Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder Review: The Beginner Burr Grinder That Punches Way Above Its Price
If you've ever asked a coffee forum for grinder advice under $200, the Baratza Encore is the answer you got back. There's a reason: it has been the default starter burr grinder for more than a decade, and Baratza's repair-rather-than-replace ethos means a lot of original Encores from the 2010s are still in service. The short verdict: it's an excellent drip and pour-over grinder, a passable French press grinder, and the wrong tool for serious espresso.
What you're actually buying
The Encore is a conical burr grinder built around 40mm hardened-steel burrs driven by a DC motor with gear reduction. It offers 40 grind settings adjusted by rotating the bean hopper, a front-mounted on/off button, and a pulse button for short bursts. The hopper holds 8 oz of beans; the grounds bin holds about 5 oz. Plastic body, metal burrs, plastic gears. It draws around 165 watts and weighs roughly 7 pounds.
Two things matter more than the spec sheet. First, the grind range is officially 250 to 1200 microns, which spans French press down to fine drip — but the finer end of the dial is generally not fine enough for traditional espresso. Second, the grinder is designed to be serviced. The burrs come out with no tools, the hopper lifts off in seconds, and Baratza sells replacement parts down to the gear assembly. That's unusual at this price.
The unit comes in matte black and is essentially unchanged from earlier production runs apart from minor refinements to the motor and bin.
Performance and real-world use
For drip, pour-over, Aeropress, and Chemex grinds, the Encore is genuinely good. The conical burr produces a more uniform particle distribution than any blade grinder, and it's comparable to grinders costing twice as much in this brew range. Pour-over enthusiasts have used Encores happily for years; recipes from major coffee publications often default to "set your Encore between 15 and 20" because so many readers own one.
It's quieter than blade grinders but not silent — closer to a stand mixer on low than a dedicated espresso grinder. A single dose of 18 grams takes around 15 to 20 seconds. Static can fling some grounds out of the bin if you pull it out too fast; tapping the bin against the counter or adding a single drop of water to your beans (the "RDT" trick) cuts most of it.
Where the Encore stops being the right tool is espresso. Even at its finest setting, the grind is generally too coarse for a typical 25–30 second espresso shot, and the step size between settings is too large to dial in pressure. Baratza eventually released the Encore ESP — a separate, more expensive model with finer adjustment specifically for espresso. The standard Encore reviewed here is not that grinder.
Long-term durability is one of the Encore's strongest cards. Owners report grinders running 5 to 10 years on regular use, and when the gears finally strip, Baratza will sell you a $20 replacement assembly and walk you through the swap. The trade-off is that the plastic body and lightweight build mean it doesn't feel premium next to a Eureka or a Niche.
- Outstanding grind quality for drip, pour-over, French press, and Aeropress at its price
- Designed to be repaired — Baratza's parts availability and customer support are well-regarded
- Quiet enough for early-morning use without waking the household
- Wide 40-setting range covers everything from French press to most filter methods
- Lightweight (~7 lb) and a small footprint that fits under standard cabinets
- Holds resale value unusually well because demand for used Encores stays high
- Not suitable for espresso — get the Encore ESP or step up if espresso is the goal
- Plastic body and bin feel cheaper than the price suggests
- Static can make the grounds bin messy if pulled too quickly
- Hopper-rotation grind adjustment can be fiddly when fine-tuning between settings
- Step adjustment (vs. stepless) limits precision-tuning between marked positions
The Encore is the right grinder for someone making pour-over, drip, Aeropress, Chemex, or French press at home and tired of the inconsistency of pre-ground or blade-ground coffee. It's also the right grinder for someone who values being able to fix a tool ten years from now rather than throw it out.
Skip the Encore if you primarily make espresso — it will frustrate you, and you'll end up upgrading. Also skip it if you want a single-dial, premium-feeling grinder; the Encore is utilitarian, not luxurious. Heavy daily users grinding for multiple people may also be better served by something with a beefier motor and a longer duty cycle, like the Baratza Virtuoso+ or a commercial-grade grinder.
The Baratza Encore earns its reputation. For non-espresso brewing, it's the most-recommended grinder under $200 because the actual grind quality is excellent, the long-term economics are great, and the company stands behind it. Rated honestly, it's a 4.5/5 for filter coffee and a 2/5 for espresso — buy it for what it is, not what it isn't.
