Baratza Sette 270 (not Wi) poor man's grind-by-weight

Question

I currently own a Breville Infuser espresso machine and the Smart Grinder Pro, but I'm looking to upgrade.

I have my eyes on the Baratza Sette 270 line, and ideally I would go for the grind-by-weight 270Wi, but it's a bit out of my price range (currently $200 more expensive than the regular grind-by-time 270).

Apparently it's possible to simulate the grind-by-weight feature of the 270Wi in the regular 270 by keeping the hopper fully empty, weighting the exact amount of beans for a single dose and then dumping that into the hopper. I know it's a bit more work, but if there are no other drawbacks, I am more than willing to do it for the $200 savings.

Questions: would that really work? Is the result worse, similar or better than the 270Wi's grind-by-weight feature? Are there any drawbacks to this? I'm worried the grinder is designed to work with a minimum amount of beans in the hopper and might have issues (whether grinding quality, or even mechanical issues that might shorten the grinder's lifespan) when working with just a single dose's worth of beans.

An additional question: would the 54mm portafilter of the Breville Infuser machine fit into the holder in the Sette 270, or do I need to grind into a pot and then dump it into the portafilter?

Answer 1

Dumping by tipping the machine and using gravity won't work perfectly because some grinds stick inside the machine due to static buildup and the fact that those tiny pieces are very lightweight.

Instead I highly recommend the Eureka Silenzio. This grinder has a much narrower connection point from the hopper to the grinder, and you can remove the hopper and fit a bulb blower over that pipe very nicely. There are some kits you can buy to do this by searching "Eureka Mignon Hack" or by finding some kind of product with an attached blower you can cut off. You can fit a piece of PVC pipe into the connection point where the hopper would normally go to create a single or double dosing tunnel.

Add beans the PVC pipe, where gravity pulls them into the grinder. Flip your blower bulb upside down so it blocks beans from bouncing out. Grind into your portafilter. When done, knock the porta filter gently on the countertop to settle the grounds, then put it back under the grinder, flip your blower bulb back over and fit it over the PVC pipe, and blow. The blower will push out the grounds that stuck, and you will see here how big a mistake relying on gravity is. It's a good bit of coffee!