The Baratza Encore is the ultimate entry-level grinder - The Encore consistent grinds for brew methods from espresso (fine) to Cafetière (coarse) and everything in between. Oilier roasts can also stick in the hopper of the OXO and may require a push to get them started, or constant monitoring to keep them going.

With each grinder, we used the Kruve tools to calibrate a medium-fine grind for drip coffee, and later to visually quantify which machines had the most grounds in the target range. She had only one issue with the OXO, after grinding a lot of oily beans on a very hot and humid day, and after a year of use. The Encore is our only pick (besides the hand grinder) that doesn’t have a timer or some automated way to measure out beans, but we’ve found it’s easy enough to measure your beans before you add them to the hopper—and many coffee aficionados already do that. My only complaint is that I wish I knew of a better system for cleaning the hulls/grounds out of every nook and cranny.This also means the Encore is not producing excess heat which can cause your beans to prematurely release volatile aroma oils. Burrs: Manufactured in Europe, the Encore’s 40 mm conical burrs will grind for many styles of coffee. The specially designed burrs give a precise grind with minimal fines for a flavorful, balanced extraction when making espresso. And they’re a great option for people who have a small, already-cluttered kitchen or those who generally make only a cup or two at a time.

The burrs are easily removable with no tools, making cleaning very easy, and it fits nicely under most kitchen cabinets without sacrificing power or quality. One thing I think it’s necessary for any Baratza Encore grinder review to cover is that the grinder does have one significant downside: the amount of bean debris it produces, especially when used without sufficient care (read: often for me) is notable.It’s been doing it for so long that lots of informational writing about coffee cites its grinder settings. With most coffees, the C2’s handle spins with almost no resistance, making this model almost a pleasure to use, after trying the other manual grinders.

Dry environments produce more static, and lighter roasts produce more chaff than darker, oily ones do. Over years of testing, we’ve consistently found that even the casual coffee drinker notices the difference in taste between poorly ground and properly ground coffee. So if you’re looking for a great all-round home grinder to take your coffee-making experience to the next level, look no further – The Baratza Encore has everything you need.These measurements told us how much of the coffee was dissolved into the water, and thus how successful the extraction of the grinds was.

The sifter works by separating boulders and fines into separate compartments; grounds at the ideal size are left in between. We rated electric burr grinders first and foremost on the quality and consistency of their grind, the number-one thing a good grinder must do well.In our original coffee lab trials, only the professional-grade Mahlkönig EK43 yielded a more uniform grind than Baratza’s machines. When the Encore was on a medium setting, it took us about 35 to 40 seconds to grind 68 grams of medium-grind coffee appropriate for filter brewing—in other words, it took less than a minute to grind enough for a pot of coffee, on a par with other grinders we tested. Although this can’t fully replace a thorough manual cleaning, it can be a quick way to refresh your grinder and remove some of the coffee oil buildup. So when it comes to burr grinder vs blade, always choose burr—regardless if electric or manual—if you actually want to make a good cup of coffee. In fact, after many hours of taste-testing, we can’t stress enough how even small variations in grind size can make a huge difference in flavor.