Baratza Encore: The Most Recommended Starter Grinder for a Reason

The Baratza Encore is a conical burr coffee grinder that has been the default recommendation for home coffee beginners for over a decade. Priced at around $170, it grinds consistently enough for drip, pourover, French press, AeroPress, and cold brew. It won't win awards for espresso grinding, but for every other brew method, it's the grinder that specialty coffee professionals tell their friends and family to buy.

I've used a Baratza Encore as my daily driver for drip and pourover coffee, and I've recommended it to at least a dozen people who were upgrading from either pre-ground coffee or a blade grinder. Every single one of them noticed an immediate improvement in their coffee. Below, I'll cover the specs that matter, what the Encore does well, where it falls short, how it compares to similar grinders, and whether it's still the right buy in 2026.

Specs and Build Quality

The Encore uses 40mm conical steel burrs powered by a DC motor. It has 40 stepped grind settings, controlled by a numbered dial on the side of the hopper. The hopper holds about 8 ounces of whole beans, and there's a grounds bin underneath that catches about 5 ounces of ground coffee.

The body is mostly plastic, which keeps the weight down to about 7 pounds. It doesn't feel cheap though. The plastic is thick and well-fitted, and the rubber feet keep it planted on the counter. Baratza makes all their grinders in Liechtenstein (designed in Seattle, manufactured in Europe), and the build quality reflects that.

One thing that sets Baratza apart from other grinder manufacturers is their commitment to repairability. Every part of the Encore, from the burrs to the motor to the switch, is available for purchase on their website. If something breaks after the warranty expires, you can fix it for $10 to $30 instead of buying a new grinder. The burrs themselves are a $25 replacement and should be swapped every 2 to 3 years with daily use.

The Encore weighs 7 lbs, measures about 12 inches tall by 6 inches wide, and fits comfortably on a kitchen counter without taking up much space. It comes in black or white.

What the Encore Does Well

Grind Consistency

For a grinder at this price point, the Encore's grind consistency is genuinely impressive. In the medium to coarse range (settings 15 to 40), the particle distribution is tight enough to produce well-extracted drip and pourover coffee that tastes noticeably better than what you get from pre-ground beans or a blade grinder.

The 40mm conical burrs do a solid job of producing uniform particles without generating excessive heat. You can grind 30 to 40 grams of coffee in about 15 seconds, and the grounds come out at ambient temperature. Heat is the enemy of coffee freshness, so cool grinding is a real advantage.

Ease of Use

There's nothing complicated about the Encore. Fill the hopper, set the dial, press the button. The numbered settings make it easy to remember your favorite position and communicate it to other people in your household. "Use setting 15 for the Chemex, setting 28 for the French press" is about as simple as it gets.

Cleaning is straightforward too. Pop off the hopper, twist out the top burr, brush away the accumulated fines with the included brush, and reassemble. The whole process takes 3 minutes and should be done every 2 to 4 weeks.

Quiet Operation

The Encore isn't silent, but it's considerably quieter than most electric burr grinders at this price. The DC motor runs at a lower RPM than the AC motors in many competitors, which reduces both noise and heat generation. You can grind at 6 AM without waking up the entire house, though anyone in the same room will hear it.

Where the Encore Falls Short

Espresso

This is the Encore's most commonly cited weakness. The grind settings in the fine range (1 to 10) aren't precise enough for espresso. You might find a setting that works okay with a pressurized portafilter basket, but for a standard unpressurized basket, the steps between settings are too large. You'll jump from a shot that runs too fast to one that chokes the machine with no usable setting in between.

If espresso is your primary brew method, look elsewhere. The Baratza Sette 270 or a manual grinder like the 1Zpresso JX-Pro are better starting points.

Retention

The Encore retains about 1 to 2 grams of ground coffee inside the grinding chamber. For most people making drip or pourover coffee, this isn't a big deal because they're using the same beans at the same setting every day. But if you switch between different coffees or brew methods frequently, those retained grounds from yesterday's dark roast are going to blend into today's light roast.

You can minimize retention by tapping the side of the grinder after grinding or by running a quick burst with no beans to push residual grounds through. It's not a perfect solution, but it helps.

Build Material

The plastic construction, while functional and well-built, doesn't feel as premium as the stainless steel bodies on grinders like the Eureka Mignon or Niche Zero. If you care about aesthetics and countertop presence, the Encore is utilitarian rather than beautiful. It does the job without looking like a showpiece.

Baratza Encore vs. The Competition

Several grinders compete directly with the Encore. Here's how they compare.

Baratza Encore ESP ($170). This is a newer variant tuned specifically for espresso with a recalibrated burr set that provides finer adjustments in the espresso range. If you want an Encore but also want to pull occasional espresso shots, the ESP version is worth considering. It sacrifices some range on the coarse end in exchange for better fine-grind performance.

Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder ($100). The Oxo costs less and grinds respectably for drip and pourover. The grind consistency doesn't quite match the Encore, and the build quality isn't as good. But if you're on a tight budget and won't be upgrading your setup for a while, the Oxo is a decent alternative.

Fellow Ode ($300). The Ode is a flat burr grinder designed for filter coffee (drip and pourover only). It produces a more uniform grind than the Encore and looks gorgeous on the counter. But at nearly double the price, it's only worth it if you're already committed to manual brewing and want the best filter grind quality under $500.

Timemore C2 Hand Grinder ($60). The C2 actually outgrinds the Encore in particle consistency, especially in the medium range. The catch is that you have to crank it by hand for 1 to 2 minutes per cup. If you make one cup at a time and don't mind the physical effort, the C2 is absurdly good for the price.

For most people upgrading from pre-ground or a blade grinder, the Encore remains the safest recommendation. It covers the widest range of brew methods adequately, it's repairable, and it has a proven track record. Check out our best coffee grinder guide for a full comparison.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Encore

After using the Encore daily for years, here are the settings and techniques that work best:

Drip coffee maker: Settings 18 to 22. Start at 20 and adjust based on taste. If the coffee is bitter, go one setting coarser. If it's sour or weak, go one setting finer.

Pourover (V60, Kalita): Settings 14 to 18. The V60 is more sensitive to grind changes, so start at 15 and adjust in single-step increments.

Chemex: Settings 18 to 22. The thick Chemex filter slows drainage, so you can go slightly coarser than a V60 without underextracting.

French press: Settings 28 to 32. French press needs a coarse grind to keep sediment out of the cup. If you're getting a muddy cup, go coarser.

AeroPress: Settings 10 to 20, depending on your recipe. The AeroPress is incredibly versatile, and the Encore covers its entire range well.

Cold brew: Settings 32 to 38. Go as coarse as you can for cold brew. The 12 to 24 hour steep time means you don't need fine grinding to extract flavor.

Purge after adjusting. Every time you change the grind setting, run 2 to 3 grams of beans through the grinder to clear the retained grounds from the previous setting.

FAQ

Is the Baratza Encore worth it in 2026?

Yes. Despite being one of the oldest designs in the entry-level burr grinder category, the Encore's combination of grind quality, reliability, repairability, and price remains hard to beat. Newer grinders like the Fellow Ode and Wilfa Svart offer incremental improvements in specific areas, but none of them match the Encore's all-around value proposition.

How long does a Baratza Encore last?

With basic maintenance (brushing every 2 to 4 weeks, replacing burrs every 2 to 3 years), an Encore will last 5 to 10 years. Baratza's parts availability means that even if the motor dies after 5 years, you can replace it for $30 to $40 and keep going. Many coffee forums have users reporting 8 or more years of daily use.

Can the Baratza Encore grind fine enough for a Moka pot?

Yes. Settings 5 to 10 work for Moka pots. Moka pots need a grind that's finer than drip but coarser than espresso, which is well within the Encore's range. Just don't expect the precision you'd need for a pump espresso machine.

Should I get the Encore or the Encore ESP?

If you brew filter coffee 80% of the time and occasionally want to try espresso, get the standard Encore and accept that espresso won't be its strength. If espresso is 50% or more of your brewing, get the ESP. You'll lose some coarse range but gain meaningful espresso performance. Check our top coffee grinder guide for more options in this price range.

Bottom Line

The Baratza Encore is the Honda Civic of coffee grinders: reliable, practical, repairable, and good enough for the vast majority of home brewers. It won't impress espresso snobs or flat-burr enthusiasts, but for drip, pourover, French press, and AeroPress, it grinds well enough that your beans and water quality become the limiting factors rather than the grinder. Buy one, set it to the right number for your brew method, and enjoy better coffee immediately.