But many people will probably prefer the convenience of an electric grinder, even if it means less consistent grinds. We also compare our own experience to community reviews to see if there is anything we may have overlooked.

Home espresso machines with pressurized portafilters are forgiving, and obtaining a good espresso is easier. We love the Baratza Encore’s straightforward controls, which make your daily brew experience simple.Other Baratza Encore reviews often note this issue, and trust us, this doesn’t mean we don’t highly recommend the Baratza Encore. The grinder itself felt flimsy and plasticky and proved impossible for either my wife or I to assemble, despite following the instructions to the letter and watching YouTube videos for help as well.

As mentioned before, the Encore is an entry-level burr grinder, but that doesn’t prevent it from delivering strong performance and durability. Our continued strongest misgiving about this grinder is the quantity of chaff or debris that it leaves behind. You lose a little complexity, he notes, but you don’t get the bad, off-flavors that come with an inconsistent grind. The efficient DC motor keeps your beans cool, even during extended grind times, while a combination of electric and gear speed reducers slow the burr to 450 RPM, ensuring a smooth bean feed and reducing noise, heat and static buildup. The idea that the Baratza Encore isn’t an espresso grinder posed no significant problem for us, though.Conical burrs grinders are exceptional at producing consistent grinds from very fine to very coarse as well as being durable and will remain sharp for many years. For even more in-depth expertise, we worked with or spoke to a range of experts, like the folks who ran the New York City training center of Counter Culture Coffee, the founder of the professional education program at Coffee Project NY, and the product manager who evaluates grinders for a large American coffee equipment distributor. Well, I've only had it a week or so but it's consistently removing around seven percent, which I think it's a significant amount.

Upgrading entails swapping out its M3 burr for the better-performing M2 burr found in the Virtuoso+: The Encore’s M3 burr is on the left, the Virtuoso+ M2 burr on the right. I’ve been grinding with a single-dose hopper with my Encore most of the time, improving my workflow.One of the strengths of the Baratza Encore is that it requires zero tools and about 15 seconds to open up the interior of the grinder for cleaning and maintenance.

In addition to the burrs which we mentioned above, the gears that rotate the burrs are made of 15% glass-filled thermoplastic, which makes them more durable.

Still other grinders have seemingly fancier methods of measuring preset dosage amounts; these allow you to choose how many cups you’re grinding for or program your own presets.