Best coffee grinders: tested and reviewed

The best coffee grinder turn your beans into perfectly even grounds, whether you're using an espresso machine, cafetiere or any other coffee maker.

We've tested the most popular coffee grinders from DeLonghi, Sage, Krups, Melitta and more, sold at leading retailers including Lakeland, John Lewis and Amazon. 

As well as assessing how easy they are to use and how noisy they are, we repeatedly sieve the coffee grounds through a special coffee sieve and weigh the amount of perfectly-sized granules that are produced

Our tough tests reveal three Best Buy grinder recommendations that are easy to use and leave you with consistent coffee grounds ready for brewing.

The best coffee grinders 

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The coffee grinders we tested

All the coffee grinders we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best coffee grinders from our tests.

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Baratza Encore Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 34 x 14 x 14cm (HxWxD); 2.5kg

Cup and grind settings No cup settings; 40 grind settings

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, cleaning pipe brush, non-slip base

DeLonghi KG79 Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (flat steel)

Size and weight 16 x 13 x 26cm (HxWxD); 1.5kg

Cup and grind settings 12 cup settings (min 2, max 12); 16 grind settings 

Other key features Detachable bowl, lid safety lock, cleaning brush, non-slip base

Dualit Burr Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 19 x 14 x 27cm (HxWxD); 1.8kg

Cup and grind settings 10 cup settings (min 2, max 10); 10 grind settings

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, non-slip base, portion selector dial

Duronic Electric Blade Coffee Grinder 

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Type Electric blade

Size and weight 10 x 10 x 21cm (HxWxD); 0.8kg

Cup and grind settings No cup settings; 1 grind setting

Other key features Detachable grounds container

Krups Coffee Mill F20342

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Available from Amazon (£26.79)

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Type Electric blade

Size and weight 23.2 x 10.6 x 10.6cm (HxWxD); 0.7kg

Cup and grind settings No cup settings 1 grind setting

Other key features Can chop dry ingredients such as nuts and spices

Krups Expert Burr Grinder GVX231

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Type Electric burr (flat steel)

Size and weight 30 x 17 x 21cm (HxWxD); 1.8kg

Cup and grind settings 30 cup settings (min 2, max 12); 17 grind settings

Other key features Non-detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, lid safety lock, cleaning brush, non-slip base

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Melitta Calibra Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 37 x 12.5 x 22cm (HxWxD); 2.2kg

Cup and grind settings 10 cup settings (min 1, max 10); 39 grind settings 

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, non-slip base, detachable bowl, cleaning brush, integrated digital scale, LCD display panel 

Melitta Molino Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (flat steel)

Size and weight 25.5 x 9.5 x 16.5cm (HxWxD); 1.6kg

Cup and grind settings 12 cup settings (min 2, max 14); 17 grind settings

Other key features Non-detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, no lid safety lock, cleaning brush, non-slip base

Sage The Dose Control Pro Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 20 x 16 x 34cm (HxWxD); 2.3kg

Cup and grind settings No cup settings; 60 grind settings

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, lid safety lock, cleaning brush, two portafilter supports, non-slip base

Sage The Smart Grinder Pro BCG820BSSUK

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 36 x 15 x 22cm (HxWxD); 4.1kg

Cup and grind settings 12 cup settings (min 1, max 12); 60 grind settings

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, lid safety lock, cleaning brush, two portafilter supports, LCD control panel, non-slip base

Smeg CGF01 Coffee Grinder

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Type Electric burr (conical steel)

Size and weight 46 x 17 x 25cm (HxWxD); 3.1kg

Cup and grind settings 12 cup settings (min 1, max 12); 30 grind settings

Other key features Detachable bean hopper, detachable bowl, lid safety lock, cleaning brush, portafilter support, non-slip base

Need a coffee machine to go with your grinder? Compare our coffee machine reviews to find the best for your budget.

How we test coffee grinders

We purchase bestselling coffee grinders from leading UK retailers and put them through tough tests to find the best. 

We regularly revisit the coffee grinders on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing - and when we find them we do.

Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.

Grind quality

Coffee bean grinders often have several grind settings to choose from, as different coffee makers require differently sized grounds. A cafetiere, for example, needs a coarser grind, whereas an espresso requires very finely ground coffee.

• We buy fresh coffee beans, as well as pre-ground coffee in coarse and fine sizes from the same brand, for reference.
• We use this specialist coffee sieve and guide and painstakingly sieve the coffee grounds to measure how much ‘perfect’ espresso and cafetiere coffee each coffee grinder produces, as shown in the image below.
• We mark machines down that produce too much coarse coffee for espresso and too much fine coffee for a cafetiere.
• We use scales to give an objective assessment, which is unlike other coffee bean grinder reviews that take a more subjective approach.

Ease of use

It should never be complicated, uncomfortable or difficult to use your coffee grinder. It should be simple to load up your coffee beans and get the perfect grounds you're looking for.

When using each coffee grinder, we assess and score the build quality, size, ease of use (including loading and emptying) and how much faff each is to clean.

Noise

Grinding coffee beans is often a loud process, but some grinders screeched like banshees during our testing.

We rate each grinder on how loud and annoying they are, with quieter machines earning higher ratings.

Versatility 

We reward the machines that have a higher number of settings and more options to customise your coffee grounds.

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What is the best coffee grinder to use? 

A precise, even grind is essential for making tasty coffee at home. Choose a poor coffee grinder, and you may end up with uneven grounds and a badly extracted, watery brew.

• To make espresso, either in a traditional coffee machine or using a stove-top pot or portable coffee makers such as an AeroPress, you'll need fine-ground coffee.
• To fill up your filter coffee maker, you need medium grounds.
• If you want to make black coffee in a filter machine or cafetiere, you'll need a coarser grind.

There are three main types of coffee grinder:

• Electrical blade
• Electrical burr
• Hand grinder

Which one is best for you depends on what type of coffee you like to make, how much you make, and whether you want the flexibility of being able to achieve different grounds tailored to different coffee types.

Blade coffee grinders

Blade grinders (like the one in the picture below) have a spinning blade inside that cuts the beans into smaller pieces, similar to a blender. 

Pros of blade coffee grinders

• Relatively simple and inexpensive

Cons of blade coffee grinders

• Blade heats up coffee as it chops the bean, which can alter the flavour
• Doesn’t produce a consistent fine grind, not ideal for espresso

See which model we named the best filter coffee machine.

Burr coffee grinders

Burr coffee grinders have a small gear-like mechanism inside that crushes coffee beans to produce ground coffee. Because they crush rather than chop the beans, they don’t exert the same kind of force and heat that a blade grinder might. 

The image below shows the difference between grounds from an electric blade grinder (left) and a burr coffee grinder (right).

Pros of electric burr coffee grinders

• Can produce a more consistent, fine grind for making espressos and also the rougher grounds needed for filter coffees and cafetieres, making them a more versatile option if you drink different types of coffee
• Can grind larger amounts in one go
• Often have multiple grind levels for different coffee types

Cons of electric burr coffee grinders

• Tend to be more expensive than a basic blade or hand grinder

Hand coffee grinders

Hand grinders grind coffee thanks to your own arm muscles. Most hand grinders come with a burr in them, which is a cheap way to get a good-quality grind for your espresso coffee maker.

If you're only grinding small quantities at a time, they can be a good option, as you have total control over how much you want to grind. Most electric coffee grinders grind a minimum of two cups of coffee at a time.

Pros of hand coffee grinders

• Basic models are very inexpensive
• Burr models can grind fine espresso grounds for less
• Not as noisy as electric grinders
• Take up less space

Cons of hand coffee grinders

• Can usually only grind small portions of coffee at a time
• Take some physical effort

Flat vs conical burrs

You may see coffee aficionados extolling the virtues of either a flat burr (pictured below left) or a conical burr (pictured below right).

• Conical burrs grind beans into two slightly different particle sizes, which works particularly well in espresso machines.
• Flat burrs should grind the beans into a consistent fine grind, which may sound better in theory, but the fine grind produced by a flat burr is trickier to get good, consistent results with when making coffee.

Also, flat burr coffee grinders will usually be much pricier than their conical burr counterparts. For most people, a coffee grinder with a conical burr is going to be good enough for the job of grinding beans for your coffee machine.

Steel vs ceramic burrs

• Steel burrs are usually found in widely available coffee grinders sold in big retailers such as John Lewis and Lakeland.
• Ceramic burrs are less common, but can be found on some hand grinders.

Both of these materials will handle grinding the coffee beans equally well, the main difference being in the durability of the grinding burr.

A ceramic burr is likely to last longer than a steel burr, provided that it doesn’t encounter any rogue materials, such as a small fragment of stone, that could cause it to chip.

Stepped vs stepless grinders

A stepped coffee grinder will have pre-set grind options for you to choose from, from a fine to a coarser grind. Most electronic burr coffee grinders in retail shops such as John Lewis or Argos will be stepped.

If you really like to be adventurous with your coffee, you might consider a stepless grinder. To get your hands on one you'll have to venture off the high street and you’ll be spending quite a bit more money too. A stepless grinder has no pre-set grind levels. Instead, you can tinker with it to produce the exact grind you want. While a stepless grinder can offer you even more options for customisation, it does require an experienced hand to get good results.