Coffee grinders for your expensive beans
Updated
Most beginner home baristas learn eventually that an espresso machine is basically just a hot water dispenser for your coffee grounds.
The real trick is to splurge on a burr grinder as they will dictate the quality of your grinds and the richness of your espresso.
That’s why we’re rounding up five budget coffee grinders worth buying under $500 (because believe us, coffee grinders get expensive).
Up your espresso game with a coffee grinder built for quality in the cup. iStock / Supplied
NOTE: Prices are accurate at the time of publishing.
Breville the Smart Grinder Pro
Breville Grinder. Breville
If you’re a beginner at making coffee, and you want a grinder that’ll make your workflow simpler, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro is a great start.
It has 40mm conical burrs with up to 60 grind settings, spanning coarse enough for French press to fine enough for espresso.
To make grinding easy, it has an interactive screen with pre-programmed settings, and you can even set timed-based dosing for automatic grinding.
Baratza Encore ESP
Baratza Encore ESP. Baratza
The Baratza Encore ESP marks the gold standard for budget espresso, thanks to its simple design.
It offers micro adjustments with sizes 1-20 for espresso, and macro adjustments from sizes 21-40 for filter-type coffee. Plus, the grinder comes with its own dosing cup to help you transfer the grinds easily into your portafilter.
As for maintenance, it is designed with a quick-release mechanism so you can easily access the chamber and clean the 40mm M2 steel conical burrs without any extra tools.
Tinemore Chestnut C3 ESP Pro Manual Grinder
Timemore C5 ESP Pro. Tinemore
If you don’t have the budget for an electric grinder but still want quality espresso, then a hand grinder is the way to go.
Tinemore’s C3 ESP Pro is built for ease of use and potability, thanks to its stepless grinding adjustments and foldable handle.
It’s also built to last with an integrated metal body and a stainless steel crank handle, driveshaft and conical burrs.
DF54 Single Dose
DF54 Single Dose. Turin
The DF54 Single Dose Grinder makes a strong choice for anyone looking for flavour clarity on a budget, thanks to its 54mm stainless-steel flat burrs and stepless adjustments to dial in with precision.
It is also a single dose machine, which involves weighing out and grinding exactly the beans you need for one brew, rather than keeping them in a hopper.
This reduces how fast beans go stale if you store them correctly, and reduces the retention (coffee stuck in the grinder), to ensure your next coffee will be just as good.
Varia VS3 Single Dose
Varia VS4 Single Dose. Varia
The Varia VS3 grinder is also a single dose machine that offers a 48mm conical burrs set which will naturally produce a more syrupy, traditional espresso.
It offers stepless adjustments for grind precision, minimal retention, and you can also purchase additional burr sets built for different coffee bean roast profiles.
READ MORE: The coffee machine that turns a beginner into a barista
