Review - Baratza Encore Grinder

For many of us, the price is the biggest consideration and understandably so. We want to get the best value possible and stretch our dollars as far as they can go.

As with many other hobbies, you can spend as little or as much money as you would like to on appliances for making coffee. But you don't always get what you pay for, and the most expensive machines certainly aren't worth every cent.

While the Encore undeniably isn't the best grinder on the market, it doesn't aim to be, it exists to provide fantastic value for money, and in that pursuit, it's a champion.

The Baratza Encore represents some of the best money spent in the coffee industry.

With many of the features of far more expensive models, you'll be surprised at how affordable the Encore is. While it doesn't have some of the 'convenience' options of premium models, it doesn't sacrifice quality either.

Baratza decided to focus their efforts entirely on the essential features, creating a grinder that can deliver a range of consistencies without the hassle or the hefty price tag.

A common joke in the coffee industry is that manufacturers never make coffee in the morning because if they did all of their grinders wouldn't be so loud. It's no exaggeration to say that many of the most popular models could wake up your family and your neighbors.

For those of us that enjoy a fresh cup in the morning, this is a real problem.

Baratza tries their best to be different. The Encore isn't silent, and it's certainly not the cheapest grinder available, but when compared to similarly sized options with the same level of power it's relatively quiet.

Specifically, you'll notice that the gearbox they use is made from plastic rather than metal. As you might imagine this does mean that the gears tend to wear quicker than professional alternatives, but the cost is also a fraction of those grinders.

Unlike bargain options, the plastic they use is made from 15% glass-filled thermoplastic that is sturdier than the plastic that you might be accustomed to in other appliances.

Coffee beans are delicate little beasts, but they also tend to bounce around rather than grind, a frustrating and peculiar paradox for us coffee lovers. To battle the beast, you need power but patience.

The Encore contains a powerful motor, but rather than letting it fly the machine tempers the pace, preventing the beans from bouncing around rather than cracking. This slow and steady pace enables you to create the perfect grind for your coffee.

If you grind your beans too fast, excess heat will build up, causing the beans to sweat and release the oils that you want to keep for optimal taste. But grind too slow, and half of the coffee is going to become stale and dry by the time you get ready to brew.

Find the right balance is tough, but Baratza has tested their machines extensively to ensure that no matter the setting you choose the blades will spin at just the right pace. At 450 revolutions per minute, the Encore never speeds up or slows down, maintaining the perfect speed for a tasty cup of joe.

Variety is the spice of life and making coffee is the same. For espresso you need a vastly different grind to a cappuccino and failing to do this will lead to substandard taste and consistency.

The Encore recognizes this, which is why it has 40 different grind settings, far more than even more expensive grinders. From as small as 250 microns through to 1200 microns at the upper end, you can churn out a grind for whatever appliance you are using and whichever type of coffee you're trying to make.

It should be noted however, that some users are experiencing significant amounts of clumping, especially when operating at the finer grind level. If not carefully managed clumping can create problems when making espresso by interrupting the flow of water.

To prevent this, it's recommended to grind at a slightly higher level and to let the grinder run for a touch longer than usual.

The Baratza Encore isn't fancy. It doesn't include some of the handy features that more expensive grinders have, but it also doesn't cost nearly as much.

Instead, the Baratza has a sleek and simple design with an on-off switch, a button for quick grinds and a dial for grind thickness. Nothing more and nothing less, this machine is simple but for a beginner simple is a positive rather than a negative.