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Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder (ZCG495)
Espresso grinder review

Baratza Encore ESP review — a first espresso grinder that gets the grind right

Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder (ZCG495)

Researched by the WhyToBuyThis team · Updated November 2026 · How we choose

The short answer

An espresso-ready burr grinder: small steps for espresso, big steps for pour-over and French press, and a dosing cup that keeps the counter clean.

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Price: $199.95

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Our verdict

The grinder decides more about an espresso shot than most people expect. A blade grinder makes boulders and dust in the same batch, and many basic burr grinders are built for drip coffee, so they can't grind fine enough or they jump in steps that are too big. The Encore ESP is Baratza's answer to that: 40 mm conical steel burrs, with settings 1 to 20 set aside for espresso in small micro-steps, and settings 21 to 40 in bigger steps for brewed coffee.

It's a popular first espresso grinder on Amazon because it does the one job that matters, an even, adjustable grind, without the price or the fuss of a prosumer grinder. It grinds into a dosing cup that you tip into your portafilter. It is plain, though: a plastic body, no timer and no scale. And if your espresso machine already has a grinder built in, you don't need it.

Who it's for

A great fit if

  • You own an espresso machine without a built-in grinder
  • You're moving up from a blade grinder or pre-ground coffee
  • You also brew pour-over, drip or French press
  • You want a simple, widely used first grinder

Skip it if

  • Your machine already has a grinder built in (like the Barista Express)
  • You want a built-in timer or scale
  • You want a metal-bodied single-dose grinder
  • You only ever drink drip or French press coffee

How it fixes the grinder problem

An even grind

40 mm conical M2 steel burrs grind evenly, with far fewer boulders and far less dust than a blade grinder, so the shot extracts evenly.

Small steps for espresso

Settings 1 to 20 move in micro-steps. When a shot runs fast and sour you can go just a touch finer, instead of jumping too far.

A dosing cup

It grinds straight into a 54 mm dosing cup (a 58 mm adapter is included) that you tip into the portafilter: less mess, less waste.

Every brew method

Settings 21 to 40 move in bigger macro-steps for brewed coffee, from pour-over and drip up to French press.

The catch

It's a basic machine in a plastic body. There's no built-in timer or scale, so you weigh each dose on a separate kitchen scale, and it isn't designed as a single-dose grinder: the beans live in the hopper.

Skip it if your espresso machine already has a grinder built in, like the Breville Barista Express. This one is for machines without a grinder.

Where to set it: the grind map

Grind map for the Baratza Encore ESP: settings 1 to 20 move in small micro-steps for espresso; settings 21 to 40 move in bigger macro-steps for pour-over, drip and French press. Shot fast and sour: go one or two settings lower. Slow and bitter: go a touch higher.ESPRESSOsettings 1–20BREWEDsettings 21–40110203040GRINDER SETTINGcoarser →micro-stepsPour-overDripFrench pressFast & sour?Go 1–2 settings LOWER (finer)Slow & bitter?Go a touch HIGHER (coarser)

Key specs

Baratza Encore ESP Coffee Grinder (ZCG495) specifications
Burrs40 mm conical M2 hardened steel burrs
Settings40: #1-20 micro-steps for espresso, #21-40 macro-steps for brewed coffee
Grind speedAbout 1.5 to 2.4 g per second
MotorHigh-torque DC motor
Bean hopper10 oz (300 g)
Grounds bin120 g
Dosing cup54 mm, holds 24 g, with a 58 mm adapter
Power70 W, 100-120 V (US)
SizeAbout 13 x 15 x 34 cm (W x D x H)
WeightAbout 6 lb (2.5 kg)

From Baratza's Encore ESP product sheet and major US espresso retailers. Check the Amazon listing for your exact color and version.

Your first good shot

  1. 1Start in the espresso range (settings 1 to 20), around the middle.
  2. 2Weigh about 18 g of whole beans, a common starting dose for a double basket, and grind into the dosing cup.
  3. 3Tip the grounds into your portafilter, level them, then tamp straight and firm.
  4. 4Pull the shot and weigh it: aim for about 36 g of espresso in roughly 25 to 30 seconds.
  5. 5Fast and sour? Go a setting or two finer. Slow and bitter? Go a touch coarser.
  6. 6Change one thing at a time, and write down what worked.

What's in the box

  • Bean hopper with lid
  • 54 mm dosing cup with a 58 mm portafilter adapter
  • Dosing cup tray
  • Grounds bin
  • Burr cleaning brush

Questions people ask

Start around the middle of settings 1 to 20, the espresso range. Aim for about 36 g of espresso in 25 to 30 seconds from 18 g of coffee, then move one or two settings lower (finer) if the shot runs fast and sour, or higher (coarser) if it runs slow and bitter.

New to home espresso? Read our espresso buying guide first.

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