Baratza Sette 30 Upgrade!

Can you see what’s different in the picture above?

I previously did a review of the Baratza Sette 30 and I mentioned a couple of upgrades for it. I went on to state I felt the upgrades weren’t worth it…”but I might change my mind”. Well, mind changed.

The Sette’s themselves are brilliant (noisy but brilliant). The zero retention grinding and burr assembly makes the Sette line revolutionary in this price range. Ground coffee drops directly into your portafilter from the burrs so there’s no “chute” to clog. Super fast grinding, fluffy grounds, almost no maintenance, and with the timer preset adjustable by 100th’s of a second, accurate repeatable results. If you care about a consistent and stress free grinding experience, the Sette’s are you you.

So I love the Baratza Sette 30, and getting dialed in is super easy, but…there is one annoying issue. Most of the time the grind was perfect, but sometimes depending on the beans I might have it set on 11 and it would choke the portafilter, but 12 (coarser) was too fast/loose. I needed 11.5, but there are no half settings on the 30.

There’s a reason Baratza calls the 30 the 30. The Sette 30 has 30 grind settings. Baratza charges $249 for the Sette 30. The next step up is the Sette 270. What distinguishes the 270 from the 30? You guessed it, the 270 settings of the metal grind adjustment assembly (the 30’s collar is plastic). It’s really the same 30 macro settings with 9 extra stepless micro adjustments for each of the 30 clicks.

At $399, the Bartza Sette 270 costs $150 more than the Sette 30. That’s quite a jump. The 270 has three features that separate it from the 30. (1) The metal grind adjustment assembly, (2) a hands free portafilter holder with adjustable/better forks, and (3) three programmable timer buttons (vs.. Sette 30’s one). In my opinion most important feature is the 270’s metal grind adjustment assembly with the micro adjustment ring. Both the Sette 30 and 270 have the same basic design (same motor and burrs), but the extra ability to fine tune the grind with the 270 is huge.

One day while browsing the official Baratza parts page I saw the replacement 270 Series Adjustment Assembly for $90 +shipping and handling. This part swaps out directly with the 30’s plastic assembly.

Well, I finally gave in. I ordered the shiny metal object above and did the upgrade. No tools required, installation is just a matter of swapping out the assembly with the new one as if you were going to clean the burrs. Super easy.

So now it’s a $349 upgraded Sette 30. I noticed a difference right away, and dialing in was much easier. I’m getting better crema and better tasting shots, I regret waiting so long to do this upgrade. It’s night and day with the extra adjustability. Frankly, I’m kind of surprised they even sell the 30. They should sell a “270a” with the upgraded assembly and discontinue the 30. The Sette 30’s 30 steps are too large between clicks. If I ever need to replace my 30 I’ll just buy another 30 and swap out it’s adjustment assembly. It’s a metal part that will never wear out.

The other upgrade for the 30 is the “The Sette Portafilter Drop-Down Accessory”. For $28 you can grind hands-free. This accessory is for grinding larger quantities of coffee (say 20-23+grams) into portafilters. It increases the vertical distance between the discharge chute and the portafilter basket to prevent coffee backing up and potentially clogging the grinder. To be honest, I haven’t had any issues with clogging and I don’t mind holding my portafilter for about six and a half seconds so I won’t be doing this upgrade myself.

In summary, I think of you own a Sette 30 upgrading it with the 270 adjustment assembly is essential. You won’t be disappointed. It’s the only way you’ll be able to truly dial in to perfection.