Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder Review: Years of Filter Duty, and Where It Runs Out

Strengths

• It lasts for years of daily filter brewing: Owners describe five-plus years, nearly a decade, about twelve years and thirteen-plus years with the Encore. The twelve-year unit still works great in near-daily V60 use, the five-year owner was fine with it throughout, and another five-year owner has used theirs daily with zero issues. A former owner who left it at setting 20 rarely changed it and had really good coffee throughout, and a used non-ESP unit is praised for its simplicity and robustness.
• Parts and support keep it going: An owner who bought theirs used rates Baratza's support and parts as great, the plastic ring burr holder is described as a deliberate failure part that breaks before anything more expensive and is cheap to replace, and long-term owners repair and re-burr theirs rather than replacing them.

Common Complaints

• It runs out of range for espresso: Bought as a do-everything grinder for drip, cold brew and espresso alongside a Gaggia Classic Pro, it would not grind fine enough to dial in light-roast espresso for one owner, who tried everything before shopping for an espresso grinder. Another owner says it cannot do espresso at all, and a used-unit owner calls it not ideal for espresso because of its coarse steps and uneven grind.
• Grind quality for filter is not uniform: After nearly a decade, the last two years with M2 burrs, one owner has had growing grind-consistency problems and is unsure whether the burrs are misaligned, and another's thirteen-year-old Encore has been hard to dial in since its burr holder was replaced. Newer complaints are not limited to old units: one owner left it for pour-over and French press because of fines and sludge, another saw pieces at setting 13 more like a 30-plus grind, a third calls it only okay for filter, and an owner using an old Encore for espresso finds a good setting holds for about a week before the grind turns too fine on the same setting. No cause is confirmed.
• Grounds spray out when the bin goes back in: An owner who otherwise loves theirs finds grounds ejected out of the front every time the bin is put back after emptying it, leaving the counter to clean.
• Replacement hopper gaskets wear out: An owner looking for original-style hopper gaskets says Baratza's newer replacements do not hold up for long.

Encore or Encore ESP: which one this page covers

This page covers the original Baratza Encore. The Encore ESP is a different grinder, set up for espresso and single dosing, and its owners' reports are kept as separate evidence. One owner who loves their non-ESP Encore says they have no need for the single-dose attachment and uses it happily with an AeroPress.

Buying a used Baratza Encore

A used Encore can be a sound buy if you plan to maintain it: one owner bought theirs used, re-burred it cheaply and rates Baratza's parts and support, and owners keep these grinders running for many years. Ask how old the unit is and what has been replaced, since the problems reported here come from units around a decade old. Nobody here describes an inspection checklist.

Baratza Encore burr holder replacement: why it breaks and how owners replace it

The ring burr holder is plastic, and its tabs are designed to fail first: one owner explains it is a purpose failure part that breaks before something more expensive does, and is cheap enough that they bought a whole ring burr and holder, which dropped right in. The symptom is easy to miss. In one case shots suddenly ran too fast at an unchanged setting because all three plastic tabs on the holder had broken, fixing the grind in place; a replacement from Baratza had the grinder working and shots pulling normally again. A thirteen-year-old unit was harder to dial in after its holder was replaced, without a confirmed cause.