Varia VS4 Review

The Varia VS4 is the most recent addition to Varia’s lineup of all-purpose single-dose grinders. It’s the 3rd grinder in the “VS” series and enters our orbit on the higher end of the entry-level grinder category. It’s equipped with 53mm conical burrs and features variable RPM, near-zero retention, the ability to access the burr chamber without losing your grind setting, easy cleaning, and easy burr-swapping. I had a chance to brew with the VS4, both in the espresso realm and in the pour-over world. In this review, I’ll tell you all about the grinder’s features, how it performed during my own testing, and my personal thoughts about Varia’s newest achievement.

The VS4, Top-to-Bottom

The Varia VS4 is just over 13” high, easily fitting under cabinets with a standard 17” clearance. The single-dosing hopper is right on top with an adjustment collar marked with numbers and notches, each notch corresponding to a burr distance change of 10 microns. A game-changing feature is found at the base of the adjustment collar: the Quick-Connect hopper release system. By making a small turn of the Quick-Connect ring, the entire assembly and outer burr can be lifted right off the body of the grinder, allowing easy access to the grinding chamber. With the hopper off, you’ll find a five-hole micro-calibration pattern that allows you to increase or decrease the VS4’s grind range by +/- 20 microns, helping expand range or compensate for burr wear when the time comes.

Speaking of the burr chamber, this entire piece can also be lifted right out of the body of the VS4 for even easier cleaning. This burr chamber holds the inner burr which can be released with one hand and no tools. Just unscrew the wing nut and pull the burr, silicone washer, and grounds spindle out for deep cleaning. It’s impossible to put the pieces back together incorrectly: every piece has slots that will only fit back together a certain way. This also means that when you put the hopper / adjustment collar back on, it will go on in the exact same spot, and your grind setting will be exactly where it was before you took the hopper off.

 

The VS4’s structural design absorbs vibration, providing a quiet grinding experience. It’s made of aerospace-grade aluminum alloy and the shape of the grinder is angled at Varia’s signature 76.5° sloped geometry: a heavily tested, carefully calculated angle that feeds beans directly into the burr chamber and promotes a clean exit. The internal surfaces are fully anodized for ultra-low adhesion and minimal static, reducing retention. Low retention was a priority with the design of VS4, so Varia went a step further and introduced their proprietary surface topology called Electrodynamic Flow Geometry. This helps prevent static, friction, clumps, and ultimately, grounds build-up.

Moving further down the grinder, the grounds chute lines up with a platform where the included magnetized dosing cup secures into place. The other feature that adds some more variables to play with is its power button at the base of the grinder that doubles as an RPM control knob. You can rotate the knob to 150, 200, 250, or 300 RPM, then press the knob, and the grinder will start grinding after a short pause. Once the VS4 detects an empty chamber, it will automatically shut off, or you can press the knob to shut it off manually.

At the heart of the VS4 is a 200-watt motor and a planetary gearbox. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a gear surrounding more gears, called “planet gears,” that surround what’s called the “sun gear.” (Get it?) These are often used to pack a bigger punch into a small space, and are also used to easily influence reduction or acceleration, like variable RPM, for example. These components are what eventually spin the 53 mm 6-core conical burrs, distributing the load much more gently on the internal parts.

Low Retention, Low Static

Varia reports low retention rates with the VS4 when used with the included bellows and RDT spray. This is partly thanks to the signature angle of the grinder, but the material, contour, and finish of the burr chamber also play a role. Varia’s tests consisted of 40 samples at both espresso fineness and filter coarseness, both with and without RDT (that's the Ross Droplet Technique: a fine mist spray of water to help mitigate static). As expected, without a little RDT spray to break up some static, retention was slightly higher, but peaked at a very low .35 grams. With RDT, retention was further reduced to no higher than .06 grams, even showing no retention at all several times. Even in the single-dosing world, this is an impressive report.

Espresso Retention Test with RDT

In my testing, I refined my grinding ranges to just espresso and pour-over at both 150 and 300 RPM. For the espressos I made, all were well below .1 grams. I’m a bit aggressive with the bellows, but the VS4 does seem to behave remarkably well when it comes to retention.

Espresso Retention Test: No RDT

Out of curiosity, I still wanted to see what would happen with no RDT, and in that case, retention was still under .3 grams. While I’m at it, I thought, why not test how much work these bellows are doing? Turns out they’re doing a lot of work: Retention with no bellows or RDT clocked in at .71 grams and .67 grams for 150 RPM and 300 RPM, respectively.

Filter / Drip Retention Test

Even when grinding for my pour-overs, I took an opportunity to check retention. There weren’t as many samples here, but retention seemed to remain very low even in the filter range.

Changing RPM: One Barista’s Experience

If you give a coffee nerd like me another variable to play with, I’ll use it. In general, conical burrs produce more fines than flat burrs, but the addition of variable RPM allows you to manipulate that a bit. The VS4’s eldest sibling, the VS6, also features variable RPM in the range of 500 to 1600, but is compatible with both conical and flat burrs. When using flat burrs, the VS6 performs well at higher speeds, while lower speeds are, in general, more preferable for use with conical burrs.

Since the VS4 only uses conical burrs, its maximum speed of 300 RPM is plenty. But as an all-purpose grinder, I found that different motor speeds work best depending on if you’re grinding for espresso or filter coffee. Keep reading to check out my TDS and extraction percentages, particle analysis results, and most importantly, taste test.

Testing the VS4 as an Espresso Grinder

First, here’s my espresso test parameters:

• Coffee: Whole Latte Love Crema Wave
• Dose: 18g
• Temperature: 198 F / 92 C
• Grind Setting: 3
• Aiming for 25 - 30 seconds
• Yield: ~36g

First, I pulled a couple shots at 150 RPM, the lowest possible setting. My espressos tasted how I expect our Crema Wave blend to taste: chewy texture, body in the form of some nice dark chocolate notes, a nuttiness and lingering honey sweetness. I also detected a nice toasted marshmallow flavor in one of these espressos. My Total Dissolved Solids reading registered just below 9% for each espresso, and each shot’s extraction percentage hovered around 18%.

Next, I cranked the RPM up to 300, its maximum setting. I had to re-dial, and ended up slightly coarser at about 3.15 on the dial. These espressos were MUCH more bitter, with one of them teetering into the smoky, roasty territory with a near total loss of sweetness. Their TDS readings were a hair shy of 10%, putting their extraction percentages around 20.35%.

As always, each test is not just a lesson about the equipment you’re using, but testing also reveals how the coffee you’re using wants to be treated. In this case, Crema Wave likes lower TDS and extraction (this is why it usually shines at 25 seconds instead of 30). As far as the equipment goes, when using the VS4 as an espresso grinder, my findings indicate that higher RPM can yield higher TDS and extraction with less clarity.

Espresso Range Particle Distribution

Curious about why 150 RPM would offer more clarity and less bitterness, I did a hefty particle analysis in the espresso range with 3 samples at 150 and 300 RPM, measured 5 times each, then averaged for each RPM setting. The 150 RPM setting produced a much higher peak of fine particles than the 300 RPM setting. While this is a lot of fine material, it’s also more focused than the faster RPM. On the hunt for a more uniform particle size, 150 RPM happened to win this test.

Testing the VS4 as a Filter / Drip Grinder

Since the VS4 is an all-purpose grinder, I also made several pour-overs with it. Here’s the recipe I used for testing:

• Coffee: Whole Latte Love Colombia Tolima & Ethiopia Limmu
• Dose: 20g
• Temperature: 200 F / 93.3 C
• Grind Setting: ~3 (almost a full rotation coarser than espresso)
• Water weight: 320g
• Aiming for 2:45 drawdown time

For each coffee, I used the Varia FLO with the stock Fast screen, Slow 55 filter papers, and Varia’s AURA FLUX gooseneck kettle. I tried each coffee ground at 150 RPM, and made another cup at 300 RPM. Going from an espresso grind to filter grind required a full 360° rotation of the adjustment collar, and a few tweaks from there depending on how the coffee behaved.

For both our Colombia Tolima and Ethiopia Limmu, Total Dissolved Solids and Extraction were both higher at 150 RPM. These cups tasted muddy and unfocused. In fact, one of them even tasted harsh and bitter. The only flavors I was able to identify were pretty generic — chocolate, vanilla, but with a lack of clarity and certainly no nuance.

For the next cup, I only changed RPM from 150 to 300, but the results were noticeable at first sip. Each coffee had much higher clarity, and the complexities I know these coffees are capable of started to reveal themselves. The Colombia Tolima had lemons and apples nearly popping out of the cup while the Ethiopia Limmu’s florality and fruit sweetness was front and center. All of this was wrapped up in the dessert notes like caramel and dark chocolate that I was getting from the previous cups, but much more balanced and complex this time. There was even a change in TDS and extraction: each number was lower, avoiding overextraction, overwhelming strength, and muddiness.

Filter / Drip Range Particle Distribution

Just like I did for the espresso test, I wanted to see the particle distribution for some more insight. Once again, there was a much higher peak of particle concentration at 300 RPM than at 150 RPM. We do see some fines for both 150 and 300 RPM, but I expect that, especially with conical burrs. When it comes to the filter range, 300 RPM seems to deliver the more optimal particle distribution, extraction, and most importantly, taste.

Decibel Level Test

While I had testing equipment out, I figured it doesn’t hurt to find out how loud the VS4 gets, both with beans and without. Without beans, change from 150 to 200 RPM was negligible, both sitting at about 66 decibels, similar to normal conversation. 250 and 300 RPM were just a bit louder, but I mostly noticed the change in pitch (I do get a kick out of the do-re-mi sound when changing from 150 to 300 RPM).

It’s no surprise that grinding beans is louder, but not by too much. At 150 RPM, the reader registered 75 decibels, and 80 dB at 300 RPM — like heavy traffic, or a loud restaurant.

A Quick Review of Varia’s VS Grinder Series

The VS4 places itself right between its sister grinders: the VS3 and VS6 — also single-dose and all-purpose grinders. The VS3 offers simplicity and lower cost, whereas the VS6 is supremely modular and more powerful.

VS3

The VS3 is known for its compact footprint and for introducing 4 optional, easily swappable burr upgrades, each offering their own benefits in terms of flavor profile. It’s equipped with a magnetic dosing cup, single-dose bellows, and an RDT mist sprayer, so you’re ready to get grinding right out of the box at an affordable price. It’s a simple grinder in terms of functionality and earned a spot on our Best Entry-Level Grinders of 2025 list.

VS6

The VS6, on the other hand, is likely the most feature-heavy single-dose grinder in the Whole Latte Love catalog. Like the VS3, there are optional burr upgrades: 3 flat 58 mm burr sets and 3 conical 63 mm sets (yes, both flat and conical). Not only is the VS6’ motor more powerful than the VS3 and VS4, but the motor features variable speeds ranging from 500 RPM to 1600 RPM. Add in a super durable air-travel case, and you’ve got a grinder so full of features that it earned a nomination for Best New Product at the 2025 Specialty Coffee Association Expo.

Fitting Comfortably in Between

Like the VS3 and VS6, the VS4 will also feature optional easy-swap burr upgrades coming in early 2026. Otherwise, there’s plenty of room in between the two above grinders for the Varia VS4. For example, the VS3’s motor speed only spins at 170 RPM while the VS6 features variable RPM. The VS4 meets the two in the middle with variable RPM packed into a smaller profile. Even its burr size fits between its counterparts' burr sizes at 53 mm. All the way down to price, the VS4 occupies the middle ground between the VS3 and VS6 in several ways.

Things We Love

Regardless of where the VS4 falls in terms of power or versatility compared to its siblings, it is the only grinder in the Varia family with the Quick Connect hopper. Other grinders require you to coarsen all the way by unscrewing the adjustment collar in order to access the burr chamber. When you reassemble those grinders, you need to find your grind setting again. The VS4’s Quick Connect hopper allows you to remove the upper burr assembly without losing your grind setting. Not only that, but accessing the grinding chamber is simply faster than on other grinders: no unscrewing adjustment collars, no tools. In fact, during my testing, I was able to fully clean the grinding chamber in less than a minute before proceeding with the next test.

With a little RDT spray and some bellows action, the retention is pretty impressive on the VS4. That’s not to say that a good cleaning isn’t needed here and there, but luckily, cleaning is easy too.

The variable RPM is not only fun to experiment with, but I think it actually helps make the VS4 a better all-purpose grinder. When you tailor your RPM selection to the brew method you’re using, you’ll get even better results in the cup. But who am I to tell you how to live? Feel free to have some fun with your own experiments.

Things To Consider

Removing the inner burr is surprisingly simple and can be done with one hand. The outer burr, however, is removed by loosening 3 small screws. Simple enough, but from there, there will be a bit of lubricant and an O-ring to be careful of, plus a specific order of operations. We recommend consulting your manual when changing this burr. But, the way I see it, most don’t change their burrs very often; most tend to pick a burr set they like and roll with it for a long time. And if you swap your burrs often because you love experimenting so much (looking at myself here), you’ll get good at it after a few swaps.

While additional burr upgrades will be available in the future, those will only be conical burrs, as opposed to the VS6’ compatibility with both conical and flat burrs.

Final Thoughts

Varia could have decided to make a grinder that is simply upgrades the VS3’s specs and called it a day; for example, the bigger burrs and stronger motor. I’m happy to see that they invested time developing features that will make the VS4 stand out on its own, and not just fill a gap in a series. The Quick Connect hopper coupled with the ultra-low retention are features that I think will attract baristas who wish to pay attention to every last bean (pointing at myself again here). But, the VS4 is easy to use, it’s versatile as an all-purpose grinder, and its price is so attractive that I think everyone should consider it when shopping for a single-dose grinder, regardless of skill level.

Photography by Grace Walker and graphics by Elley Ellison

Shop this Blog

Related Articles