Baratza's Encore line is a legendary collection of grinders that are a perfect entry point for new at-home coffee and espresso fans. That said, these grinders are high enough performance and quality to last you well into your new coffee hobby. In years past there was only one model of Encore, making it easy to decide which one to purchase. These days, the Encore lineup features a trio of grinder options suited for different purposes. Let's take a look at them to help you decide which is right for you!
Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder
The base model of the Encore is designed for slow brew methods like pour over and drip. This grinder is very simple to use, with 40 stepped grind settings and a basic pulse button and on switch control that requires you to manually determine when you've ground enough for you brew. While this may sound like a pain, we feel it works just fine here as you don't need quite as much precision for slow brew methods as you do for espresso.
On the inside of the Encore you'll find 40mm conical steel burrs that offer quality and consistency, especially for the price of this grinder. The burrs are easily accessible with tool free disassembly, making this grinder easy to clean and maintain. On the accessory side, the Encore is very basic, though it does come with a bin for the grounds to dispense into.
Baratza Encore ESP Espresso and Coffee Grinder
The Encore ESP is a very welcome addition to its base model sibling, as it is designed to be an all purpose grinder that can handle espresso as well as slow brew methods. While it is equipped with Baratza's 40mm M2 conical steel burrs, it's the grind adjust that really steals the show here. The reason if can be tricky to engineer all purpose grinders is that you need much more precision for espresso than you do for slow brew. While some grinders handle this with micro and macro adjustments, many, like the base model Encore, simply don't have the thread pitch to provide the precision needed on the fine end and the range for slow brew methods on the coarse end.
The Encore ESP does things a bit differently. Grind settings 21-40 are large, much like the base model encore. This gives the grinder the range to get coarse enough for those slow brew needs. On the finer end from settings 1-20, the thread pitch is tighter, allowing for micro adjustments for espresso. We love this innovative approach, and find that it makes this a much less fiddly all purpose grinder than some others in the category.
The rest of this grinder is very similar to the base model in terms of dosing options and the catch bin, but it does come with a dosing cup designed for espresso. This cup even has an adapter ring so it can fit 54mm and 58mm portafilters. The perfect pickup for the user that needs it all from their grinder!
Baratza Encore ESP Pro Espresso and Coffee Grinder
The ESP Pro can handle lots of different brew methods like the ESP, but it definitely shines brightest for espresso. This is because it uses a stepless adjustment that has near infinite settings broken down into 120 measured points. While it can go coarser for slow brew, the precision this adjustment offers can be a bit overkill for those methods.
But there's a lot more to the ESP Pro than the stepless adjustment. This grinder also offers timed grind programming and an auto-stop, single dose setting complete with a single-dose hopper option. These additional dosing options work great with the anti-static cup and grounds bin, giving you the ability to set your grinder and let it run while you handle other aspects of your brewing prep.
Other features like the stage lighting for the bin, metal case, and its dose control disc elevate the ESP Pro to a new level of sophistication and performance.
Which One is Right for Me?
If you are grinding primarily for slow brew methods then you will find that the base model of encore does everything you need. That said, if you are expecting to grind more for espresso and want those extra dosing and programming options, the ESP Pro is a great pickup. If you are certain that you'll be splitting the difference between pour over, press, drip, and espresso, the middle-ground of the ESP should be perfect for you.
To see (and more importantly, hear) these grinders in action you can check out our video below. Be sure to let us know which Baratza Encore you have your eye on in the comments as well!