Out of the box without installing the spacers, this isn't made for traditional basket espresso. You usually have to spend a bit more money for an espresso capable grinder, if we're talking about traditional baskets and not pressurized baskets.

These guys are a good old fashioned UK business with staff who help customers out directly. If you need support, you can jump on a zoom call with them and get one on one help, and if you do have a warranty issue, it’s Gaggia Direct (near Halifax) who deal with it. But soon after the initial release, they fixed this with a simple plastic plate that fits over the burrs. This works very well, the only issue with it is if you're grinding a bigger dose you might find it slows down the grind slightly. I just remove this disk if I'm using the Niche to grind a larger dose, for example, if I'm grinding 40g or so for a cafetiere brew.

For decades, Gaggia had the Gaggia MDF grinder, which I always thought was a bit of a funny one, as it was a grinder aimed at the domestic market but had a doser. There is a newer version, the G VX2 42 however that one is a lot more expensive, it's more expensive than some of the entry-level burr grinders, which have proper burrs, so I can't really see the benefit of going for that one unless I'm missing something. Features: This looks like a smaller sibling of the popular DF64 and DF83 single-doser grinders and is sold by Turin & Miicoffee who also sell these grinders, but it's actually produced by a different Chinese manufacturer, so although this is an interesting grinder for the price, it's worth noting that it's not actually related to the DF grinders other than being sold by a couple of the same brands who also sell the DF64 & DF83.

You could single dose, and if you're single dosing (just throwing in the beans you're about to use) then you'll probably be fine adjusting the grind both ways while it isn't running, in which case two hands should suffice. The Encore has 40 grind settings, and it'll do fine for brew methods, however, if you're looking for a grinder for espresso, the Encore won't quite get fine enough for espresso with standard filter baskets.

Highlights

If my budget was a couple of hundred quid, and I was purely grinding for espresso, I'd definitely have the Encore ESP on my short list. Always select high quality blends. Blends with Arabica are characterized by a higher acidity and a more aromatic flavor, while blends with more Robusta have a stronger taste. I'll point out in my observations for each one, whether or not it's capable of espresso with standard baskets. Espresso, Espresso Lungo, Americano, Cappuccino, Ristretto, Caffe Crema, Milk Froth, Cafe Au Lait , Hot Water Gaggia Direct have a great deal on, at the time of writing, for the limited edition Acrobat version and the Eureka Mignon La Specialista (a great pairing).