The short answer
Buy the Baratza Encore if you want a filter grinder you can repair and keep for years. Buy the OXO Conical Burr Grinder if you want one-touch timed dosing and a UV-blocking hopper. Both use 40 mm conical burrs, and neither is an espresso grinder.
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Quick picks
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1. Choose this to keep for years
Baratza Encore
Entry tier · The standard entry burr grinder for filter brewing.
40 steps across 250 to 1200 microns, and a design built to be repaired.
The Encore uses 40 mm conical burrs made in Europe, 40 stepped settings and a listed range of 250 to 1200 microns, with burrs turning at roughly 450 to 550 rpm.
Its long-term argument is repairability: Baratza sells individual parts and publishes repair guides, so a worn burr or a failed gear is a small part rather than a new grinder.
Dosing is manual - you run it until you have enough - which suits anyone who weighs beans before grinding.
It does not reach espresso fineness; its range is for filter methods.
Specification
- Burrs
- 40 mm conical, made in Europe
- Settings
- 40 stepped
- Grind range
- 250-1200 microns
- Burr speed
- Roughly 450-550 rpm to limit heat and static
What it does well
- The reference answer for pour-over, drip and French press
- Fully serviceable, with parts sold individually for years
- Low burr speed keeps static and heat down
Where it gives ground
- Bottom of its range is too coarse for espresso - that is the ESP model job
- Stepped settings only
- Plastic body and a loud motor
Skip it if
Skip it if you want one-touch timed dosing. The OXO's timer remembers your last setting.
2. Choose this for convenience
OXO Brew Conical Burr Grinder
Entry tier · A 40 mm conical burr grinder with a timer and a UV-blocking hopper.
40 mm steel conical burrs, 15 settings plus 29 micro-adjustments, and a timer.
The OXO uses 40 mm stainless conical burrs with 15 main settings and 29 micro-adjustments between them, which gives finer control than the headline number suggests.
Its one-touch timer runs from 0 to 30 seconds and remembers the last setting, so a daily brew is a single button.
The hopper holds up to 12 oz in UV-blocking plastic, and OXO uses a DC motor that it says preserves flavor and will not overheat the beans.
Static makes grounds cling to the bin, which is the usual complaint.
Specification
- Burrs
- 40 mm stainless steel conical
- Settings
- 15 main settings plus 29 micro-adjustments
- Hopper
- Up to 12 oz, UV-blocking
- Dosing
- One-touch timer, remembers the last setting
What it does well
- Real 40 mm burrs at a price where blade grinders still dominate
- The micro-adjustments give far finer control than 15 settings suggests
- UV-blocking hopper is a genuinely thoughtful detail at this price
Where it gives ground
- Espresso is at the very edge of its range rather than inside it
- Timed dosing drifts as beans age
- Static means grounds cling to the bin
Skip it if
Skip it if long-term repairability matters to you. Baratza's parts-and-guides approach is the stronger case there.
Repairability is the long view
Most grinders at this level are treated as disposable: when a gear strips or the burrs wear, you replace the whole thing. Baratza's approach is different, and over years it is the Encore's biggest advantage.
The OXO's advantage is daily convenience: a timer that remembers your setting and a hopper that protects beans from light. Which matters more depends on whether you think in mornings or in years - see burr grinders under $100.