BARATZA Forte Weight and Time Based Coffee Grinder Instruction Manual

June 17, 2024
BARATZA

Weight and Time
Based Coffee Grinder

BARATZA Forte Weight and Time Based Coffee Grinder -
cover

OPERATIONS
MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing the Forté. For the rest of this manual, the generic name “Forté “ will be used when talking about the Forté-AP and Forté-BG. If we are talking about a specific grinder, we will call it out.
The Forté is a compact, weight or time-based, commercial grade grinder, dedicated to grinding for all styles of coffee brewing. The Forté 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 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 belt drive, combined with a more powerful DC motor, increases the speed of grind and duty cycle.

BARATZA Forte Weight and Time Based Coffee Grinder - INTRODUCTION
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Burrs
The Forté is a durable workhorse using 54mm flat burrs. The Forté-BG uses flat steel burrs which produce an accurate and precise grind, with fewer fines, delivering exceptional cup quality for brew methods from Press Pot to Drip. The Forté–AP uses flat ceramic burrs, which are great for all styles of coffee. Ceramic burrs are harder than steel and last (on average) about twice as long as steel burrs.

Shut-off Hopper
The Forté comes with a Shut-off Hopper, which can be removed from the grinder while the beans are still in it, enabling easier changeover of beans.

Metal PortaHolder
The Forté-AP comes with a solid cast-metal PortaHolder that can easily be adjusted to fit any portafilter.

PARTS IDENTIFICATION

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SAFETY INFORMATION

Please read the information below very carefully. It contains important safety information for this appliance. Please keep these instructions for future reference.
► Use only with AC current and the correct voltage. See the label on the base of the grinder to determine the correct voltage.
► Only clean the grinder housing with a dry or slightly damp cloth.
► Do not use this grinder for anything other than its intended use (i.e. grinding whole roasted coffee beans).
► Baratza will not accept any liability for damage or injury if the grinder is used other than for its intended purpose or is improperly operated or repaired. All warranty claims will be void.
► Disassemble your grinder only as directed in the Care and Cleaning Section of this manual. If you cannot remedy a malfunction, check www.baratza.com and visit our Troubleshooting page.
► Do not operate the grinder with a damaged cord or plug, or if the grinder malfunctions.

BARATZA Forte Weight and Time Based Coffee Grinder - INTRODUCTION
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► Do not leave your grinder unattended while turned ON.
► Shut off and unplug the grinder from the electrical outlet when not in use and before cleaning.
► To unplug, grasp plug and remove from the outlet. Never pull on the cord.
► Keep your grinder out of the reach of children.
► Do not immerse the grinder, plug or cord in water or any other liquid.

CAUTION: ALWAYS unplug the electrical supply cord prior to cleaning the grinder.

OPERATION

Place the Forté grinder on a level surface. With the hopper lid in place, mount the hopper on the grinder housing by lining up the two small tabs at the base of the hopper with the two slots inside the collar on the top of the grinder. The Open/Closed lever should be oriented to the back of the grinder.
Turn the hopper clockwise until it locks into position (expect to apply force).
Insert the power plug into an AC outlet. Pour the desired quantity of roasted, whole coffee beans into the hopper.
Turn the lever to the OPEN position.
Center the ground coffee bin in front of the grinder and slide it carefully onto the load cell platform. Avoid excess weight or pressure on the load cell.
Press WEIGHT, then TARE. The display should now read 00.0. Press button 1, then press START.

Setting the Macro and Micro Adjustment
Partially ground coffee beans may remain between the burrs when the grinder is turned off. When making ANY grind adjustment, the grinder must be running.

Normal Grinding Operation
Move the Macro lever (right side) up or down, to the desired grind setting. Set the Micro adjustment lever (left side) to the middle of the scale.
Starting brew settings can be found at www.baratza.com under the Support tab.

Grind a small amount of coffee into the bin by pressing WEIGHT, then M (manual), and then the START button. Press STOP after 5g of coffee have been ground.
Check the particle size. If the particle size is close to what you desire, use the Micro lever to fine-tune the grind size. If the particle size needs a big change, then adjust the Macro lever to a new position.
The full range on the Micro scale is equal to one “click” or position change on the Macro scale. Adjusting levers UP produces a smaller particle size, adjusting levers DOWN produces a larger particle size.

Weight-Based Grinding Operation
Select WEIGHT, then insert the coffee bin on the load cell and press TARE. Then press one of the preset buttons (1,2,3). The screen will show the preprogrammed grind weight in grams.
Press START to begin grinding.
While grinding, the screen will display in real-time, the weight of coffee in the grounds bin. When the screen reaches the programmed weight (+/- 0.2g), the motor will stop and the screen will show the actual weight in the grounds bin for 3 seconds, then the screen will reset to the programmed weight. The grinder will only allow a maximum of 120g to be ground at one time. At any time, during grinding, you can stop the unit by pressing the STOP button. The motor will stop and the screen will reset to the selected preset weight. You can also press M (Manual) grinding, and use the START and STOP buttons to grind to the desired weight to a maximum of 120g.

Time Based Grinding Operations
Select TIME and place the PortaHolder over the load cell, or place the ground coffee bin on the load cell. Press the desired button (1,2,3). The screen will show the corresponding programmed grind time in seconds. Press START button to begin grinding. While grinding, the screen will count down the seconds to 0.0. When the screen reaches 0 seconds, the motor will stop and the display will reset again to the programmed time. For greater quantities of ground coffee press the M (Manual) button, then START. The grinder will count up to 40 seconds (AP), 60 seconds (BG), then shut off automatically. At any time during MANUAL operation you can stop the grinding by pressing the STOP button. The motor will stop and the screen will show the total amount of seconds, for 3 seconds, then it will reset to 0.0.

Programming
The Forté is equipped with three programmable buttons for both Weight and Time. The buttons are simply labeled 1,2,3. These programmable buttons only adjust the amount of time or weight of coffee to be ground, they do not adjust the grind setting.
Each button comes from the factory with the following presets:
Weight: 1=15g, 2=30g, 3=60g
Time: 1=10s, 2=15s, 3=30s

You can easily program more or less grinding weight or time as follows:

  1. Select Weight or Time.
  2. Select a Preset button.
  3. Press the up or down arrow buttons to adjust the grams or seconds. (Press and hold the up or down arrow for two seconds to advance the setting more quickly, hold for five more seconds and it will advance even faster.)
  4. Once you have reached the desired weight or time setting, press and hold the preset button for 3 seconds. The setting will blink to confirm the setting is stored.
  5. To program the other buttons repeat steps 1-4.
    If the grinder is unplugged it will retain the stored settings

Sleep Mode
To minimize standby power consumption, the Forté will go into “sleep mode” automatically after 3 minutes of non-use. While in sleep mode, the screen goes blank. To “wake up” your Forté, press any button. Once the screen lights up, select your grinding method.

PortaHolder Set-Up and Use
Place the PortaHolder on a flat surface and check to see if your portafilter fits onto the two steel bars and sits level. The steel support bars can be adjusted vertically by loosening the two Phillips screws on the back of the PortaHolder.
Once you have the correct vertical position for the bars, tighten the screws. Insert the PortaHolder into the grinder and press until fully seated. Make sure not to put any pressure on the load cell. Then insert the portafilter into the PortaHolder by lifting the handle up so the front lip of the portafilter slides under and gets hooked by the nub on the underside of the funnel. To use, insert your portafilter in the PortaHolder, press TIME and the desired preset dose button, then press START. The grinder will run for the preset dose time and stop automatically.

Burr Calibration
All directional indications assume you are looking down on the machine.
A 2mm Allen head calibration screw is located in the round hole behind the discharge chute (see photo). This calibration screw allows the user to easily fine-tune the calibration of the burr in the finer or coarser direction while the grinder is running. To make the adjustment, empty all beans from the grinder.
Turn the grinder on and lower the Macro and Micro levers, all the way to the bottom. Let the grinder run long enough to expel any remaining ground coffee. Remove the grounds bin (For Vario-W and Forte , TARE the grinder). Now press any one of the preset buttons, then press START and insert the Calibration tool into the 2mm Allen head screw (The grinder will run until you press the STOP button). With the motor running, move the Macro arm up to the top (setting 1). You should not hear any change in motor speed. Now, slowly move the Micro arm up to the midpoint(setting M). If the motor hasn’t started to slow, use the calibration tool to turn the calibration screw toward the finer direction (as indicated on tool) until you hear the motor start to slow. This setting will allow for a full range of grind. If you want a coarser grind, insert the tool and turn the opposite direction of the arrow on the tool.

Scale Calibration
If the display is showing “EEE”, “out” or the grinder is over or under-dosing coffee, the scale needs to be calibrated. To do this you need a 200g weight. To “create” a 200g weight, place the Forté grounds bin on a separate scale and add whole coffee beans until the scale reads 200g (combined weight of bin and beans). Keep your “200g weight” handy. Now, unplug the Forté and make sure there is nothing on the scale platform. Plug the Forté back in, and while it powers on, hold buttons M and WEIGHT, until a value between 1500-3000 is displayed. Then press button M, the display will read “cal”. Gently set the 200g weight onto the platform. The display will flash “pas” and then show the total weight of the bin and coffee beans (it should read 200). After removing the bin the screen will show 0.0. Empty the beans. Then press START to bring the grinder to the “home screen”. Then place the bin back on the scale and press TARE. The scale is now calibrated. Please email us at support@baratza.com if you have problems calibrating the scale.

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CARE and CLEANING

Removing the Bean Hopper
Rotate the hopper lever, so it is in the CLOSED position, then press the START button to run any remaining beans through the grinder. Remove the plug from the power outlet. Remove the hopper by twisting it, with both hands (with the lid on) in a counterclockwise direction until it stops (about 1/4inch, or 4mm) and then lift the bean hopper off of the grinder housing.

Removing the Upper Burr
Using the Baratza Burr Tool included with the grinder, rotate the metal burr carrier clockwise until it can be twisted free by hand, then lift the burr carrier straight up and out of the grinder housing.

Cleaning the Grounds Bin, Hopper and Burrs
Wash the grounds bin, hopper, and the hopper lid in warm soapy water, then rinse and dry.

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If the grinder is used daily, the burrs (steel or ceramic) should be cleaned at least every few months using tablets (see below for Automatic Cleaning) or with a stiff brush. Proper cleaning enables the burrs to achieve the most consistent grind possible. Cleaning also removes some coffee oils, which will stale and degrade the flavor of the ground coffee.

Caution
Do not put the bean hopper, hopper lid, ground coffee bin, or PortaHolder in the dishwasher. Hand wash only. Do not immerse the grinder housing in water. Do NOT wash the burrs with water.

Replacing the Burr
Make sure ALL coffee grounds and powder is removed from the mating surfaces of the grind chamber and the upper burr carrier before reinstalling. Even a very small speck of coffee powder will throw off your calibration. With your hand, gently thread the upper burr carrier, turning counter-clockwise until finger- tight (almost 1 full turn). Using the Baratza Burr Tool, rotate the burr carrier counter-clockwise an additional 1/8 inch or 2mm (do not over tighten).

Replacing the Bean Hopper
To replace the bean hopper, line up the two small tabs on the base of the hopper with their respective slots in the top of the grinder housing and insert the hopper into the grinder. Once the hopper is in place, rotate it clockwise until it clicks to a stop (about ¼ inch or 4mm). The Open/Close lever should be oriented towards the back of the grinder. Open the lever to allow beans to flow to the grind chamber.

Automatic Cleaning
A thorough, fast, and easy cleaning can be accomplished using Full Circle(tm) biodegradable grinder cleaning tablets. Full Circle tablets are designed to dislodge coffee particles and absorb and remove odors and coffee oil residue. Remove all beans from the hopper and run the grinder to remove any beans inside. Place the recommended amount of Grindz into the empty grinder hopper. Adjust the grind setting to 10, place the grounds bin on the load cell and press WEIGHT, M (Manual) and then the START button.
Grind all of the tablets into the bin, then press STOP. Once complete, we recommend grinding approximately 30g coffee to remove any tablet residue. Discard the ground tablets/coffee. For information on Full Circle cleaning tablets, go to www.urnex.com.

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WARRANTY and SERVICE

U.S. and Canadian Warranty Information
Limited Warranty for Baratza Grinders is 1 year. This warranty covers all defects in materials and workmanship (parts and labor) including free ground transportation to and from our repair facility within the US and Canada. This warranty does not apply to: improper use, lack of cleaning, abuse, normal wear and tear, lack of proper adjustment, foreign objects (stones, screws, etc.) in the beans, or uses outside the intended use of grinding whole roasted coffee beans.
If your grinder fails within one year, email support@baratza.com or call 425641-1245. For additional warranty, support, or troubleshooting information, go to www.baratza.com.

International Warranty Information
For all countries outside the US and Canada, the warranty, support and service is provided by the International Retailer you purchased from. To find a retailer near you go to http://www.baratza.com/retailers/international.

Proof of Purchase and Product Registration
You can register your grinder at www.baratza.com. Registration will enable us to contact you in the unlikely event of a product safety notification and assist us in complying with the provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The serial number is located on the bottom of the grinders. Please keep your sales receipt that shows the date of purchase.

For Repairs or Questions
Email: support@baratza.com
For Parts and Information go to: www.baratza.com

© 2013 Baratza
3923 120th Avenue, SE
Bellevue, WA 98006, USA
www.baratza.com
Manual Revision Date 1/2014

Forte™ Manual

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