said, if you have one of the lower end entry level machines with the pressurized baskets (like mine) and just simply want to make a mocha or strong coffee but not a “proper” or “perfect” espresso, then the grind size/steps kinda don’t matter all that much. These types of baskets are meant to eliminate all the nuances of proper espresso making. When you start messing around with unpressurized baskets though, you may be somewhat unhappy depending on how you like your espresso.In case you are interested in the grind sizes I use, here they are below. Keep in mind my Virtuoso + is calibrated to the finest possible setting (Baratza has videos showing how to do this).French press – I use an Espro P7, so I use a medium grind because I can filter out the grounds. I use size level 28 and the standard 1 min bloom, 3 min brewing, 30 sec plunge techniqueEspresso – I use a Casabrews CM5418 but unpressurized baskets. The one I have dialed in the best (as well as I could with this machine and grinder) is the IKAPE 51mm high extraction beehive basket. For this basket, I use 15.5g of medium/medium-light beans at size 4 with the GEMINI 51mm Puck Screen at 0.8mm thickness. The puck screen is primarily to keep the showerhead clean and compensate for pressure as well as volume since I cannot dial in the grind size any better. The pressure ends up being ~8.5-9 BAR on my machine. it will be a bit on the sour side but still good.If you want something a bit more on the bitter side, then with the same basket, I do 16g of the same beans, grind level 5, with the MHW Bomber3 51mm 0.8mm puck screen. The pressure will be 6.5-7.5 BAR with my machine.
23 people found this helpful
Malor –
Super consistent.
This is a fantastic grinder, super uniform with its output. It’s a little loud, you might not want to use it in the same room where people are sleeping, but it’d be fine in the next room. It’s medium-pitched, not a high whine, so it’s unlikely to bother anyone at least a room away.It’d be nice if the hopper was bigger. It holds about three cups of coffee beans. That’s enough, but five or six cups would be preferable for my use. (I don’t change coffee type very much.)When assembling, pay careful attention to the instructions. It seems very difficult at first, but goes together in a very specific way. If it’s at all hard, you’re probably not doing it right. The trickiest bit might be the little rubber gasket that goes in first; you don’t actually need to stretch it. If you’re careful and just wiggle it slightly, it should drop into place. It *looks like* you should stretch it over the catch posts, but if you do, you’ll have a real hard time getting it to fit. Once you know how it works, it’s dead easy to take apart for cleaning, and then put it back together. Everything is very cleverly designed.I can’t talk about longevity yet. It’s been fine so far. If I have problems, I’ll try to update this review later.
16 people found this helpful
HubbieO –
Very good conical burr grinder
This is a really good burr coffee grinder. Replaced the Cuisinart burr grinder I had. It wasn’t grinding too evenly anymore as I think the burrs got worn over the years. The timer on the Virtuoso+ is a nice feature, but I had to get a digital scale to find out exactly how much coffee was being ground. But, once I figured that out, it’s easy to use the timer to grind the right amount of beans.
One person found this helpful
Brad H. –
Timer is one of the best features
First off, I come from a professional background having several coffee carts and restaurants over the years. One experience I will always remember is when I had our burrs replaced on our commercial espresso grinder. The technician said, “let me show you something amazing with just changing burrs”. He brewed an espresso before the new burrs and one after. It was night and day difference such that these could have been completely different coffees or expresso machines. Burrs do wear out and need to be changed, which by the way is pretty easy on this machine.I have seen several complaints about the timer. I find it to be extremely useful for measuring output. I tend to brew the same size pot every day and have dialed in my grind time to output the same amount ever time. I have seen some other grinders trying to incorporate scales to measure output which looks to be a PIA. Once you get the time “dialed” in, the output is very consistent. I can see if someone was varying the amount of coffee output regularly, the timer could be a pain but for consistent amounts of grind, it works very well. I also read here about complaints of the white coffee chafe showing. This is common with medium to lighter roast beans and are not an issue. I’ve used cheaper burr grinders usually don’t not show the chafe and this usually means the coffee is being burnt rather than chopped by the grinding process. This has been a very reliable grinder putting out consistent dosed grinds every time. It should be noted that I do not use this grinder for espresso.
26 people found this helpful
jdfern –
Consistant Grind
This grinder is very nice. I like that it is simple. Once you find your grind size and timed amount you just press the button and it repeatably delivers the perfect amount and grind. My coffee tastes like I’m at a coffee house everyday at the push of a button.
JohnnyBravoJohnnyBravo –
Delicious coffee made easy with this grinder!
Perfect size, not noisy (like my Kitchen Aid) and makes consistent, fast, fresh ground coffee. I really appreciate the light that comes on while grinding, illuminating the grind bin so you can see what’s going on inside. Great grinder and an investment in quality that you will appreciate with every cup of delicious coffee you make. (The timer allows you to repeat that perfect cup formula every time) Buy this-you deserve a great cup of coffee every morning. Life’s too short to not appreciate great coffee!
One person found this helpful
10 Gauge –
The Perfect Coffee Grinder for Precision and Consistency!
The Baratza Virtuoso+ is hands down one of the best coffee grinders I’ve ever owned! Whether you’re a casual coffee drinker or a serious home barista, this grinder delivers exceptional consistency, precision, and ease of use.Right out of the box, the build quality is outstanding. The stainless steel and high-quality plastic construction give it a sleek, modern look while ensuring durability. The LED-backlit digital timer is a fantastic touch, making it easy to set precise grinding times down to the tenth of a second.This grinder is equipped with 40mm conical burrs, which produce incredibly consistent grounds—whether you’re making espresso, pour-over, French press, or anything in between. With 40 grind settings, it offers a great range of customization for different brewing methods.The digital timer makes dosing effortless, ensuring the exact amount of coffee every time. The motor is quiet and smooth, and the grind speed is fast enough to be efficient but not so fast that it overheats the beans.Adjusting the grind size is simple, and the grounds bin slides in and out smoothly. Cleaning is easy—just remove the burrs and brush them off. Baratza also offers great customer support and replacement parts, making this a long-term investment.If you’re looking for a reliable, high-quality burr grinder that balances precision, durability, and ease of use, the Baratza Virtuoso+ is an absolute winner. Highly recommended! ☕🔥
11 people found this helpful