AThis grinder comes with BOTH set of Burrs for AP (all purpose) and BG (brew grind)
INTRODUCTION
The Forté is available in two configurations. The Forté-AP (All Purpose grinder) can grind from coarse to fine and comes with a 54mm flat ceramic burr, grounds bin for use when grinding by weight, plus a portaholder for use when grinding directly to your portafilter. The Forté-BG (Brew Grinder) is designed for manual or batch brewing and comes with a 54mm flat steel burr and a grounds bin.
FortéAP and BG
The Forté-AP/ BG is a compact, commercial grade grinder, dedicated to grinding for ALL brew methods. The Forté-AP incorporates many features that fit well into commercial operations, including: all metal construction; small footprint; intuitive control panel; and solid macro/micro adjustment. The Forté-AP offers the ability to grind by time, for espresso dosing, or by weight. Coffee professionals find the FortéAP to be a versatile grinder for many situations as a small restaurant and office espresso/brew grinder, as a Roaster demo grinder for wholesale tasting, or being a dedicated grinder for decaf or single origin in a café.
The Forté-AP is a durable workhorse using a 54mm flat ceramic burr, which produces an accurate and precise grind, delivering exceptional cup quality for brew methods from espresso to press pot. We re-designed the guts of the Vario-W for commercial use. The Forté-AP design includes a grinding assembly with a threaded burr holder which screws firmly into an all metal grinding chamber for a more accurate grind. A larger gear to belt ratio, combined with a more efficient DC motor increases the speed of grind and duty cycle.
INTUITIVE INTERFACE
The FortéAP allows you to dose by weight or time. Our signature dose-by-weight is accurate to plus or minus .2 gram. The touch activation awakens your screen with LED backlit technology. The touch screen controls all operations with three programmable dose presets; Up or Down arrows to increase or decrease dose values; and TARE, MANUAL, START or STOP.
ESPRESSO DOSING
A unique feature of the FortéAP is the ability to convert a weight preset into a timed value that is accurate within plus or minus .5 grams of the set point. This allows for weight oriented dosing for espresso.
BURRS
The Forté-AP grinder comes with 54mm ceramic flat burrs for accurate and precise grinding. The Forté-AP grinds at an average of 2.0g/sec for espresso and 3.5 to 3.7g/sec for press pot. The range of grind is 230 to 1150 microns.
The Forté-BG grinder comes with 54 mm steel burrs that produce an accurate and consistent grind for a variety of manual and small batch brews. Our steel burrs were specifically designed to reduce the fines, enhancing flavor in the cup. The broad range of grind (500 microns to 1150 microns) and the narrow particle distribution (lack of fines) are the hallmarks of the superiority of the Forté-BG burrs.
ADUSTMENT/GRIND RANGE
An all-metal macro and micro adjustment system produces a positive feel and secure grind setting. The macro-adjust moves from fine to coarse grinding in 10 distinct and repeatable settings. A secondary micro-adjust further divides each of the 10 macro steps into 26 distinct settings. These steps, plus the new metal detents, enable fine-tuning with ease, dialing in the exact grind for the preferred brew method being used.
HOPPER
The hopper holds approximately 300g of coffee. An innovative bean shutoff feature in the collar permits no-mess, no-fuss hopper removal for changing out beans. Bean waste (below the stopper) averages a surprisingly low 10g, once the hopper has been shut off (all weights are bean density dependent). A hopper extension is available that can add an additional 250g of capacity.
RE-CALIBRATING BURRS
The Forté-AP is calibrated at the factory to ensure an accurate range of grind. If necessary, the Forté-AP burrs can be easily re-calibrated using the special calibration tool that comes with the grinder
CLEANING BURRS
Burrs can easily be removed for cleaning using the cast zinc tool that is included with your Forté.
ACCESSORIES
Hopper extender: An extension that can add 250g of capacity to the existing 300g bean hopper. Several extenders can be added to get to the capacity you need.
Specs:
- Speed to Grind: Espresso 2 g/sec, Press 3.5 to 3.7 g/sec
- Burrs: 54 mm ceramic burrs by Ditting
- Bean Hopper Capacity: 10 oz (300-400 g), depending on size & density of bean
- Grounds Bin Capacity: 4.5 oz. (120 g)
- Weight: 13 lbs. (6 kg)
- Dimensions WxHxD cm: 13x36x18 cm
Kyle Armstrong –
This is an excellent grinder. After months of searching, I finally found a home grinder that grinds to a similar quality as commercial grade machines but without the hefty price-tag. The grind size is far more evenly distributed than other grinders I have tested, with fewer fines meaning I can push extraction further and without the bitterness that is often associated with this.
It’s super straightforwrard to use, the preset buttons are particularly helpful – I pre-set the dose based on weight to minimise waste. I mainly use the steel burrs for filter coffee at home. Baratza have posted a really useful youtube video on how to change the ceramic burrs (pre-installed) for steel (also included), and also on how to calibrate the grind setting. It’s great having the precision of micro grind settings too e.g. you can set the macro setting to “4” and micro to “D”.
I can think of very little downside – it’s not as quiet as other grinders I have owned but that is a very small limitation given the upsides. Some reviews online suggest this is robust enough for commercial use (I can believe this given the build quality), but I have only tested it for occasional home use.
Overall an excellent grinder and I’m really pleased with the results.