Baratza Encore Review

The Encore is a small electric conical burr grinder with 40 mm hardened steel burrs, a 40-step adjustment ring, an 8 oz hopper and a single on/off button on the side, plus a front pulse button. Baratza's product page pitches it at filter brewing: drip, pour-over, AeroPress and French press. It stands about 14 inches tall and weighs about 7 pounds.

That plain spec sheet is the point. Wirecutter has kept the Encore as its pick for over a decade because it grinds evenly enough for filter coffee, is easy to use and easy to clean, and comes from a company with US-based support that sells burrs, motors and every plastic part separately. CNET and Tom's Guide both still recommend it as the beginner's default.

The trade is that you get exactly one job done well. There is no timer, no dosing, no digital display and no espresso range. The newer Encore ESP adds 20 micro-steps at the fine end and a dosing cup for a portafilter, and Tom's Guide's review of the ESP Pro notes the ESP line uses the same 40 mm burrs. If you own an espresso machine, the ESP is the same grinder with the range you need.

For filter coffee the Encore's output is even, with the low fines that pour-over rewards. Wirecutter's testing over many years puts it ahead of the cheaper blade and flat-plate grinders on consistency, and behind more expensive grinders on a sieve, which is exactly where its tier sits. Our coffee grinder guide ranks it the best grinder for drip on that basis.

The 40 steps run from fine drip to coarse French press. They are stepped, not stepless, and the jumps at the coarse end are large, so French press users sometimes land between two settings. At the fine end the Encore bottoms out around a fine drip or Moka grind; Baratza says on its own page that it only works for espresso with pressurized baskets, which hide bad grinding.

Speed is modest. Tom's Guide timed the newer ESP Pro at about 22 seconds for 20 grams, and the standard Encore with the same burrs and motor is in the same range. That is slower than a Fellow Opus or a flat-burr grinder, and slow enough that you hear it: the Encore is loud, in the range of a blender, which Wirecutter and most owners flag as its main daily annoyance.

The Encore is not an espresso grinder, and Baratza does not claim it is. With a single-wall basket on a machine like the Bambino Plus or Gaggia Classic Evo Pro, the finest Encore setting lets the shot gush through in well under 20 seconds. Tom's Guide saw the same thing with Breville's Dose Control Pro on the Bambino Plus and had to move to an espresso-capable grinder to reach a 25 second shot.

With a dual-wall or pressurized basket the Encore works, because the basket makes the pressure instead of the puck. That is how most Breville owners with an Encore get by. The espresso is drinkable but flat compared to what the same machine makes with a proper grinder.

Baratza's answer is the Encore ESP: the same body and burrs with a redesigned adjustment ring that gives 20 micro-steps in the espresso range plus 20 regular steps for filter, a 54 mm dosing cup and an anti-static chute. Wirecutter picks it as the entry espresso grinder, and it costs a tier more. If you might ever own a real espresso machine, the ESP is the better first purchase; if not, the standard Encore is the same grinder for less.

The Encore keeps a small amount of coffee in the chute and burr chamber between grinds, about a gram in typical measurements. For a daily drip drinker that means the first gram of each morning's dose is yesterday's; you can knock it out with a tap on the hopper or a quick pulse, or simply not worry about it.

Static is worse with light roasts and dry winter air. A drop of water stirred into the beans before grinding, the trick pour-over owners call the Ross droplet technique, stops most of it. Tom's Guide's ESP Pro review notes Baratza added anti-static ion generation only on the Pro, so the standard Encore relies on you.

The grounds bin is plastic and holds enough for a large pour-over. Baratza's page recommends cleaning the burrs periodically; the upper burr lifts out without tools, and a brush is included.

This is where the Encore earns its reputation. Baratza sells replacement burrs, drive gears, motors, hoppers and bins, publishes repair guides, and services grinders out of warranty. Wirecutter has cited that support as a reason for the pick for years, and Tom's Guide calls the Encore series so beginner-friendly it has few alternatives to recommend.

The known weak point is the plastic drive gear, which strips if a stone or a very hard bean jams the burrs; Baratza sells the gear cheaply and the swap is a screwdriver job. Burrs last years for a household; when grinding slows or clumps, clean them first, then replace.

Upgrading later usually means moving to the Encore ESP for espresso, or to a Fellow Opus or Baratza Virtuoso+ for faster, quieter filter grinding. The used market is full of working Encores, which says more about the design than the owners.