Baratza Encore ESP Pro: Grind Settings for Espresso and Filter

Setting 12.5 for a medium-roast espresso. 44 for a standard AeroPress. 46.5 for a V60. On the Baratza Encore ESP Pro the numbers run higher than you'd expect, because its display goes to 60 and not 40.

The Encore ESP Pro is the 2025 addition to the Encore family, and the first in the line to drop stepped adjustment. Instead of fixed positions it has a continuous collar, and a digital display that turns that rotation into a number between 0.0 and 60.0 in half-step increments. The burrs are the same 40mm conical steel burrs found in the Encore and the Encore ESP.

That changes how you dial in. On a stepped dial you count positions; here you turn until the display reads what you want, and you can stop between two half steps if you need to.

If you're coming from the Encore ESP, don't translate your old numbers: the scale is different. If you want an electric flat-burr grinder with a different philosophy, the Turin DF54 is the closest alternative. And if you'd rather go manual, the 1Zpresso JX-Pro also reaches espresso.

Quick Reference Table

Starting points are for a medium-roast washed coffee. Ranges run from light to dark.

Espresso takes up almost twenty points and French Press barely one. That's deliberate: below 40 each half step moves the grind very little, and above 40 each half step is a big jump. That uneven split is what you paid for.

How the Collar Works

The display gives you a number from 0.0 to 60.0, but the collar underneath is continuous. The number is a reference, not a stop: nothing keeps you from settling between two marks.

The travel has two very different zones:

• 0 to 40, the espresso zone. The cup icon stays lit while you're here. Each half step changes the grind minimally, which is why espresso can span twenty points without that meaning a big change in grind size.
• 40 to 60, the brew zone. Here the step size jumps. AeroPress lands at 44, V60 at 46.5, Chemex at 49 and French Press at 53.5; there are only seven points between V60 and French Press.

To change your setting you turn the collar: clockwise for finer, counter-clockwise for coarser. The display tracks you in real time, so there's nothing to count.

Our numbers match the chart Baratza prints in the quick start guide, where it tells you to start in the middle of each range: espresso 0-40, AeroPress 40-46, pour-overs 45-52, drip brewer 48-54, French press 50-56 and cold brew 53-59. What we add is refining inside that range for roast and process.

Espresso

This is where the ESP Pro earns its name. The whole lower half of the travel is given over to espresso, with a step small enough to correct a shot without overshooting.

• Light roast: 6.5.
• Medium roast: 12.5.
• Dark roast: 25.5.

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

Baratza puts all of espresso below 40 and tells you to start in the middle of that range, meaning 20. That's a cautious opening so you don't choke your machine on the first try. Our numbers come out finer because they start from your coffee's actual roast and process instead of one number for everyone.

Moka Pot

Right after crossing into the brew zone:

• Range: 42.5–44.5.
• Starting point: 43.5.
• If the brew sputters and hisses too soon, go half a step coarser. If it comes out pale and watery, go finer.

AeroPress

The AeroPress takes a medium-fine grind, a touch finer than V60. It's the method with the most usable travel because it changes so much with style:

• Espresso-style (short, concentrated): 40.5, 1:00 steep.
• Standard method: 44, 1:30 to 2:00 steep.
• Inverted or long steep: 45, 2:00 to 2:30 steep.

Baratza puts AeroPress between 40 and 46 in its chart, which is exactly the stretch these three styles cover.

V60

A medium grind, in the first half of the brew zone. This is where most users spend their time when they're not making espresso.

• Light roast: 46.
• Medium roast: 46.5.
• Dark roast: 47.5.

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 half a step finer. If it stalls and tastes bitter, go coarser.

Chemex

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

• Light roast: 48.5.
• Medium roast: 49.
• Dark roast: 50.

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 travel.

• Light roast: 53, 4:00 steep.
• Medium roast: 53.5.
• Dark roast: 54.
• Lighter body: go up toward 55.

Above 55 you're into cold brew territory, which Baratza places between 53 and 59.

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 Pro is how many points that adjustment represents, and it depends on the zone.

In the brew zone, going from light to dark is between half a point and two points. In espresso, the same change is almost twenty:

• Light specialty roast: 6.5.
• Medium roast: 12.5.
• Dark roast: 25.5.

The number is misleading. Twenty points in the espresso zone move the grind less than one point in the brew zone.

How to Dial In

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

The advantage of stepless adjustment is that when you're torn between two numbers, you can sit in the middle instead of picking one.

Maintenance

The burrs come out without tools, which is the biggest practical difference from the Encore ESP.

Burr cleaning (every 1-2 months if you grind daily): unplug it. Turn the grind setting collar fully counter-clockwise until it aligns with the indicator and lift it off. Then turn the quick-release knob to unlock it, and take out the flow control disk, the ring burr and the cone burr. Brush everything dry with the included brush. No water on the burrs or in the grind chamber.

Hand washing: the hopper lid, hopper, dosing cup and grounds bin do go in soapy water. Let them dry before reassembling.

A few things to keep in mind:

• With dark or flavored coffee, run cleaning tablets now and then: oil builds up inside and eventually causes clogs.
• New burrs need a break-in period. The first 500-1000g may grind a bit unevenly while the edges polish themselves.
• The anti-static system cuts the mess a lot, but doesn't eliminate it entirely with very dry beans.

Common Issues