I think a really good improvement for the Barista Pro built-in grinder is a Single Dose Hopper/Bellow. As you mentioned, the ESP also has the option of a Baratza Single Dose Hopper/Bellow. Cheers.
I've just found your channel I am really enjoying it. Already watched all the shorts and working one your other videos. Keep up the good work I am sure you will go far on here. You also have an excellent voice for voice overs. 👍
Great video, super helpful and super slick production values. I am caught in a three-way internal battle between getting the Fellow Opus, the ESP or (as I have a Bambino and quite like the idea of grinding directly into the portafilter) or the Sage/Breville Grinder Pro. A comparison between the three would be amazing - especially in terms of a taste test. Subbed and look forward to checking out your other videos.
So, I ended up with the ESP and I have to do the drum beat thing every single time, lol. As for the single dose hopper, I'd advise against it. Not that it doesn't work well but I wish I would have gone with an aftermarket version from amazon with a bellows. Personally, I'd prefer that to grinder percussion sessions every morning. If I were to do it all over again, I think I'd get the pro and call it a day. Just have everything in one package on the counter. I think my wife would apricate the workflow better too.
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: czcams.com/video/XMEQ18GQJVc/video.html
I would recommend you / other folks to remove the burr, and take out one of shims underneath. Your machine might be calibrated to finer setting that it needs for espresso
I recently purchased this and mostly agree that I wish things could be more granular. I haven’t had a chance to experiment yet, but a video on using the included rings for making macro changes to the burr would be an interesting start - if you have to grind by default around setting 18-20, it makes sense that things would be slightly less granular than at lower levels
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 the newest version of Barista Pro has been upgraded with Baratza grinder, starting with 2023 model if I'm not mistaken. It is said to use the Sette one. I'm not sure how good it is compared to standalone grinder. You should check it out ;)
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
Trying to get into the coffee game and your videos have been super helpful! Would you recommend getting the Baratza Encore ESP with the Bambino Plus or Breville Pro? Going back and forth with the two options and can’t seem to decide.
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
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.
Hello there. Love your detailed review. I am eyeing on this unit. But he is really loud. The only con out of all the pros. Do you think the other pros outweigh this con?
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.
I am stuck on how to dial in my grinder on the Breville Built-In Grinder. I have an inner Bur of 4, and outter grinder setting of 8. for a 17gram dose, It gives me 24 seconds extraction at a 34grams out. But if I change to a outter grinder setting to finer ( a 8 setting), it gives me close to 40 seconds to extract for a 34gram out. Do you know roughly how many steps change it is if I were to change to an inner burr of 3? Wondering if I can find that sweet spot of 30 secs or so without having to add more grams to my dose.
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.
@@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
I think a really good improvement for the Barista Pro built-in grinder is a Single Dose Hopper/Bellow. As you mentioned, the ESP also has the option of a Baratza Single Dose Hopper/Bellow. Cheers.
I've just found your channel I am really enjoying it. Already watched all the shorts and working one your other videos. Keep up the good work I am sure you will go far on here. You also have an excellent voice for voice overs. 👍
Thank you so much!!
Very nice run through video. I like how you explain stuff. You hit on good points I didn't expect to catch with other video reviews.
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Thanks..you helped me a lot cause i wanted a grinder specifically for espesso. 👍
Really helpful video! Was hesitant about grinder and choosing between built in or buying separately. Appreciate the content!
Thanks for watching! I'm so happy to hear it was helpful 😊🙏🏼
Great video, super helpful and super slick production values. I am caught in a three-way internal battle between getting the Fellow Opus, the ESP or (as I have a Bambino and quite like the idea of grinding directly into the portafilter) or the Sage/Breville Grinder Pro. A comparison between the three would be amazing - especially in terms of a taste test. Subbed and look forward to checking out your other videos.
So, I ended up with the ESP and I have to do the drum beat thing every single time, lol. As for the single dose hopper, I'd advise against it. Not that it doesn't work well but I wish I would have gone with an aftermarket version from amazon with a bellows. Personally, I'd prefer that to grinder percussion sessions every morning.
If I were to do it all over again, I think I'd get the pro and call it a day. Just have everything in one package on the counter. I think my wife would apricate the workflow better too.
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: czcams.com/video/XMEQ18GQJVc/video.html
I would recommend you / other folks to remove the burr, and take out one of shims underneath. Your machine might be calibrated to finer setting that it needs for espresso
I recently purchased this and mostly agree that I wish things could be more granular. I haven’t had a chance to experiment yet, but a video on using the included rings for making macro changes to the burr would be an interesting start - if you have to grind by default around setting 18-20, it makes sense that things would be slightly less granular than at lower levels
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!
Great video ❤
Thank you so much!!
I think the newest version of Barista Pro has been upgraded with Baratza grinder, starting with 2023 model if I'm not mistaken. It is said to use the Sette one. I'm not sure how good it is compared to standalone grinder. You should check it out ;)
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
I have a manual grinder instead which is really handy
Trying to get into the coffee game and your videos have been super helpful! Would you recommend getting the Baratza Encore ESP with the Bambino Plus or Breville Pro? Going back and forth with the two options and can’t seem to decide.
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
Do you think that the Baratza encore esp would grind more fine degrees than the breville built in grinder?
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.
Hello there. Love your detailed review. I am eyeing on this unit. But he is really loud. The only con out of all the pros. Do you think the other pros outweigh this con?
What espresso machine do you have?? And do you only brew espresso or also other methods?
Thank you. Which do you recommend? The ESP or the Virtuoso+ for espresso?
Encore ESP
Hi, I have a gaggia classic pro, which grinder do you recommend between bazaarta encore esp or smart grinder pro from breville
encore ESP
Great video!
I am getting encore esp for 250 usd ( taxes ). Is it worth to get it that price?
Thanks for watching! That's for you to decide based on your needs 🙂
Hi, I have a classic pro grinder, which grinder do you recommend between Baratza encore esp or smart grinder pro from breville
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
I am stuck on how to dial in my grinder on the Breville Built-In Grinder. I have an inner Bur of 4, and outter grinder setting of 8. for a 17gram dose, It gives me 24 seconds extraction at a 34grams out. But if I change to a outter grinder setting to finer ( a 8 setting), it gives me close to 40 seconds to extract for a 34gram out.
Do you know roughly how many steps change it is if I were to change to an inner burr of 3? Wondering if I can find that sweet spot of 30 secs or so without having to add more grams to my dose.
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