Thank you for a truly outstanding review, EXACTLY what I was looking for! Daring to start by declaring the target audience and a direct hint at what to chose is the PERFECT way to help viewers with what they are searching for. In all honesty, one of the most intelligent and best films I have ever seen on KZfaq. And yes, I was deciding between the Breville (aka "Sage" in Sweden) and the Fellow and your conclusions matched my own perfectly. A slight edge to the Opus :)

He announced the best 1 within 30 seconds… not all heroes wear capes. I salute you, sir.

A KZfaqr that gets straight to the point in the first 30 seconds. Unheard of.

Thanks for starting off with your overall pick. It really freed up my mind to enjoy and focus on the details of the video. Wish more creators did this.

exactly what i was looking for thanks :)

You are THE MAN! That’s what you need in a review video. I liked the vid ten seconds in because you GET IT! By the end I was a subscriber. Big up.

I've been waiting for a good comparison between these, thank you

TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Affordable Espresso Home Grinders 02:10 Grind Dials & Espresso Settings 03:59 Burrs, RPM & Motors 05:09 Grinding out a Dose 07:53 Workflows, Retention & Cleanliness 12:02 Espresso Blind Tasting 18:27 Conclusion

Thank you. I am new to home brewing but, I have an ESP on order. I'm glad to see it stood up to the others. I can't wait to get grinding. 😅

Great review 👏

The Baratza ESP has the high end M2 burrs. Conical or flat burrs is personal taste, but we wanted the M2 burrs. Shims were not necessary owing to the very wide range of settings

Thanks for the video, helped affirm my purchase of the fellow opus. I ordered with the upgraded burrs.

The fact that you tested all the machines without editing and cuts is awesome. Big part of a grinder for me is the sound. Crazy I know but early mornings with a full house means it can be a deal breaker.

Recently upgraded from our Baratza Encore to the Fellow Opus. I have the ability of always finding something to complain about.. and I haven't been able to yet with our Opus. Baratza was good for a while but the grind became really inconsistent even with calibrating. The Fellow Opus may be one of the pieces of coffee gear I've purchased so far.

Informative video Josh and great recommendations for the lower cost end of the grinder market. Personally we upgraded a bit and went with the Rancilio Rocky which I have found to be awesome for our needs.

Thank you for reviewing these 3 grinders. I recently just started getting into coffee. I was deciding between the Opus and the Breville as I got tired of my manual grinder (time is valuable). I ultimately chose the Breville as it seems like the easiest to use. I also have a Breville bambino plus and I really like that I can get the grinder in the same color as my espresso machine.

Thank you for the review, very thorough! On the US market, the pricing on all three machines are within $5 USD. I would personally still go for Baratza for its long-lasting reputation. Breville has way too many electronics in their, making it more vulnerable to non-mechanical failure, I would probably try to avoid for something I want to use for at least a decade.

Thank you

The price varies depending on the country. In France the prices are as follows: Breville: €259 Opus: €199 Baratza eps: €179 There also appears to be more static on the baratza than the OPUS. And the retention is similar on the latter two but much greater on the Breville.

EDIT: I'd like to add that after further testing across the week with different coffees, blends and single origin, that these are updated shot time differences per click. Initially it was a 2-3 second difference but after going through a bit off coffee it looks like the shot time difference per click is closer 3-6 seconds, depending on the coffee, the roast level and the blend. I know that is a bit of a range, but it really seems to depend. I got my ESP in the mail the other day and I am more or less happy with it. I will say that if you already have a good hand grinder, this will not be an upgrade but more of a lateral move, imo. Also, with my medium-dark coffee (Onyx Eclipse, Counter Culture 46, Nicoletti Napoli, etc) in the 50-55 agtron range I am in the 16-20 click range. If you remove a shim, at least in my case, it brings it down to the 8-12 range even though the manual says it will bring it down about 5 click that was not my experience. So, imo, best to leave the shim in if you drink more than one roast level. Taste wise, it is fine, high body and brings out the more bitter notes like dark chocolate. My K6 brings out loads more acid, for comparison, even in coffees that are lower acidity. This is a preference thing; I like both just fine. As for adjustability, I am getting a 2-3 second shot time difference per click. Almost always 2 seconds. So, I adjust 2 clicks at a time. I was worried that the steps would be too big and that is not the case at all. For comparison, my K6 makes 4-5 second steps per click on a good day and 5-6 second steps on a bad day. Interestingly, if I understand correctly, they are pretty close to the same step size difference with the steps in the ESP being larger. I suppose this could come down to grinding speed or something. Plus, the ESP makes tons more fines. Regardless, if your grinder is like mine, you won't have an issue dialing in. Retention for me, my 17 in is almost always 16.9-17.1 out. Now, this is only based off of a few days use and a few dozen shots. This is fine as well. I will sate that I got this grinder simply as a place holder until the end of the year in preparation for a move (voltage change). A few days in and I can tell you that I will upgrade in the future, fwiw. Overall, a good grinder worth the $200 usd I paid for it. Just my thoughts so far, for what they are worth.

No, opus does not have an auto shut off feature. It has a timed off feature, between 30,60,90,120 seconds. The auto shut off is in the ode.

Interesting and very good video. I have a smart grinder now and was thinking to change to Opus. I don't think i will, until someone does a comparison of these for V60. But actually, i think i just need a better espresso only grinder and will continue to hand grind for pourover. Is quite handy to have a quick grinder in the morning, 10 seconds for me is sometimes too slow 😅

Thank you for your video! Really enjoyed it! I currently have the Breville BES870XL espresso machine and the Breville Smart Grinder. As you may already know, BES870XL comes with the grinder itself so I haven't used the Smart Grinder ever since I got the BES870XL. Do you think using a separate grinder makes my coffee taste better? Or is the grinder from BES870XL essentially a same grinder as the Smart Grinder? Also, what was the coffee bean you used? I would love to get a bag for myself to try! Almond croissant and dark chocolate flavor sounds amazing.

The Opus has a much cheaper feel/built and I feel it will go out of service much sooner than the other two. The most convenient and easier to use is by far the Breville and yes the better tasting one is the Encore ESP.

Any chance you'll be reviewing the new Timemore 064S and 078S? They look great but I'd love to know what you think of them.

Great information. I currently have the Sage smart grinder pro and Bambino Plus. I've had this for over 8 years, and i need to change. What would you suggest as a decent upgrade for both 🤔

So by conclusion go for the baratza esp, it's cheaper, easier to dial in and was in the (of subjective to personal preference) taste test the best one.

I'm still watching so I don't know if you addressed this, but isn't the Smart Grinder PRO the same grinder and burrs as the inbuilt one the Breville machines use? So it wouldn't really make sense to switch no?

I'm gonna say that even if you say that the best one for all the features is the Opus, the fact that you needed to go back and dial it in again should almost make it a non-starter, particularly if you're using the grinder for espresso and other types of coffee. If I make a pourover and then I have to fiddle with the grinder afterwards to get a decent espresso (or apparently if you dial it in and then come back to it later, like happened here) it's costing me time, and I don't want to spend any more of that than necessary.

I'm using Breville bambino plus and Fellow Opus grinder, get really confuse about the range of the suggestion from the cover of fellow opus, not sure it's the problem from the espresso machine or not. Fellow Opus suggested 1-2 will be the espresso, but I can't get any drops, I tried different and at last 5 is the best. Did I make anything wrong or it's normal for having such a big different with the suggested?

I’m between the fellow opus and the VS3. Which would be your go to? Overall, the VS3 feels more solid and easier grind adjustments for fine tuning. However I’m concern over the motor durability and the lower rpm. the Opus seems to have ergonomics based on some earlier reviews. Would like to know your thought, Josh!😊

How does these budget electric grinders compares to a manual hand grinder, let's say a timemore c3 esp or a Kingrinder k4? I'm tight on budget and want to get the cheapest possible grinder without compromising too much on the quality of the grind.

Yup, like all Baratza, it’s loud. My first grinder is Sette270, its loud, very… but its good, I don’t mind the noise too much, if it’s good. Just make sure your second grinder, flat burr is quiet. 😂

Is it worth spending $100 to $200 more than these? I was thinking about the Eureka Mignon Notte or the Baratza Sette (and then is it worth getting the 270 over the 30?). I am tempted by these cheap grinders, but are they a good value? I don’t want to be pennywise and pound foolish.

I just got the Fellow Opus and could not get a good dialed even at the finest setting...I was hesistant to mess with it

Can ether of these be used as a coffee and espresso grinder?

Remember when you blind tasted the SGP v the NZ and the SGP won? Does this mean, in the cup, the NZ - at about $1700 - is not as flavourful an espresso grinder as any of these? I remember seeing a blind tasting (not espresso) where the average joe public didn't even show a preference for burr grinders over blade grinders...I'm thinking of going back to my mortar and pestle.

8:50: How is it that folks can look at a grinder with a hopper, and fail to see that it is a single dose device? All you need do is a)start with an empty hopper. b) measure your dose. c) pour your single dose into the hopper. THAT’S IT. Add an aftermarket bellows (available online for $20 or less), and you can blow out the retention too.

The Opus looks more interesting but I think I've settled for the ESP as Baratza has been around long enough to have a solid rep for quality. I'm abit worried the Opus isn't to the same standard as Fellow's other products, and willl simply break in one or two years' time.

So why is the grinder he picked the test is not linked to

Just wish my smart grinder pro didn’t stall as easily. I hate having to feed beans into already running burrs little by little to prevent that god awful ratcheting clutch from engaging.

Good review, little confusing though so the the ESP is consistent , your favour tasting and versatile but comes in last??

Can the opus do drip also?

Not being a coffee geek, just got the breville for easy of use and because I already have other breville appliances.

At 6:09 this is actually not true. The Opus does not automatically detect whether all the beans have been ground. Pressing the button once will leave the grinder on exactly for 30 seconds, no matter how many beans will have been ground until then.

Bummer - I just got the Breville grinder 😢

no matter how many times i try i cannot get my breville sgp to taste decent espresso.

What coffee was that?😮

I got the encore esp for 195 USD tax paid in India. Breville is 750 USD tax paid here. So there is no comparison. Also baratza has better spare and service which is what matters.

16:37 so funny this blindtasting, you point to the Opus as second favourite before you look under the espresso glass.

If you ever feel useless, think about those strawberries

nope im looking for a good filter coffee grinder

Clearly sponsored video. Encore esp is preferred by almost every espresso enthusiast. It makes good espresso, faster and has a better grind adjustment and service support.

I don’t understand…… on virtually every test the Baratza was best and your conclusion was……….the Fellow?????? 🤔

I feel like at this price point one should keep saving their money. These are all grinders that a home barista would eventually replace.

"CHEAPEST"

Opus and Breville is absolutely terrible.

Not even close to the cheapest.... !!!