I’m coming from a Capresso Infinity, if it matters. Was mostly happy with it, but it was on its last legs (horrible squealing noise when grinding beans) and wanted to try something new.
I just got the Baratza Encore ESP and ran the first couple scoops of beans through it to test different grind levels.
Seems like somewhere between 22 and 28 will be great for pour over. But I notice when I go up to 30 and above the grind starts getting inconsistent and at the top end for very coarse / french press grind, it’s really chunky and not consistently sized grinds. Some normal coarse grind with what looks like big broken bean chunks.
I didn’t experience this with my Capresso, even at the coarsest setting the grind was consistently sized and not chunky. Am I doing something wrong? Is this normal? Anything I need to do?
It matters to me as I alternate between a Hario V60 and a steel french press depending on mood, so need consistency on both ends (coarse and medium-fine.
Thanks!
I have the non-ESP Encore with an M2 lower burr and it has the same issue with coarse grind, but I found a trick that helps a lot.
Do you notice that the hopper moves around while you’re grinding? The hopper and the ring burr are both slotted in to the adjustment mechanism, which is a plastic ring with channels that the tabs of the ring burr follow. The adjustment ring on my grinder moves around a good amount when I push on it, which means the burr also moves around and causes a less consistent grind. The force of the adjustment ring moving also kicks the hopper around.
The trick is to push down on the hopper while you’re grinding to get rid of all the slack and keep the adjustment ring in place. I find it grinds a lot better when I do that.
The downside of this trick is that it puts more strain on the tabs of the plastic ring burr holder. All the force that was moving the adjustment ring around will go into those tabs. It’s a sacrificial part that needs to be replaced occasionally with normal usage, holding the hopper in place will make that happen sooner.
Yeah, the hopper bounces around a lot. Not like vibration but literally shaking and bouncing. I’ve double checked and it’s all assembled right. Encore says it’s normal, but I’m not a fan. Already considering aftermarket solutions to stabilize it AMA make the grind more consistent, I don’t care if that makes the grind a little finer overall.
I also bought a hopper bellows, but it doesn’t seem as necessary, the grounds retention isn’t nearly as bad as my old Capresso. I might pick up the single serve hopper to try.
It’s definitely normal and probably designed that way to help feed the beans in. The whole motor and burr assembly is mounted on rubber grommets, it will move.