Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder ZCG485BLK - Premium Conical Burr Grinder for Espresso, French Press & Drip Coffee - Perfect for Home Baristas & Coffee Enthusiasts

Edit: This grinder is now a month under 5 years old, and has performed flawlessly every day, grinding 5 or more shots. Please disregard my concerns about longevity. It's not the most beautiful, though not terrible either. But *functionally* it's a workhorse, and one I highly recommend to anyone who seeks perfectly ground coffee!Original review: I rounded up a little to give this four stars rather than three and a half. What's not to love? Measure for measure, 100% of 15g beans returned as very consistently and nicely ground, cool-to-the-touch coffee using the starter recommended setting of "10" for espresso. Dramatically improved flavor versus my Kitchenaid blade grinder. But I cannot give it 4 full stars or more because the build quality leaves much to be desired.For starters, the user guide states that prior to the first use, you're supposed to run a full cup of coffee beans through the machine, and discard them, presumably to clean off any oils or coatings on the burr assembly to prevent corrosion while it's on the shelf. A full cup of my favorite beans runs about $5 to $6. Then there's the thought of tossing that much coffee into the wastebasket - Not happening in this household! I used rice instead as I have done in the past to clean burr grinders, which seems to have worked just as well, though I did have to run about a tablespoon of beans through afterward to clear the last of the rice powder out of the burr assembly. After this, no off flavors were noticed in the first cup.Next, there is a rubber "gasket" that basically guides the beans form the hopper into the burrs that is very flimsy and does not seem as if it will hold up over time. The same gasket also fits quite poorly and requires a lot of adjustment to get fully seated after stretching it around the lip of the burr assembly. The hopper is placed atop this gasket then twisted clockwise for a sort of compression fit. The gasket does its job well enough now, but it is my fear that will change within a few weeks when the rubber is compressed.Next up is the brush that comes with the unit. It is a stiff wire cone-shaped bottle brush basically - probably a 5-cent part when bought in bulk - that is far more flimsy and less useful than I would have expected given the price of this unit. For a few cents more, the manufacturer could have included another soft-bristle brush that could be used to sweep coffee grounds out of the plastic grounds bin and around the slot base where the bin fits to catch the grounds as they come out of the burr assembly.My biggest issue though is the fact that the switch knob on the side does not sit centered at all in the well on the side of the grinder. I would say it is between 3/16 and 1/4 inch offset, which makes the knob itself sit at an angle on the outer shell of the unit, and makes it quite evident that the plastic of the housing where the switch the knob controls is mounted is very flimsy (when you rotate the knob you can feel it tipping to one side).The listing also says the unit is "stainless steel", which is absolutely incorrect. It is plastic through and through (with the exception of the burr assembly) and looks very, very cheap, not at all like something that costs $139.00.I know it sounds like a big rant fest, but there is some good to the grinder. 100% of coffee in = coffee out (by weight using a digital scale calibrated in 0.1g increments). Using a digital infrared thermometer, the ground coffee was only 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the beans that went in after a solid twenty seconds of grinding for espresso. My Kitchenaid blade grinder adds 20-30 degrees when grinding for espresso, just for a comparison point. The unit is also far quieter than my blade grinder, and puts out a VERY consistent grind that delivered a fantastic double-shot that was good to the last drop without any powder at all left in the bottom of my cup. My Kitchenaid requires that I leave about a half teaspoonful of the drawn espresso in the cup unless I want to feel the powdery granules of overground coffee on my tongue, and if I grind it less so as not to end up with powder in the bottom of the cup, the grind is FAR too coarse to impart much crema or flavor. My standard is and has been 15g for a double shot for a 50/50 Americano, but I will be adjusting that down, probably to around 12g for the flavor I prefer which will save me on coffee. With this grinder, 15g is just a bit too strong for a 50/50 even though I prefer a strong flavor, so I will be using 20% less coffee for the same amount of flavor to which I am accustomed. Side-by-side shots, one using the Encore, the other using my Kitchenaid, show a considerable increase in crema with coffee ground in the Encore (maybe as much as 30% more), and the flavor difference is nothing short of stunning, also in favor of the Encore grinder.In short, the performance of the Baratza Encore is incredible as far as grind consistency and quality. I will update this review in a month or two so I can provide some feedback on the longevity of the unit. I would have been happier with better build quality, materials and visual appeal, and that is the ONLY reason I didn't give this grinder 5 solid stars. I would likely recommend this grinder to a friend, but I would also recommend having some cabinet space to keep the grinder in as it is not what you want on your countertop on display, especially sitting next to a mid- to high-end brew station, coffeemaker or espresso machine.