Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder ZCG484WHT, White

I've had this grinder for nearly four years now with no issues whatsoever. If you're looking for a solid, reasonably priced entry-level grinder for filter coffee, the Encore is a good choice.Pros:-Relatively inexpensive-Easy to dial in with step adjustments-Easy to clean-Easy to upgrade (I replaced the burr set with one from a higher-end model)-Can be used as a single-dose hopper without causing problems-ReliableCons:-Noticeable retention: I usually have to knock the last bits of grounds out and sweep them out with a brush-A bit loud-Motor can struggle when trying to grind finely; I wouldn't recommend for espresso

Ok, you wanted a review: Grinds the beans consistently every time. The machine is a pleasure to use. I'm guessing most burr grinders are be a bit of a nuisance to properly clean. Only takes about 3 minutes though.The following are all observations about the idiosyncrasies of the machine, none of these are showstoppers, I would recommend this rig to everyone I know. Like with anything worth having you need to learn the proper operating technique.There are nooks and crannies deep inside the mechanism you can never really clean, or see. You can get most of the way there. The machine would have to be completely disassembled in order to remedy this issue. A problem with any burr grinder I'm sure unless you buy some $$$ commercial unit.It's takes a bit of a knack to get the snug fitting rubber gasket to seat properly which is necessary to do each time you brush out the internals. A good thing I suppose as it does provide an excellent seal but I can see someone messing up the seating. If it is not right the hopper won't quite fit and you may get people trying to force things or damage the gasket (see below).Notes about some usage techniques are lacking in the manual, nothing you will not figure out for yourself over the course of time though. For example, there is a fixed on/off switch and a pulse button for controlling the motor. They don't tell you what the pulse button is for though. Spoiler Alert: It is to be used at the very end of the grind when there are like 4 beans left. You should shut the main switch off at this point and then use the pulse button to coax those last few beans through the grinder. Otherwise they will just bounce around the container.Important: when you clean the machine you can easily/accidentally rotate an internal ring, associated with the lower burr grinder, away from its' home position. It rotates in one direction or the other when the bean container is in place to select the grinder setting. So anyway, if you unwittingly rotate it out of its home position while cleaning you will never get the bean hopper back on the machine. You will be convinced the machine is broken and have no idea why? And only after the second use! So, I refer back to the manual because I recalled a note about something or other not fitting right. There is a single sentence in there alluding to this situation about having to rotate the ring all the way in one direction. That of course fixed the problem, BUT, if you don't read manuals you might be in trouble. Also, though the manual does mention this, it should do a much better job of calling it out as an IMPORTANT "feature" that can be encountered during cleaning. I suspect they have had machines returned by folks thinking they were broken. None of these issues are going to trip up an experienced or "technical minded" coffee jock. But a burr grinder rookie may sweat this one out a little and possibly damage the machine trying to force something. Once you know or figure out all of this stuff you will never have another problem. But never let an inexperienced person disassemble the machine for cleaning unless you have schooled them on these caveats.ConclusionGreat grinder, manual could be improved upon. Oh yah, ship an extra rubber gasket with the machine! If that thing fails [for whatever reason] I suspect the grinder becomes unusable. And all for lack of a 50 cent gasket that at a minimum, must be painful to replace. That extra gasket is a great marketing tool that for pennies will immediately improve customer perception of your product.

This is a terrific coffee grinder! I was hesitant to buy another burr grinder because I tried one several years ago and it was deafeningly loud and scattered coffee everywhere. The Baratza is surprisingly quiet and produces consistent grounds. One thing to note, the grounds cup isn’t very big and if you overfill it too many times it can clog the tiny chute where the coffee grounds come out of the burr chamber. This happened to my grinder and no amount of cleaning fixed it. I called customer service and received immediate and helpful advice and videos to walk me through unclogging the unit. I successfully unclogged the grinder and it now works perfectly. I am so impressed with the service and follow up email I received. This grinder is a real value purchase that will last a very long time.

As others have mentioned, once you start whirling down the ominous spiral of the broken paddlewheel, you wish you had trusted other reviews that seemed so surreal. This entire machine that looks well thought and crafted, depends on a piece of plastic that (if you live outside the US) is impossible to find and even more impossible to replace diy. I live in Colombia and Baratza support was only able to share with me the list of international retailers (like, here is the list go find it yourself). The one in Colombia stopped selling Baratza 2 years ago (wonder why...one of the biggest coffee producing countries in the world). They still have a technician that might know how to open this and replace the little plastic thingy on which everything depends, so this is what I'm hoping for now.The thing is...I don't even know how or when the paddlewheel broke, just that after a couple of weeks, grinded coffee would get stuck in the grinder and after researching the internet and comparing pictures I could notice that something looked different. I guess i brew the broken plastic pieces in one of my delicious Colombian coffees at a certain point.Long story short. Look somewhere else, especially if you don't live in the US.