Baratza Encore vs Encore ESP

The Encore and the Encore ESP are the same machine underneath. Both use Baratza's 40 mm hardened steel conical burrs and the same 550 rpm gear-reduced motor, the same plastic body, the same one-button operation and the same lift-out upper burr. Tom's Guide's review of the newer ESP Pro confirms the ESP line still runs the original 40 mm burrs.

What Baratza changed on the ESP is the adjustment ring and the accessories. The 40 settings are split: 1 to 20 are micro-steps in the espresso range, 21 to 40 are regular steps for filter brewing. Tom's Guide describes exactly that in testing: incremental differences from 0 to 20, then an instantly visible jump at 21. The ESP also ships with a 54 mm dosing cup that sits under the chute so you can grind straight into a portafilter, and a silicone mat.

On the standard Encore the 40 steps spread evenly from fine drip to coarse French press, which makes it the more natural filter grinder, but Baratza's own page says it only handles espresso with pressurized baskets. That is the whole decision: do you need the fine half of the dial or the coarse half?

The ESP can do it, the Encore cannot. Tom's Guide struggled to get a truly fine grind at settings 0 and 1 on the ESP, so it is not a Turkish grinder, but the micro-steps between 1 and 20 are what let you land a 25 to 30 second shot on a single-wall basket. Its sieve test showed about half the finest-setting grounds under 500 microns and nearly all under 800, which is workable espresso on an entry machine.

The Encore's finest setting is roughly where the ESP's setting 20 sits, so on a Bambino Plus or Gaggia Classic Evo Pro with a single-wall basket the shot runs through in well under 20 seconds. Tom's Guide saw the same failure mode with Breville's Dose Control Pro on the Bambino Plus. With dual-wall baskets the Encore makes drinkable espresso because the basket creates the pressure, but you are not really dialing in.

Neither grinder is a serious espresso grinder. Tom's Guide found the ESP's grind less uniform than a Comandante C40 and would send coffee nerds to a hand grinder or a flat-burr machine. For a first espresso setup the ESP is enough, and it is the grinder Wirecutter and our best espresso machine guide pair with beginner machines.

Here the standard Encore is the better tool, and it is why our coffee grinder guide ranks it the best grinder for drip. Its 40 steps spread evenly across the filter range, so a pour-over setting and a French press setting are many clicks apart and easy to return to.

The ESP compresses that whole range into steps 21 to 40, and the jumps are wider. Tom's Guide's sieve results show setting 30 scattering from espresso-fine to coarser than French press, and setting 40 with 40 percent of grounds above 1100 microns. For daily pour-over you will find a setting that works, but you have fewer choices and a less tidy distribution than on the Encore at the same coarseness.

If you only brew filter coffee and never plan on espresso, the Encore is the right buy. If you brew both, the ESP's filter range is a compromise you can live with, and its espresso range is something the Encore simply does not have.

The ESP sits a small step above the Encore in the same tier. For the difference you get the micro-step ring, the dosing cup and the mat, and you keep everything that makes the Encore a safe buy: the parts catalogue, the repair service and the ten-plus years of Wirecutter recommendations behind the design.

The newer Encore ESP Pro adds a digital readout, a light and anti-static ion generation for a tier more, and Tom's Guide's advice is to skip it and buy the ESP, since both use the same burrs and give similar results. That makes the ESP the value pick of the three.

Buy the Encore if you brew drip, pour-over, AeroPress or French press, you have no espresso machine and no plan to get one, and you want the most even filter range in the tier. It is the grinder Wirecutter has recommended for over a decade and the one our Baratza Encore review covers in depth.

Buy the Encore ESP if you own or will own an espresso machine, or if you are not sure. Tom's Guide calls it the perfect first grinder with no learning curve, and the dosing cup makes it a natural partner for a Bambino Plus, a Barista-class machine used with an external grinder, or a Gaggia. Keep the hopper under about 100 grams to keep retention low.

If you already own an Encore and want espresso, check Baratza's parts store: the ESP adjustment assembly is sold separately, and because the two grinders share every other part the swap is a screwdriver job. Confirm it fits your Encore's generation before ordering.