The 10 Best Coffee Grinders for a Fresh Cup of Joe in 2024
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Whether you're a French press person or a drip coffee devotee, we found the best coffee grinders so you can add fresh grounds to your morning ritual.
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Whether you’re purchasing a coffee grinder for the first time or replacing a well-used one, this guide will help you find the best one for you. As one of the best coffee products to become your own barista, a coffee grinder makes all the difference in overall taste. We break down what to look for before making a purchase and recommend the best coffee grinders for a variety of needs.
The Benefits of Freshly Ground Coffee
Much like freshly ground peppercorn or freshly chopped herbs, when you grind your own coffee beans, your brew tastes its most flavorful and fresh. Plus, the fragrance is irresistible.
When coffee beans are ground up, the compounds that give them flavor are instantly released and exposed to oxygen. So grinding coffee beans immediately before brewing coffee is the best way to capture the flavor. It adds only a minute to your coffee-making routine, but the difference in taste is immeasurable. Plus, pre-ground coffee comes in one size only and different coffee recipes call for different grind sizes, so it’s helpful to be able to customize your grind size. Need some inspiration? Check out these coffee subscription boxes to discover your new favorite beans.
The Best Coffee Grinders
- Best Overall: Encore Baratza
- Best Budget: Hamilton Beach Coffee Grinder
- Best for Traditional Coffee Makers: Cuisinart Coffee Grinder
- Best Travel-Friendly: Hario Ceramic Grinder
- Most Versatile: Breville Smart Coffee Grinder
- Best for Espresso: Eureka Mignon
- Most Compact: KitchenAid Blade Coffee Grinder
- Best Manual: JavaPresse Manual Grinder
- Best for Grind Consistency: Oxo Brew Grinder
- Best Low-Noise: Fellow Ode Brew Grinder
Best Overall Coffee Grinder
Encore Baratza Coffee Grinder
From the beginner to the coffee connoisseur, the Encore Baratza is the best overall coffee grinder. Its design is simple and user-friendly, but its quality makes it the machine of choice for industry professionals. It allows you to make a variety of coffee recipes with its 40 different grind settings. Its 40-millimeter conical burrs ensure that coffee beans grind evenly for optimal flavor. Pair it with this coffee scoop clip and you have everything you need to start brewing. If you’re still not convinced, read our review to see why it’s worth it.
Pros
- Has 40 grind settings for different types of coffee
- Burr grinder
- User-friendly design
- Available in black and white
Cons
- On the pricier side
Best Budget Coffee Grinder
Hamilton Beach Coffee Grinder
If you’re ready to take the leap and start grinding your own coffee, but want to spend as little as possible, you can’t go wrong with this Hamilton Beach coffee grinder. We love this blade grinder for its quality and price. Although other coffee grinders are better for grind consistency, you’ll still reap all of the benefits of freshly ground beans with this affordable option. Pair it with the Hamilton Beach scoop single-serve coffee maker for easy mornings filled with delicious coffee. If you prefer to grind your beans and store them at home, these coffee containers are necessary for keeping grounds fresh.
Pros
- Affordable price
- Compact size
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Yields less uniform coffee grounds than other models
- Doesn’t feature different grind size settings
Best Coffee Grinder for Traditional Coffee Makers
Cuisinart Coffee Grinder
This Cuisinart coffee grinder is ideal for those who love to make a big pot of coffee each morning. The grind chamber holds enough grounds for 32 cups of coffee. Plus, the hopper on top allows you to store whole beans, so you can be ready to grind with the click of a button. Its design is intuitive and user-friendly, making it simple to get into a coffee grinding routine. All you need is a milk frother and your favorite creamer brands for coffee shop-worthy drinks!
Pros
- Stores whole coffee beans in a hopper
- Has a large storage capacity
- Affordable price for a burr grinder
Cons
- Doesn’t feature automatic grind sizes for different brew methods, like pour-over coffee or French press
Best Travel-Friendly Coffee Grinder
Hario Ceramic Grinder
The Hario ceramic grinder is the best for those on the go. Its compact size can be conveniently stored in a backpack or suitcase. Ideal for an Aeropress, its manual grind style means you can take it anywhere—camping, hiking or backpacking. Plus, its precise burrs make evenly distributed coffee grounds for the freshest cup of coffee possible.
Pros
- Portable and compact
- Weighs less than 1 pound
- Made with burrs
Cons
- Smaller burr size than other models
Most Versatile Coffee Grinder
Breville Smart Coffee Grinder
The Breville Smart coffee grinder has 60 grind settings, so you can grind coffee perfectly, whether it be for French press, pour-over coffee, espresso or anything in between. Its display screen makes customization simple, and its “dosing IQ” automatically gives a precise grind every time you use it. This grinder is the ideal coffee gift, right next to the Breville Bambino Plus espresso machine.
Pros
- Has 60 different grind settings
- Automatic options for grind sizes
- Burrs yield uniform coffee grounds for optimal taste
Cons
- Requires ample counter space
- Pricey
Best Coffee Grinder for Espresso
Eureka Mignon Espresso Grinder
The Italian-made Eureka Mignon espresso grinder has a sleek aesthetic that will look beautiful on your countertop. Because its burr is free-moving, it has infinitely customizable grind sizes, which means you can experiment with lots of different grinds to find the ones that you most prefer for your coffee. Since it’s designed for espresso, it’s best suited for the cappuccino and latte drinkers of the world. Read our burr grinder review to see why it’s worth it.
Pros
- Infinitely customizable grind settings
- Ideal for espresso
- Precise grinds due to its 50-millimeter burrs
Cons
- Pricey
Best Compact Coffee Grinder
KitchenAid Blade Coffee Grinder
Although the KitchenAid Blade coffee grinder is compact in size, it grinds enough coffee beans for a full pot of coffee. It features helpful measurements on the side so that, when you’re brewing a pot, you know exactly how much to grind per cup of coffee you’re making. So if coffee with cream and sugar is your thing, this simple compact grinder will more than get the job done. Plus, it easily fits inside a kitchen drawer.
Pros
- Small footprint
- Provides measurements on the side
- Wallet-friendly
Cons
- Flat blade yields less uniform coffee grounds than other coffee grinders
Best Manual Coffee Grinder
JavaPresse Manual Grinder
It’s portable, it’s lightweight, it’s easy to clean, it’s sleek—what’s not to love about the JavaPresse manual grinder? If you make lots of small batches of coffee and like the charm of a manual grinder, you’ll love the simplicity and quality of this option. Although not ideal for someone who is often in a hurry or who makes lots of types of coffee that require different grind sizes, this manual grinder is a great price for the person who’s looking for this manual style.
Pros
- Significantly quieter than electric grinders
- Has 18 different grind settings
- Portable
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Small capacity
Best Coffee Grinder for Grind Consistency
Oxo Brew Grinder
This Oxo brew grinder features 15 settings and 40-millimeter conical burrs that create evenly ground coffee, which gives you the best possible flavor extraction. This supports any type of coffee maker, but will especially highlight flavor in brew methods like French press coffee. It features a see-through hopper for storing your beans so that you can keep an eye on when you need to replenish your coffee. It also has the capacity to hold enough coffee grinds for 12 cups of coffee.
Pros
- 15 settings and 40-millimeter conical burrs
- Ultraviolet (UV) tint keeps beans fresher for longer
- Affordable price
Cons
- Less coffee bean storage capacity than similar models
Best Low-Noise Coffee Grinder
Fellow Ode Brew Grinder
The Fellow brew grinder is famously quiet compared to other electric coffee grinders. If your house has a napping baby or you just want to avoid the loud whirring noise many coffee grinders make, you’ll love this option. Plus, it features a beautiful, modern design and lots of advanced features. Gently grind your favorite coffee beans, brew up a pot of hot coffee, whip up our hazelnut mocha sauce, sip and enjoy.
Pros
- Quieter than other electric grinders
- Has a sleek design
- Features professional-quality burrs
- Available in matte black and matte white
Cons
- Requires ample storage
- Higher price point than other similar models
What to Look for When Buying a Coffee Grinder
The type of grinder you invest in affects the quality of your coffee’s taste. In general, we suggest investing in a burr grinder as opposed to one with a blade. Burr grinders grind coffee beans into a uniform size, which makes the coffee grounds consistent and the coffee taste balanced. It’s also important to consider how you brew coffee at home, since some grinders come with options for lots of different types of coffee whereas others do not. So, here are a few things to look for:
- Grind consistency: Does this grinder have burrs or blades? How big are its burrs? (Generally speaking, the bigger, the better!)
- Variability in grind settings: How many grind settings does it have? What types of coffee is this grinder for?
- Noise Level: How loud is this grinder?
- Advanced features: Does this grinder have any advanced features?
- Compactness: Does this grinder store easily?
- Price: How affordable is this grinder?
How We Found the Best Coffee Grinders
As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test. Â
FAQ
What are the different types of coffee grinders?
When it comes to finding the best coffee grinder, there are a few different options: conical burr grinders, flat burr grinders and blade grinders. These grinders come in manual and electric options, but the big difference between the two is the type of blade used to ground coffee. A conical burr is best for those who don’t love a super-fine result, as it produces an uneven mixture. A flat burr grinder is preferred for espresso and beans are evenly grounded. Lastly, the blade grinder is the most affordable of the three (and easiest to use), and offers a consistent grind size.
How do you clean a coffee grinder?
First, unplug the coffee grinder and remove any coffee beans. Remove all the pieces and scrub them with a brush, making sure to thoroughly wipe the pieces down with a dry cloth. Then, clean the coffee chute with water and set aside to dry.
Is a burr or blade coffee grinder better?
A burr grinder tends to be the preferred option among true coffee baristas. While more expensive than a blade grinder, they offer a more robust coffee ground, which is important depending on the coffee taste you’re going for. Both are solid options for grinding beans at home—it just comes down to overall budget and preference.
Originally Published: May 04, 2022
