The Baratza Encore is the grinder that launched a thousand home coffee setups. For well over a decade it has been the default answer to the question every new enthusiast eventually asks: what is the first proper grinder I should buy? It earns a place in our [best burr grinders under £200 UK 2026] round-up for exactly that reason, and it has held that position through sheer consistency rather than through flashy features or a clever marketing story.
At around £160 in the UK it is not the cheapest burr grinder you can buy, and on paper it looks almost plain next to the touchscreens and weight-based dosing of pricier machines. What you are actually paying for is a 40mm conical burr set, a genuinely useful grind range, and a design so easy to service that a ten-year-old Encore can be brought back to as-new performance with a five-minute burr swap. That combination is why coffee roasters and cafes still hand one to friends who are starting out.
I have lived with the Encore as a daily filter grinder to work out whether the reputation still holds in 2026, when there is more competition under £200 than ever before. This review covers grind quality and consistency, how it behaves across filter and espresso, the day-to-day realities of noise, retention and cleaning, and the long-term value that has always been the Encore’s real selling point.
Who tested this and how
I am Ben, the editor of Kitchen Kit, and I tested the Baratza Encore in a normal UK kitchen rather than a lab, because that is where it will actually live. Over several weeks I used it as my only grinder for V60 pour-over, AeroPress, cafetiere and a stovetop moka pot, working through a mix of supermarket beans and fresher roasts from a local roaster. I weighed doses on a 0.1g scale, timed brews, and dialled grind settings up and down to map where the Encore is comfortable and where it starts to struggle.
To judge consistency I looked at the obvious practical signals rather than chasing numbers for their own sake: how evenly a V60 bed drained, whether brews tasted muddy or clean, how much the cup changed when I nudged the grind one or two clicks, and how much fine dust ended up in the bottom of a cafetiere. I also stripped the grinder down to the burrs to assess how easy it is to clean and service, since long-term maintainability is central to the Encore’s whole pitch. Where I mention espresso, that was pulled on a single-boiler machine with a bottomless portafilter so I could actually see the extraction.
How the Encore compares to the alternatives
The Encore’s natural rivals fall into two camps. On one side are the cheaper electric burr grinders around £80 to £120, which undercut it on price but rarely match it for consistency or longevity. On the other are the newer single-dose grinders and the Encore’s own sibling, the Encore ESP, which add finer espresso ability and tidier workflow for a bit more money. Knowing which camp matters to you is the quickest way to decide whether the standard Encore is the right buy.
The table below lines the Baratza Encore up against the grinders people most often cross-shop it with, so you can see at a glance where it wins on value and where spending a little more changes what you can brew.
[INSERT COMPARISON TABLE HERE – 5 rows, 6 columns: Grinder | Burr type | Grind range | Best for | Repairable | Approx price. Rows: Baratza Encore; Baratza Encore ESP; Wilfa Svart Aroma; a sub-£100 budget burr grinder; a single-dose grinder around £200.]
Grind quality and consistency
For filter coffee the Encore is genuinely excellent, and this is the heart of why it has lasted. The 40mm conical steel burrs produce an even grind with relatively little of the fine dust that makes cheaper grinders taste muddy. In a V60 the bed drains at a steady, predictable rate, which is the single most reliable sign that the particle size is consistent, and the cup comes through clean, sweet and easy to read rather than flat and silty.
The grind range is broad and the 40 stepped settings are easy to count and remember, so dialling in a brew method and coming back to it later is simple. Moving from a coarse cafetiere grind to a medium pour-over to a finer AeroPress takes seconds, and because the steps are evenly spaced you can make small, deliberate adjustments rather than guessing. For anyone moving up from a blade grinder or a no-name budget burr, the jump in clarity and repeatability is immediately obvious in the cup.
Can the Encore do espresso?
This is the one area where you need to set expectations carefully. The standard Encore can reach espresso fineness, and at a push you can pull a drinkable shot from it, but it was never designed as an espresso grinder and it shows. The stepped adjustment is a little coarse for the tiny changes espresso demands, and dialling in a specific shot can feel frustrating when one click moves you from gushing to choking.
If espresso is genuinely your main goal, the honest advice is to buy the Encore ESP instead. It uses a burr design and finer adjustment tuned specifically for espresso while still handling filter well, and it solves exactly the frustrations the standard Encore has at the fine end. The standard Encore remains the better pick for anyone whose daily coffee is filter, pour-over, cafetiere or AeroPress, with espresso as an occasional experiment rather than the point of the machine.
Living with it: noise, retention and cleaning
In daily use the Encore is undemanding in the best sense. It is no quieter or louder than most burr grinders in its class – audible, as all of them are, but over in a few seconds. Grind retention is low to moderate, so very little coffee is trapped between sessions, which keeps things fresh and means you are not wasting beans. There is a little static cling and chaff depending on the beans, but nothing a small tap or a cheap anti-static habit will not handle.
Cleaning is where the Encore quietly pulls ahead of fancier rivals. The hopper and upper burr lift out without tools, so a quick brush-out is a one-minute job, and a deeper clean to get at oils and chaff is straightforward rather than a chore. The plastic body is unglamorous but solid, with the unfussy, functional feel of a tool built to be used every day for years rather than admired on a worktop.
Repairability and long-term value
The Encore’s real superpower is that it is built to be fixed rather than thrown away. Baratza sells spare parts for it openly – burrs, gears, motors and electronics – and the design is modular enough that replacing a worn part is a job most owners can do at home with a screwdriver and a few minutes. A grinder that has done years of daily service can be returned to as-new grind quality for the cost of a burr set, which is something almost no budget grinder can claim.
That changes the value calculation completely. A cheaper grinder that needs replacing every few years can easily cost more over a decade than one Encore that you simply maintain. For anyone who plans to take coffee seriously over the long term, the Encore is less an expense and more an investment in a tool that will still be earning its place on the counter long after trendier machines have been quietly retired.
Is the Baratza Encore worth it?
If you brew filter, pour-over, cafetiere or AeroPress coffee and you want one grinder that will do the job properly and keep doing it for years, the Encore is still very easy to recommend. It offers grind quality and consistency that genuinely improve the cup over cheaper burr grinders, a sensible grind range that is easy to live with, and a repairability story that nothing in its price bracket can match.
The only buyers who should hesitate are dedicated espresso drinkers, who will be far happier with the Encore ESP or a dedicated espresso grinder, and bargain hunters chasing the lowest possible price, who will find cheaper options that simply will not last as long. For everyone else, the Baratza Encore remains exactly what it has been for over a decade: the sensible, do-it-once first proper grinder.
FAQ
Is the Baratza Encore good for espresso?
It can reach espresso fineness and pull a drinkable shot, but it is not designed for it and the stepped adjustment is coarse for dialling in espresso precisely. If espresso is your main focus, the Baratza Encore ESP is the better buy, as it adds finer adjustment tuned specifically for espresso while still grinding well for filter.
What is the difference between the Encore and the Encore ESP?
The standard Encore is optimised for filter and pour-over coffee, while the Encore ESP uses burrs and a finer adjustment range tuned for espresso as well as filter. If you only brew filter the standard Encore is all you need; if you want one grinder that can comfortably do both, the ESP is worth the small extra cost.
How long does a Baratza Encore last?
With light maintenance, many years – often a decade or more. Baratza sells spare parts including burrs, gears and motors, and the grinder is designed to be repaired at home, so a worn Encore can be restored to as-new performance rather than replaced. That repairability is the main reason it is so often recommended as a long-term buy.
Is the Baratza Encore better than a budget burr grinder?
Yes, in the two ways that matter most: grind consistency and longevity. Cheaper burr grinders can look similar on paper but usually produce more fine dust and an uneven grind, and few of them are designed to be serviced. The Encore grinds more evenly and is built to be maintained, which makes it better value over time despite the higher upfront price.
Is the Baratza Encore worth the money?
For filter, pour-over, cafetiere and AeroPress coffee, yes. It delivers grind quality well above cheaper grinders, it is easy to live with and clean, and its repairability means one Encore can outlast several budget grinders. For most home brewers it is the sensible choice that you only have to make once.
