Our top choice
This versatile grinder creates a consistent grind for brewing flavorful coffee and offers great value for the price.
The Baratza Encore produces a consistent grind for brewing delicious coffee and it is reasonably priced. It boasts a proven track record of reliability and is a simple tool that doesn’t take up much counter space. Additionally, it is easy to maintain and clean, making it a dependable investment for your daily coffee routine.
This grinder is ideal for anyone who brews drip coffee or uses other methods that require medium-fine to coarse grounds, such as pour-over, Chemex, AeroPress, or French press. While it may not produce extremely fine grinds favored by serious espresso enthusiasts, its output is consistent enough to produce a decent shot. Although the Encore doesn’t have a timer or an automated way to measure out beans, it’s easy to measure the beans before adding them to the hopper. Additionally, Baratza offers a smaller 60-gram hopper, which allows you to use the top lid to measure out beans, streamlining the process.
Upgrade choice
The Virtuoso+ has everything we like about the Encore, with added improvements and a more precise grind size.
The Baratza Virtuoso+ is an excellent grinder that offers a slightly faster and more consistent grind than the Encore, with a slightly broader range for both fine and coarse grounds. Unlike the Encore, the Virtuso+ features a precise 60-second digital timer that allows you to grind a specific amount of beans from the hopper, eliminating the need to measure each time you make coffee. Additionally, hopper extenders can be added to the Virtuoso+ to accommodate a whole bag of beans. The Virtuoso+ also includes a light for the bin, making it easy to monitor the quantity of grounds. While this model is not significantly superior to the Encore, it offers incremental improvements that may be important for coffee enthusiasts who are passionate about their hobby.
Best on a budget
This compact grinder is user-friendly, offers a wider range than most budget grinders, but is slightly less consistent and durable than our top picks.
The OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is the top choice in the $100 price range. While the Encore offers a more consistent and versatile grind, as well as a long-term maintenance and repair program, the OXO strikes a balance in terms of price, grind quality, and ease of use.
If you prefer the convenience of filling up the OXO with a bag of beans and simply pressing a button every morning, you can do so: It features a 12-ounce hopper and a timer with a range of zero to 30 seconds for automated grinding. Additionally, it is easier to clean than the Baratza, as the hopper comes with a shutoff valve for easy removal with the beans still inside, and the top burr has a handle for easy removal. If you primarily drink drip or French press coffee, the OXO’s even grind, wide range of settings, and convenient features make it a suitable alternative to the more expensive Baratza Encore.
Also excellent
The Timemore Chestnut C2 is the best affordable, high-quality portable hand grinder due to its speed, ease of use, and consistency.
For those with a limited budget, small kitchen, or preference for a more portable or off-the-grid burr coffee grinder, we recommend the Chestnut C2 Manual Coffee Grinder as the best option under $100. The C2 is the most affordable grinder from the well-regarded coffee gear company Timemore, and its manual grinders are highly regarded among coffee experts. To offer the C2 at a lower price, Timemore uses durable, high-quality plastic for the interior shaft instead of the metal used in its higher-end models, and it features a slightly less complex burr and crank arm that is still easily removable for storage or travel. The C2 offers a smooth and fast grinding action and is robust and well-constructed. Some options come with a textured aluminum surface for an easy grip.
Similar to the electric models in this guide, the C2 is not designed for making espresso and since it is much smaller than an electric grinder, it can only produce enough grounds for one or two cups of coffee at a time. However, it takes only a couple of minutes, even if cranked slowly, to grind through that amount, and it is easy to refill.
