French Press Baratza Encore: The Right Settings for a Perfect Brew

The Baratza Encore is one of the most recommended grinders for French press coffee, and for good reason. If you're trying to figure out exactly which setting to use, start at grind setting 28 to 30 and adjust from there. That range produces a coarse, even grind that works perfectly with the 4-minute French press steep time.

I've been using a Baratza Encore for French press almost every morning for about three years. It was my first "real" burr grinder after upgrading from a cheap blade grinder, and the difference in my French press coffee was immediate. The flavors got cleaner, the body got smoother, and I stopped getting that muddy sludge at the bottom of every cup. Let me walk you through the exact settings, technique, and adjustments I've dialed in over hundreds of brews.

Finding Your Ideal Grind Setting

The Baratza Encore has 40 grind settings, numbered 1 (finest) to 40 (coarsest). For French press, you're working in the upper range.

Starting Point: Setting 28-30

Setting 28 is where I tell everyone to start. The grounds at this level look like coarse sea salt, which is the texture you're aiming for. Particles should be visible and distinct, not powdery or dusty.

At setting 28, a standard 4-minute steep produces a medium-bodied cup with good clarity. If you like your coffee a bit stronger and heavier, drop down to 26. If you want it lighter and more tea-like, go up to 32.

Adjusting Based on Taste

Here's my cheat sheet after years of tinkering:

Too bitter or harsh: Your grind is too fine. Move up 2 settings and try again. Fine grounds over-extract in French press because the long steep time pulls out too many bitter compounds.
Too sour or thin: Your grind is too coarse. Move down 2 settings. Coarse grounds under-extract, and the coffee tastes weak and acidic.
Muddy or gritty texture: Still too fine. Fines pass through the French press mesh filter and end up in your cup. Go coarser.
Perfect body but flat flavor: Try increasing your dose (more coffee, same water) instead of changing the grind. Sometimes the grind is right but the ratio is off.

Adjusting for Different Roast Levels

Dark roasts are softer and more porous. They extract faster, so you might need to go 1 to 2 settings coarser (30 to 32) to avoid bitterness. Light roasts are denser and harder. They resist extraction, so dropping to 26 or 27 can help pull out the flavors you're after.

My French Press Brewing Method with the Encore

This is the process I use daily. It's simple and repeatable.

What You Need

Baratza Encore set to 28 (adjust to taste)
30 grams of whole bean coffee (about 4 to 5 tablespoons)
500 ml of water just off the boil (around 200 to 205 degrees F)
A French press
A timer

The Process

Grind 30 grams of beans on setting 28. The Encore takes about 15 to 20 seconds for this amount.
Add the grounds to the French press.
Start your timer and pour in about 60 ml of water, just enough to wet all the grounds.
Wait 30 seconds. This is the bloom phase where CO2 escapes from fresh beans. You'll see the grounds puff up and bubble.
Pour the remaining 440 ml of water in a slow, steady stream.
Place the lid on (plunger up) and wait until the timer hits 4 minutes.
Press the plunger down slowly and steadily. If it's very hard to press, your grind is too fine. If there's zero resistance, your grind is too coarse.
Pour immediately. Don't let the coffee sit in the French press after plunging or it keeps extracting and turns bitter.

The 1:16.7 Ratio

I use 30 grams of coffee to 500 ml of water, which is roughly a 1:16.7 ratio. This produces a balanced, medium-strength cup. If you want it stronger, try 32 to 34 grams with the same water. If you prefer a lighter cup, drop to 26 to 28 grams. Changing the ratio is usually a better first move than changing the grind size.

Why the Baratza Encore Works So Well for French Press

Consistent Coarse Grinding

The Encore uses 40mm conical steel burrs that produce a reasonably consistent grind at coarse settings. It's not perfect, and you'll see some variation in particle size if you spread the grounds on a plate and inspect them. But for French press, where the metal mesh filter is relatively forgiving, the consistency is more than adequate.

Higher-end grinders like the Baratza Virtuoso+ produce a tighter distribution at coarse settings, but the difference in the cup is subtle enough that most people can't tell in a blind test with French press.

Low Retention

The Encore retains about 1 to 1.5 grams of coffee in the grinding chamber between uses. For French press, this is a non-issue. That small amount of slightly stale coffee mixed into 30 grams of fresh grounds doesn't noticeably affect flavor. If it bothers you, just grind a few extra grams and purge the chamber first.

Durability

I'm on year three with my Encore and it still grinds like the day I bought it. I clean the burrs monthly and declog the chute weekly. Baratza also sells replacement parts for everything, from burrs to the motor assembly, which is rare in this price range. If something breaks, you fix it instead of replacing the whole unit.

Common Mistakes with the Encore and French Press

Using the Timer Instead of Weighing

The Encore has a timed grind button, but the amount of coffee it grinds per second varies based on the bean density and grind setting. Weighing your beans before grinding is far more accurate. A simple kitchen scale that reads in grams costs $10 to $15 and makes a real difference in consistency.

Not Cleaning the Grinder

Coffee oils build up on the Encore's burrs and go rancid. If your coffee starts tasting stale or flat even with fresh beans, clean the burrs. Remove the upper burr ring (Baratza's YouTube channel has a great video showing how), brush out the accumulated grounds and oils, and reassemble. Takes five minutes.

Grinding Too Far in Advance

Grind right before you brew. Ground coffee starts losing flavor within 15 minutes of grinding as the volatile compounds evaporate and the oils oxidize. The whole point of owning a grinder is freshness, so don't grind the night before.

For a broader comparison of grinders that work well for French press and other methods, our best coffee grinder roundup covers options at every budget. And the top coffee grinder list includes several models that compete with the Encore.

FAQ

Can I use the Baratza Encore for espresso?

Technically yes, but the Encore wasn't designed for espresso. The finest settings produce grounds that are in the espresso ballpark, but the particle consistency isn't tight enough for a proper shot. Baratza makes the Sette and Vario lines for espresso. Stick with the Encore for French press, drip, and pour over.

How often should I replace the burrs on my Baratza Encore?

Baratza recommends replacing the burrs after about 500 to 600 pounds of coffee. For most home users grinding 30 to 60 grams per day, that works out to roughly 5 to 8 years. You'll notice the grind getting less consistent and more powdery as the burrs dull.

What's the difference between the Baratza Encore and Encore ESP?

The Encore ESP has a modified burr set and internal design optimized for finer grinds (espresso). For French press, the original Encore is the better choice because its coarse grind range is wider and more consistent.

Should I use the paper filter trick with the Encore for French press?

Some people place a thin paper filter (like an AeroPress filter) over the French press mesh screen to catch fines. This gives you a cleaner cup with less sediment. I do this when I'm drinking light roast single origins where I want maximum clarity. For darker roasts where I want that heavy, oily body, I skip the paper filter.

Start Here, Adjust from There

Set your Baratza Encore to 28, use 30 grams of coffee per 500 ml of water, steep for 4 minutes, and press. That's your baseline. From there, adjust the grind by 2 settings at a time based on taste, and change the coffee dose before changing the grind. Three or four mornings of tweaking and you'll have a French press recipe dialed in perfectly for your beans and preferences.