Baratza Virtuoso+

The Virtuoso Plus has all the things we loved about the original with some nice quality of life improvements.

It was a challenging one to use because temp was all over, but used a pressurized PF to make some okay drinks. I think I returned it before the window closed. 2009 - Baratza Virtuoso grinder. Stepped grinder that got fine enough to pull shots, but steps made it hard to dial anything in consistently.

Baratza Virtuoso is what I would recommend. I did a lot of research and decided on the Virtuoso model. I’ve had it for about 2 years and absolutely love it with no regrets. It’s quiet, efficient, conical burr, easy to clean and makes course to espresso grinds.

Vario+ Pros: Brew and espresso both perform very well through the entire range, 54mm ditting steel burrs are very well tested and well loved and seem create a bit more rounded brew than 64mm SSP - thus play well with a wider range of coffees. I might like that more balanced and slightly less unimodal profile more. Baratza’s legendary support. Proven longevity and build quality.

Based off of Hoffman's [manual grinder comparison the Commandante and the Lido 3 are pretty darn similar in grind quality (enough that he wouldn't recommend upgrading from the Commandante to the Lido)... so personally I'm not sure I would bother with the extra money. Personally, I would get the Virtuoso+ if you really don't want to deal with hand grinding or you're OK spending extra money for faster grinding -- I would expect hand grinding to take 2-5 times as long as electric grinding depending on your arm strength. I would get the Lido 3 if you want to get the best performance:price ratio and you just want a very good (but not the best) grinder for any purpose. Honestly, I don't think the Commandante is well priced given the value you get out of it.