Best Coffee Grinders for Espresso
Grinders that claim a true espresso range, ranked from our reviews. This is the most expensive mistake in the category. Espresso needs a grind finer than almost anything else and, more importantly, fine adjustment down at that end - the difference between a good shot and a choked one is a fraction of a turn. Most grinders sold for filter simply cannot hold it: they will produce fine coffee, but not repeatably, and not adjustably. Buying one and discovering that afterwards is how people end up owning two grinders.
Ranked by our review score, which is worked out from the specifications each maker publishes rather than from opinion, so you can open the arithmetic on any product page. Anything commercial is labelled and sits outside that order, and how we score explains what each criterion measures.
Ranked, and why
scored on what the maker publishes · open a row for the working1
Homtone Conical Burr Coffee Grinder7.2- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 8.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 7.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Speed & Noise — 5.0 of 10, carrying 8 of the 91.4 points scored here.
2
MOKKOM 64mm Flat Burr Coffee Grinder7.1- Grind Consistency
- 10.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 9.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 4.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 5.1
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 4.5 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
3
Kingrinder K66.9- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 8.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 6.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 10.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 4.0
- Value for Money
- 8.0
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Dosing & Workflow — 4.0 of 10, carrying 12 of the 91.4 points scored here.
4
Ollygrin Conical Burr Coffee Grinder 30 Settings6.9- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 7.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 5.0 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
5
1Zpresso K-Ultra Manual Coffee Grinder6.8- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 9.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 10.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 3.5
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Value for Money — 3.5 of 10, carrying 10 of the 91.4 points scored here.
6
DF64 Gen 2 Single Dose Coffee Grinder6.8- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 7.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 8.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 7.5
- Value for Money (no price published)
- 5.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 5.0 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
7
Baratza Sette 270Wi6.6- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 8.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 7.0
- Value for Money
- 1.5
- Speed & Noise
- 8.1
Weakest link: Value for Money — 1.5 of 10, carrying 10 of the 91.4 points scored here.
8
Hario Skerton Pro Ceramic Coffee Mill6.6- Grind Consistency
- 6.5
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 6.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 7.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 3.5
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Dosing & Workflow — 3.5 of 10, carrying 12 of the 91.4 points scored here.
9
Breville Dose Control Pro BCG600SIL6.5- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 8.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 4.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 8.0
- Value for Money (no price published)
- 5.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 4.0 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
10
OutIn Fino Portable Electric Coffee Grinder6.5- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 7.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 7.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 5.0
- Value for Money
- 5.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Dosing & Workflow — 5.0 of 10, carrying 12 of the 91.4 points scored here.
11
Baratza Encore ZCG485BLK6.4- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 7.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 5.0
- Value for Money
- 5.5
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published) — 5.0 of 10, carrying 14 of the 91.4 points scored here.
12
Hamilton Beach Electric Burr Coffee Grinder 16oz6.4- Grind Consistency
- 5.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 5.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 7.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Grind Consistency — 5.0 of 10, carrying 24 of the 91.4 points scored here.
13
JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder6.4- Grind Consistency
- 6.5
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 5.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 6.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 5.0
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 5.0
Weakest link: Dosing & Workflow — 5.0 of 10, carrying 12 of the 91.4 points scored here.
14
SHARDOR Electric Burr Coffee Grinder 2.06.4- Grind Consistency
- 7.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 5.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 6.0
- Value for Money
- 10.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 5.0 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
15
Baratza Sette 306.3- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 6.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.5
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 7.0
- Value for Money
- 2.8
- Speed & Noise
- 8.1
Weakest link: Value for Money — 2.8 of 10, carrying 10 of the 91.4 points scored here.
16
TIMEMORE Whirly 01S Portable Electric Burr Grinder6.3- Grind Consistency
- 6.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 7.0
- Build Quality & Durability
- 7.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 7.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 5.5
- Value for Money
- 4.8
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Value for Money — 4.8 of 10, carrying 10 of the 91.4 points scored here.
17
OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder 12oz6.0- Grind Consistency
- 8.0
- Grind Range & Adjustment
- 5.5
- Build Quality & Durability
- 5.0
- Cleaning, Retention & Mess (retention not published)
- 5.0
- Dosing & Workflow
- 5.0
- Value for Money (no price published)
- 5.0
- Speed & Noise
- 6.9
Weakest link: Build Quality & Durability — 5.0 of 10, carrying 16 of the 91.4 points scored here.
Espresso is the hardest thing you can ask a grinder to do. The grind has to be fine, even, and adjustable in steps small enough to move a shot by a few seconds. Most grinders sold as all-purpose cannot do the third of those, which is why this list is much shorter than the grinder category.
Step size decides whether you can dial in at all
A shot that runs four seconds fast needs a grind slightly finer, and if the next setting is a large jump you will overshoot in the other direction forever. This is why stepless or very finely stepped grinders dominate espresso recommendations, and why a 40-step grinder covering French press to espresso is usually the wrong tool even when its burrs are good.
Numbers help but need reading. The Baratza Sette 270Wi's 270 steps and the Breville Dose Control Pro's 60 are not measuring the same thing; what matters is how many of them fall in the espresso zone.
Retention is the figure makers leave off the box
Coffee left inside the grinder from the last session comes out in the next one. On a machine holding several grams, your first shot of the day is partly yesterday's coffee, and the dose you weighed is not the dose you brewed. Single dosing - grinding exactly what you are about to use - is the workaround, and grinders designed for it hold very little back.
It is also the specification most often absent from a spec sheet, which is itself informative.
Conical or flat
Conical burrs are more common and more forgiving, and typically give a rounder, heavier shot. Flat burrs tend toward clarity and separation and are less tolerant of a sloppy routine. Neither is better; they suit different tastes, and the difference between two good grinders of either type is smaller than the difference between grinding well and grinding badly.
What to ignore
Motor wattage. It tells you about torque and heat, not grind quality, and a higher figure on the box has no relationship to what is in the cup. A slower grinder that produces less fines heat is generally the better machine.
Common questions
Can I use any grinder for espresso?
No. Espresso needs a fine grind adjustable in very small steps, and most all-purpose grinders jump too coarsely at the fine end to dial a shot in. Burr quality matters, but step size is what rules grinders out.
What is retention and why does it matter?
Coffee left inside the grinder after grinding, which comes out in your next dose. It means the weight you measured is not the weight you brewed, and your first shot contains yesterday's coffee. It is also the specification most often missing from a spec sheet.
Are flat burrs better than conical for espresso?
Different rather than better. Conical burrs are more forgiving and give a rounder, heavier shot; flat burrs give more clarity and separation and punish an inconsistent routine. The gap between two good grinders is smaller than the gap between good and bad technique.
Does a more powerful grinder motor make better espresso?
No. Wattage describes torque and heat, not grind quality, and has no relationship to what ends up in the cup. A slower grinder that heats the coffee less is usually the better machine.
What is single dosing?
Grinding exactly the amount you are about to brew rather than filling a hopper. It keeps beans fresher and sidesteps retention, which is why grinders designed for it hold very little coffee back between doses.