Baratza - Encore™ ESP Pro (ZCG595BLK1AUC1A)

Baratza ESP Pro. $300 at launch in August. I really feel it’s the ESP Pro/ESP and Df54 in the 300 and under range for electric grinders. I like that the pro had a lot of quality upgrades (stepless, digital display, construction, auto stop) over the standard ESP. I chose the Baratza over the df54 due to access to domestic customer support/repairability. Paired with a regular bambino. Dreaming of a Mazzer Philos one day!

I’ve got an esp and I think it does a great job. Got it on sale on Amazon for $199

Baratza Encore ESP Pro, $299. This is after I had a Fellow Opus ($199) which was just so terrible to live with, I had to have it replaced \*twice\* since you can't actually fully take it apart to clean like the manual states, since there is no way to put it back together (I wish I was joking, but the main bolt if not taken apart on its side, once out, is impossible to put back in place). The Baratza has been awesome with the exception of massive clogging initially which I thought maybe was due to doing RDT or the bellows I got for it. I stopped that, and still had clogging after cleaning it fully (everything comes apart just fine) but then decided to run Grindz cleaning tablets through it this second deep clean, and so far it's not clogged at all for a while. My theory is either using RDT made the inside surfaces collect grinds more easily to then clog again, or maybe there are coatings or whatever from the factory that just need to be cleaned out with the Grindz tablets. In any case, without using any RDT and no bellows it's been working just fine now, and it's such a good piece of kit. Hopefully regular Grindz cleanings is all I need to do with the occasional deep clean here and there. Grind performance has also always been great and consistent, whether it's espresso (really great microadjustments in the ESP range) or pour over.

I've been having a great experience with my Encore ESP Pro so far. I'm new to espresso, but aside from some initial initial issues with burr calibration out of the box (which I fixed by removing one of the 2 shims that come preinstalled), it's been performing beautifully for me! I also have a hand grinder (Comandante C40) which I love, but for espresso I realized that an electric grinder would be ideal for the effort required to grind so finely. I still do find that I prefer my hand grinder for single serving brewed coffee because i've been doing that for years before I got into espresso.

Esp pro! $50 more will be worth it. Upgraded to a 078 from a timemore c2 recently after 2.5 years. Won’t lie, the work flow is amazing at 5am before a hospital shift or just when you’re feeling lazy. 30g grinds in a breeze — yes please lol seriously, the electric grind is really nice — hope you agree.

Heck yeah, let us know what you go with! You may already have seen this but Lance Hedrick did a recent in-depth review of it on YT. Looks bad ass at that price imo. I owned the og ESP and for the money it was a tank. I’ll be honest, the noise level of that model was a little much for me — sounds like they’ve improved on that which is a big win imo.

I just got the new Baratza ESP Pro for the same reason and really like it. Tbf it’s my first electric, but was 100% worth the upgrade from my K6. The single dose hopper replacement really nice. Easy to adjust, can do timed grind if you don’t do single dose. It’s pretty quiet and ive not noticed any difference in flavor. Note that I mostly drink cortados, flat whites and Americanos, so maybe not the best person for advice for shots.

All electric grinders are kinda loud, if you want really quiet, you need to go manual. As for an electric grinder for this price, Baratza Encore ESP (Pro) is a good starter option.

+1 for the Encore Esp (Pro)

For grinders, on the more entry-level end (and going up in price), for a nice espresso-level electric burr grinder: the Baratza Encore ESP -- the DF54 -- the Baratza Encore ESP Pro. US$200 => $300. Separately, the KinGrinder K4/K6 hand-grinders often get recommended here, based on their quality/output/price value ratios (typically costing just below US$100). And the 1Zpresso J-Ultra hand-grinder is nice indeed with small 8-micron grind steps, but at US$200. Recommended viewing, from espresso guru James Hoffmann: The Best Espresso Grinder Under £250 -- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7xGhGtvYIs&t=1301s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7xGhGtvYIs&t=1301s) (including consideration of the DF54 and the Baratza Encore ESP). And yep, in answer to your question, the Bartaza Encore ESP does espresso well and was designed especially with espresso in mind.

Listen to the majority and the manufacturors purpose information. Go for the Encore ESP if you're doing espresso or the Pro. They're designed for it. The basic Encore is not. You might consider the 64mm flat burr Shardor at about $150 on Amazon and elsewhere. An old proverb applies: "Don't use a screw driver for a hammer." If you have a decent manual grinder that can do espresso like the K6 or JMax, the Encore will NOT produce espresso as good as those manual grinders much less better. Pax

Mazzer Major V Electronic, Mazzer Philos, Fiorenzato All Ground Sense, Baratza Forte AP, Baratza Encore ESP Pro Bunn GVH-2 (and a few more)