Coffee grinders come in all shapes and sizes and with varying degrees of performance. You can get a solid Cuisinart for less than $40 that will serve you well, but if you’re looking to impress the coffee aficionado in your life with a nice gift, you’ll have to do better. Baratza’s Encore grinder has been a popular choice among roasters and coffee pros for a while now. It’s a little pricey for a grinder, but it offers a ton of attractive features that will immediately improve brewing regardless of method.
The controls are simple: There’s an on/off button on the side and a pulse button on the front. The Encore offers 40 grind settings so you can get the exact coffee you need for automatic brewers, AeroPress, Chemex, French press and more. This grinder is also relatively compact, so it won’t take up a lot of counter space, and it fits nicely under your cabinets.
