The Best Espresso Grinder to Unleash the Flavor of Your Beans

Great espresso requires a high-end espresso grinder. There’s no way around it. Espresso extraction is so fast that your grind size must be accurate and consistent to get the most flavor from your espresso beans. Many experts suggest spending at least half as much on your grinder as on your espresso machine!

In short, an espresso grinder is an expensive and important piece of coffee gear. So you want to choose wisely. 

That’s why I tested many of the top-rated espresso and coffee grinders to compile this ultimate list. You can trust all of these grinders to deliver the sweet, silky espresso shot of your dreams.

HOW WE TEST THE GRINDERS

The 8 Best Espresso Grinders Of 2023

Buying the best espresso grinder isn’t just about finding something that can grind your espresso beans to a fine coffee dust. Grind consistency, quality, and size are equally important. Here are 8 coffee grinders that I found deliver on all fronts.

Be sure to check out our list of the best home coffee grinders if you’re not an espresso specialist.

Best Overall

1. Eureka Mignon Specialita

• Burr size: 55 mm

• Burr type: Flat Steel
• Hopper capacity: 10 oz
• Grind adjustment: Stepless
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 4.72” x 13.78” x 7.02”

The Italian-made Eureka Mignon series of grinders is increasingly popular, delivering prosumer quality and stunning good looks at approachable price points. The Eureka Mignon Specialita has quickly emerged as the favorite for espresso lovers. In fact, it’s the grinder on my countertop that I use every day to prepare my morning latte, making it an easy recommendation as the best coffee grinder for espresso. 

It stands out from the other Mignon grinders thanks to a larger 55-mm flat burr set and a programmable touchscreen.

The screen is bright and easy to use, allowing you to program two different timed dose sizes to a precision of 0.1 seconds.

This grinder is powerful and fast, with a 260-watt motor that spins the burrs at 1350 rpm. It takes less than 10 seconds for me to grind enough coffee for a double shot, and it churns through dense light roasts with ease. I’ve owned mine for nearly two years, and I’ve yet to stall it.

It’s also remarkably quiet. I expected it to be louder than the budget brands because it’s so powerful, but Eureka isn’t lying about their “Silent Technology.” Thanks to smart engineering and sound-dampening rubber inserts, it never exceeded 73 dB in my tests, and the pitch is pleasant, not high or whiny.

My only complaint about this grinder is that it is hard to find your way back to a previous setting if you make large adjustments.

The adjustment wheel is small and has no obvious zero point.

So while it’s perfectly capable of grinding for a drip coffee maker or espresso, from an ease-of-use standpoint, you’re better off choosing one of the two.

Runner Up

2. Baratza Sette 270

• Burr size: 40 mm

• Burr type: Conical Steel
• Hopper capacity: 10 oz
• Grind adjustment: 270 settings
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 5.11” x 14.96” x 9.48”

The Baratza Sette 270 is a perennial favorite with home baristas just entering the prosumer scene. It’s more affordable than the higher-end stepless grinders, but with 270 grind settings, it has the chops to properly dial in an espresso shot.

Baratza did something incredibly innovative with the Sette series, and it works so well that I’m surprised it hasn’t been copied by every other manufacturer. The conical burr set grinds by spinning the outer burr rather than the inner burr, resulting in an incredibly fast grind speed with remarkably low retention. 

You can pre-program three timed coffee doses, and if you’re worried that fast grind speed will interfere with accuracy, don’t be. You can set the timer for doses under 10 seconds with a super-high precision of 1/100th of a second.

The Sette is a capable all-around grinder, but in my experience, the grind uniformity is far superior in the espresso range of the grind spectrum. Unlike the Specialita, it’s easy to change the settings when switching between filter and espresso grinding. But unlike the Specialita, the quality dips significantly in the coarser sizes. So I’d stick with espresso, Moka pot, or Aeropress.

I would be remiss not to mention the volume of the Sette 270. If you’ve used one, you know what I mean. This grinder is loud, coming in at 92 dB in my tests. Good thing it’s fast enough that you’ll only have to listen for a few seconds.

Best For Beginners

3. Breville Smart Grinder Pro

• Burr size: 40 mm

• Burr type: Conical Steel
• Hopper capacity: 16 oz
• Grind adjustment: 60 settings
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 6.25” x 15.25” x 8.5”

The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is a fantastic beginner option, perfect for anyone just dipping their toes in prosumer-level espresso. It’s easy to use, affordable, and works equally well for drip coffee machines and espresso – making it less of a commitment if you’re unsure how deep you intend to go down the espresso hole. 

I had the original Breville Smart Grinder paired with a Gaggia Classic as my very first espresso set-up. It was a wonderful introduction to home espresso, and – good news for you – Breville has improved the grinder significantly since then.

The biggest update from the early days is an increase in grind settings from 25 to 60, making this grinder far more capable of dialing in an ideal shot. Plus, if you really get keen, the burrs are designed to be adjusted to extend the grind range. I checked this out, and it’s quite easy to do, even without experience.

This grinder feels like a friendly home appliance, not an intimidating scaled-down piece of coffee shop equipment. The timer is accurate to 0.2 seconds – not quite the accuracy of the Sette or Specialita, but perfectly reasonable for an espresso novice. 

You can grind hands-free directly into a portafilter. The portafilter-holding fork is adjustable to accommodate commercial-standard 58-mm portafilters and the Breville-standard 54 mm.

I like to use the Pause button to resettle the grounds midway through grinding, especially with a smaller portafilter or fluffy darker roast coffees.

A few missing features keep this grinder out of the prosumer bracket. The case is plastic rather than metal, and the motor is only a medium-powerful 165 watts. But this isn’t supposed to be an end-game grinder; rather, it’s perfect to accompany you on the first 3 to 5 years of your espresso journey.

Best Manual Coffee Grinder For Espresso

4. 1Zpresso K-Ultra

• Burr size: 48 mm

• Burr type: Conical Steel
• Hopper capacity: 1.4 oz
• Grind adjustment: 20 microns per click
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 2.4” x 7.7” x 7.3”

I will never stop singing the praises of hand grinders for espresso. I know it’s a bit more work in the morning, but the grind quality-to-price ratio is unbeatable. You’d likely have to spend twice as much to approach the consistency of the K-Ultra with an electric grinder. And there is something to be said for the near silence of a manual coffee grinder.

The K-Ultra is the highest-end model of the 1Zpresso K-Series and the only one of the bunch I’d recommend for espresso. Compared to the rest of the K grinders, the K-Ultra allows the finest dialing-in of the grind size. Each rotation has 100 clicks, each click moving the burrs by 20 microns (about half the width of a human hair). 

I had no problem properly extracting light and dark roast specialty coffee using this grinder. It has an amazing burr and the adjustment system works wel.

The K-Ultra is capable of drip brews and French press coffee as well. 

My major complaint with most manual coffee grinders is their finicky adjustment system. I usually have to remove the hopper, pinch and twist some tiny plastic knob, and listen for clicks.

Comfortably hold and twist the collar to make adjustments. It’s marked with 10 steps, with ten clicks between each. You don’t even have to listen; I love that there is a tactile sensation associated with each click. That said, if you prefer a budget option, the 1Zpresso JX-Pro is an excellent alternative.

The magnetically attached catch cup is another one of my favorite features. It is quick and easy to use and avoids the messy issue of trapped grounds in screw-on cups. The K-Ultra is newly upgraded with a fold-away handle, handy for storage or taking your espresso set-up on the road.

Best For Small Spaces

5. Option-O Lagom Mini

• Burr size: 48 mm

• Burr type: Conical Steel
• Hopper capacity: 1.1 oz
• Grind adjustment: Stepless
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 3.7” x 9.4” x 2.6”

Not a fan of hand cranking? Then how about a single-dosing electric grinder with the tiny footprint and low maintenance of a manual coffee grinder? That’s essentially the Option-O Lagom Mini. And while it’s not cheap, per se, I think it’s one of the best values on the market right now.

I am a huge fan of the original Option-O Lagom P64, but at nearly $2000, it’s a tough sell to the average coffee drinker (1). So I could not have been more excited when Option-O released this scaled-down conical burr grinder. Though the burr set has been reduced from 64 to 48 mm, the Lagom Mini keeps almost everything else I loved about the P64 – at about one-quarter the price.

That includes the impeccable grind quality, stepless grind adjustment, and aircraft-grade aluminum case. The engineering and design are fantastic. Everything feels super smooth and is obviously machined to high tolerances. The magnetically attached catch cup, which slots neatly into place with no prompting, is a nice touch.

Option-O promotes this as a filter grinder, but given its stepless adjustment, I was curious to test it for espresso. And as indicated by its slot in this list, it performed beautifully. The grind quality was exceptional, and the shots I pulled had a remarkable clarity. 

Grind retention was the lowest of any grinder we tested (2). In every case, it was less than 0.2 grams – and occasionally too low for my scale to register.

A few things keep this from being an ideal espresso grinder. There is no portafilter holding fork, so you’ll need to transfer the coffee grounds from the catch cup to a portafilter. And it’s quite slow when grinding fine for espresso. I timed it at an average of 54 seconds to grind 18 grams of coffee.

Best Premium Option

6. Ceado E37J

• Burr size: 64 mm

• Burr type: Flat Steel
• Hopper capacity: 21 oz
• Grind adjustment: Stepless
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 8.3” x 17” x 12.2”

The prosumer coffee grinder market has exploded in recent years. You can easily spend upwards of $4000 on a coffee grinder if you’re so inclined. But should you? In my opinion, the average home user gains little beyond the specs of the Ceado E37J, my favorite high-end electric coffee grinder. You could spend $2000 more, but I’m not sure you’ll taste the difference when you pull a shot of espresso; I can’t.

Bigger and more expensive grinders are often distinguished by their speed – a crucial feature in high-volume environments. But making coffee at home, the E37J won’t slow you down. I timed it at just over 10 seconds for a 20-gram dose, and its 300-watt motor is the most powerful of any on this list. It was also nearly the quietest, at 75 dB, just slightly above the Specialita.

The E37J includes Ceado’s well-known Steady Lock System, a patented design that keeps the burrs more precisely aligned. That means a more consistent grind size, less heat transfer, and (most importantly) better-tasting espresso. 

This grinder has a stepless grind adjustment, as you should absolutely demand at this price point. Compared with the Specialita, it is substantially easier to set, adjust, and move between settings. I tested this grinder with various brew methods, and its performance was impressive across the board. Though it is clearly an espresso grinder by design.

You can pre-program three electronically timed doses, and programming is simple. Dosing is completely hands-free thanks to the portafilter holding fork. And I was particularly impressed to note the holder is also compatible with bottomless portafilters, something rarer than you’d expect!

If I haven’t convinced you that the Ceado E37J is as good as it gets for home grinding, by all means, upgrade to the E37S commercial espresso grinder. It has the same patented technologies but swaps in a larger 73 mm burr set and a 500 W motor.

Best For Single Dosing

7. Turin DF64

• Burr size: 64 mm

• Burr type: Flat Steel
• Hopper capacity: 1.8 oz
• Grind adjustment: Stepless
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 5.2” x 12” x 10”

The Turin DF64 may have started as a cheap Niche knock-off with flat burrs, but now in its 5th iteration, it is an impressive grinder that stands on its own – and yet has somehow only gotten cheaper! This grinder is equally deserving of a Best Value award.

The DF64 is a single-dosing grinder, which means retention is a key parameter. In my tests, grind retention averaged an impressively low 0.4 grams, thanks to the grinder’s angled design and bellows.

The stock stainless steel ItalMill 64-mm burr set is excellent. But if you want to experiment with different espresso coffee beans and flavors, you can easily upgrade to titanium or SSP burrs. I appreciate that this grinder is generally mod-friendly, with plenty of add-ons and upgrades available. 

Aesthetics have never been a strong suit of the DF64, which remains the case. The compact design is simple and industrial, though you can choose from various colors. Simplicity isn’t all bad, though. Without any displays or timing mechanisms, there is little to go wrong. Paired with an all-metal build, this is a very durable option.

To learn more, watch this DF64 coffee grinder review with Steven from Home Grounds:

Budget Pick

8. OXO Brew Coffee Grinder

• Burr size: 40 mm

• Burr type: Conical steel
• Hopper capacity: 12 oz
• Grind adjustment: 42 settings
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 5.25” x 14.25” x 9”

I won’t claim that the OXO Brew conical burr coffee grinder is the best espresso grinder, but after testing a number of disappointing cheap options, I can confidently say it is the best budget grinder under $100. While I wouldn’t park it next to a prosumer espresso machine, it is perfectly suitable to pair with the average home espresso machine with a pressurized filter basket.

Two things made this grinder stand out from the budget crowd. First is the number of grind adjustment settings. Most grinders in this price bracket (think Capresso Infinity or Bodum Bistro) have between 12 and 20 settings; the OXO conical burr grinder has 42. Then there’s the build quality. 

The 40-mm conical burr set performs well. It’s honestly quite similar to the Baratza Sette in the medium-fine grind range, but it doesn’t quite have the same uniformity as the pricier options when it comes to the finest grinds.

Dosing is done via a 30-second timer, which is intuitive to use but not remarkably consistent. I’d suggest pairing this grinder with a digital scale if dose consistency is paramount. There are some minor issues with static in the stainless steel dosing cup but much less than I would have guessed – and certainly less than the various plastic grinders I tested.

How We Tested These Grinders

I put dozens of flat and conical burr grinders through a battery of tests in compiling this list, including objective grinding tests, blind taste tests, and a more general survey of user-friendly features.

Each grinder was tasked with grinding 20 grams of finely ground coffee for a double shot of espresso. Grind time and volume were measured. 

The grounds were then filtered with Kruve Sifters to sort boulders from fines and establish a measure of grind uniformity. Uniformity was also checked at drip and French press grind sizes so I could comment on a grinder’s versatility, but this did not weigh into its rating as a home espresso grinder.

For grinders with timers, dose consistency was checked by grinding the same timed dose three times and weighing the three outputs. In the case of single-dose grinders, grind retention was measured by weighing the input and output of each grind.

Blind taste tests were performed by pulling a double shot of espresso after dialing in each grinder. Each shot used the same medium-roast espresso blend and 20-gram dose and was pulled with an espresso machine set with the same parameters. I performed a separate test for budget grinders using a cheaper espresso machine and pressurized filter basket to better match their intended use. 

Finally, I made general notes on the usability of each grinder. This included things like static build-up and mess, how easy it was to change the settings and timing, ease of access for maintenance and cleaning, and thoughts on build quality, engineering, and design.

What To Look For In An Espresso Grinder

A great coffee grinder isn’t necessarily the best grinder for espresso. Because pulling espresso shots requires such a fast extraction time, grinding for espresso is a bit more demanding. That’s why grinders designed specifically for espresso tend to be pricier. If you want your money to be well spent, here are key features to look out for.

Burr Sizes And Shapes

We won’t get too into the weeds here on burr geometries, materials, proprietary coatings, etc. But it is worth understanding the basics of how burr size and shape impact your grinding experience and espresso flavor (3).

Are Bigger Burrs Better?

It is generally recognized that bigger burrs are better. To a rough approximation, this is true, but it is far less important at home than with a commercial grinder. Bigger burrs allow you to grind faster, which is more efficient and generates less heat. Both factors are crucial in a busy cafe with a steady stream of customers and constant grinding. At home when you might need to make espresso twice in a row? Not so much. 

Don’t get sucked into dropping big bucks on big burrs. A 64-mm diameter is more than enough for 99% of home users.

Flat Or Conical Burrs?

Want to keep a group of serious espresso busy for hours? Start a debate on flat versus conical burrs. Everyone has an opinion, and they are mostly just that – opinions (4).

Flat burr grinders typically deliver more consistent or uniform grounds; that means fewer fines and boulders. As a result, they yield a cleaner cup with a lighter body. Many experts prefer flat burr grinders for pour over coffee.
But when it comes to espresso, the choice is less obvious. Many pros, including David Schomer, co-founder of Seattle’s famous Espresso Vivace, advocate for conical burrs (5).

Additionally, conical burr grinders suffer less grind retention than flat burrs, though this can be mitigated through good engineering.

The Importance Of Grind Size And Consistency

Any coffee novice will tell you that an espresso grinder needs to grind fine enough for espresso. But that’s actually only half the battle. In fact, it might only be one-third of the battle.

A good espresso grinder must grind finely, grind uniformly at its finest settings, and have small enough steps between grind settings to dial in different coffees (6).

The Adjustment Mechanism

My preference is always to use a grinder with a stepless grind adjustment when grinding coffee for espresso. A stepless adjustment essentially means an infinite number of grind settings, guaranteeing you can find the optimal grind size for your coffee. Because, believe it or not, that single-origin medium roast probably needs different settings than a dark-roast espresso blend.

That said, stepless grinders are expensive, and I understand not everyone wants their espresso hobby to dominate their bank account. So aim for at least 40 settings to help dial in your brews. Steer clear of cheaper burr grinders with 20 or fewer settings.

Single-Dosing Vs Hopper

Single-dosing grinders have grown in popularity recently, especially for espresso. A single-dose grinder doesn’t have a bean hopper. Instead, you weigh and grind the amount of coffee you need to prepare one drink (7).

The biggest advantage of a single-dose grinder is that you can easily change beans between brews. It’s great for anyone who loves experimenting with different coffees. Additionally, single-dose grinders are more compact because they lack hoppers and any kind of integrated dosing technology, like a timer or doser. Finally, single-dosing eliminates the risk of beans going stale sitting in a clear plastic hopper.

The trade-off is that you need a good-quality coffee scale to ensure consistent dosing, which increases costs and adds a step to your morning routine. Grind retention is a much more important factor when single-dosing, so it’s important to buy one designed to minimize the amount of ground coffee left behind.

Should You Get A Manual Grinder?

A manual grinder is a fantastic option for home espresso enthusiasts, particularly if you’re on a tight budget or short on space. Because a manual coffee bean grinder has no electronics, you can get a much higher-quality burr set than you would with an electronic grinder at the same price point – and in a much smaller, lighter package. Manual grinders are also great for delicious coffee while traveling or camping.

Of course, the counterpoint is that a hand grinder requires you to (duh) grind by hand. But for many home baristas making just an espresso or two a day, this is a small hardship that is well worth the cost savings. 

The Verdict

A great grinder is the foundation of a great espresso. With such a fast extraction time, it’s crucial that your ground coffee be fine, consistent, and the precise right size to maximize flavor – and minimize unwanted bitterness or astringency. That’s what the grinders on this list deliver.

Every grinder mentioned here has been thoroughly tested to meet the needs of a certain type of espresso lover, whether you’re short on space, low on cash, or ready to dive into the espresso deep end. My pick for the best home espresso grinder is the Eureka Mignon Specialita, a beautiful and high-performance grinder capable of cafe-quality espresso.