We began our tests with a visual evaluation of grounds from each machine to check a grinder’s range and to look at grind shape and consistency. It’s the most affordable grinder Baratza sells, but it’s also a workhorse, and it could easily be the only grinder you’ll ever need. We learned that the Encore is now slightly quieter than the OXO when the machines are running empty (by about 5 decibels), but slightly louder than the OXO (by about 2 decibels) when the two machines are actively processing beans.

In recent years, Baratza has also tried to make the Encore even more user-friendly: The company modernized the body shape, and it now sells a single-dose hopper that lets you use the lid to measure out beans with a scale. Our picks will grind your coffee fine enough to make a shot with a pressurized machine or a stovetop brewer. Still, we think this model is worth the extra investment only for more-serious coffee lovers, or those who think the timer will improve their day-to-day experience. A poorly built machine also grinds less consistently, because the burrs may wobble or slip slightly out of alignment. Most other machines we tested—like the Breville, the KitchenAid, and the Cuisinart CBM-20—offer more features.

But to make the best espresso, you need to pay more for a machine that’s designed to produce the necessary finer, precise grounds, and to allow for small adjustments at the finer end of your grinding range. From the Baratza Encore to the Baratza Sette series, you will be making the best coffee with the right gear. ounces (50 grams) more than the C2’s, which isn’t ideal if you also intended to use this as a portable grinder. So the swapping of different collections of beans you keep in the hopper is a cool feature we didn’t want to pay for. In our previous tests, the coffee brewed with the Baratza Encore had the best extraction percentage of all grinders we examined—19.

The OXO Brew’s canister sits snugly below the exit chute, neatly catching all of the grounds, and the shape makes it super-easy to pour fresh-ground coffee into your filter. The OXO Brew’s grinds canister is also a huge improvement over the one on OXO’s more expensive grinder with an integrated scale, which we quickly disqualified for spraying coffee all over the counter. A timer would also allow you to turn on the machine and walk away, knowing the machine would stop at a certain point; this is convenient but not essential, since grinding enough coffee for a full pot usually takes less than a minute. You can also choose a traditional barrel grinder or one with a removable cup that lets you wash the blade and the grinds cup. Finally, it feels worth mentioning that Fort Collins, Colorado—where we live—is also a fairly-arid climate.Speed Control: With unique speed control, the Encore uses a combination of gear and electronic speed reduction to control the rotation of the burr to 450 RPM.

The catch bin collects most loose grounds, although some users have noticed that static causes the grounds to stick to the inside and make a mess when you try to clean out the grinder. Whether you are looking for an espresso grinder or a grinder to help you explore that extensive range of brew methods, the Encore is a great all around home grinder. The sifter works by separating boulders and fines into separate compartments; grounds at the ideal size are left in between.

The idea that the Baratza Encore isn’t an espresso grinder posed no significant problem for us, though. Even the best burr grinders will produce some fines and boulders, but good grinders will yield a lot fewer of them, and the ones at the right size will be more consistently shaped, too.

This grinder isn’t really for you to dial in the perfect and specific extraction for your precious latte, as the “Baratza Encore espresso setting” simply doesn’t exist. These tablets are made of grain composites and can leave some dusty residue, which may not fully dissipate on the first one or two grinds after use. This sounds complicated at first, but it is not very hard to master, especially if you’re the only one using it every day. We do not accept to compensate for loss or any other claim and we do not accept liability for delays or problems caused by any products.Its simple features and consistent grind will help you get a good start in the world of specialty coffee without hurting your wallet more than necessary. One point I need to make in this Baratza Encore review is that this isn’t really the grinder for that, according to every source I consulted. It did this by using PCTG plastic, rather than steel, in some of the interior pieces that hold the burr mechanism together, by skipping some of the higher-end finishes, and by using a burr set that is less complex than their high end models. OXO also says it uses a steel grounds container that bumps up against a grounded steel tab to help reduce static buildup of the coffee grinds, which is an issue with most coffee grinders. Once we separated boulders and fines, we were able to see how many of those boulders were extra-large or odd-shaped, which can also affect the way coffee tastes.