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The Best Coffee Grinder - A beginners guide to finding the best grinder for you

There are hundreds of coffee grinders on the market — this guide will help you find the best for your budget, lifestyle, and preferred brew method.

The recommendations listed here are the results us researching and compiling data on coffee grinders since 2019, Yoji's personal expertise as a barista, and from the thousands of emails we've received from coffee lovers with feedback and suggestions for our grind size tools.

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  • Best overall coffee grinders
  • Best coffee grinders for espresso
  • Best coffee grinders for pour over / V60 / drip coffee
  • Best coffee grinders for AeroPress
  • Best coffee grinders for French Press
  • Best small electric coffee grinder
  • Best manual coffee grinder for home use

What makes a good coffee grinder?

  • Consistent grind size
    A consistent coffee grind size is probably the most important factor that determines the quality of your final cup.
  • Durability
    Quality design and durable materials are more likely to produce a consistent grind size after years of use.
  • Ease of use
    Grinders are typically simple machines, but in a few cases they can be needlessly complicated.
  • Value for money
    Some coffee grinders cost over $4000. They probably grind coffee really well — but not twenty times better than a $200 grinder.
  • Popularity
    Of course, there are popular bad grinders, and unpopular good grinders. However, popularity means more online resources, a stronger community for troubleshooting, and ease of finding replacement parts.

Important notes before you buy a coffee grinder

Most important: choose a grinder that works for your preferred brew method.

Ensure your grinder produces the correct size for your brew method.

Not all grinders suit every brew method. Espresso needs fine grounds, while drip coffee requires medium or coarse grounds.

If you drink espresso and buy a grinder that can't produce fine grounds, it will be useless.

Read the notes for each of our recommendations to confirm it will work for your preferred brew method.

Always buy a burr grinder (not a blade grinder)

Different brewing methods require different sized grounds.

For instance, making espresso requires fine grounds, while french press requires medium to coarse grounds.

A burr grinder can grind beans down to a particular size, while a blade grinder smashes the beans into irregular chunks.

People still enjoy coffee they make from a blade grinder, but if you want to make quality coffee, you need consistent grounds.

Our top picks

These grinders will perform very well in most home-use environments, able to grind consistently for a wide range of brew methods, as well as being well-established companies with a large community of users.

Affordable grinder for most brew methods

Baratza Encore white background

Baratza Encore

A very versatile and affordable grinder. It has 40 settings that can grind fine enough for brew methods like moka pot, to coarse French press and cold brew. Although it isn't an espresso focused grinder, it can grind for pressurised baskets.

Pros

  • Large grind range
  • Well-established
  • Durable
  • Easy to repair
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Not fine enough for espresso
  • No micro settings

Baratza offer an espresso capable version of the encore: The Baratza Encore ESP.

Espresso focused all-rounder

Breville (Sage) The Smart Grinder Pro

With 60 settings and a whole host of programmable features, this grinder is capable of producing very good espresso grounds as well as coarser methods such as AeroPress and pour over.

Pros

  • Grinds espresso
  • Many features
  • Programmable

Cons

  • Struggles with coarser grinds
  • Retention issues

Consistent manual grinder for all brew methods

Timemore C3 ESP Pro

This manual grinder can grind consistently for most brew methods including espresso. With up to 90 settings, it can grind coffee relatively fast compared to other hand grinders and punches above its weight, considering its low price.

Pros

  • Can grind well for most brew methods
  • Fast
  • No retention
  • Durable
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Internal adjustment mechanism

Best Manual Grinder

Outlined in 'Our top picks'

Timemore C3 ESP Pro

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King of hand grinders

Comandante C40 MK4

Despite its old school design, the Comandante is still one of the best performing grinders in terms of grind quality, uniformity and durability. It rivals even the best electric grinders with precision engineering and materials. This grinder easily makes up for its price tag and some usability snags with the quality of its grind profile.

Pros

  • Fantastic burr set
  • Great grind quality
  • Durable
  • Good support

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Internal adjustment mechanism
  • Slow

1Zpresso's flagship model for most brew methods

1Zpresso K-Ultra

With a burr set specifically designed to brew for both espresso and pour over, this model can grind consistently and uniformly. Although 100 settings is low for a 1Zpresso grinder, it outclasses most hand grinders on the market in terms of grind range.

Pros

  • Great burr set
  • Wide grind size range

Cons

  • Only 100 settings
  • Expensive

Best espresso hand grinder

1Zpresso J-Ultra

This espresso oriented grinder has the most adjustment levels of any other 1Zpresso model, as well as having the smallest micron adjustments at 8 microns vertical movement.

Pros

  • 500 settings
  • 8 micron adjustment
  • Can grind for coarser methods

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Hassle to switch to coarser methods

Best Electric Grinder

Product recommendation

Fellow Ode Brew Grinder Gen 2

Probably one of the most stylish of affordable home coffee grinders, the Fellow Ode has 31 settings capable of grinding anything coarser than Moka pot (medium fine grind).

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Product recommendation

Baratza Encore white background

Baratza Encore

A very versatile and affordable grinder. It has 40 settings that can grind fine enough for brew methods like moka pot, to coarse French press and cold brew. Although it isn't an espresso focused grinder, it can grind for pressurised baskets.

Pros

  • Large grind range
  • Well-established
  • Durable
  • Easy to repair
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Not fine enough for espresso
  • No micro settings

Product recommendation

Fellow Opus

A great entry-level grinder for multi-purpose brewing, from espresso to French press. For its price, this grinder produces very consistent coffee for anyone who uses multiple brew methods at home.

Pros

  • All-purpose
  • Sleek design
  • Reduced static

Cons

  • High coffee retention
  • Bad micro adjustment for espresso
  • Plastic build

Best Grinder for Espresso

Product recommendation

1Zpresso J-Ultra

This espresso oriented grinder has the most adjustment levels of any other 1Zpresso model, as well as having the smallest micron adjustments at 8 microns vertical movement.

Pros

  • 500 settings
  • 8 micron adjustment
  • Can grind for coarser methods

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Hassle to switch to coarser methods

Best grinder for pour over/V60/drip

Best grinder for french press

Best grinder for AeroPress

Best small electric grinder

Best manual coffee grinder for home use

Product recommendation

A stainless steel coffee grinder. It is attatched to a black plastic base by two rods. It consists of a funnel, a rod that turns the burrs, a clear gear box, and a long metal arm.
Image: Honest Coffee Guide

ROK GrinderGC

ROK are more well known for their hand powered espresso machine — but they also have a brilliant hand grinder. It can grind consistently over a wide range. It’s powered using a vertical motion using a long arm - this is much more comfortable than the typical horizontal motion.