Baratza Encore Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

Product Information

The idea that the Baratza Encore isn’t an espresso grinder posed no significant problem for us, though. The timer on the Virtuoso+ does make the grinder a little less straightforward to use than the Encore, especially if you’re not using the timer to grind the same amount every day.

The sifter works by separating boulders and fines into separate compartments; grounds at the ideal size are left in between. Burr sets in a good grinder are either flat or conical: Flat burr sets consist of two flat, ring-shaped burrs lined with grooves that break up the beans as the burrs press together. Besides that the Fellow Ode looks amazing and also grinds a lot faster compared to the relatively slow Encore. But the added digital timer is accurate to a tenth of a second, and it saves the time you’ve set it to—so you can grind the same amount of coffee each morning with almost no effort or measuring.The ESP version has slightly different burr material (Sharper M3 steel, slightly different burr geometry) but the main differenced is that the pitch of the thread changes mid way throught he grinding range. The specially designed burrs give a precise grind with minimal fines for a flavorful, balanced extraction when making espresso.

If you ever use your blade grinder to grind spices, the removable cup might be the way to go: Ground spices leave behind aromatic oils that are hard to just wipe away. And how well does it handle a coarse grind (something that’s usually inconsistent in lesser-quality machines)? Speed Control: With unique speed control, the Encore uses a combination of gear and electronic speed reduction to control the rotation of the burr to 450 RPM. The Baratza Virtuoso+ is a great grinder with a burr set that’s a little faster and more consistent than the Encore’s, and it offers a slightly broader range for both fine and coarse grounds.It won’t produce the tiny adjustments in fine grinds that thrill serious espresso enthusiasts, but its output is consistent enough to create a decent shot. The C2 is made of a thick, sturdy aluminum alloy metal, rather than the glass or plastic of many other low-cost manual machines, and it includes a one-year warranty. Once we separated boulders and fines, we were able to see how many of those boulders were extra-large or odd-shaped, which can also affect the way coffee tastes. This would be, I imagine, especially useful if you were trying to get a perfect espresso extraction. I hope that it also outlasts its predecessor which gave up after fifteen months and four scoops per diem.

But with a stepless grinder, if you change the grind setting at all (for example, if you like to switch between coffee-brewing methods), it’s not easy to repeat the optimal settings for your daily brews. More importantly, blade grinders have literally no way to set the grind size for a drip pot over a French press, unlike an electric grinder. For those who want an affordable yet high-quality portable hand grinder, the Timemore Chestnut C2 is the best in its class for speed, ease of grinding, and consistency. In our tests we looked for machines that had easily removable parts—particularly around the burr set—to allow for regular cleaning and, if necessary, replacement.With that in mind, for this guide we wanted to recommend a good-quality manual grinder that a) cost less than our electric grinder budget pick, b) was small enough to carry in a purse or backpack, and c) was also comfortable enough, and good enough, to use as your everyday grinder for various brew methods. If you need to extend your hopper size – check out the hopper extender: boosting capacity by a further 9 oz.