Tried a $15 blade grinder versus my new Baratza Encore for my morning brew

The difference in my cup was night and day, the Encore gave a way more even grind that made the coffee taste brighter and less bitter. I'm never going back to that old whirly-blade noise. Anyone have tips for dialing in the grind size for a V60 with this grinder?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia6342mo ago

Watched my buddy go through the same thing last month. He was using a cheap blade grinder for years and swore it was fine, then he borrowed my old Encore for a weekend. Came back totally shocked, said his French press coffee suddenly had flavors he didn't know were in the beans. For his V60, he found starting right in the middle of the grind settings and doing a few test batches worked best, adjusting one click at a time.

wadeyoung1mo ago

Gotta agree with this. That moment when you finally taste what coffee is actually supposed to be is wild, it's like upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone. People don't realize how much a blade grinder just beats the beans into uneven dust, you get half fine powder and half big chunks. A proper burr grinder gives you that even particle size, and suddenly your brew isn't all bitter and muddy tasting. For V60 I always tell new folks to start at like a medium setting and go from there, don't overthink it. One click at a time really is the way to dial it in without wasting a ton of beans.

emmashah2mo ago

That's exactly how I dialed in my own Encore.