Grinder for espresso: what makes one different

Why espresso needs a good grinder

Espresso sits at the fine end of the range. Wikipedia says the grind spectrum "ranges from Turkish coffee and espresso on the finer end" to coarse styles such as French press and cold brew ¹. So an espresso grinder has to go fine, and it has to land on the same fineness again tomorrow.

That's the whole idea of this page. We'll cover the grinder type, how the adjustment works, and what two makers say about their own models.

Already have a machine in mind? Our home espresso machine types and what to look for covers the machine side.

Burr or blade

A burr grinder crushes beans between two rings. Wikipedia says "the size of the grind is determined by the separation between the two burrs" ¹. A blade grinder chops instead. Wikipedia says blade mills "produce an undesirable wide range of particle sizes" ¹.

Wikipedia says the "uniform particle size and variable settings" of a burr grinder make it "well-suited for coffee preparation" ¹.

You'll see two burr shapes in product names: conical and flat. Both are burr grinders. We haven't used either kind, so we don't say which one is better.

Stepped or stepless adjustment

This is about how you change the grind. Wikipedia says some grinders allow "fineness of grind to be adjusted in discrete steps, marked with numbers to allow a particular setting to be repeated" ¹. Stepless ones "use a worm drive or other mechanism to provide continuous variation without jumps between steps" ¹.

Neither is wrong. Stepped settings are numbered so you can repeat one. Stepless ones vary continuously. The maker's spec page tells you which one a model has.

Example: Breville Smart Grinder Pro

Breville says the Smart Grinder Pro has "60 unique settings" and is a "programmable conical burr grinder" ². It also says you can "grind directly into a portafilter or an air-tight container" ².

The listed accessories include a "Conical Burr Cleaning Brush" ². For cleaning the grinder, follow the instruction manual Breville links on that page. If you want a machine with a grinder built in, the Breville range explained covers two that have one. Breville listed the grinder at US$199.95 on breville.com on 4 November 2026 ².

Example: Baratza Encore ESP

Baratza makes the Encore ESP, and the retailer Seattle Coffee Gear describes it this way: "the first 20 settings for the Encore ESP make micro adjustments suitable for dialing in espresso" while "the last 20 settings make larger macro steps to cover the rest of the grind size range" ³.

That's a design where one end of the dial is set aside for espresso. The same page says the grinder includes "their M2 conical burr" and a "dosing cup" for catching the grounds ³.

Seattle Coffee Gear is a seller, not the maker. Check Baratza's own pages for the current spec and price.

What to check on a spec sheet

Take every figure from the maker, with the date you checked it.

- Burr type: burrs, not blades. Conical or flat, as the maker states. - Adjustment: how many settings, and whether they're stepped or stepless. - Where the grounds go: into a portafilter, a dosing cup or a bin. - Cleaning: what the maker's manual says, and which tools come in the box. - Price: with the currency and the date.

We haven't used these grinders, so we don't rank them or pick a winner.