Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder Review

Baratza Encore is one of the most popular conical burr coffee grinders on market today. It’s not too expensive to hurt your wallet but neither is it so cheap where the difference in grind quality should be significant compared to top-of-the-range models. So is Baratza Encore burr grinder the perfect middle ground between price and performance for someone who doesn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars?

Grinding

Baratza Encore has 40 different grind settings allowing you to grind from 250 to 1,200 microns. At no-load burr does 550 revolutions per minute and grinds 0.8 to 1.1 grams of beans per second. So many settings is bit of an overkill as you can’t really notice the difference if you go setting above or below but you can’t complain about having wide variety of adjustment options.

For the money it grinds amazingly well. Grind is very consistent. It’s not quite perfectly consistent you would get with a much more expensive burr grinder but it’s very, very close. It’s doubtful you wouldn’t complain even if you are a hardcore coffee enthusiast.

It outputs great grind for nearly any coffee type (i.e. Cold brew, percolator, french press, siphon, aeropress, pour over etc.) other than those that require fine grind, respectively espresso (especially if you use non pressurized portafilter) and Turkish. Even though Baratza Encore can grind quite fine, it’s not fine enough for optimal flavor extraction when it comes to espresso and Turkish coffee. For those you should look for a coffee grinder that’s specifically designed to grind that type of coffee.

Recommended grind settings for coffee types:

• Espresso: 8
• AeroPress: 12
• Hario V60: 15
• Automatic Brewer: 18
• Chemex: 20
• French Press: 28

Take these recommendations with a grain of salt as different beans grind differently. Those are decent guidelines for where to begin but adjust accordingly to results.

Controls

Baratza Encore is very easy to use. Grind settings are adjusted by rotating bean hopper. The lower the grind setting the finer the grind and vice versa.

Once you are ready to grind you have two options: use on/off knob located on right side or press and hold pulse button located on the front.

Features

Baratza Encore uses 40 mm conical burrs made of hardened alloy steel. Bean hopper can hold 8 oz (227 grams) of beans whereas grounds bin holds up to 5 oz (142 grams) of ground coffee.

Noise

Burr grinders are loud and Baratza Encore is not exception. It’s perhaps a bit louder than usual but not by significant margin.

Baratza Encore Clogging

Some consumers have complained about their Baratza Encore burr grinder clogging. This should go without saying but do not overfill grounds bin over the max fill line. When you do the ground coffee will bounce off and get thrown into grinder mechanism potentially clogging it. So many consumers have had issues because they couldn’t follow basic guidelines.

Size and weight

Baratza Encore is relatively compact, it measures approximately 4.72 inches wide, 6.3 inches deep and 13.8 inches high. Weight is 7 pounds (3.1 kg).

Conclusions

Baratza Encore is a burr grinder that offers amazing value for money. It’s a great choice whether you are looking for your first on fifth burr grinder. Only those who are looking for espresso/Turkish coffee grinder or willing to spend hundreds of dollars for diminishing returns should pass on it.

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder Specifications:

• Power rating:
  • US Spec: 100-120VAC 50/60 Hz, 70W 0.8A
  • EU Spec: 220-240VAC 50/60 Hz, 70W, 0.5A class II
• Grind settings: 40
• Grind speed (grams/second): 0.8 to 1.1
• Burr RPM: 550 (at no-load)
• Burrs: 40mm conical made of hardened alloy steel
• Bean Hopper Capacity: 8oz (227g)
• Grounds Bin Capacity: 5oz (142g)
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 12 cm x 16 cm x 35 cm
• Weight: 7 lbs (3.1 kg)
• Safety listings:
  • UL
  • CSA
  • CE
  • EK
    

Related article: Best Inexpensive Burr Coffee Grinders