Encore Burr Grinder

The Baratza Encore has been the default recommendation for anyone's first real coffee grinder for over a decade, and I think that reputation is mostly deserved. It's the grinder I bought when I moved past a $15 blade grinder, and it served me well for three years before I eventually upgraded. It grinds consistently enough for drip and pour-over, it's reasonably priced, and Baratza's customer support is genuinely excellent. But it's not without limitations, and I want to be upfront about those.

If you're considering the Encore, you're probably at a turning point in your coffee journey. You've realized pre-ground coffee tastes flat and a blade grinder produces an uneven mess. The Encore is the answer to that problem for most people. I'll cover what it does well, where it falls short, and whether the newer Encore ESP model changes the equation.

What You're Getting

The Encore is a conical burr grinder with 40mm steel burrs, 40 grind settings, and a 227-gram (half-pound) bean hopper. It weighs about 7 pounds and stands 14 inches tall. The footprint is compact enough for most kitchen counters, roughly the size of a large travel mug in width and depth.

The motor runs at a relatively slow speed, which reduces heat generation during grinding. Heat is the enemy of flavor, so a cooler grind preserves more of the volatile aromatics that make fresh coffee taste good. Grinding 30 grams for pour-over takes about 20 to 25 seconds, which is fast enough for morning routines.

The build is mostly plastic, with a few metal components inside where it counts (the burrs and motor assembly). It feels solid enough but not premium. You won't mistake it for a $400 grinder by looking at it.

Grind Quality by Brew Method

Drip Coffee and Pour-Over

This is the Encore's sweet spot. At medium grind settings (15 to 25 on the dial), the particle distribution is consistent enough to produce clean, balanced cups. I used mine primarily for Chemex and V60 brewing, and the results were reliably good. Not spectacular in the way my current grinder produces, but noticeably better than pre-ground coffee and miles ahead of a blade grinder.

The consistency at medium settings means your brew recipes work the same way each time. If a 4:00 pour-over drawdown works on Monday, it'll work on Tuesday with the same setting and dose. This repeatability is the real value of a burr grinder, and the Encore delivers it.

French Press and Cold Brew

Coarse grinding is where the Encore starts to show weakness. At the coarsest settings (30 to 40), the particle distribution widens. You get a mix of large and small particles that can make French press coffee slightly muddy. Cold brew is more forgiving, so the Encore handles that fine.

I found setting 28 to 32 to be the practical coarse limit. Going above 32 introduced too many fine particles mixed with large chunks.

Espresso

The Encore was not designed for espresso, and attempting it will frustrate you. The grind range doesn't go fine enough for unpressurized portafilters, and the steps between settings are too large for the precision espresso demands. If you use a pressurized portafilter (like on a Breville Bambino), you can get acceptable results around setting 5 to 8. But genuine espresso grinding requires a different tool.

Baratza addressed this gap with the Encore ESP, which uses different burrs optimized for the finer end of the grind spectrum. I'll cover that model below.

The Encore ESP: Worth the Upgrade?

Baratza released the Encore ESP as a variant specifically designed to handle espresso grinding. It uses a different burr set with more grind steps in the fine range, giving you the precision espresso demands.

The ESP does work for espresso. I've tested one with a non-pressurized portafilter, and the shots were drinkable, though not as dialed-in as shots from dedicated espresso grinders like the Eureka Mignon Specialita. The tradeoff is that the ESP sacrifices some coarse-end performance, making it slightly less ideal for French press.

If you brew both espresso and filter coffee, the ESP is a tempting compromise. But compromises are exactly what they sound like. You get "okay" espresso and "okay" filter rather than great performance at either end. For most people, I'd recommend picking the standard Encore for filter or a dedicated espresso grinder for espresso.

Build Quality and Repairability

The Encore's greatest hidden strength is that Baratza sells every part individually and provides repair guides. If the motor dies in year three, you buy a $30 replacement motor and swap it yourself. If the burrs dull, a $25 burr set gets you back to new performance. Try getting replacement parts for a Cuisinart grinder from 2019.

This repairability extends the effective lifespan well beyond what you'd expect from a $170 grinder. I know people running Encores from 2015 that still grind fine because they've replaced the burrs once and kept the machine clean. Baratza's customer support will walk you through repairs over the phone. I've called them twice, and both times the representative was knowledgeable and patient.

The plastic housing does feel cheap compared to metal grinders. It flexes slightly during grinding, and the hopper lid is flimsy. These are cosmetic complaints rather than functional ones. The machine works fine despite not feeling luxurious.

How It Compares

Encore vs. Fellow Opus

The Fellow Opus costs about $30 more and offers a wider grind range with better espresso capability. The grind consistency is similar at medium settings. The Opus looks better on a counter. I'd pick the Opus if aesthetics and espresso flexibility matter, and the Encore if repairability and proven track record matter.

Encore vs. Timemore C2 (Manual)

The Timemore C2 is a hand grinder that costs about $70 and produces comparable grind quality. The tradeoff is convenience. The Encore grinds hands-free in 20 seconds; the C2 takes 60 seconds of manual cranking. For a home setup where you're making coffee every morning, the Encore's convenience wins. For travel, the C2 wins.

For a broader comparison of grinders at every price point, check our best burr coffee grinder guide. The best burr grinder roundup also includes the Encore alongside its competitors.

FAQ

Is the Baratza Encore good enough for specialty coffee? Yes, for filter brewing methods. Many specialty coffee shops use the Encore for their retail displays and customer demonstrations. It grinds well enough that the bean quality and water quality become the bigger variables in your cup.

How often should I clean the Encore? Brush the burrs every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on how much you grind. Run Grindz cleaning tablets through it once a month if you grind oily beans. A full deep clean (removing the outer burr, brushing everything, reassembling) takes about 10 minutes.

How long do Encore burrs last? Baratza recommends replacing burrs after about 500 pounds of coffee. For a home user grinding 25 grams per day, that's roughly 25 years. In practice, you might notice a slight decrease in consistency after 5 to 8 years of daily use.

Should I buy the Encore or save up for something better? If your budget is under $200 and you brew filter coffee, buy the Encore now. It's good enough that upgrading from it to a $300 grinder produces a subtle improvement, not a dramatic one. If you drink espresso, skip the Encore entirely and save for a grinder built for that purpose.

My Honest Take

The Baratza Encore is a straightforward, reliable grinder that does exactly what it advertises. It grinds coffee beans to a consistent medium particle size for filter brewing. It doesn't pretend to be an espresso grinder, a showpiece, or a status symbol. Buy it, set it to 20, grind your morning coffee, clean it occasionally, and replace the burrs in five years. That's the Encore experience, and for most people starting out, it's the right one.