If you’re looking for a less expensive electric coffee grinder with a wider range of settings (including an espresso grind), go for the Opus-which, according to Chris, “dropped out of heaven into all our collective laps.” At $195, it's more expensive than the Baratza Encore, but the 10 grind settings (from fine espresso to coarse cold brew) and minimalist design make this a very worthy upgrade. Sure, the pricier grinders come with some great benefits, but if you’re just starting to upgrade your coffee game, the Encore is the cheapest of Baratza’s offerings at $150, and it will-I can’t emphasize this enough-change your coffee life. The Best Bet for Most People: Baratza Encore Burr Grinder This is one particularly helpful feature to look out for if you have an espresso machine. Some grinders, like the Virtuoso+, deposit directly into an espresso filter basket (a removable insert that goes into the portafilter, the part of the espresso machine that holds the coffee grounds). Others, like the Fellow Ode, deposit into a sleek removable cup, making it easy to pour the grounds directly into a French press or pour-over filter. The grounds container: Once the machine has ground up the beans, where does it dump ’em? Some grinders, like the Baratza Encore, deposit the ground coffee into an attached chamber (kind of like a vending machine), which you can shovel the grounds from to use as you please.Our advice: Unless you’re serious about espresso (or don’t want to weigh out your beans per batch), a digital timer isn’t essential. As long as you’re weighing the coffee beans and depositing them in the hopper per batch, the grinder will only eat up the amount of beans you feed it. These smart timers are ideal for honing your espresso craft, but if you’re working with a drip or pour-over, this feature isn’t too important. Most under-$200 burr grinders operate on what’s essentially a fancier version of a windup timer, while slightly more expensive models like the Baratza Virtuoso+ use a digital timer to achieve split-second precision. The timer: In addition to adjusting your grind size, burr grinders typically allow you to set the amount of time the machine will grind for.If you enjoy an occasional espresso but also make your own cold brew, opt for a machine with a broader range (like the do-it-all Fellow Opus). If you’re pulling espresso shots at home on the daily, you might want a grinder that dials in on fine-grinding capabilities (like the Flair manual espresso grinder, which offers 72 fine-grind settings). Instead, think about the coffee making methods you use most often and choose a machine that covers all of those grind consistencies. However, don’t be wooed by a machine offering 800 settings if you’re not actually going to use them all. Machines vary in the number of grind settings they offer, but generally more settings = better. The range of grind settings: Different brews require different grind consistencies: You’ll want a fine grind for espresso, a medium grind for pour-over coffee, and a coarse grind for French press and cold brew.Both grinders will break down whole beans, but the results are vastly different. There are two different types of coffee grinders: burr grinders (the kind you’ll find in coffee shops) and blade grinders (the dinky plastic gadget that doubles as a spice grinder). Why is a burr grinder way better than a blade grinder? Yes, the best coffee grinders are much pricier than the type of grinder I was using in the past-a $30 blade grinder-but my Baratza has transformed my daily coffee from tolerable to luxuriant and has dramatically cut down on my impromptu café spending. You need to change your damn grinder, he said.įellow food lovers with rudimentary coffee knowledge, I beg of you: Stop spending all your cash on precious coffee beans unless you’re also investing in a high-quality burr grinder like the Baratza Encore. Exasperated, I asked my biggest coffee snob friend where I’d gone wrong. And yet my at-home brews never tasted as good as the drip coffee I paid $3 for someone else to make. I tried the barista-approved brewing methods, like a pour-over or French press. I bought the expensive fair-trade coffee beans, which I ground myself. For a long time, I did not understand why the coffee I made at home was so, so much worse than the cups I was getting at my local third-wave coffee shop.
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