Spend any time reading UK coffee forums and you will see the same question every week: is a cheap electric burr grinder good enough, or do you need to spend over £100? Two of the most common answers on Amazon UK are the De'Longhi KG79, an entry-level flat-burr grinder that usually sells for around £50, and the Baratza Encore ESP, a conical-burr grinder at around £140 built to handle espresso as well as filter. Both are a big step up from a blade grinder. Where they differ is what you can realistically brew with them, and that is what this comparison is about.
 De'Longhi KG79 |
 Baratza Encore ESP |
The short answer
Buy the De'Longhi KG79 if you mainly make cafetière, filter machine or moka pot coffee, want fresh grounds every morning at the push of a button, and want to keep the spend around £50. Buy the Baratza Encore ESP if you own, or plan to own, an espresso machine with a non-pressurised basket, or you care about clean, even pour-over and want one grinder that covers everything.
At a glance
| De'Longhi KG79 | Baratza Encore ESP | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical Amazon UK price | Around £50 | Around £140 |
| Burrs | Stainless steel flat burrs | 40mm conical M2 steel burrs |
| Grind settings | 16 | 40 (1–20 fine steps for espresso, 21–40 for filter) |
| Bean hopper | 120g | Roughly 225–230g |
| Dosing | Cup selector, 1–12 cups, stops automatically | On/off switch or pulse button; dosing cup for portafilters |
| Best for | Cafetière, filter machine, moka pot | Espresso, pour-over, AeroPress, everything in between |
| Main compromise | Not fine or precise enough for proper espresso | Nearly three times the price |
Prices move regularly on Amazon UK; check the current listing before buying.
Grind quality: what the extra £90 buys
Both grinders crush beans between burrs rather than chopping them with a spinning blade, so both give you a far more even grind than a £20 blade grinder. If you are not sure why that matters, our blade vs burr guide covers it.
The KG79 uses a pair of flat steel burrs and is tuned for everyday brewing. At medium and coarse settings it produces grounds that work well in a cafetière, a filter machine or a stovetop moka pot. Where it falls behind is consistency: owners commonly report more fine dust mixed in with the grounds than you get from more expensive grinders, which can make a cafetière a little muddier and a pour-over a little more bitter if you push it.
The Encore ESP uses 40mm conical M2 burrs, the same burr set Baratza fits to its pricier Virtuoso range. It produces a noticeably tidier grind across the range, and it is the grinder that will reward you if you start using a scale, buying fresher beans and tweaking recipes.
Espresso is the dividing line
This is the single biggest reason to choose one over the other. Proper espresso needs a very fine grind and very small adjustments between settings, because a tiny change in grind size can take a shot from sour to bitter.
The Encore ESP was designed with that in mind. Settings 1 to 20 are micro-steps reserved for espresso, and the included dosing cup fits 54mm portafilters, with an adapter ring for 58mm. That makes it a realistic partner for machines like the Sage Bambino Plus or a Gaggia Classic with a standard basket. Our guide to dialling in espresso walks through how to use those fine steps.
The KG79 has only 16 settings in total, and even its finest setting is generally too coarse and too imprecise to dial in a non-pressurised basket. It can, however, be good enough for a machine with pressurised baskets, such as the De'Longhi Dedica straight out of the box (see our Dedica vs Bambino Plus comparison), because those baskets create pressure for you and are far more forgiving of grind size. If you are wondering whether to move past pressurised baskets, read when to graduate from pressurised baskets first: if the answer is "soon", the KG79 will hold you back.
Everyday use
The KG79 is genuinely convenient. You set the cup selector, press the button and it grinds roughly a tablespoon of coffee per cup selected, then stops on its own. For a household that makes a full cafetière or a filter jug every morning without weighing anything, that is hard to beat at the price. It also has a 150g grounds container and a removable upper burr for cleaning.
The Encore ESP is simpler in one way and more involved in another. You turn the hopper to change the grind and either flick the switch or hold the front pulse button. There is no timer or cup selector, so most owners weigh their beans first and grind the whole dose, which suits pour-over, AeroPress and espresso, where you are weighing anyway.
Both are plastic-bodied and both make noise; neither is one for a silent 6am kitchen. Static and a bit of mess around the grounds container are common complaints with budget electrics generally, and a light tap or a quick wipe after use helps with both.
Size and kitchen fit
The KG79 is the more compact of the two at about 26cm tall and 1.5kg, which makes it easy to tuck under wall cupboards in a small UK kitchen. The Encore ESP is taller at roughly 34–35cm and heavier at about 3.1kg, so measure the gap under your cupboards before ordering.
Build, repairs and lifespan
The KG79 has been on sale for years and has a huge number of UK reviews, which tells you it does a dependable job for most people. It is, though, a budget appliance, and when it eventually wears out most people simply replace it.
Baratza is known for selling spare parts and encouraging repairs rather than replacement, and the Encore ESP's burr can be removed for cleaning without tools. If you would rather buy one grinder and keep it running for many years, that support is part of what you are paying for.
Is a hand grinder a better use of the money?
If you only make one or two cups at a time and do not mind 30–60 seconds of turning, a quality hand grinder often beats both of these on grind quality per pound. The Timemore Chestnut C3 ESP Pro sits between the two on price and can handle espresso. We compare it directly with the Encore ESP in our Baratza vs Timemore head-to-head, and if you mostly brew filter, see 1Zpresso Q2 S vs Hario Skerton Pro.
Who should buy which
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Make a cafetière or filter jug every morning | De'Longhi KG79 |
| Brew mainly with a moka pot | De'Longhi KG79 |
| Use an espresso machine with pressurised baskets and plan to keep them | De'Longhi KG79 |
| Use, or want to use, a non-pressurised espresso basket | Baratza Encore ESP |
| Brew V60 or AeroPress and want cleaner, sweeter cups | Baratza Encore ESP |
| Want a grinder you can repair rather than replace | Baratza Encore ESP |
Verdict
A budget electric burr grinder is good enough for a lot of UK coffee drinkers. If your coffee is a cafetière, a filter machine or a moka pot, the De'Longhi KG79 gives you fresh, reasonably even grounds at the push of a button for around £50, and it is a clear upgrade on pre-ground or a blade grinder. The moment espresso with a proper basket, or fussier pour-over, enters the picture, the Baratza Encore ESP is the one worth saving for, because its fine espresso steps and better burrs do a job the KG79 simply cannot.
