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Freshly ground coffee is addictive and delicious. If you want to make the perfect brew each morning, you need a coffee grinder. After much research and some testing, we found that the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Grinder is the best option for most people with its affordable $129 price tag and consistently great grinds.
There's nothing better than a perfect cup of coffee. If you're a coffee snob, you probably know that freshly ground coffee makes for a better cup of Joe. Coffee goes stale relatively quickly, so when you buy pre-ground beans, you may be losing some of your coffee's flavor. A good grinder will grind your beans to a uniform size so that you get the most out of your beans. Grinding beans every day before you make coffee may sound like a hassle, but a grinder can quickly pulverize your beans to maximize their flavor.
Coffee grinders range from the incredibly affordable to the absurdly expensive. You can get grinders at any point in between as well. We've tested a few coffee grinders and researched dozens more to find the best ones you can buy. Before we get into our picks, these are the key terms and features you need to know.
Blade versus Burr grinders
There are two main types of coffee grinders: blade and burr grinders. Purists say that you shouldn't even consider blade grinders because they don't grind the coffee beans to a nice uniform particle size, which results in an uneven and unpredictable brew. Blade grinders are much cheaper than burr grinders, though, and not everyone will be able to afford the pricier burr grinders. As such, we've included one blade grinder and the rest are burr grinders at varying price points.
When you start looking at burr grinder machines, there's a lot more to know. As The Sweethome explains, "burrs work by using two serrated pieces of metal or ceramic that are positioned a specific distance apart from each other (depending on the grind) and rotate to crush the beans to the exact size you want." Here are the different types of burrs used on most machines:
- Flat versus Conical burrs: There's much debate over which type of burr is better, but they perform pretty similarly, so you shouldn't worry too much about this point. Flat burrs are two parallel rings with a space between them where the beans enter to be sheared into coffee grounds, while conical burrs involve a cone in a ring that grinds your beans down to the right size.
- Steel versus Ceramic burrs: Steel burrs are more affordable and more common in coffee grinders, but they don't last as long as ceramic ones do. Ceramic burrs are typically used in manual hand grinders and for grinding espresso beans perfectly.
It's all about the grind
Some smart grinders measure out how much coffee you need for your daily cup of Java, but most just let you grind as little or as much as the capacity allows.
Most high-end grinders let you choose how coarse or fine you want your coffee beans ground. Different brewing methods require different types of grind. Here is the breakdown of the different grinds and what kind of brewing method you should use as explained by Gear Patrol.
- Coarse: Coarsely ground coffee beans look like large particles of salt. This grind is best for cold brew, French Press, and percolators.
- Medium: Medium coarse and medium fine grinds look and feel like pieces of grit that you can pick out individually — think sand on a beach. It's best for drip coffee, Chemex, pour-over, and vacuum pots.
- Fine: Fine coffee is smooth and silky. You can't see any individual grains, and it feels very close to powdery, but not quite. This grind is best for espresso machines.
- Turkish: Turkish coffee is made with the finest grinds of coffee imaginable, and it feels like perfect powder. You can't see any grains or particles at all. It's only good for Turkish coffee pots.
No matter how fine or coarse you grind your coffee, having a powerful, consistent, and well-made grinder is essential to making the most out of your beans. These are the best grinders you can buy, ranging from less than $20 to $230.
If you're interested in more coffee gear, check out our other great buying guides for the best espresso machines, the best stovetop espresso makers, the best French Presses, the best milk frothers, and the best electric kettles.
Although the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder, the KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Coffee Burr Grinder, the Baratza Virtuoso Conical Burr Coffee Grinder, the KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder, and the Hario Mini Mill Slim Hand Coffee Grinder.
SEE ALSO: The best espresso machines you can buy
The best coffee grinder overall
Why you'll love it: The Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder produces consistently uniform coffee grounds for all grind settings, and it costs far less than other high-end models.
Every coffee expert will tell you that the least amount of money you should spend on a coffee grinder is $100 because you get what you pay for in the coffee world. Although there are fancier high-end models that cost hundreds more than the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder, this really is the best grinder for most people.
The Encore is considered the ultimate entry-level burr grinder for coffee enthusiasts at home. You really don't need more than what the Encore offers. It has 40 individual grind settings, ranging from fine to coarse and everything in between. Once you find the perfect setting for your tastes, you're all set.
It runs on a DC motor with electric and gear speed reducers that slow the burr to 450 RPM to reduce noise, static, and unwanted variations in particle size. The Encore is a great all-around grinder that performs nearly as well and consistently as the pricier competition.
Baratza also has a great repair program, so if your machine needs a repair or a full cleaning, they'll take care of it for you for a fee.
User reviews on Amazon are mostly positive, and many say there's no need to pay more for a high-end grinder. The Sweethome named the Encore its runner-up for best coffee grinder, right behind the more pricey Virtuoso, which is also included in our list. Home Grounds highly recommends it, as does Lifehacker and Foodal.
Pros: Conical burr grinder, 40 grind settings, easy to use, reliable, consistent, relatively affordable, a good repair program
Cons: One-year warranty is a bit short, it's entry-level — not high-end
Buy the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder on Amazon for $129.00
The best burr grinder for less than $100
Why you'll love it: The Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder consistently grinds coffee beans to the ideal size for great coffee, and it costs less than $100.
High-end burr grinders are very expensive, but luckily, there are many great options out there for less than $100. Of the more mid-range grinders, the Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder is the very best.
This 100-watt conical burr grinder has 16 grind settings, which range from super fine Turkish ground coffee to very coarse grounds that are perfect for French Press coffee. The grinder's conical burrs come from Switzerland and they're matched for a better fit and more consistent grind.
The clear bean container at the top holds 8-1/2 ounces of coffee beans, and the clear grounds container holds four ounces of freshly ground coffee. The Capresso Infinity has a built-in timer to ensure that your beans aren't ground too fine. It's relatively easy to clean and comes with a 1-year limited warranty.
It may not be quite as consistent as high-end expensive grinders, but the Infinity is an excellent deal for a burr grinder costing less than $100. Buyer reviews on Amazon are mostly positive, and The Sweethome named it the best budget pick for a burr grinder.
Pros: Conical burr grinder, reasonable price, 16 grind settings, timer, easy to clean
Cons: Not as consistent as high-end models
Buy the Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder on Amazon for $80.47
The best burr grinder for less than $50
Why you'll love it: The KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Coffee Burr Grinder does a great job of grinding your beans for significantly less with its sub-$50 price.
If you don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on a coffee grinder and you want something a bit better than a blade grinder, the KRUPS GX5000 Burr Grinder will get the job done.
It's a flat metal burr grinder with nine grind settings ranging from finely ground beans for espresso to coarsely ground beans for French Press coffee. There's an 8-ounce clear bean container where you pour in the beans and a setting so you can tell it how many cups of beans you're grinding. The amounts range from two to 12 cups.
We tested this grinder out in our own kitchen. We poured espresso beans into the grinder, selected the fine grind setting, set the cup amount, and pressed the button to start the grinder. The KRUPS grinder automatically shut off when the beans were done grinding. The resulting grind was soft and powdery — just the way we like it for use in our Bialetti Moka Express stovetop espresso maker.
We also ground some beans coarsely, and they turned out pretty well. The grind size was much more consistent than what we got from our blade grinder, and we considered it passable for French Press. It was a bit tricky to clean, but many burr grinders are.
Reviews on Amazon are decent, but some say it's better to make the investment in a more high-end model, which is likely true. Others say it broke after a short time, but it does have a two-year warranty, so you should be able to get a repair or replacement.
If $50 is what you've got to spend, the KRUPS grinder will serve you just fine. Know Your Grinder says it's a reasonable price to pay for a mid-range coffee grinder, Coffee Bean Gridner+ agrees that it's a decent option in this price range, and Heavy includes it in its list of best burr grinders.
The KRUPS machine obviously doesn't grind as consistently perfectly uniform particles as high-end grinders we've seen tested, but for less than $50, it's a very good choice. If you have more to spend, either the Baratza Encore or the Capresso Infinity is preferable.
Pros: Incredibly affordable, flat burr grinder, nine grind levels, two-year warranty, easy to use
Cons: Can be annoying to clean, not a high-end grinder
Buy the KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Coffee Burr Grinder on Amazon for $49.88
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