The short answer
Buy the Encore ESP if espresso is the main job and you want to dial it in 20-micron steps with a grinder you can repair for years. Buy the Fellow Opus 2 if you want one grinder that single-doses everything from espresso to cold brew, and you would rather have a stepless dial and near-zero retention than legible clicks.
Both cross into espresso - differently
Most grinders at this price stop short of espresso. These two do not: the ESP through a dual-resolution collar, the Opus 2 with 48 mm burrs and a stepless dial.
The difference is legibility. On the ESP you count clicks and write the number down. On the Opus 2 you set a position on a stepless dial, which is finer and harder to record exactly - see how to dial in espresso for why that matters.
Workflow: hopper-ish or single dose
The Opus 2 is built around single dosing: load what you are about to brew - up to 100 g - and a catch cup takes the output. That keeps stale beans out of the picture and makes changing coffees painless.
The ESP is a conventional hopper grinder with manual operation. There is no timer and no dose memory, so a scale is part of the routine either way - see best coffee scales for espresso.
Burr speed and what it buys
The Opus 2 drives 48 mm burrs with a 300 W motor and clears an espresso dose in about nine seconds, with an integrated ionizer holding static down - which is why its output behaves on the counter.
The ESP runs at 550 rpm and is the noisier of the two. Neither is a problem; the Opus 2 is simply the calmer machine.
Quick picks
The answer first. Tap any row to jump to the full reasoning for that pick.
Prices shown are checked daily against the retailer, as of November 13, 2026. We never write a price into the text of a page.
| # | Product | Best for | Award | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Dialing shots in small, repeatable steps | If you want dialing resolution | |
| 2 |  | One grinder for everything, loaded a dose at a time | If you want single-dose workflow |
1. If you want dialing resolution
Baratza Encore ESP
Entry tier · The Encore re-geared for espresso: the same 40 mm burrs on a dual-resolution collar.
40 mm Etzinger burrs on a dual-resolution collar - 20 microns per click for espresso.
The Encore ESP puts 40 mm M2 steel conical burrs made by Etzinger on a collar with two resolutions: steps 1 to 20 move about 20 microns each for espresso, steps 21 to 40 about 90 microns each for filter.
Twenty microns is real dialing resolution. You can chase a shot in one direction, taste the change, and go back to the number that worked.
Its burr housing was redesigned to come apart easily, and shims ship in the box so the whole range can be moved finer or coarser.
Baratza sells parts individually and publishes repair guides, so worn burrs or a stripped gear is a repair rather than a replacement.
It is stepped, so you cannot land between clicks; retention is normal for the class; and the body is the same plastic as the standard Encore, with the same noise.
Specification
- Burrs
- 40 mm M2 steel conical (Etzinger)
- Settings
- 40 stepped, dual resolution
- Espresso range
- Steps 1-20, 20 microns per click
- Filter range
- Steps 21-40, 90 microns per click
- Burr speed
- 550 rpm
What it does well
- 20 microns per click in the espresso range is real dialing resolution
- Redesigned burr housing makes cleaning and shimming easy
- Shims included in the box
Where it gives ground
- Still a stepped grinder - you cannot land between clicks
- Retention is normal-for-the-class, not low
- Same plastic body and noise as the Encore
Skip it if
Skip it if you brew filter in a carafe every day - the coarse half of its collar is 90 microns per click.
2. If you want single-dose workflow
Fellow Opus 2
Mid tier · The Opus rebuilt around 48 mm burrs and a stepless dial, with espresso in range.
48 mm stainless conical burrs on a stepless marked dial.
The Opus 2 uses 48 mm stainless conical burrs on a stepless marked dial, with a 300 W motor that clears an espresso dose in about nine seconds - and a published range from espresso through cold brew.
Reaching espresso at all is the specification that matters: most all-purpose grinders at this level do not, which is why the Opus 2 is on this page.
An integrated ionizer keeps static down, and the workflow is single-dose: load 100 g or one dose, catch cup underneath, and it stops when the bin empties.
There is no click to count: a stepless dial is finer than the ESP's 20-micron steps and less legible, so your own notes matter more.
Conical burrs at this size trade some clarity for body in filter brewing - see Fellow Opus vs Fellow Ode.
Specification
- Burrs
- 48 mm stainless steel conical
- Adjustment
- Stepless side dial, marked, about 48 settings
- Grind range
- Espresso through cold brew
- Motor
- 300 W; about 9 seconds for an espresso shot
- Capacity
- 100 g single-dose load bin; 100 g catch cup, 30 g espresso cup
- Retention
- Near-zero, with an internal impeller
- Size
- 206 x 130 x 267 mm (8.1 x 5.1 x 10.5 in), 2.3 kg
- Warranty
- 2 years, extendable
What it does well
- 48 mm burrs and a stepless dial at a price where stepped 40 mm is the norm
- Automatic shutoff and near-zero retention make single dosing genuinely clean
- Ships with an espresso dosing cup that fits 54 mm and 58 mm portafilters
Where it gives ground
- Conical burrs, so it trades some clarity for body against a flat-burr grinder
- Stepless with markings still means keeping your own notes for each brew method
- No weight-based dosing - a scale is still part of the routine
Skip it if
Skip it if you want to dial espresso by numbers. Its adjustment is less legible than the ESP's clicks.
Side by side
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Retention, and why it matters here
Both grinders hold a small amount of coffee between doses. The ESP's retention is normal for its class rather than low, and the Opus 2 - single-dose with near-zero retention - gives back most of what you put in.
For espresso that difference shows up as dose drift: weigh 18 g in, get 17.4 g out, and the shot you dialed yesterday is not the shot you pulled today. Grinding a couple of grams over and weighing the output is the standard workaround on either grinder.
The long-term argument
Baratza's parts-and-guides model is the strongest thing on this page. Grinders wear - burrs dull, gears strip - and a machine whose parts are sold individually has a different lifespan from one whose failure means a new purchase.
That is worth weighing against the Opus 2's nicer daily experience. One is the better object to own for a decade; the other is the better object to use this morning.
Which one is yours
- Espresso is 80 percent of what you make: the Encore ESP.
- You brew espresso, pour-over and cold brew in the same week: the Opus 2.
- You change beans constantly: the Opus 2's single-dose bin.
- You keep equipment for years and fix it: the Encore ESP.
- Noise matters: the Opus 2 - see best quiet coffee grinders.