Edit: forgot to mention that the fellow ode is usually like 250 but the refurbs are 150, is a refurb a bad idea in itself?
I pretty much have $150USD to spend on a nice burr grinder and I am pretty sure that one of these two would do the trick. I grind small amounts at once, like say 30-50g, but that’s too big for most hand grinders plus I don’t want to have to operate one while lacking caffeine. I want a machine but I want it not to suck. I don’t have an espresso machine, or a Turkish coffee maker, and these two supposedly do everything from aeropress to French press so that seems good for me. Mostly going to be doing V60 and also drip coffee for the partner who prefers quantity over quality. Need to get a drip coffee maker too but I figure most of them are similar, probably will get a Krups or Bunn. I have a Fellow kettle so I kinda want the Ode to match but I also have some things I hate about the Fellow kettle like small size and lack of utility for things other than pour over coffee. Does the Ode have similar pitfalls? I like the small batch grinding capacity, whereas the Encore seems like a traditional hopper style grinder that you’re supposed to pour a whole bag into. But I have been told that the Encore is the way to go for entry level burr grinders. So what do y’all think?
I had the Baratza Encore for years and it served me well. I replaced the burrs once and it needed that again since I got a coffee bean-sized small rock in my beans that wore them down by the time I could turn it off. The grinder did an admirable job of attempting to grind down the stone but didn’t succeed. The grinder still worked but it was grinding very slowly. I could have replaced the burrs again which I will and that grinder will go to the office for use but it had been requested that I get a more quiet grinder. It is not that the Encore is so loud but it’s an electric grinder after all.
So in my research, I came across the 1Zpresso manual grinders. I ended up with the K-Max. It’s great and I highly recommend it. I’m only grinding 18g of coffee at a time for my cup but it’s pretty fast, easy, and quiet. If you are grinding a lot of coffee it might be too annoying. As far as grind quality I think it does a better job than the Encore and it just feels great to use. Anyway, an option people might want to consider.