Baratza Encore ESP: Grind Settings for Espresso and Filter

Setting 5 for a medium-roast espresso. 23 for a standard AeroPress. 30 for a Chemex. The trick with the ESP is knowing that its dial is really two dials stuck together.

The Encore ESP is Baratza's take on at-home espresso without giving up filter. Same 40mm conical steel burrs as the original Encore, same motor, but the dial is laid out differently. Baratza launched it in 2023 as the next step for its best-selling grinder.

Unlike a manual grinder, you don't count clicks from zero. You rotate the hopper and align the number you want with the indicator on the body.

If you only care about filter and have no interest in espresso, the Baratza Encore is simpler (its dial doesn't reach espresso fineness). If you want to stay in the family but with stepless adjustment instead of fixed positions, the Baratza Encore ESP Pro is the 2025 version. If you want an electric single-dose upgrade, the Turin DF54 is a flat-burr grinder that leans espresso but reaches filter too. And if you'd rather go manual, the 1Zpresso JX-Pro is the one that also handles espresso.

Quick Reference Table

Brew Method	Setting Range	Starting Point	Dial Zone
Espresso	1–12	5	Espresso (1-20)
Moka Pot	22–23	22	Filter (21-40)
AeroPress	20–24	23	Boundary
V60	25–28	26	Filter (21-40)
Chemex	30–31	30	Filter (21-40)
French Press	32–33	32	Filter (21-40)

Starting points are for a medium-roast washed coffee. One thing surprises people at first: espresso spans eleven numbers and Chemex only two. That isn't a mistake. In the fine half each number moves the grind very little, so it takes many numbers to cover the range; in the coarse half each number is a big jump.

How the Dial Works

The Encore ESP is a single numbered dial from 0 to 40, but Baratza's manual splits it into two halves that behave very differently:

• 1 to 20, the espresso half. Each number changes the grind by a small amount. This is the fine-control zone, which is why espresso lives here even though it spans a lot of numbers.
• 21 to 40, the filter half. Here each number is a much larger step. Everything that isn't espresso lives in this half: Moka at 22, AeroPress at 23, V60 at 26, Chemex at 30, French Press at 32.

That's the real difference from the original Encore, which spreads its whole range evenly across all 40 numbers.

To change your setting, rotate the hopper and align the number with the indicator on the body. You don't need to take anything apart, and there's no special "click" anywhere. The dial just keeps turning.

The motor is the same as the original Encore. It doesn't have extra torque for very fine settings, so down in the low zone you'll notice it grinds more slowly. That's normal and won't damage the motor as long as you don't force big batches back-to-back.

Espresso

This is what the ESP exists for, and it takes up much of the fine half of the dial.

• Light roast: 1.
• Medium roast: 5.
• Dark roast: 12.

Target shot time: 25-32 seconds for 18g of coffee and 36g of espresso (1:2 ratio). If the shot pulls fast (under 20s) and tastes sour: 1 number finer. If it pulls slow (over 35s) and tastes bitter: 1 number coarser.

Baratza's manual suggests starting at 15 for a medium roast at 18g. If you follow that number and it tastes thin and sour, you aren't doing anything wrong: on the ESP the dial numbering isn't absolute, and Baratza's own manual explains why in its shim section.

For very dark roasts (Italian-style blends, for example) go coarser still: they're so soluble they over-extract easily.

Shims Move the Whole Scale

Inside the grounds bin, from the factory, there's a set of metal shims. They bring the cone burr closer to the ring burr, and Baratza's manual is explicit about the effect: one shim shifts the scale by about five settings. Their own worked example says that if you were grinding at 10 before, the equivalent after fitting a shim is 15.

Which means the dial number on an ESP doesn't measure anything on its own. Two units of the same model can want different numbers for the same grind depending on how many shims are fitted. The manual adds that as the grinder is used the parts settle and you have to work your way down the scale, so the numbering drifts on its own over time too.

That's why any published number, ours included, is a starting point and not a constant of the grinder. If yours consistently wants two numbers more than the table, it isn't broken: it's shimmed or broken in differently.

When to fit one: when you're already at the lowest numbers and espresso still pulls fast and sour with the dose and temperature right. That's precisely the case the manual describes, "the finest grind settings may not be fine enough".

How to fit it: remove the hopper, the ring burr and the cone burr following the cleaning procedure. Underneath are the paddle wheel and the drive shim: take them out. Place one or two shims on top of the ones already there and reassemble. If it still won't grind fine enough after that, the manual sends you to Baratza support, because at that point it's an assembly or parts problem.

Moka Pot

Just across into the coarse half of the dial:

• Range: 22–23.
• Starting point: 22.
• If the brew sputters and hisses too soon, go 1 number coarser. If it comes out pale and watery, go finer.

Those two numbers come out of a 450 to 570 micron window that every grinder shares. You can see the same window read off 13 different dials if you're switching grinders or comparing notes.

AeroPress

The AeroPress takes a medium-fine grind, a touch finer than V60. It's the one method that straddles both halves of the dial, so the style matters more here than elsewhere:

• Espresso-style (short, concentrated): 20, 1:00 steep.
• Standard method: 23, 1:30 to 2:00 steep.
• Inverted or long steep: 24, 2:00 to 2:30 steep.

V60

A medium grind, already in the coarse half of the dial. V60 is where most Encore ESP users spend the bulk of their non-espresso time.

• Light roast: 25.
• Medium roast: 26.
• Dark roast: 28.

Target brew time: 2:30 to 3:30 for a 15g dose with 250ml of water. If it drains too fast and tastes sour, go 1 number finer. If it stalls and tastes bitter, go coarser.

Chemex

The Chemex filter is thicker than a V60 filter, so it absorbs more oils and slows down the brew. You need to grind coarser to compensate.

• Light roast: 30.
• Medium roast: 30.
• Dark roast: 31.

Light and medium share a number: in this zone a single step covers more ground than the difference between those two roasts.

Target brew time: 3:30 to 4:30 for a 30g dose with 500ml of water.

French Press

Coarse grind, up in the high end of the dial.

• Light roast: 32, 4:00 steep.
• Medium roast: 32.
• Dark roast: 33.
• Lighter body: go up toward 34.

How Roast Level Changes Your Setting

Light roasts are denser and dark roasts more soluble, so you adjust the grind to compensate: finer for light, coarser for dark. What changes on the ESP is how many numbers that adjustment represents, and it depends on which half of the dial you're in.

In the filter half, roast steps are 0 to 2 numbers, because each number is already a big change. In the espresso half, the same roast change can be several numbers:

• Light specialty roast: setting 1.
• Medium roast: setting 5.
• Dark roast: setting 12.

It looks like a huge jump compared to filter, but in actual grind size it's a smaller change than a single number up in the coarse zone.

How to Dial In

The table gives you a starting point. Here's how to find your ideal grind from there:

1. Pick the starting point for your method and roast.
2. Brew and taste. Brew time is a clue, but taste is what matters.
3. Move the dial one number at a time. In both halves, even though the effect is very different.
4. Change one thing at a time. Don't adjust grind and dose at the same time.
5. Write it down. Or use Coffee Master to log your brews automatically.

Most coffees on filter land within 1-2 numbers of the starting point. On espresso the margin is wider in numbers, but not in grind size.

Maintenance

Same procedure as the original Encore. The burrs and motor are the same.

Burr cleaning (every 1-2 months if you grind daily): power off and unplug, remove the hopper by twisting a quarter turn, take off the top burr by turning it counter-clockwise, and brush everything with a dry bristle brush. A clean paintbrush works great. No water.

Screw check (every 6-12 months): there's a single Phillips screw at the base of the bottom burr. If it feels loose, tighten it by hand.

A few things to keep in mind:

• In the fine half of the dial, the motor grinds more slowly. That's normal.
• New burrs need a break-in period. The first 500-1000g may grind a bit unevenly while the edges polish themselves. Use whatever beans you have on hand.
• Grindz tablets work well for deep cleaning once a year.

Common Issues