Best Coffee Grinder for Home: Baratza Encore vs OXO Brew vs Capresso

A grinder changes a home coffee routine more than most brewers do. Beans ground right before brewing keep their aroma, and a good grinder hands back the same grounds every morning, so yesterday's recipe works again today. The hard part is choosing one: blade or burr, filter-only or espresso-capable, a timer or a plain switch, a big hopper or one dose at a time.

This guide compares four burr grinders, the Baratza Encore, the Baratza Encore ESP, the OXO Brew and the Capresso Infinity, plus the Fellow Opus as a reference point for espresso and single-dose use.

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Quick verdict

• Best coffee grinder for filter coffee: the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder. Forty settings, an even coarse grind and a simple switch. It's the safe default for drip, pour-over and French press.
• Best for filter and espresso: the Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder. It adds fine espresso steps without giving up the coarse end, and its dial is the easiest way to get into espresso on this list.
• Best set-and-walk-away grinder: the OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder. A timer dial up to 30 seconds and a quieter motor, though its grind is less even than the Encore's.
• Budget burr pick: the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder. Simple and consistent for everyday drip, with fewer settings and weaker results on small amounts.

The grinders side by side

Grinder	Shop	Grind settings	Best for	Controls	Hopper and grounds bin
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder	Buy on Amazon	40	Drip, pour-over, French press	On/off switch plus a hold-to-grind front button; no timer	Large hopper (single-dose hopper available); plastic bin
Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder	Buy on Amazon	Fine espresso steps plus a wide filter range	Espresso and filter	Switch and front button; simple rotating dial	Holds a full 12 oz bag; single-dose hopper sold separately
OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder	Buy on Amazon	42 steps (dial marked 0 to 15)	Everyday drip	Timer dial up to 30 seconds, one-touch start	Large hopper; brushed aluminum bin with plastic cap
Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder	Buy on Amazon	Fewer than the Encore	Budget everyday drip	Simple controls	Top hopper; removable grounds bin
Fellow Opus		Main dial plus an inner espresso micro-adjust	Single dosing, espresso	Quiet motor, anti-static ionizer	Small hopper built for one dose; does not hold a full bag

Burr vs. blade grinder: what actually changes

A blade grinder spins a blade through the beans like a small food processor. It chops rather than grinds, so the pieces come out in a mix of sizes, and the grinder has to be shaken during the run to even things out.

A burr grinder feeds beans from a hopper down between two metal burrs, much like peppercorns in a pepper mill. The grind setting changes the gap between the burrs, which sets the size of the grounds, and the grounds drop into a bin.

Here is the surprising part: coffee from a blade grinder can still taste good. The case for a burr grinder rests on two things. It is simpler, because there is no shaking or guessing; set it and press start. And it is consistent, so the same setting produces the same cup day after day.

Grind consistency: Encore vs. OXO Brew

On paper the Baratza Encore and the OXO Brew look close. The Encore has 40 settings. The OXO's dial is numbered 0 to 15, but there are steps between the numbers for 42 in total.

The difference shows up in the grounds. At its coarsest setting, the OXO turned out a grind that was still fairly fine in places and uneven overall. The Encore at its coarsest was far more uniform and noticeably coarser, coarse enough for cupping or a long French press steep. In 10 seconds of grinding, the OXO produced about 40 grams and the Encore about 36 to 37 grams, so the OXO is a bit faster. The OXO's burrs also spin faster, and fast burrs can heat the coffee; the Encore's slower direct-drive motor favors consistency.

For an automatic drip machine, the OXO's grind is fine. For pour-over or French press, the Encore is the more consistent grinder, and pour-over also wants water at a set temperature, which a gooseneck kettle handles.

Controls: timer or manual

The OXO Brew works like an automatic transmission. Turn the outer ring to a number of seconds, up to 30, press the center button and walk away; it stops itself. At zero, a press gives a quick one-second pulse. There is no countdown display.

The Encore is the stick shift. A side switch turns it on and it keeps running until it's switched off, even after the hopper runs empty. A momentary button on the front grinds only while it's held, which works well for weighing out a dose by hand.

Filter and espresso: Encore ESP vs. Fellow Opus

The Encore ESP and the Fellow Opus are both all-round grinders for filter coffee and espresso, and they trade wins rather than one beating the other. Both use 40 mm burrs of a similar six-spoke design, and coffee from either one is very good and hard to tell apart, for espresso and filter alike.

• Dialing in espresso: the ESP's biggest advantage. One rotating dial gives very fine steps at the espresso end and large steps for filter. The Opus reaches espresso precision with a separate inner micro-adjust, which works once learned but confuses many first-time users.
• Range: both cover espresso about equally, but the ESP goes quite a bit coarser for filter out of the box.
• Speed: an 18-gram espresso dose takes the ESP about 18 seconds; the Opus takes 6 to 7 seconds longer.
• Noise: the Opus is clearly quieter, and the gap grows with its lid on.
• Hopper: only the ESP holds a full 12 oz bag.
• Build: both are mostly plastic. The ESP's hopper, the part touched with every adjustment, feels a little loose and rattly. The Opus's black finish can scuff.

Retention, static and mess

Retention is coffee that stays inside the grinder after a dose, then mixes into the next one. Both vary with the coffee and humidity; these figures are at about 60% relative humidity.

At espresso settings, both the ESP and the Opus held back about 0.3 grams from shot to shot. The Opus's leftover knocks out with a tap on top, so what goes in comes out. Its straight drop path and built-in ionizer, which puts a small charge on the grounds to cancel static, keep buildup low. The ESP moves grounds out with a paddle wheel, and anywhere from 1.5 to nearly 3 grams can cake up around it at espresso settings. At filter settings both held about 0.5 grams, but on the ESP a tap doesn't free it.

Static is the Opus's other win: grounds come out clean, while the Baratza can throw a lot of static with some coffees. Cleanup is the twist. The Baratza's black base hides stray grounds, so mess builds a while before it needs wiping. On the Opus every speck stands out, especially on the white model, and forgetting to tap out the last of the grounds means they land on the base later.

On any grinder, a bin that snaps in firmly keeps grounds off the counter (the Encore's and the OXO's both seat securely), and a glass bin can shatter if it gets knocked to the floor, so plastic is the safer pick.

Switching between espresso and filter

With a full hopper, a big jump between espresso and filter settings leaves old grounds in the path, so grind and discard a little after the change. People who switch often or keep an evening decaf do better single dosing: the Opus is built for it, and Baratza sells a single-dose hopper for the Encore line as an extra.

The picks in detail

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The Encore is the grinder to beat for filter coffee. Its 40 settings cover drip, pour-over and French press, and its coarse grind is the most even of the filter grinders here. Turn the hopper to a setting and flip the switch, or hold the front button for a measured amount. The trade-offs are a louder motor than the OXO and no timer, so it keeps running until it's turned off. For espresso, step up to the ESP.

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee GrinderCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder

The ESP keeps the Encore's simple layout and adds real espresso ability. The dial gives fine control at the espresso end and broad steps for filter, with no confusing second adjustment. It's quick, and its hopper holds a full 12 oz bag. The downsides: it's louder than the Opus, it can build static with some beans, and grounds can cake around the paddle wheel at espresso settings.

Baratza Encore ESP Coffee GrinderCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The OXO is for someone who wants to fill the hopper, set a time and walk away. The timer dial runs up to 30 seconds, and the motor is noticeably quieter than the Encore's. Its grounds bin is brushed aluminum with a plastic cap. The catch is consistency: even at its coarsest the grind is finer and less uniform than the Encore's, which suits a drip machine better than a French press.

OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee GrinderCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder

The Capresso Infinity is the budget way into burr grinding. It's simple to use and delivers the main benefit of a burr grinder, the same good cup day after day. It has fewer settings than the Encore and doesn't do as well grinding small amounts, so it fits best in a home that brews a full pot of drip coffee rather than a single cup.

Capresso Infinity Conical Burr GrinderCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Fellow Opus

The Opus is the quiet, modern-looking alternative to the Encore ESP, with less retention, little static and a design built around single dosing. The trade-offs are a harder espresso dial-in, slower grinding, a hopper that won't take a full bag and a base that shows every ground.

Care and cleaning

• Brush out the chute and bin every week or so.
• Clean the burrs every few weeks, more often with oily dark roasts. Empty the hopper, remove the upper burr following the maker's instructions, and brush away buildup. Keep burrs dry; a brush does the job.
• Clear the paddle wheel on the Encore line when switching coffees or after a stretch of espresso grinding, since that's where grounds cake up.

Who should buy which

• Drip, pour-over or French press, one bag at a time: the Baratza Encore.
• Espresso now or soon, plus filter: the Baratza Encore ESP, for the easiest dial-in and a hopper that holds a full bag.
• Wants to press start and walk away: the OXO Brew, ideally feeding an automatic drip machine.
• Lowest-cost burr grinder for a full pot: the Capresso Infinity.
• Quiet grinding, several coffees, low retention: the Fellow Opus.

Still choosing an espresso machine? The guide to beginner espresso machines pairs well with the Encore ESP. Anyone who would rather skip a separate grinder entirely can look at super-automatic espresso machines from De'Longhi and Philips, which grind the beans inside the machine. For filter coffee, pair a burr grinder with one of the best drip coffee makers.