Christopherbean.com has
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder for $139.99 - $28 w/ coupon code
WELCOME20 =
$111.99.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
TheMightyKong for posting this deal.
Featuring 40 individual grind settings, from fine to coarse, the Encore can please any palate with its gamut of accurate and repeatable grind settings. The Encore has an accurate medium to coarse grind for the increasingly popular manual brew methods such as pour-over, Aeropress, Siphon and Chemex. The specially designed burrs give a precise grind with minimal fines for a flavorful, balanced extraction when making espresso.
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I spent perusing through baratza's website and found a couple of comparison charts of which grinder is best for what type of coffee (drip vs espresso) and saw the Vario to be better suited for both espresso and drip. It's out of my price range for now but I keep in mind for a future purchase.
This would be a deal that would obviously benefit from a taste test.
It dawned on me that the best aeropress shot is probably a matter of using the most consistant ground coffee, and the finest level that you can still push through the aeropress. So I have something to figure out over the next month. Will be looking for the level of fineness that makes for a slow, sluggish press. But short of being too hard to push through.
Soons like a noobish thing to think of, but I never explored that before so will now.
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Two of my friends have had theirs for at least as long and have had similar experiences. One of them is the second most knowledgeable coffee person I know.
And yes, I'm one of the fewer that understands the consistency of the grind size is just as important as the fineness of the grind. What I can't figure out is how to shop for a good grinder!
To approach the same fineness and consistency you would get at a coffee shop, though? You're looking at something like a La Marzocco Lux D for $900+. True espresso grinders are expensive
To approach the same fineness and consistency you would get at a coffee shop, though? You're looking at something like a La Marzocco Lux D for $900+. True espresso grinders are expensive
So look for conical? I was confused about that. Everytime I eyed the Breville Smart grinder I was clueless if it was a POS or a decent choice. The Breville smart grinder is at BB&B for $200 so I think I'm looking at $160. In the picture it depicted being used for espresso grind. Wasn't sure if that was a crock or not. I thought Capresso's were junk or something.
I'm wondering if I should cancel my order on this deal (probably already shipped) and get the breville for $160. (tell me if you would if you see this).
I want to know what the good grinders are, so if I ever see a Marzocco Lux D for $550 on a fluke I know to pull the trigger.
I'll look all those up. thanks.
I have this grinder but I only use it for drip coffee in my moccamaster, so not being able to make espressos well is not a concern for me.
Okay, here's my experience as cheapskate who once upon a time got as serious about coffee as to buy green beans and do own roasting at home as to know for sure how fresh the roast is. 15+ years ago i got Gaggia Carezza espresso maker - the cheapest one i could find using non-pressurized portafilter + using pump + no thermoblock. They warned and they were right - the 58mm industrial size brass portafilter (w/o "crema disk" insert) was unforgiving to mistakes in grind size and tampering. But that was blessing in disguise, since it made it very easy to tell when i had it wrong: if a double-shot did not pull within 20-30sec time, there was a problem - as simple as that, rinse and repeat till got it right. And when there's a problem, it's not even close - either it pours in under 10sec or it chokes to squeeze a ristretto in 60sec. Great learning experience i wouldn't have got with pressurized portafilter, which always gets it in right time regardless of grind and tamper (even if wrong brew/taste)
What did i learn?
Grind matters a lot. I learned first hand that blade-grinder and cheapest burr-grinders <$50 (motorized ones - Cuisinart, Mr.Coffee; one can do with a Hario for $30 but there's too much hand-crank labor with manual ones). So having tried all else, i picked up Capresso Infinity burr grinder (just under $100 back then) as absolute minimum "they" said worked for espresso back then. And indeed it does, even as limited to only 14 clicks of adjustment, of which only the first 4 are espresso-relevant (Turkish coffee may be out of the question).
Baratza Encore is comparable-but-better than Capresso Infinity, i seemed to remember than much but checked again today - it has 3x as many grind-size settings, better shape hopper, more maintainable and no silly "timer" (you cant be serious about coffee if measuring amount of coffee in in "whatever amount grinds in X seconds"). So i placed an order today for this deal, having used Infiniti for 15yrs of espresso (for Americano), i consider this "upgrade" - but will come back and let you know if Encore is somehow worse
Adjusting tampering strength can compensate some for grind size. I never obsessed to check on scale if i do ~30lbs of pressure but fairly significant pressure is needed, not just tapping. That's why i don't obsess about which grinder has moar clicks - i was able do with only 4 clicks by varying tampering force
Coffee freshness matters most! Forget buying ground coffee, grind as-needed (for same day). Never buy coffee beans w/o expiration date stamp - but keep in mind those get put 12-24 mo from roasting and by then all aroma and flavor has long gone. Ideally buy beans with roast date less than 4 wks ago. Best if you have local roaster or order online from one that indicates when beans were roasted. My subjective impression is that crema is visual indicator of freshness, when done on non-pressurised, non-"creama-enhanced" machine. If roast is not fresh, there is no crema <shrug>. Old coffee lacks aroma too. It is safe to drink, just lacking
Coffee quality is the 2nd most important factor. Regardless your equipment, bad green beans cannot be roasted to great coffee. Should be from right origin and roast profile to your taste - but roast should be fresh, as listed above as most important (which is why i don't care for Illy/Lavazza roasted overseas in times unknown)
https://www.baratza.com/shop/burr-holder
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