Too Much Coffee

Hi all,
I've not been around much for the past 6 months and a few things have happened in my life.....
...new (for me) expobar brewtus.....
...complete and utter obsession with trying to get my shots correct...
...often resulting in far too much coffee...
...and losing my portafilters bottom etc...

...I've got so obsessed that I weigh into and weigh out of the grinder, just to be sure that I'm getting the correct dose; Ive found that only making a couple of shots per day the timer settings on the grinder aren't massively accurate as there is no "weight" of beans in the hopper to keep it consistent...

...which brings me onto my question(s)...

Is there a grinder in the UK/Europe which grinds to weight? I see that the vario may now have a weight based alternative in the US - has anyone tried it? Or is there an easier/quicker way than using my own scales, to all intents and purposes I am a beginner and am probably obsessing over something I ought not to...

Thanks for the info.

There are a number of folks on www.home-barista.com who use them and you might also try looking at the user reviews on www.coffeegeek.com

Stop encouraging this obsession, the answer is simple:

1. Go to Starbucks.

2. Order coffee.

3. Watch the barista carefully.

4. Taste the coffee.

5. Upchuck optional.

6. Go home.

7. Make coffee the same way as barista

8. Taste coffee

9. Breathe sigh of relief.

10. Send me money.

The semi-comedic response above aside, when a home barista is trying to improve, or even get a handle on things early on (like when first starting oput or learning new equipment) , consistency is the key. The science of espressso is keeping all the variables except one constant. Otherwise, when a great shot is produced, how could you possibly know what the factors were that created it so that the knowledtge can be used to recreate it? Dosing by weight for consistency is not an obsession. Some variables (tamping force as an example) are quite unimportant. The amount of coffee being used in an extraction is important. it releates directly to the grind that is necessary. More coffee = coarser grind being necessary, as well as the inverse of that relationship.

Thanks for the feedback.
Motoman: lol, it is all relative of course!
frcn: glad Im not alone, dont know why I didn't think to look up home-barista before....nice website by the way - had to laugh at your senseo adaptation, we have one at work that I started trying to put loose coffee in with no success - grinds everywhere breaking the seal and boiling water coming over the top instead of in the cup.....pretty ugly and didnt persevere.....still, more appealing than than the 5min walk to you-know-where (I mean you motoman).