Are you tired of spending cash on a hot cup of coffee every morning at the local coffee shop? Wouldn’t you rather have a quick and simple brewing method to make your favorite cup of coffee?
If you want to start making coffee at home, freshly ground coffee beans make the best cup of coffee. That means you’ll need a good coffee grinder to make sure your pour-over coffee is as fresh and delicious as possible!
A burr grinder is a must to guarantee that your coffee beans will be ground evenly and consistently so that you can get the best flavors when you make your pour-over brew.
This guide will teach you what you need to know about some of the best electric coffee grinders for pour-over available.
At a Glance: Best Pour-Over Grinders
Check out some of our recommendations for the best pour-over coffee makers!
Quick Summary: Best Coffee Grinder for Pour Over
 | Our Top Pick Breville Smart Grinder Pro |
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 | Fellow Ode |
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 | KRUPS Precision Grinder |
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 | Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder |
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 | Baratza Sette 30 |
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 | Baratza Encore |
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 | OXO Brew Conical Burr Grinder |
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Breville Smart Grinder Pro
The Breville Smart Grinder Pro comes recommended if you want to step up from a blade grinder or a basic burr grinder. The Smart Grinder Pro is a prosumer home espresso grinder.
This grinder is much more versatile than entry-level burr grinders, offering 60 grind settings. It’s capable of milling for just about any brewing method, including espresso.
The Smart Grinder Pro has stainless steel conical burrs attached to a powerful motor. It has an LCD screen that displays all your settings, including the grind size, how long you want to grind, and how many cups you want to grind.
All of the settings are programmable, so it’s as easy as pushing a single button to grind your morning dose of coffee.
Things We Like:
- Very versatile with 60 grind settings and can grind for all kinds of brew methods
- Highly adjustable with programmable settings that make it easy to repeat your grind choices
- Above-average grind consistency
Things We Don’t Like:
- Uses a timed dosing system that makes it hard to grind by weight
- Can be hard to get precise quantities
- Grind consistency isn’t as good with coarser grind sizes
Fellow Ode
The Fellow Ode is designed specifically for filter coffee. It is one of the best grinders out there if you’re making pour-over coffees, as it’s a master of medium-coarse grind sizes.
The Fellow Ode is a beautifully designed machine, built of steel and aluminum with a matte black casing and a modern and sleek aesthetic. It is compact and sturdy and tucks away easily on the counter.
At the heart of the Fellow ode is a large set of professional-quality flat burrs made of hardened steel. These excellent burrs guarantee fast grinding and very precise and consistent grind quality.
If you take a close look at the coffee grounds that this grinder produces, you’ll notice that each particle is a uniform size, which means when you brew it, the flavors will extract from the beans as evenly as possible.
This is a very high-quality machine that’s suitable for anyone who doesn’t mind spending more money to ensure they have the best quality grinder.
Things We like:
- Precise and consistent grind quality, thanks to cafe-quality flat burrs and smart motor speed
- 31 grind settings
- Specially designed to excel at medium grinds, making it perfect for pour-over coffee grinding
- The spring-loaded knock button makes it easy to clear any grinds that are retained in the chute
- Beautiful design that will look great on the countertop
- Very durable with a compact, heavy body built of steel that doesn’t vibrate or create a lot of noise while it’s grinding
Things We Don’t Like:
- Its grind range is somewhat limited for its price, and it’s not suitable for espresso grinds
- This machine is expensive — The Fellow Ode is for someone who takes grind quality very seriously
KRUPS Precision Grinder
The KRUPS Precision Grinder comes highly recommended, as it ensures the consistency of its ground coffee beans due to its flat grinding burrs.
This grinder comes with 12 major grind settings and micro-adjustments that will provide you with grounds ranging from a very fine powder to coarser grind sizes.
With this affordable option, you can brew all kinds of coffees, including a pour-over espresso, Turkish coffee, a French press cold brew, or a drip filter coffee.
As well, you can customize the number of cups of coffee you want. It can grind quantities of coffee from two to 12 cups.
Things We Like:
- It’s easy to use – all you need to do is add the fresh beans, select the size you want, and press the button
- It produces a consistent grind size
- It comes at an affordable price
- It’s smaller and easier to store than other coffee grinders
- The range of settings allows for many adjustments
Things We Don’t Like:
- The coffee powder may spill due to the shape of the hopper
- Cleaning this coffee grinder is way too hard
- The grinding noise is a bit too loud
- For an espresso coffee, the finer grind setting doesn’t work properly, and the coffee beans are too coarsely ground
Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
Stainless steel conical burrs are an essential part of the Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder for compressing coffee beans.
This conical burr coffee grinder also includes protective features that safeguard the grinding gear from malfunctioning. It comes with a soft brush for easy cleaning.
You can make more than 7 ounces of coffee grounds with one use of this conical burr grinder. There is also a push-button and preset time, which lets you create the perfect amount of coffee grounds. As well, the blades won’t require any sharpening.
Things We Like:
- Doesn’t take up too much space
- Easy to choose the coarseness of the coffee grounds
- Long-lasting product that should serve you for years
- Includes an easy-to-use cleaning mode
- Grinding consistency produces a uniform grind and includes a glass grind catch
- Makes a good-tasting espresso coffee
Things We Don’t Like:
- Only grinds 6 or 7 grams of coffee beans per use
- Plastic drive gears are capable of breaking
- The motor malfunctioned after 18 months for one customer
- Very loud when compared to other brands
- One customer found it malfunctioned in less than one week
- More pricey than other brands
Baratza Sette 30
Baratza has been known for making high-quality, innovative grinders since the company was founded in 1999. The Sette 30 is an affordable, reliable entry-level espresso grinder that works great for pour-over grinds.
The Sette 30 features 40 mm conical steel burrs that are cleverly designed to run with the outer burr rotating around the stationary inner cone burr, the inverse of most grinders. This allows for a fluffier grind and faster grinding speeds than most of its competition.
Things We Like:
- The unique burr design allows for fast grinding
- Faster grinding than most competitors at this price, with about 3.5 grams per second
- Nearly zero grind retention
- 30 grind settings
- Excellent grind quality, with uniform grounds and no clumping
Things We Don’t Like:
- Very noisy when it’s grinding
- Built with many plastic parts, which are questionable for long-term durability
- Grind setting adjustments aren’t as precise as some higher-end machines
Baratza Encore
The iconic and ever-popular Encore is Baratza’s most basic model, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a slouch.
Even as an entry-level burr grinder, this grinder delivers great quality and durability.
The Baratza Encore grinds well for pour-over coffee, with a ground consistency that’s better than most beginner grinders.
The Encore is simple to use, with 40 grind settings adjustable by the dial on the side and a push button to start and stop grinding.
Like all products from this company, it’s backed by Baratza’s excellent customer service and philosophy of designing appliances that are easy to repair.
Overall, the Baratza Encore is a great choice for people who are buying their first coffee grinder or are looking to upgrade from a blade grinder.
Things We Like:
- 40 grind settings mean you can hone on the perfect grind for your brew
- Simple and easy to use, making it great as an entry-level grinder
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Good grind quality for its price class
Things We Don’t Like:
- It’s a pretty slow grinder
- Grinding can be messy, with lots of static throwing coffee dust around
- Fewer features than some other similarly-priced grinders
OXO Brew Conical Burr Grinder
The OXO Brew Conical Burr grinder isn’t the best out there, but it might be the best in its price class.
It’s a compact and durable grinder that uses 40mm steel burrs to deliver better grind consistency than most grinders in this price range.
There are 15 grind settings, which isn’t a lot compared to other grinders, but it’s enough to give you options to dial in your pour-over grind.
It’s very easy to operate and uses a timer to dose out the grind. The OXO Brew Conical Burr is a good choice for a pour-over grind that won’t break the bank.
Things We Like:
- Above-average grind consistency
- Simple interface with one-touch grinding
- Good value for the money
Things We Don’t Like:
- This grinder is messy, as static causes the coffee grounds to fly around and stick to the walls of the bin
- Noisy, with an unpleasant whiny sound as it grinds
- Coarse settings produce inconsistent grinds
FAQ
What’s the difference between a blade grinder and a burr grinder?
There are two main types of grinders: blade grinders and burr grinders. Blade grinders are cheaper, but they make it nearly impossible to grind your coffee beans to a consistent size, as the beans are tossed around haphazardly on the spinning blades.
Burr grinders may be more pricey, but you’ll get a way better grind out of them, which means better-tasting coffee.
Burr grinders may use either flat burrs or conical burrs. They each have their pros and cons and functional differences, but they work on essentially the same principle: coffee beans are fed into a gap between two spinning burrs and crushed as they pass through.
You can adjust the size of your grind by adjusting the gap between the burrs. The best grinders offer more precise adjustments that won’t slip once you have them set.
Why do you need a coffee grinder at home?
Using a coffee grinder is one of the best ways to improve the quality of the coffee you drink at home. Freshly ground coffee beans make all the difference in terms of flavor and aroma.
If you’re used to using pre-ground beans, you’ll notice a huge difference when you switch to grinding your beans fresh, and you’ll likely never go back to buying stale coffee.
With a coffee grinder, you can adjust the size of the grind. This will allow you to adjust the grind for different brewing methods, whether you’re making pour-over, french press, percolator coffee, or espresso.
Being able to adjust the grind gives you a lot more control over the quality of your brew, and you’ll taste the difference in your cup.
When you use pre-ground coffee, you’re locked into the manufacturer’s grind size, which means you won’t have the flexibility to adjust the grind to your brew methods.
What are the best coffee grinder brands?
There are loads of companies manufacturing coffee grinders. Here are three of our favorite coffee grinder brands:
Breville
Breville makes a wide range of home appliances and kitchen products and has been producing coffee and home espresso products for over 20 years. They are known for good quality, durable designs that are very user-friendly.
The knock on Breville is that some customers mention that their customer support is lacking. The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is one of the most popular coffee grinders on the market.
Fellow
The Fellow brand is based in San Francisco and started in 2013 making specialty coffee products with an emphasis on great design and high performance. This is an impressive brand with many fans in the specialty coffee world.
Baratza
Baratza is an American coffee grinder company that was founded in 1999. They are known for making high-quality grinders with innovative designs, and for delivering exceptional customer service.
Breville acquired Baratza a few years ago, but Baratza has maintained its management structure.
One thing that’s great about Baratza is that they make their grinders with a lot of replaceable parts, so it’s possible to buy entry-level versions of their grinders and make upgrades as you need them.
How much do coffee grinders cost?
The cost of coffee grinders varies greatly. They can cost as little as $20 for a cheap blade grinder or as much as $400 for a home espresso grinder with professional-quality parts. A mid-tier burr grinder usually costs $100-$200.
Are manual coffee grinders better than electric grinders?
Many people love manual coffee grinders for their price, compactness, portability, and great grind consistency. Plus, they’re much easier on the ears than noisy electric grinders.
That said, electric grinders can mill much faster than any manual grinder. They can also produce finer coffee grounds. If you want to grind larger portions of coffee to make enough coffee for a group of people, an electric grinder is a better choice.
However, if you are looking for a hand-cranked grinder, you’ll want to check out this list of the six best manual coffee grinders.
Can coffee grinders mill spices?
If you’re using a burr grinder, it’s not advisable to grind anything but coffee with it. Spices, seeds, nuts, and grains can be much harder than coffee beans and can damage your burrs.
This is especially true if your grinder has ceramic burrs, as their edges can easily chip against harder objects.
You can grind spices, nuts, seeds, and grains in a blade grinder, but it’s best to designate separate grinders for spices and coffee unless you want your brew to taste like cumin.
How do coffee grinders work?
Coffee grinders work in a couple of different ways. If you’re using a blade grinder, it works a lot like a food processor: there’s a spinning blade attached to a motor.
You fill the grinder with coffee beans, put on the lid, and push a button to start the motor. The blade spins at a high speed and chops up the beans.
The downside of the blade grinder design is that it’s just about impossible to get any consistency in the grind since the beans fly around willy-nilly as the blade tosses them around.
Burr grinders work by feeding the coffee beans through a gap between two burrs. The burrs have teeth, and one of them remains stationary while the other rotates, crushing the beans to the exact diameter of the space between the burrs.
How does coffee grind size affect a pour-over?
For pour-over coffee, the best grind size is generally a medium-coarse grind. That said, the best grind size will depend on your equipment.
If you’re using a Chemex, you’ll want to grind on the coarser side to make sure the coffee doesn’t brew too slowly.
If you’re using a V60, a finer grind is better so that the water doesn’t filter through the grounds too quickly.
The finer the grind, the longer the water stays in contact with the beans. Here’s a good rule of thumb for choosing your grind size for pour-over coffee: if the coffee is coming out bitter, heavy, and harsh, try using a coarser grind so the water moves through the filter more quickly.
On the other hand, if your coffee is coming out weak, sour, or thin, use a finer grind to slow the brewing process down and let more flavors come out.
Conclusion
The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is our top pick for the best coffee grinder for pour-over brew styles. This coffee grinder comes with a versatile set of functions and a wide range of grind settings that will allow you to grind coffee for many coffee brewing methods.
The Smart Grinder Pro is easy to clean and very user-friendly. It can also grind coffee beans to a very fine size suitable for making espresso, unlike most of the other grinders on this list.
It has programmable settings that make it very easy to repeat the grind settings you like when you find a grind that works perfectly for you.
It’s not the cheapest grinder on this list, but its versatility, adjustability, and ease of use make it our top choice. For how well the Smart Grinder Pro performs, it’s a reasonable price compared to other grinders of similar quality.
Happy Caffeinating!
