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A budget coffee grinder was one of two things I was sure I didn't need. The other was a scale. I was wrong about both.
If you only want the answer, the budget coffee grinder I'd tell you to buy is the Baratza Encore. It's the grinder I point anyone who is getting started toward, because it does the one job a first grinder has to do: give you an even grind for drip, pour over and French press, without fuss.
👉 Check the current price of the Baratza Encore on Amazon
I started on a blade grinder when Jess and I first got married, back when I made French press. A blade grinder doesn't really grind. It chops, so you get a mix of fine dust and big chunks in the same batch.
My first burr grinder was a cheap one from Target that cost $18. The Baratza Encore replaced it. After the Encore came the Fellow Ode 2, and when I got serious about espresso, the Timemore Sculptor 064S that sits next to my Gaggia today.
Looking back at that path, my advice for a first grinder is to skip the very cheapest burr grinders and start with the Encore. It gives you the even grind you're paying for, and you can stay on it until your brewing changes.
Burrs, not blades. Burrs crush beans between two surfaces set a fixed distance apart, so the pieces come out close to the same size. That matters because the dust over-extracts and tastes bitter, while the chunks under-extract and taste sour. An even grind is most of what you're buying.
A grind range that fits how you brew. Most grinders at the budget end are built for brewed coffee: drip, pour over, AeroPress and French press. Very few of them grind fine and precisely enough for espresso. If espresso is the plan, that changes the budget, and I cover it below.
Parts you can actually get. Burrs wear out and small parts break. A grinder from a company that sells replacement parts will outlast a cheaper one you have to throw away. Baratza sells replacement parts for its grinders, the Encore included.
That's my old drip setup, with the Baratza Encore in the middle of the counter. It was my drip grinder, and I ran it at settings 17 to 19 for drip. My post on the Baratza Encore setting for drip goes into how I landed there.
It's a simple machine. You turn the hopper to pick one of its 40 settings, flip the switch, and it grinds. The conical burrs give a consistent grind across the drip and pour over range, which is exactly where most people starting out will brew.
Where it falls short is espresso. The Encore isn't built to grind fine enough, in small enough steps, to dial in a shot. If you already know you want espresso, don't buy it for that. I eventually sold mine when I moved up to the Fellow Ode 2.
For the full story, I wrote about why the Baratza Encore belongs in your home.
👉 Grab the Baratza Encore on Amazon
The Fellow Ode 2 was the grinder that replaced my Encore, and I owned it for years. It was one of my favorite drip grinders. It uses flat burrs instead of conical ones and is built for single dosing, so you weigh out the beans for each brew and grind them all. What it gives up is espresso, and that's the only reason I don't own one now. My Fellow Ode Gen 2 review has the details.
👉 Check the current price of the Fellow Ode 2 on Amazon
The TIMEMORE Sculptor 064S isn't a budget grinder, and I won't pretend it is. It's the grinder I use now, next to my Gaggia Classic Pro, and it's where I'd tell you to spend if espresso is the goal. It's a quiet, single-dose grinder with very little coffee left behind in it. That matters when I'm weighing 18 g of beans in for a 36 g shot, because the beans I weigh in are the beans that end up in the shot.
If you want to know more, I wrote up the single dose grinder that's worth the investment.
👉 Grab the TIMEMORE Sculptor 064S on Amazon
If you brew drip, pour over or French press and this is your first real grinder, get the Encore. If you already have a burr grinder and want better drip and pour over, the Ode 2 is the step up I took. If you're buying for espresso, skip the budget tier altogether and save for the Timemore.
If you're weighing other cheap options, my roundup of the best cheap grinder for your home setup covers a few more, and I explain why I'd skip the OXO Brew conical burr grinder.
A budget coffee grinder is the cheapest real upgrade to the coffee you already buy. For most people starting out, that grinder is the Baratza Encore. Buy it, and upgrade when your brewing changes.
Once the grinder is sorted, the rest of the counter starts to matter: where the beans live, where the scale sits, and how little you have to move to make a cup.
Regardless of which method you choose, you need the right station to support it. I have written deep-dive guides on how I set up for each one, at home and on the road:
And remember, the best brewer in the world can't save bad beans. I use Trade Coffee to ensure I always have fresh, single-origin bags ready to grind.
Featured photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash
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