Baratza Encore Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

Product Information

Multi-adjustment grind-sizing. Many grinders have complex interfaces for dialing in exactly your perfect size. Think a coarse adjustment and a fine adjustment. This would be, I imagine, especially useful if you were trying to get a perfect espresso extraction. It all seemed too fiddly for us. The other noticeable design update is the new adjustment collar, which now has a range for espresso. We’ll talk more about that when we discuss grinding performance. Durability 3.5/5 Against all odds, it seems that the Baratza Encore’s simplicity, quality, and affordable price haven’t gotten outdated after several years in the market. Yet. For this reason, this grinder is still a great entry-level grinder for home baristas.

Aside from the steel burrs, the Encore’s internal parts are mostly made out of plastic. The gears, however, are made of 15% glass-filled thermoplastic, which makes them more durable. Unlike big appliance brands, Baratza is a specialized company, reputable in the coffee industry. Their customer service is excellent, and the durability of the Baratza Encore is superior to any alternative from brands like Cuisinart or Bodum.

As mentioned above, the Baratza Encore coffee grinder can be somewhat messy to use. This is a common complaint with many coffee grinders and is certainly true of the Encore. When you pull out the grinds bin typically some coffee dust and chaff will fall on the benchtop. The Encore ESP's cone burr is easily removable with no additional tools, making cleaning and maintenance very easy. GEARBOX An easy ability to control grind size. The manual grinder I used before the Encore didn’t have marking at all. So squinting at ground coffee was all I had to test size. Setting the Baratza to “14” is just 100 times easier. USER FRIENDLY - A convenient, front-mounted pulse button, plus a simple ON/OFF switch make it easy to grind fresh coffee. This grinder was designed to be a true beginner’s tool. It’s not going to offer the fancy conveniences of the higher-priced barista favourites, but it doesn’t compromise on the quality like other inexpensive grinders.

That said, we’ve never *really* tried to make espresso with the Baratza Encore. Maybe it does work well. But from our experience, the grind size adjustments are more for the journey from AeroPress (approaching-espresso-fine) to french press (rather coarse). This grinder isn’t really for you to dial in the perfect and specific extraction for your precious latte, as the “Baratza Encore espresso setting” simply doesn’t exist. We Make Pour Over, AeroPress, and Cold Brew CoffeeIn terms of appearance, in 2020, Baratza released an assortment of accents and single-dose hoppers that add to the look. Yet, the single-dose hopper isn’t only an aesthetic upgrade. This add-on improves the Encore’s performance for regular home use because that usually goes below 40 grams per grind.