Cheapest acceptable burr grinder for espresso?

May 5, 2023 7:25 AM

I bought a Breville Bambino after doing a bunch of research and deciding it was the cheapest good(ish) espresso machine. What’s the equivalent grinder?

I definitely don’t need the super best, but I want something that won’t be obviously sub-par in some way and also won’t make me regret purchasing it within the next month.

I doubt I’ll ever turn into full-on coffee snob who spends for the best. I don’t think I can differentiate between good and great. I’m almost exclusively making flat whites, which limits the nuance I can pick up from making the perfect shot. But I do want to grind my own beans, and be able to clean the grinder.

I mentioned cleaning the grinder because I’ve read some reviews of some of the cheaper burr grinders mentioning where you couldn't remove both grinders and easily rinse, dry, and re-assemble. Note that I’ve never purchased or owned a grinder before, so I could be deeply misunderstanding what normal maintenance looks like, but I read some of the 3 star reviews for the Capresso grinder sold be Costco and that was one of the complaints. That is definitely something that would drive me crazy and make me return the grinder.

posted by Number Used Once to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

The Baratza Encore, especially if you can find a refurbished model from the manufacturer.
posted by mcgsa at 7:43 AM on May 5, 2023 [7 favorites]

Ditto Baratza Encore. They're reliable, the burrs last a long time, replacement parts are readily available, and the repair manual is even available online.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:49 AM on May 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

I would get one of the Eureka Mignon grinders if you can swing it. They have better build quality and burrs than the cheaper Baratzas, and will still be suitable if you choose to get a higher end espresso machine in the future.
posted by sid at 8:07 AM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you're making espresso, you should make sure to get a grinder that grinds consistently fine enough - the Encore is probably not that grinder (source: owned one for a decade). But, Baratza recently introduced the Encore ESP - the "ESP" is for "ESPresso" and it does the job (source: now own this one). The Eureka is a great choice but if it's still out of your price range, the Encore ESP is perfectly acceptable. The Fellow Opus is also the same price as the Encore ESP, and people really seem to like Fellow products (I have a Stagg kettle and it's great) but I can't vouch for it personally.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably call up Seattle Coffee Gear for a recommendation.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 8:19 AM on May 5, 2023 [5 favorites]

I have owned several Baratza models (and up to expensive, comercial grinders). A baratza encore is a great grinder, and can do espresso in a pinch, but does not have the resolution at those sizes to do a good job.

If you can save those pennies, I would get yourself a Baratza Sette 70, which can handily produce good espresso. This particulate grinder punches way above its price point for espresso specifically. Much better than the encore ESP or the Fellow Opus.

If I did not have access to a stupid commercial grinder, I would go Sette 70 as the bottom rung of acceptability and reliability.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:34 AM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have used this Hario Skerton for years and it is still my favorite way to grind beans. It's manual but I love the consistent grind and now it's part of my morning ritual.
posted by coldbabyshrimp at 8:58 AM on May 5, 2023 [3 favorites]

Seconding the vote for a manual/hand grinder, in terms of price to performance ratio.

I had a Baratza Sette (electric grinder) for espresso, and it has a design flaw where the adjustment dial eventually starts drifting. For the longest time, I thought it was haunted (not really). As I'm about to move across the country and needed a portable setup, I got a hand grinder, and the consistency (and the fact that it doesn't change its settings randomly) is great. If you don't mind about 45 seconds of hand grinding (I thought I might, but I don't), then I think it's going to be the best bang for your buck.

I got a 1Zpresso JX Pro S, but they have tons of models through various price ranges. You want one that gives you the most amount of settings/smallest micron 'gap' between settings, so you can really dial it in.
posted by destructive cactus at 10:00 AM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Love my manual burr grinder too! The grinding is kind of fun, you get a light workout to wake you up a bit so you can enjoy your coffee more.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:45 AM on May 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

I've had a Baratza Preciso (a pointless design I think they discontinued years ago) that has served me well for 8 years. Easy to order and replace parts, relatively easy to clean. The replacement burrs I've ordered over the years are the same as the Encore.

Could I be using a better grinder? Obviously! Does this one grind fine/consistent enough for me to pull a shot that tastes good to me? Yes. I also use it for drip coffee. Sometimes I start reading espresso forums and convince myself I need a proper dedicated espresso grinder, but then I look at my kitchen space and decide it's really not worth it to go down that rabbit hole. I am happy with the espresso I get.

If you want cheap(ish) good and easy to clean, I would go with the Encore. If you decide you want to upgrade, you could probably easily sell it.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 11:25 AM on May 5, 2023

I also have a Hario hand-crank grinder, and I stuck several small blobs of Sugru to the clear part so it would stop spinning in my grasp.

It's beautiful to look at, sure -- but when I want a cup of coffee, the last thing I need is more tension from death-gripping the damn grinder.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:40 AM on May 5, 2023

What’s the equivalent grinder?

There doesnt have to be any relationship between how much you spend on a coffee machine and how much on the grinder.
I mostly make coffee in a plastic V60 that cost $5 and grind with a Wilfa Uniform which costs about 50X as much.

I did the Porlex hand-crank thing for a while, it was fun until it wasn't. Useful for learning how important the grind is though.
posted by Lanark at 1:11 PM on May 5, 2023

More on the budget manual side, I have used a Timemore C2, C3 Max Pro, and a Kingrinder K6 (a cheaper version of the 1Zpresso, which I wanted to get, but at 160 Eur it was a lot). It's great to use when making up to about 35 g of ground coffee at a time. The Timemore ones are good for up to a mokapot fineness, while the Kingrinder is good for espresso (maybe even Turkish, but I haven't used it for that yet). They can all be had for less than 100 USD.
All take just about less than a minute to grind and it is part of my daily coffee routine.
posted by ssri at 1:16 PM on May 5, 2023

I've been using an OXO burr grinder for almost 2 years now, and I'm very happy with it. I chose it for its affordability (typically 2/3 the price of the Baratza) and its solid reviews.

I mostly make pour-over coffee with it, but do make an occasional espresso shot (using a flair manual espresso maker). The espresso results do not rival my local cafe! But it is delicious enough for my at-home purposes (and I'm fairly fussy) (and there are surely a gazillion factors other than the grind that could be influencing the quality of my at-home shot).

Here's an OXO vs. Baratza Encore comparison article, in case it's useful.
posted by marlys at 2:07 PM on May 5, 2023

When I was doing my barista training 8 years ago, we were told for home espresso / flat whites, "spend as much as you can afford on the grinder, and with what you have left buy the coffee machine".

My grinder is still the same Mazzer Mini I brought 2nd hand soon after my training (from a different coffee shop that was selling it off, as they used the larger versions, so it was just gathering dust on a shelf with random merch). This was months before I brought a coffee machine.

The grinder is vacuumed every day after use which really helps minimise the need to do a deep clean (and beans are stored separately rather than in the hopper).

I take multiple steps to ensure a consistent result with my flat white (I only make myself one coffee a day, so I don't want to waste it). But yeah, not exactly a 'cheap' grinder, but it's certainly not the most expensive of many of the options out there.

For me, real consistency and reliability is what I look for, but I appreciate from your OP that's not where you're at yet.
posted by many-things at 7:28 PM on May 5, 2023

I’ve been quite happy with my Bodum bistro
posted by piyushnz at 10:50 PM on May 5, 2023

Yeah the regular Encore isn’t going to really cut it UNLESS you’re using pressurized portafilter exclusively. And you shouldn’t.

The equivalent grinder (well known brand, mostly plastic, mostly okay) is probably the Baratza Sette 270. But you can do better for that price.

I recommend a single-dosing grinder for dose control and freshness, and away from hand grinders unless you strongly desire the workout, which mostly puts you in “specialty” territory instead of something you can get from Seattle Coffee Gear or Whole Latte Love.

The Lagom Mini is not “cheapest acceptable”, that’s for sure, and is not well known except among obsessives. But it is the cheapest grinder that’s incredible, actually really stunning for the price. I know people with P100 grinders and the like, just real astronomical gear heads, that are also super happy with the Mini paired with machines like a Decent or Londinium. Way better than similar-price Baratzas in terms of clarity. It will expose flaws in your beans, though.
posted by supercres at 11:24 PM on May 5, 2023

For completeness: my current daily driver is a DF64, which is fine— a solid-enough platform for pretty incredible burrs, the SSP “multipurpose” 64mm flats that are super-high clarity for “new school” espresso that I like: light roast, lower-temp, lower-pressure, faster-flow shots. But at that price you should get a Lagom Mini, which didn’t exist when I upgraded from a Niche Zero to get better clarity. The Niche Zero is another solid choice, a real joy to use, much better UX than the DF64. Check out James Hoffmann’s grinder reviews, filtered by your price range if you want, if you haven’t already.
posted by supercres at 11:33 PM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

+1 for manual burr grinders.

I've been using a 1st gen Hario Skerton for over a decade. If I had to replace it, I'd go with a Skerton Pro, which is basically an updated/improved model that still costs under $50.

Bonus: hand grinders are WAAAAAY less messy than electric grinders. Every electric grinder I used had issues with static, which led to at least a bit of a mess. With a hand grinder, I've experienced zero static.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:45 PM on May 5, 2023

(Metafilter: It will expose flaws in your beans, though.)
posted by away for regrooving at 11:52 PM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]