Baratza Encore Burr Coffee Grinder: Detailed Review & Buyer’s Guide
The grinder most people should buy first, and the one they outgrow only if they move to espresso.
Buy it if
- You are moving off a blade grinder
- You brew filter, pour over or French press
- You want a grinder that can be repaired rather than replaced
Skip it if
- Espresso is your main brew method
- You want stepless adjustment
- Counter noise matters more than grind quality
The Encore has been the default answer to “my first real grinder” for over a decade, and it still is. Forty steps of conical burr adjustment, parts you can buy individually, and a price that has barely moved. Its one real limitation is the one that matters if you pull shots.
Encore or Virtuoso+?
Baratza sells the answer to the Encore’s one weakness seventy-five dollars further up the range. Whether you need it comes down to a single question about how you brew.
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
40 mm conical burrs, 40 steps, fully repairable. The filter grinder most people need.Check price
Baratza Virtuoso+ Coffee Grinder
Same repairability with a finer burr set and a tighter step range at the espresso end, plus a digital timer. It is the Encore with the one thing the Encore lacks.Check price
Where the 8.4 comes from
Five criteria. The Encore is strong everywhere except the place its stepped mechanism puts a hard ceiling.
Specifications
What it does well, and what it does not
Repairability is the reason to buy this rather than a cheaper conical burr grinder. Baratza publishes exploded diagrams and sells every part — burrs, motor, gearbox, hopper — which turns a dead grinder into a twenty-dollar afternoon rather than a landfill item. Very little kitchen equipment at any price works this way.
The stepped adjustment is where it stops. Forty steps spread across the entire range from French press to espresso means the espresso end has perhaps four usable positions, and dialling a shot needs finer control than that. For filter brewing you will never hit the limit; for espresso you hit it on day one.
What we like
- Every part is sold separately and user-replaceable
- Consistent grind across the filter range
- 40 steps is enough resolution for everything except espresso
- 16,591 owner ratings behind it
What to know
- Stepped adjustment is too coarse for espresso dialling
- Retention is not published and is noticeable in single dosing
- Loud enough to wake a household
- Plastic housing at a price where metal exists
What else to consider
Baratza Virtuoso+
Finer burrs and a tighter range at the espresso end. The upgrade that fixes the Encore's ceiling.Check price
Breville Smart Grinder Pro
60 steps and a digital dose timer, but not repairable in the way a Baratza is. A trade of longevity for resolution.Check price
Best burr grinders compared
Where the Encore sits against flat-burr and single-dose options.Grinder guide
How we scored it
This review is editorially researched. We worked from Baratza’s published specifications and parts documentation, the owner record on Amazon, and comparison against grinders in the same bracket, with price and availability confirmed on 12 August 2026. We have not measured particle distribution ourselves and do not claim to have. Retention is not published by Baratza and the spec table says so.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Baratza Encore grind for espresso?
How long does the Encore last?
Encore or Virtuoso+?
Is it loud?
The right first grinder, with one hard limit
For filter, pour over and press the Encore is still the best $150 in coffee, and the repairability means it stays that way. Just do not buy it expecting to dial espresso — that is what the Virtuoso+ seventy-five dollars up the range is for.