Baratza Encore ESP Review + Comparison w/ the Breville Built-In Grinder 

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much!!

Thanks for watching! I'm so happy to hear it was helpful 😊🙏🏼

Thank you so much!!

What espresso machine do you have?? And do you only brew espresso or also other methods?

Thanks so much!! Will you exclusively be drinking espresso? Or do you also drink french press or pour-over etc?

Great question… still exploring that but I think as of right now most likely espresso but potentially open to trying other methods (pour over, French press, etc.) in the future.

@@merpherpderp In that case I do highly recommend the Encore ESP!! It's so easy to switch between espresso and grinds for other brews. But if matching/aesthetic is more important, then perhaps the Breville Smart Grinder. Just a bit more tweaking required to nail espresso and then switch to coarser grinds

Great idea! I'll add one washer shim and see how it affects the espresso grind sizes. Especially since even the filter sizes were pretty coarse at 30 (perhaps good for cold brew?). And also since I've essentially done that on the Breville (with the burr shifted finer). Thank you for that!

@@HijabsandAprons yeah it’s interesting , right? It’s like it grinds too finely by default, so you lose some of the extra granularity from the bottom end of the shifting system (the flatter part of the grinder’s exponential curve upwards). My bambino choked on anything lower than about 12, so it’s rather curious, but thank you for the idea that varying the dose is probably reasonable for dialing in too

I have a few more notes on the ESP after playing with it for a week and making 20+ shots. First is the impact of puck screens and basket types. When I switched to an IMS basket, I was able to grind finer. After watching some videos about puck screens, I also realized that is forcing me to grind coarser than I otherwise would, so those may be variables that play into things (for folks with beans dialed in at 20, they could modify those variables to grind finer). Finally, the ESP is actually stepless between steps (so “high 13” is pretty much perfect for my beans but “low 13” is way too slow). The workflow isn’t amazing given that info… it’s not the easiest to maintain or set to an exact “stepless” setting, but that maneuverability does exist. I’m content with the encore esp for now and will gift it to a friend in a few months but have decided I probably will pull the trigger on the timemore 64S and just work within the esp’s limitations for a few months while I wait!

I think they might have always used the same burrs because Breville owns Baratza 😊 but I'm not 100% sure. Nonetheless, these two grinders are extremely similar

encore ESP

I'm in the search for a coffee grinder, and I just bought a Wrish 20 bar espresso machine and the non presurized basket, with a crappy coffee grinder :(, have you tried a non presurized basket? is the ESP good enought to make a good espresso with high quality crema??

I always use a non-pressurized basket. Yes the Encore ESP is made to grind fine for espresso. You'll get a good espresso shot if your beans are very recently roasted (within 2-3 weeks) and if you are dialed in correctly! Feel free to check out my video on dialing in espresso: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XMEQ18GQJVc.html

Encore ESP

Not enough to get it separately if you've got the built in already! Also the newer Breville Barista machines come with different Baratza burrs now which are rumored to be pretty much the same as the Encore ESP's.

Thanks for watching! That's for you to decide based on your needs 🙂

30 seconds will not guarantee you the best shot. It is a guideline. You have to get close to it, then adjust by taste after that. I have inner 4 / outer 16. I am using 49 Parallel "middle school" beans ( medium roast/ 2 weeks old) 18 gr in / 32 gr out in 25 s (10 s pre infusion included - Temperature 0/middle) By far my most balanced and flavorful shots. I tried 18 gr in / 36 gr out in close to 30 s with the same beans and the shots were too bitter.

Taste the 24 second shot 30 seconds is not the end all, be all time It's just a general guideline If it tastes good, then it tastes good

@@cg3356 That is what I struggle with. grind 7 is too bitter, grind 8 is too sour. There is no in between, which is why I was wondering if inner burr adjustment is the same increments as the outer if I switch it out one down.

I'm not sure how much of a difference the burr-steps make on the outer grind points. I highly recommend increasing your dose steadily up to 18g because the built in grinder just isn't refined enough to use the grind size as your changing variable. I would recommend sticking to 8 grind size and increasing your dose to 17.5g and see how that goes

That's exactly the same question I would ask - currently moving between getting the ESP or the Smart Grinder Pro (I have a Sage/Breville Bambino). It looks like you can nail a marginally better tasting espresso with the ESP and it may last longer/be more 'fixable', but for ease of use the Grinder Pro might be the one I go for....decisions....decisions.

@@deadlypalms I bought Esp and fellow opus, I recommend the Baratza esp for an espresso machine, it is better, the only problem is that it is noisy