Hi All.

I'm looking for a good coffee grinder that is great for espresso and all the way to French press.
Also, great with consistency across the grinding range.

I read some mixed reviews on the Breville smart grinder pro, so I'm not sure about this grinder. I read that it's not good for French press.

My budget is up to $250 AUD. Currently, I can get the Breville Smart Grinder Pro for $160 AUD, while usually it retails for $275 AUD.

Is there anything that can fit in this price, which is better than the Breville grinder and is good for espresso and French press?

Refurbished baratza virtuoso might be worth checking / comparing

The only company that I would even consider in the price range is Baratza. To be honest though, I don't think any grinder on the market will offer great grinding consistency across the full range. You'll be able to pull espresso and grind coarse enough for french press, but they will both be mediocre. Shims and/or different burrs would be required. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this has been the case for me and I've tried a bunch of budget to high end grinders.

I'd recommend a high quality hand grinder

ryuemura wrote:The only company that I would even consider in the price range is Baratza. To be honest though, I don't think any grinder on the market will offer great grinding consistency across the full range. You'll be able to pull espresso and grind coarse enough for french press, but they will both be mediocre. Shims and/or different burrs would be required. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this has been the case for me and I've tried a bunch of budget to high end grinders.

Absolutely true

ryuemura wrote:The only company that I would even consider in the price range is Baratza. To be honest though, I don't think any grinder on the market will offer great grinding consistency across the full range. You'll be able to pull espresso and grind coarse enough for french press, but they will both be mediocre. Shims and/or different burrs would be required. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this has been the case for me and I've tried a bunch of budget to high end grinders.

So how could I know if it's going to be mediocre?
What are the criteria you'd judge if something is mediocre?

I've placed an order for the Breville smart grinder pro for $160

Consistency.

A grinder that is consistent at the espresso end can have trouble at the coarse end and vice versa

Consistency means equal extraction throughout the coffee mass vs fines turning bitter while the boulders are getting started. That was the issue I had with the stock encore grinder. I realized I was compensated for poor consistency by grinding finer and finer to get everything a similar size which led to over extraction or very short brew times that left out flavour nuances.

happycat wrote:Consistency.

A grinder that is consistent at the espresso end can have trouble at the coarse end and vice versa

Consistency means equal extraction throughout the coffee mass vs fines turning bitter while the boulders are getting started. That was the issue I had with the stock encore grinder. I realized I was compensated for poor consistency by grinding finer and finer to get everything a similar size which led to over extraction or very short brew times that left out flavour nuances.

Yes. Fines are desired more in espresso than in pour over. There is talk about which is worse, boulders or fines, and I don't think there is a definitive answer. The reality is, different grinders produce different extremes. Something like the Baratza Sette (30 or 270, doesn't matter) is very good at minimizing boulders and controlling fines. The problem with it is that once it gets into the coarse range the fines don't go away so you can end up with slow draw down times or a muddy bed. You can compensate for this by center pouring to speed up flow, and smaller cups don't get impacted as much as say a large drip pot or Chemex but it is there.

On the other end, a grinder like the Baratza Encore / Virtuoso can do well in the Pour-over/French Press range but very poorly in the espresso range. This is because they lack the minute adjustments needed to truly dial in a grind. You'll end up choking the machine or having a watery shot with no ability to find the happy medium.

I have previously the Breville Smart Grinder Pro. In my opinion, it is a good start. It's not as good as a Sette for Espresso but it is better than a Sette for Pourover/Drip/Press. It is not as good as an Encore/Virtuoso for those methods.

Given your criteria, apart from a manual grinder, you probably have the best choice. It does a passable job at both brew extemes but there are other options in this price range that do better (which I mentioned; however, you would need both to have the 'full spectrum' you desire). I will say that if you went Sette 270 and bought the BG burr for $26, the drip/pourover/press approaches the quality of the BSGP in my experience.

If only the Sette 270 was in my budget. Maybe that will be my future upgrade after I'm done with the Breville SGP.
Thanks for the detailed reply.