Hi everyone. I recently bought a Breville Bambino. It’s my first espresso machine, and I’m quite happy with it. I love the fact that it has a thermoblock which means that I don’t have to wait for the water to turn on before I can enjoy my coffee. I’ve been able to pull some good shots with it, but the exact same technique sometimes gives me inconsistent results. I’m thinking it’s my grinder.

I have a Timemore C3 manual grinder. It’s great for most other brewing methods e.g. aeropress, V60, French press etc. But I don’t think it’s the best for espresso. I borrowed a Baratza Encore from a friend and it gave me more consistent results.

Now, I do like the Encore, and would buy a new one, but I looked at this chart and it looks like it doesn’t go too low in terms of grind size. Do you guys think that it might cause problems when I upgrade my machine in the future?

Also, if you have any other suggestions for grinders, let me know. I’m willing to spend around $200 on it right now. (I guess I can go up to $300 if it’s worth the extra $100.)

Thanks for taking your time to read this. I really appreciate it.

  • @idkwhatimdoing
    4•9 months ago

    You’re not gonna see it on a lot of real enthusiast’s lists, but I think the Breville Smart Grinder Pro at $200 is the best espresso grinder you can get (easily and consistently) below $300. I have a virtuoso+ that I was using for a while, and the cheaper SGP not only has MUCH greater micro-adjustability (it’s essentially stepless since you can set to any point in between clicks, but there are still steps technically), but the grinds are much more consistent at espresso sizes. I’ve established this myself with a precise sifter to remove boulders and fines (virtuoso+ produces many more of both) and seen online analyses that show the same. SGP wins against the more expensive baratza every time on grind quality.

    The biggest/most common knock against it is that it isn’t built to be repaired as seriously as most Baratza, and some of the “smart” features aren’t that useful. However, being so much cheaper than anything but the cheapest baratzas, I’d buy two of these over the course of 10+ years for grind quality alone rather than spend just as much replacing burrs on a baratza, but not technically having to buy a new grinder.

    And yeah, the ability to grind by “cups” rather than time isn’t helpful, I just do it by time, but it’s not like they made that more difficult by adding a second option. What IS helpful and won’t be found in any other grinder at the price, though, is a great portafilter switch and holder. Improves workflow, minimizes waste, and is just fun to use. I’d use a twist-on dosing funnel though so you don’t have to spill/waste any grounds at all when grinding straight into the portafilter.

    In the end, I make decisions like this based almost exclusively on functionality at a given price point, and SGP is a rare case in which a cheaper option actually performs better when you get down to grind quality alone, and the espresso-specific build/attachments are nice.