Do you need a grinder for espresso?

Espresso is made by pushing hot water through a tightly packed layer of very finely ground coffee in about half a minute. How fine the coffee is ground decides how fast the water gets through. If the grind is too coarse, the water runs through quickly and the shot tastes thin and sour. If it’s too fine, the coffee barely drips out and tastes bitter and harsh. The setting that works is a narrow one, and it shifts as beans age, when the weather changes and when you open a new bag.

So most people who have made espresso for a while tell beginners to take as much care choosing the grinder as the machine. Our quiz follows the same advice. When it splits a budget, it gives the machine between 55 and 75 per cent and keeps the rest for the grinder.

Why pre-ground coffee struggles

Coffee that’s already ground has two problems for espresso. The first is freshness. Ground coffee loses its aroma and carbon dioxide much faster than whole beans do. The gas helps form the crema, the layer of golden foam on top of a shot, and most of what you taste as flavour comes from the aroma. A bag of pre-ground coffee is at its best on the day you open it and goes downhill from there.

The second problem is bigger. The roaster chooses the grind setting, and you can’t change it. If your shot runs through too fast, there’s nothing to adjust, whereas with a grinder you would set it a little finer and try again.

When pre-ground is fine

Plenty of machines are designed with pre-ground coffee in mind, and they come with pressurised baskets. The basket is the metal cup that holds the coffee. A pressurised one has a single small hole that the coffee has to squeeze through, so pressure builds up whatever the grind. That makes it forgiving of coffee that’s a little coarse or stale, or that hasn’t been pressed down (tamped) evenly. The shots won’t taste like a café’s, but they’re fine to drink, especially with milk. Our guide to pressurised and non-pressurised baskets explains the difference in more detail.

If you mainly want lattes and flat whites and don’t want to spend more yet, starting with pre-ground coffee and a pressurised basket is a reasonable choice. Many of these machines also come with standard (non-pressurised) baskets, so you can buy a grinder later and keep the same machine.

What a grinder for espresso needs

A lot of grinders can’t grind for espresso at all. Blade grinders, which chop the beans with a spinning blade, can’t make the grind even enough. Many cheaper burr grinders, which crush the beans between two toothed parts, are made for filter coffee and don’t go fine enough. When you look at a grinder, there are three things to think about.

Check it can grind fine enough. The product page or manual should say it’s suitable for espresso. If it only mentions cafetière, pour-over and drip coffee, it probably isn’t.

Check the steps are small. A small change in grind makes a noticeable difference to espresso. A stepless grinder can be set at any point. A stepped grinder, which moves in clicks, can work well if the clicks are close together, but on cheaper ones the setting you want can fall between two of them.

Decide how you want to dose. Some grinders keep beans in a hopper on top and grind straight into the portafilter (the handle with the basket that you lock into the machine) on a timer. That’s quick if you stick with one coffee. Others are built for single dosing. You weigh the beans for each shot, the grinder grinds all of them and almost nothing is left inside, so you can change coffees whenever you like.

• The Mignon Specialità has flat burrs; the Zero conical ones.
• The Mignon Specialità stands 35cm tall; the Zero 31.1cm.
• The Mignon Specialità grinds straight into the portafilter; the Zero grinds into a cup.

	Mignon Specialità	Zero
Price from	£350.99	£559
Burr type	Flat	Conical
Burr size	55mm	63mm
Built for single dosing	No	Yes
Dosing control	Timed	Manual
Grinds into the portafilter	Yes (better)	No
Hopper	300g	—

Compare every spec→

How much to spend

There’s no fixed rule, but a grinder costing a quarter to half of your total budget is about right. The most common mistake is spending far less on the grinder than on the machine, and it’s the one people most often regret. A modest machine with a good grinder will usually make better espresso than an expensive machine with a poor one.

A modest machine with a good grinder usually makes better espresso than an expensive machine with a poor one.

At the cheaper end, a few grinders are made for espresso and priced to go with an entry-level machine.

• 

  Sage Dose Control Pro

  Silver

  From £146.99

  Burr type Conical · Burr size 40mm

• 

  Baratza Encore ESP

  Black

  From £159.95

  Burr type Conical · Burr size 40mm

• 

  Fellow Opus 2

  Matte Black

  From £196.99

  Burr type Conical · Burr size 48mm

These will make good espresso from medium and dark roasts. With light, fruity roasts you’ll reach their limits quickly, and it’s worth saving for something with larger burrs and stepless adjustment. Our list of the best espresso grinders under £250 is updated as prices change. We haven’t used these grinders ourselves. This guide is researched from manufacturer specifications and owner reports.

What about machines with a built-in grinder?

All-in-one machines have a grinder built in. They take up less space on the worktop and usually cost less than buying a machine and grinder separately, and for many people that’s a fair trade. But you can’t upgrade the grinder on its own. If you think you’ll get more interested in espresso over time, two separate appliances let you replace one without the other. If you’d rather have one tidy machine that does a good job, an all-in-one is a sensible choice.