So we have two budget grinders that range
that range from espresso to filter
From effectively the same company
So which of the two is better?
And have they compared to spending a little bit more on the Varia
VS3?
Hi, I'm Pedro from Coffee Parts
And let's get into it.
Baratza
have re-engineered the original Encore which was a Filter only grinder to now
be the Encore ESP and as the name suggests, it now also does espresso.
This means it now competes head to head with a Breville
smart grinder, which has been out for quite a few years.
But what's interesting is a few years ago Breville bought Baratza
so effectively and now competing head to head in the same space.
It also competes
head to head with the Fellow Opus which was meant to be in this video.
Yet our sample got lost in transit so we don't actually have it.
So we haven't tested it.
And for that reason, it
can't be in this video.
All of which are quite similar in price.
And then there's a Varia VS3
However, this grinder does jump up in price somewhat and would
still be launched
in the budget category or not really depends on what you're comparing it to.
However, all these grinders are conical grinders.
Quite similar in nature yet different in an application.
Before we dive into the budget.
Espresso to fuel to grinder comparison if you like, in this content.
So far. Please.
I can subscribe and really helps us
grow this channel and deliver even more content.
A little disclaimer.
While the Varia and Breville are my grinders,
the Baratza has been sent to me so I can give them feedback.
You have full freedom to speak my mind
If you're looking for a full review
rather than a comparison.
We've done
reviews on each of these grinders independently on the Baratza Encore ESP,
the Breville smart grinder and the Varia VS3
which will leave links down below.
The Baratza
On the budget side of
things, the Baratza Encore ESP really performs.
It's an Encore and it's typical Baratza
So it's noisy and you can hear
But.
It's super easy to dial in.
It runs the same 40 notches of movements from 1 to 40.
Well, we're a change from the original.
This is running two different pitches.
So from 1 to 20 on this side, you've got the espresso
and the vertical movement is quite tight.
So you can really dial in for espresso.
Once you go from 21 to 40, then the movement
great becomes bigger and you can do your filter side of coffee.
Now that's the revolution.
There is a two different pitches,
so a small movement to incrementally bigger movements
and allows you to go from filter to espresso and back quite easily.
However, when you do go from espresso to filter and back,
you can collect a little bit of fine.
And on the filter side of things, fines aren't great, but from budget grinder,
the ability to do both is super cool
When it comes to dosing.
It's dosing into a dosing cup.
Now that's for the espresso side of things.
And what Baratza
Have done is done a cup that fits both 54 and 58 mm portafilter
and it really covers most of the market basically with the rubber on top, you're
dealing with the 58 mm portafilter, but as you remove the rubber
and bring it into the bottom here, it's now feeding into the 54mm portafilter
If you have a doing filter coffee,
you just remove the little rubber mat here bringing the coffee container
and you're grinding into the coffee container
so you can pour into your V6 mockapop whatever it might be.
The Encoreor is it filter coffee will for its price is clean, sweet, nice.
The only real drawback on this grinder is how noisy it is.
The Breville
I really do see this as a simple, easy to use, no fuss grinder.
What Breville has varied from Baratza is in the way dials in
Baratza use those 40 notches where the first 20 were for a espresso
We're quite fine in the next 20.
The movement
What was a bit coarser for filter coffee.
Because Breville is a linear movement from 0 to 60,
it needed that extra range to be able to do the filter side of things
and the espresso well
Where the Breville really varies from the Baratza
and the Varia is in its LCD screen and timer.
This makes it easy to dial in grind on demand based on time.
So it's time for a single shot, an a time for a double shot
and to adjust the finest of courses of your coffee.
So from espresso to filter and really have a visual indication of where you're at
when it comes to Portafilter support, very similar to the Baratza
it handles both 54 and 58mm portafilters, but in this case uses
a cradle, and the cradle is easily removable and replaced.
So in this case is a 58mm cradle that you could replace that with a 54mm Cradle
The coffee out this grinder, both espresso and filter is clean and sweet,
but the real focus of this grinder is on the ease of use,
easy to dial in, easy to program, to send no fuss, simple to use grinder
the Varia
If your budget does allow for it, the Varia is a little bit better,
but only marginally better.
The build quality is a lot nicer and it is super, super quiet.
Like really quiet.
That quiet.
Obviously it makes a little bit more noise with coffee,
but that's a very quiet grinder, although it does sound a little bit tinny.
For filter.
It offers a higher clarity and body in the cup
and it is a very clean filter coffee.
And for espresso it really does well.
Now this is a single dose grinder, so you're dosing in the coffee
that you grinding out.
So that involves a little bit more work.
You normally have a scale
and a dosing cup and you pre-weight your coffee before you load it into the grinder
compared to say the Baratza where you're pushing in that bottom to grind on Demand
or the Breville where you grinding based on time or on demand
So it is a slightly different workflow in saying that with the Baratza
you can buy a single dose hopper and move it to a single dose workflow
where you also weighing the coffee dosing in the
say your 20 grams for espresso and you're 20 grams out.
Now one big difference is a dosing cup.
I really do like the dosing cup on the Baratza
where it runs both 54 and 58mm really neatly and on the Breville
it dosing into the portafilter either 54 or 50mm portafilter
with the Varia though use a random dosing cup
so would have been nice to see them go along the lines of the Baratza
And having a dosing cup that's more applicable.
But that's only a minor thing and not a minor
thing is behind here the power block.
It runs a transformer.
So that power block, depending on your set up, your kitchen could get
in the way of such a beautiful design in the grinder.
Realistically, though, this grinder possibly sits outside that real budget
segment of the other three grinders, although the two in this video.
So who are these grinders for as entry level grinders?
It really opened up the door to allow for more coffee lovers
to get into grinding fresh coffee at home
and as the passion progress as so to the grinders in the journey.
I'm always of the opinion that you buy the best grinder
your budget allows for and compromise everywhere else.
Say on the coffee machine or filter coffee setup.
Yeah.
In saying that these entry level grinders really do offer massive bang for buck
a see these grinders for those building a home coffee
set up with the espresso filter coffee or both.
And definitely for those moving up from a pre-grounded coffee.
On that note, if you're using a pre-grounded coffee, get a grinder.
You need a grinder.
A grinder changes everything, even if it's a cheap hand grinder.
So which of these grinders should you choose?
All three offer Awesome Bang for buck.
The breville really is a simpler to use.
It really is a no fuss grinder.
And apart from the downside of it being a little bit noisy, it's this simple.
It's convenient.
The Baratza offers best bang for buck both espresso and filter.
Awesome.
Like the Breville is noisy for the workflow is convenient
whether you're using it as the way it's intended or is a single dose
that dosing cup being able to fit both portafilters.
It really is on a budget, a really awesome bang for buck grinder.
And then there's a Varia VS3 is the most expensive.
It does perform the best in some ways.
It's marginally better in the cup, but it is the best.
The build is nicer, it's a lot quieter, but the workflow,
it takes a little bit more work because it is a single dose grinder.
So you have to pre-weight your coffee loaded and grind it through.
So really depends on what you want out of coffee on either espresso filter or both.
Basically the Breville easy to use, no fuss.
The Baratza bang for buck good workflow just is what it is,
but it's noisy and the Varia
the best of the three in the cup in the build quality now quiet
but once again it is more money and a little bit more for workflow.
Just a mind that we have done Full reviews on each of these grinders
where you see me grind and make coffee out of them
and you see the proper workflow between them, how loud they are.
So for those reviews, click on the links below.
And like always, if this video brought you value
please hit thumbs up and if you haven't yet, please subscribe.
Thank you and see on the next video.