Best Burr Coffee Grinders 2024

The 1Zpresso J grinder (formerly called the JX) is a fantastic all-round manual grinder, and even though it specifies it is designed for pour-over brewing, it can handle grind sizes from coarse to fine, which means it’s ideal for most brewing methods, from drip and pour-over to espresso – which can be rare in a manual grinder.

The reliable 48mm stainless steel burrs, combined with the range and accuracy of the settings mean that this is a simple grinder to use that produces 30-35g of consistent grounds quickly and easily. With a price tag of just over $100, it is not the cheapest manual grinder available, but the performance you’ll get from it makes it good value for the investment and comparable to some basic electric grinders.

With a solid build quality that, thanks to its metal body and silicone grip, which also helps it look good, this is a reliable manual grinder in every sense. With its foldable handle and accompanying cleaning brush, it’s also a great grinder to take on your travels.

For anyone wanting an easy-to-use electric burr grinder, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro is definitely worth checking out. With good design, strong looks, consistent performance, and simple but customizable settings, it’s a great choice for anyone wanting to up their grinding game without investing huge amounts of time and money.

With 60 precise settings, it can handle grinds from French Press course to the finest espresso, and even allows you to grind directly into your portafilter, paper filter, or the air-tight container that comes with the grinder, so there’s less mess, too.

There are pre-programmed settings for all brewing types for quick and easy grinding, but these can be easily adjusted using the precise electronic timer and cups/shots settings, with a large LCD display making this easy to do and to see what you’re setting the finder up for.

Combine all this with its large capacity hopper and you have a consistent electric grinder for a mid-range budget of around $200 that should satisfy most home baristas. Some reliability issues have been reported, and while these seem to be a minor problem, they may be worth bearing in mind as Breville doesn’t appear to do replacement parts at this time.

The Timemore Chestnut C2 has a lot going for it as far as an entry-level manual burr grinder, not least of which is the price and what you get for your money. For around $70 you get a great little grinder that will manage grounds for most coffee types, although it’s not going to be the first choice if you want fine espresso grounds.

It is a cheaper grinder, so while it is pretty solidly built, with good quality stainless steel burrs that are good at what they’re designed to do, it may sound and feel a little ‘cheaper’ than some more expensive grinders. Having said that, it should give you consistent grounds for all coffee types except espresso, and the burrs are very effective for a grinder at the lower end of the price range.

There is a newer C3 version of this grinder, which Timemore says is an improvement. Still, with a lukewarm reception and questions over whether it is actually better, you could save a few books and go for the perfectly capable C2 instead. Or use the extra money to upgrade to the C2 with a foldable handle, for extra portability, or the C2 Max if you want a slightly bigger collection cup.

The mk4 C40 is the latest iteration of what is probably Comandante’s most popular manual burr grinder. In terms of the difference between this and the very popular mk3, Comandante has made some slight improvements that make the grinder easier to fill and clean.

Everything else is pretty much the same and what C40 users have come to love about this grinder. You still have the impressive high-alloyed, high-nitrogen stainless steel ‘nitro’ burrs that grind really well, along with a range of settings for all coffee types, from French Press coarse to espresso fine. Solid design and contemporary good looks are again present, with a range of grinder materials/colors to choose from.

While still an impressive and consistent grinder, the C40 has always been quite expensive, and with adjusting the 40 different grind settings quite fiddly compared to other cheaper grinders with exterior numbered settings, not to mention the difference between settings making ultra-fine adjustments difficult, you might be able to get similar/better performance in other grinders costing a lot less.

The K-Ultra is at the top of 1Zpresso’s grinder range and has all the features and performance you would expect from their flagship burr grinder. With their specialised heptagonal ‘K Burr’ that provides high-performance grinding across the complete range of grind sizes, making it suitable for all brewing methods.

Coupled with this are the user-friendly fine adjustment capabilities, thanks to the external settings dial that offers 100 clicks per rotation, at 20 minor increments, making it easier to dial in the exact to dial in the exact grind size you’re looking for.

Nice features like the magnetic catch cup and foldable handle make this a great grinder to use at home or on your travels, especially with the included carry case and cleaning kit, and despite the higher price tag that this top-of-the-line grinder comes with, the performance represents good value for money.

There are plenty of good manual burr grinders on the market, in fact, I’ve looked at a few of them. But when I wanted to choose what I thought was the best, I went with the VSSL Java because, not only does it do a good job of what all grinders should do, i.e. grind coffee beans, but it also has a lot of other positive features that make it stand out.

The grinder itself is made of aircraft-grade aluminum with a high-carbon stainless steel conical burr and 50 different grinder settings that should allow you to cover grind sizes from coarse French Press coffee, all the way down to the fine grinds you need for espresso.

As well as all this, it is the perfect manual grinder to take out and about with you, whether traveling or camping/backpacking. Super hard-wearing, compact, and durable, with neat features like a carabiner handle for attaching to your pack, as well as a cleaning brush and its own pouch this is a great little grinder for home and away, as long as you’re not grinding for large numbers.

The Baratza Encore makes my list of the top best burr grinders because it’s straightforward and does a good job for most coffee brewing methods. Good-looking and compact, it comes with 40mm conical hardened steel burrs and 40 different grind settings. Its simple looks reflect the simplicity with which you can set it and great your coffee grounds. It’s also pretty simple to clean and look after with tool-free access to the burrs.

The Baratza Encore is best used for the medium-coarse end of the grind spectrum, so great for slow-brewing methods like pour-over, Chemex, Aeropress, and drip coffee. Where it falls a little short is its inability to offer really fine grounds that espresso lovers will need, but there is an answer in the shape of the Baratza Encore ESP.

If you like the Encore but also want the ability to get the really fine grounds you need for espresso, the ESP version has precisely adjustable micro settings that enable you to achieve the fine grounds you need for this type of brewing, making this version ideal for the full range of brewing methods. So whatever your brewing needs, the compact, good-looking Encore and Encore ESP versions make good, reliable burr grinder choices.

The OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is not only a good little grinder, it’s also a very affordable electric grinder, which is one of the reasons it’s made my list. Retailing for around $100, it has most of what you need in an electric burr grinder with the added benefit of not hurting your wallet.

Unlike most ‘cheap’ grinders, the Oxo not only looks good with its sleek stainless steel design, the important features are also excellent value for money, with stainless steel conical burrs, 15 settings from coarse to fine, a large hopper for your beans and a large stainless steel collection cup.

As well as all this, it’s easy to use and easy to clean. Oxo does say that it will give you fine grounds good enough for espresso, but real espresso aficionados may want something more consistent with finer grounds. Having said that, for pour-over and drip coffee brewing the Oxo does a great job for the price.