I mostly do drip coffee (shh, I’m basic), but I’d like a more consistent, fresh brew, and potentially something that could do an espresso grind, as well.

I’ve seen good things about the Capresso Infinity Plus, but thought I’d ask about the personal preferences from more experienced folks here.

It’d be lovely to have something that can easily fit on the counter, and with a simple mechanism and/or reparability (even if that means looking for old stock of a certain model).

Thanks!

  • Nick
    4·
    2 months ago

    Assuming that you want to keep your budget in a price range similar to the Capresso Infinity Plus, you don’t have too many electric options that will be suited for espresso, let alone suited for filter coffee and espresso.

    That being said, I think the Baratza Encore sounds right up your alley when it comes to longevity and reliability. It’s more expensive than the Capresso, but it’s durable, repairable (and popular enough that you’ll find lots of documentation online from others who have had to repair the grinder), and definitely a capable-enough grinder to get tasty cups with. In my personal experience, it’s the cheapest electric grinder where you aren’t necessarily conceding taste for convenience when it comes to grinding for filter coffee. And if you for some reason get the itch to upgrade your setup, the Encore can be made to fit a different burr offered by Baratza, the M2, which does improve the filter coffee. The original Encore makes claims that it can grind for espresso, but you should take that with a grain of salt. While it can technically grind at the espresso range, the grind adjustment mechanism simply cannot make the minute adjustments necessary to dial in your espresso properly. You can probably get a drinkable espresso, and maybe even a good one depending on the particular bean, but I don’t think you would get enough control to ever be satisfied if you are particular about your espresso, or ever think you might become particular in the future.

    That being said, Baratza has also recently released a different version of the Encore, the Encore ESP, that they claim is capable of making minute adjustments for espresso. I want to stress that I have no personal experience with this grinder, unlike the Encore, so I cannot vouch for its suitability for espresso, nor whether it’s worth the additional cost. It is worth doing more research into if you think that you’ll want to get more into espresso.

    I know that I wrote quite a bit about the Encore, but that’s really just because I made the assumption that you were looking for an electric grinder. Others have mentioned hand grinders in the sub 220USD price range, and I personally would tend to choose a hand grinder of the same price versus an electric grinder. This might be due to my own personal biases, but in my experience, hand grinders offer far better value for money in this space (but how much you value convenience may differ).