The perfect cup of coffee starts with a great coffee grinder. If you’re looking to purchase the best electric coffee grinder, there are a variety of options to suit every pocket, style, and taste. Yet before you buy your next coffee grinder, there are some important factors you need to consider to make the best decision.
Grind Size
To pick the right electric coffee grinder for your needs you need to consider what type of coffee grind you most prefer, do you like your grinds course for a French press or are you a big fan of ultrafine Turkish coffees? It’s worth noting that most grinders will come with multiple settings. However, while almost all electric coffee grinders are suitable for coarse grinds, only the very best will be capable of producing ultra-fine grinds.
Micro-Adjustments
When you’re looking for a coffee grinder, especially if you love a good espresso, then you will likely want a grinder with micro-adjustment capabilities. You want to change the size of your grinds depending on the type of brew and type of coffee beans. Go for a grinder which offers lots of flexibility and precision.
Brewing Methods
Do you like switching between brewing methods? The key to a perfect flavor extraction will lie in the grind settings you pick. Consider which brewing methods you use or love most, then factor that in when picking the best electric coffee grinder to suit your particular needs.
Consistent Grinds
Are you fed up with inconsistent brews? A good grinder will deliver consistent grinds and uniform particle sizes with each grind. An inconsistent grind can possibly lead to sourness, bitterness, acidity, and the mere fact that you can’t replicate a previous perfect result.
Grinder Type
One of the most important considerations and defining factors when it comes to quality is the type of grinder. For a beginner brewer with little experience and only starting to build their brewing skills, a blade grinder could suffice. However, blade grinders are not very precise and your ground coffee is likely to end up with a mix of boulders and fine particles.
One advantage of blade grinders is that they’re cheap. Nonetheless, if you’re very particular about brew methods which require finer grinds then a blade grinder could lead to major disappointments.
Burr grinders offer a better, more uniform grind. They consist of one grind which remains still while another rotates on top. The rotating burr is attached to a motor and works by crushing the coffee beans against the immobile burr.
Since the burrs are not cutting and slicing through coffee beans and are instead crushing the beans, the particles tend to be more consistent and result in uniform sizes. Burr grinders offer better precision and more control. The disadvantage is that grinders with burrs tend to be more expensive compared to blade grinders. They are also heavier and use up more energy.
Conical Burrs Vs Flat Burrs
If you decide on buying a burr grinder, you have to further consider whether you want flat burrs or conical burrs. Flat burrs use centrifugal force to pull the coffee beans to the grinding teeth. To adjust the particle sizes, you move the blades close together for a finer grinder and further apart for a coarser grind. Flat burrs typically need replacement after 250 to 600kg of beans.
Conical burrs offer a more precise grind because the burrs can be adjusted by degrees 9and micro-degrees). While flat burrs are parallel, conical burrs present a cutting edge of approximately 60 degrees. Conical burrs last longer than flat burrs as they need replacing after between 750 and 1,000kg of beans.
Ceramic Vs Steel Burrs
When you decide on burrs, another important consideration to make is the material of the burrs. Burrs are typically made out of either of two materials, ceramic or stainless steel. The major difference in the two materials is in how each conducts heat.
Steel burrs get hot faster but also cool down faster. Ceramic burrs heat up slower but tend to retain the heat for longer. Ceramic burrs are also more expensive than steel burrs but are also more brittle compared to steel.
Grinder Size and Weight
When buying an electric grinder, you might want to consider the weight and size. Weight is only important if you’ll be moving the grinder around regularly. However, most people will set it up once and only move it occasionally to clean under.
Size is a more important consideration than weight. A bulky machine will take up lots of space on your countertop. This can be problematic if you’re operating from a small or busy kitchen.
Price
When it comes to coffee grinders, price isn’t always an indication of quality. In some cases, looks may contribute more to price than the function. Other times, shipping costs may tend to inflate the price. Thus, price reflects quality only when you consider the cost of high-quality precision components.
Noise
It can be irritating and frustrating always starting your day with a loud grating sound. Even worse when you have a house full of other people. The best electric grinders tend to be either noiseless or low-noise machines.
Brand
Coffee enthusiasts love sharing information about what works and what doesn’t. Look for grinder brands which have been vetted the specialty coffee communities.
Like everything else that can be bought, an unknown brand may still offer perfect results. However, that’s more of an exception rather than a rule. Highly rated popular brands with many years in the market and with consistent proven performance are more likely to offer better grinders compared to poorly rated or unknown brands.
The Best Electric Grinder
Now that we know what to look for in an electric grinder, let’s use the criteria to find what’s best in the market right now.
Baratza Encore
The Baratza Encore is our top pick for today’s guide. It’s a compact machine with commercial-grade parts, ideal for home use up to barista-level expertise.
The Baratza Encore tops our list because it’s the ideal entry-level grinder. It’s affordable and has exceptional ground quality and consistency. The Encore is the best electric coffee grinder because:
- Straight forward easy to use controls, avoiding common grind mistakes.
- Precision conical steel burrs for consistent quality grinds each time.
- 40 individual grind settings ranging from a coarse French press to an ultra-fine Turkish coffee.
- An eight-ounce bean hopper, big enough to cater for a large family or a mid-size cafe.
- Not bulky. Can easily fit on most countertops, even in small apartments.
- Thermal overload cutout to avoid overheating and burning your coffee burns.
- Designed and engineered in Seattle, USA.
Gaggia Magenta Prestige
The Gaggia Magenta Prestige is an automatic bean to cup espresso machine. It has an attractive color screen interface with 12 brew settings. This is an all-in-one machine with commercial-grade functionalities while still suitable for home use. Here are the features which make this one of the top best electric coffee grinders.
- Super automatic machine with a modern look. Technically advanced, with one-touch milk auto-frothing carafe and capacitive touch controls.
- Customizable programming for setting temperatures, brew strength, brew volume, and milk quantity.
- Heat resistant 100% ceramic adjustable grinders.
- Made in Italy
Mueller Professional Ultra-Grind Conical Burr Grinder
The Mueller grinder is a low-noise electric grinder that offers multiple grind sizes. Its top features include:
- Hardened alloy steel conical burrs which don’t heat up fast.
- Large capacity bean hopper and a removable grounds bin allowing you to brew up to 32 cups in one session.
- Removable parts for easier cleaning and maintenance. However, some users report that putting the machine back can be somewhat complicated.
- Easy operation with a One Button Touch function.
- Gear reduction motor allowing for quiet and precise grinds.
- Mueller is a well-known brand and all their grinders are made in Austria.
Breville Smart Grinder Pro
The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is a technological marvel. It simplifies your coffee making process and you can program multiple preferences so you easily recreate your favorite coffee brews. The digital display looks sleek and presents many features.
The Smart Grinder Pro has the option of grinding directly into a portafilter, paper filter, gold-tone filter basket, or ground bin. Some of the top features of this model include:
- 18-ounce hopper
- 60 different grind settings
- 40mm stainless steel conical burrs.
- A digital timer and a manual button.
- Sturdy stainless-steel housing.
Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder
This grinder makes the list because it’s inexpensive and compact. you can easily fit it in your luggage when travelling. It weighs just over one pound and has a removable grinding chamber.
Even though it looks small, it can gr9ind enough coffee to brew up to 12 cups in one session. Additionally, you can tuck the power cable into a small nook under the machine when traveling or storing.
The biggest disadvantage is it’s a blade grinder and hence won’t produce as uniform grinds as most of the other grinders in this list. This grinder also doubles up as a spice grinder. Some of its features are:
- On-Off button
- Stainless steel blades
- Cord storage
- Removable grinding chamber
- Low-noise motor
- Made in China
Capresso 560.04 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
The Capresso Infinity is a large capacity grinder with commercial-grade burrs. It has four main settings with each of the four settings having a further four categories of coarse, regular, fine, and extra fine. This makes for a total of 16 different grind settings.
The stainless-steel conical burrs are hand-matched for a precise fit. The burrs have an advanced cutting design and the motor has a gear reduction mechanism to reduce heat emission and noise.
The bean hopper has a capacity of 8.5 ounces while the ground bin has a capacity of four ounces. There’s a built-in timer so you don’t have to hang around during grinding. For easy cleanup, you can lift off the top burr and detach the hopper and bin. Some other features include:
- Compact design and weighs only five pounds.
- Reduced noise and anti-static buildup.
- Burrs made in Switzerland
- Timer with a range of 5 to 60 seconds.
KRUPS GX420851
The KRUPS grinder provides single-button operation, making it an easy-to-use entry level option. It’s one of very few grinder types which come with an inbuilt scale for weighing your coffee beans.
The digital interface is easy to use. You simply pick the number of cups you want to brew and the auto dose grinder automatically grinds the right amount of ground coffee. It has a large capacity bean hopper which has trap doors to keep the beans in when you remove the hopper for cleaning or refilling. Some of the best features of this model include:
- Conical burr grinders made out of stainless steel.
- 14-ounce bean hopper.
- Simple and neat digital interface.
- Micro adjustments by rotating the bean hopper.
Fellow Ode Grinder
The Fellow Ode has a beautiful design and is compact. The micro-adjustment dial rotates with a low click. The ground bin slides into place attracted by magnets and the grind’s knocker is of high quality.
The Ode has an auto-off function so it automatically shuts off once it finishes the grinding process. It grinds fast, with one ounce grinding in about five seconds. The grounds are uniform and the grind settings go from one to 11.
Though the Ode isn’t noiseless, the sound is low-pitched and less irritating than other grinders. However, the unit also makes a humming noise when it’s plugged in. Another disadvantage is the very small bean hopper with a capacity of only 2.8 ounces. Some of the Ode’s features are:
- Single-dose grinder with a 2.8 bean hopper.
- On-Off switch with auto-off.
- 11 levels each with three notches, making for 33 grind settings.
