It’s time for another of our 2020 Best Ofs! This time we’re taking a look at espresso grinders. It’s important to differentiate between espresso and brew grinders to make sure you get the right bit of gear for you. A brew grinder will be designed for slow brew methods like drip, pour over, press, and cold brew. On the other hand you have espresso grinders, which are designed to brew fine enough for use in semi-automatic espresso machines. While grinders exist that can do both, they are few and far between, and to get the very best espresso you’ll want a dedicated grinder. Let’s take a look at our favorite espresso grinders available today!
Eureka Mignon Notte
The Eureka Mignon line is one of the best lineups of espresso grinders available. The balance of price, performance, and reliability make these grinders incredibly easy to recommend. Because they are priced above many entry level espresso grinders, we often recommend them as an upgrade, or for a new user who’s a little more confident. This is part of why we were so thrilled to bring the Notte in as a Seattle Coffee Gear exclusive.
The Mignon Notte trades the sound insulation in the Mignon Silenzio for an incredibly attractive price point for a grinder of this quality. That means for a cost comparable to more entry level grinders, you’ll get the exceptional design and build quality of a Eureka Mignon. But what does that look like specifically? First of all, you get the same powerful 50mm flat steel burrs that come in the Silenzio. Burrs of this size and quality are hard to come by at any price point, and we love the consistency of the grounds out of the Notte. You’ll also get the Mignon-standard metal casing, which will help your Notte to last years and years. Finally, there’s the precision stepless adjust. Instead of stepped settings, the Mignon Notte gives you a free-moving burr, which lets you develop an extremely precise grind for trickier single origins.
So what do you lose out on? As noted, the Notte is a bit louder than its more expensive brethren, but don’t let that fool you, the noise level is very comparable to any other entry level grinder. You also only get a simple push button dosing option. This means you’ll need to measure your grounds with a scale to ensure the correct grind amount. The good news here is that with a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to feel out the right grind amount quite effectively.
The Eureka Mignon Notte is one of our absolute favorites on the market, so it’s a no brainer for this list.
Rocket Espresso Faustino
If you know anything about Seattle Coffee Gear, you know we love Rocket Espresso machines. The same thing is true for their grinders! Last year their larger Fausto espresso grinder found a little sibling with the Rocket Espresso Faustino. There’s a number of reasons we feel it’s a great fit for this list.
First of all, the Faustino delivers on performance. With 50 mm flat steel burrs, this grinder will give you serious consistency and quality. On top of that, you’ve got a stepless grind adjust, which we prefer for more precision grinding (though it does come with a bit of a learning curve). These features alone make the Faustino easy to recommend, but it also comes with Rocket Espresso’s signature visual design prowess and solid construction. This grinder is a looker, and it’s built to last. You can even get versions that include case cutouts with side panels, just like the Appartamento espresso machine (which also makes it a perfect pair with one of our favorie machines).
Then there’s the programmability. Programmable dosing isn’t a must-have, but it’s an incredibly nice feature that can save you a lot of time. A vibrant, intuitive touchscreen drives the programming on the Faustino. With this, you can set specific dosage times, so once you dial in a grind, you can get your grounds with one press of the portafilter. The Faustino also offers a large hopper capable of storing a lot of beans. This is perfect to pair with that timed dosing. What’s more, it fits all of this into a compact case fit for any kitchen.
You might think Rocket Espresso is only about espresso machines, but the Faustino proves they know grinders too.
Baratza Sette 270
Baratza are absolutely one of the kings of coffee grinding. Whether brew or espresso, this manufacturer knows
