Baratza Sette 270 Review

The Sette 270 is the grinder for the at-home professional and coffee connoisseur. As long as you don't require a super coarse grind for anything, this grinder has your back. It features programmable settings and macro and micro-adjustments, plus supplementary shims to move into even finer ranges if you desire.

Performance Comparison

Grind Consistency

We ran four different tests to determine the final scores for this metric. Our team discovered the Sette 270 exceeded in the range test, meaning this exquisite grinder provides an impressive amount of micro and macro adjustments.

The Sette is the best grinder in our review for espresso, as it comes with two stainless steel shims to increase its fine grinding range. After adding one shim, the Sette functioned great as an espresso grinder and could still make a good V60. With stepped macro and non-stepped micro-adjustments, you can get really specific dialing in your perfect grind.

An espresso enthusiast can really geek out with these fine adjustments. Depending on the density of the coffee, different roasts need separate adjustments. For example, light roasted coffee has more moisture content than a porous dark roast and therefore needs a finer calibration. In addition, variables like an overcast day could affect your beans so much that the same coffee may require dialing in various times throughout the same day.

The Sette 270 really excels in the espresso range but can also perform well for manual brewing. In our review, we made three V60 pour-overs back-to-back to measure brew time consistency. The Sette did well with only 15-second variations between each cup. 15-second variations may sound like a lot to someone who has their V60 recipe dialed; however, since this grinder is geared more toward espresso, we found a 15-second deviation more than acceptable.

Baratza offers a dosing timer on the Sette 270 for consistent and repeatable dosing, which it does well. These programmable controls only adjust the time the coffee grinds; they do not adjust the grind setting, which is done manually with dials. With the time-based dosing system, you can fill the hopper and release your preset dose at the press of a button.

Cleanliness

Many of us look forward to making coffee in the morning. However, nobody wants to clean up an extra mess before even settling into their first sip. The Sette 270 dominates over any other grinder in our review for cleanliness. This grinder allows for a neat and orderly start to the day.

The Sette is clean in both appearance and functionality. This device offers fun, sleek lines and a removable mat fitted to the base of the grinder. The matt effectively catches loose grounds for easy disposal.

There is minimal spillage with the Sette 270; nearly all the grounds fall directly into the grounds bin or a portafilter. With almost no static from the grinder, coffee pours easily from the catch bin. Furthermore, Baratza designed the bin with an anti-static plastic and a molded spout for an easy pour.

The Sette 270 hopper holds up to 10 ounces of coffee and is easy to remove for cleaning or maintenance. In addition, the hopper has a stopper, controlled by a knob, to open and close the base and prevent beans from spilling. This feature is also handy if you want to switch out a coffee or pour it back into a bag for storage.

The grounds bin, hopper, and hopper lid are not dishwasher safe; however, these components are easy to wash with warm soapy water. Never wash the burrs because they will rust. If the Sette is in daily use, the burrs need to be cleaned with the provided brush every few months.

Removing the burrs for a deeper clean is also simple. The hopper can be closed for easy removal without the need to empty beans. To remove the burrs, turn the macro-adjustment collar all the way coarse and align the blue arrow on the body to the blue line on the collar, then pull down and off. The burr assembly comes apart mostly by hand and only requires a hex key (provided) to separate the upper and lower burr.

Ease of Use

The Sette 270 has a very user-friendly interface. It offers both programmable and manual settings. The interface has three types of preset buttons: start/pause and stop, up and down arrows, and three timed buttons. The start/pause feature starts the grinding process; hit this bottom again to pause without resetting the grind cycle. The stop button turns off the motor and resets the display screen. The preset buttons (labeled 1,2,3) are programmable to adjust the amount of time for coffee to be ground. Different variables affect the amount of time required to grind coffee. For example, lighter roasted coffee is denser than a dark roast and may need more time in the grinder to produce the same yield. The arrow buttons allow you to adjust the preset times up or down.

The Sette 270 comes equipped with grind adjustments around the chute. Numbers represent macro adjustments, and micro-adjustments display as letters. The combination of all macro and micro-adjustments equate to 270 total grind settings, hence the name. Baratza also includes two shims with the Sette to achieve a finer range and can be used to adjust things as the burrs wear over time.

This grinder has an innovative design with adjustable arms that extend wide to hold the grounds bin or even your favorite brewing device such as a V60 cone or AeroPress. In addition, the arms convert to hold a portafilter with a hook that adjusts to support the portafilter in a level position. These flexible arms provide a tight fit for whichever device you decide to grind into, preventing unnecessary spillage.

Noise

The only metric that the Sette 270 scored lower in is this one. However, even though the powerful motor gave a higher reading on our decibel meter, it manages to emit a low pitch sound. The sound is steady but not too annoying, and the grinder is fast, so you won't have to wait very long for it to finish.

Should You Buy the Baratza Sette 270?

The Sette 270 is priced on the higher end of the spectrum. However, this grinder is undoubtedly worth the price if you favor pour-overs and espresso, especially with lighter-roasted coffee. If you are hesitant to invest in the Sette, the one-year warranty might ease your fears. Baratza also includes replacement parts on their website; as your machine ages, anything from burrs to the power cord is replaceable.

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