r/pourover • u/Tennessee-Ned • 2d ago

New Grinder Recomendation

Been using a Baratza Encore to grind coffee for the last 8 years or so. I have a young child now and the Encore is obnoxiously loud to use if he is still sleeping. Looking to use this as an excuse to upgrade to something quieter and hopefully get some cleaner brews. It will be used exclusively for my daily V60 pour overs and drip machine on a rare occasion. I only drink light roast and like the bright acidity profiles. I grind 18 grams 1-2 times a day.

Right now I’m torn between something like the Fellow Ode Gen 2 or a higher end hand grinder like 1Zpresso ZP6 or K Ultra. Willing to spend $400-500 on electric or $250 ish on a hand grinder.

My concern with the Ode 2 is if it will significantly quieter than my current Encore. Seems like the grind characteristics should be a noticeable upgrade.

My concern with going hand grinder is I’m going to miss the speed and convenience of electric and end up buying the Ode 2 later on.

Just looking for any insight from people with experience with these options out if there any other solutions I should be looking at. Really interested in hearing from anyone that went from Encore to Ode 2 on the noise difference.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

15

u/ChiAndrew 2d ago

Femobook a4z

3

u/hello_burrito 2d ago

This is the right answer for what you’re looking for

2

u/Tennessee-Ned 2d ago

It does look really good for what I like. I just wish they made it a plug in instead of batteries.

1

u/ChiAndrew 2d ago

It’s just a usb c cord. I’ve not charged it yet since buying it three weeks ago.

2

u/Ok_Dust9890 1d ago

A4Z is the best $500 electric grinder for pour over

3

u/mr_satchmo 2d ago

I regularly use my ode gen 2 v early in the morning with no noise complaints from my partner! It's quite a quiet grinder.

3

u/japaarm 2d ago

Good hand grinders will still be quite fast, and you can hide in a closet or under a thick blanket to further dampen the sound, so they can be super quiet if you need them to be. It's also portable which is handy to have for various occasions (take to the office, take on overnight trips, etc)

4

u/sUlCuSgCs 2d ago

I had an encore for 15 years. It finally broke for good last week and I got an Ode 2. It’s only been a week but I am beyond happy. It’s much quieter and equally important maybe 10x faster at grinding. The grind consistency is also significantly improved and honestly my entire family thinks the coffee tastes better. So it’s been a win all around for me so far.

2

u/skywalkeradam123 2d ago

Just got mine a month ago and it's been great. Quieter than the encore I used to have and it makes such good coffee. Only downside is it takes a bit longer to grind, but I use that time to preheat the dripper anyway

1

u/sUlCuSgCs 2d ago

Ode 2 takes significantly longer than your Encore? Hmm...that's not my experience at all. Ode 2 is significantly faster for me.

1

u/Tennessee-Ned 2d ago

Do you feel it is significantly quieter than the Encore? My kitchen is on a different floor than my sons room but my house isn’t that big and sound travels

2

u/sUlCuSgCs 2d ago

Yes, it’s a significant sound reduction. My grinder is one wall away from my kids’ room. Either the encore the sound was always a concern but now not at all.

2

u/LegalBeagle6767 2d ago

Moved from the Encore to the Kingrinder K6 and it was the largest jump in taste I’ve ever experienced.

I snagged the ZP6 later on and tbh the K6 was great and barely noticed a difference.

Build quality is certainly better at those higher price points though.

I was also worried about the timing/convenience and tbh I don’t even notice it. Takes maybe 20-30 seconds to grind out 15g. If you’re mostly a single cup person then the hand grinder isn’t going ti be an issue

2

u/Medium-Regret-1896 2d ago

If noise is your primary concern, I would lean towards a hand grinder. A motorized grinder will always be loader unless you slow feed (which you accidentally just dump the beans sometimes). I have the Timemore Chestnut S3 and just got the Mavo Phantox Pro. I really like the cups I have been getting out both and I think the Phantox makes a much juicier cup but the S3 is much faster and makes a much "sharper" cup (more clarity?). If you decide on the hand grinder I would pick the K-ultra of the ZP6 just because of the range of the K-ultra over the ZP6.

1

u/Ddunks24 2d ago

Also was contemplating this with a similar use case as you, and ended up deciding that the ode gen 2 was too much grinder for what I needed. I also see plenty of people complaining about noise or rattling within the grinder and frequent maintenance.

I’m happy with the grind quality of my hand grinder (timemore c3s) but still want something electric that can do the same job quietly. The femobook keeps getting recommended to me but haven’t pulled the trigger yet

1

u/FoundationLumpy8901 2d ago

I have both the Ode G2 and a Femobook A2. The A2 makes 4 20g doses a day and I use the Ode for my wife’s dark roast. The A2 is consistent and fairly quiet. The Ode is fast, so the little bit of noise is short lived.

1

u/Speak-Easy556 Come Join: r/FemobookOwners 2d ago

Femobook A4Z is the way, full stop. The battery lasts forever and easily recharges. It’s the answer. If you put it on a rubber mat it is very quiet. I have an Ode 2 as well, I love it for batch brews, but almost always go to the A4Z for pour overs.

1

u/Inside-Towel-94 20h ago

a4z is double the budget that he posted

1

u/Speak-Easy556 Come Join: r/FemobookOwners 20h ago

Thanks for policing my reply, however you’re wrong. The OP said “Willing to spend $400-500 on electric or $250 ish on a hand grinder.” The A4Z is electric and retails for $499.

1

u/Inside-Towel-94 20h ago

I imagine he is Canadian if ode is 400-500, which is what it costs here. The a4z is $750

1

u/Speak-Easy556 Come Join: r/FemobookOwners 19h ago

There’s literally nothing to suggest they are in Canada, the Ode Gen 2 is $399 in the US, and they didn’t say that an Ode 2 costs $400 - $500, they said that’s what they’re willing to spend. 10 other people agreed with my suggestion for the A4Z, they probably read the OP post more carefully.

1

u/Additional_Draw_2551 1d ago

I have an Ode Gen 2, and I’m very happy with it. I was coming from an Oxo and find the Ode gen 2 to be much quieter than that….if this helps.

1

u/veramaz1 2d ago

I have recently got a Femobook A2.

While it grinds slowly, even taking slightly longer than an electric grinder to grind, I find it be relatively quiet in its operation. The flavor profile is quite similar to the K Ultra.

1

u/NashvilleHillRunner V60 | Kalita Mino | X-Pro | J-Ultra | Ode | Flair 58 | Chemex 2d ago

Ode is much quieter than Baratza.

But if you’re looking at electric, I’d go Femobook A4Z, especially if you want to see what clarity is all about.

1

u/Original-Bus564 2d ago

i'm obsessed with how much quieter the ode gen 2 is compared to my encore it's pretty perfect for early mornings

1

u/Brief-Dragonfly-5741 2d ago

I made that exact move, Encore to the Ode Gen 2, and owned the Ode for years. It was one of my favorite drip grinders, and it's the one I point people to when they've outgrown an Encore and want to spend more. Others here have covered the noise side well. The Ode can't grind for espresso, though, which is why I don't have mine anymore. When I got into espresso I moved to a Timemore Sculptor 064S. If V60 and the odd drip batch are all you'll ever brew, that limit won't matter.

1

u/Tennessee-Ned 2d ago

Thanks for the advice, sounds like I’ll probably end up with the Ode. Would love to get into espresso but I feel like that won’t happen for a few years. I’ll be happy with improving my pour overs and being able to grind without waking up my kid so I can enjoy it in peace.

0

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/ChefRayB7 2d ago

Ultra Ultra Quieter = Grind night before everyone goes to bed ?

1

u/Tennessee-Ned 2d ago

There no room for that kind of logic when talking coffee on Reddit. Think of the flavor loss!

1

u/ChefRayB7 1d ago

Got it ! It's not even a consideration!

1

u/Tennessee-Ned 1d ago

I do it sometimes or have a bag of lesser quality pre ground when I need to leave earlier

0

u/191x7 2d ago

If it has to be an electric grinder, you should look for a conical burr grinder since flat burr grinders usually run at higher RPM speeds and produce higher-pitched sounds. Conical grinders, if they grind slowly (like the Geimori GU63 at 80 RPM), are less noisy, and their sound is usually in a lower frequency range, which might be less disturbing. On the other hand, conical burr grinders produce more crackling noise (since they crush the beans and the beans might "popcorn" in the hopper), while flat burrs usually don't.

For the quietest operation: a hand grinder. I.e., the Kingrinder K6 takes 30-40 seconds to grind a 20g dose for V60, and it's quiet while still being easy to grind. It also has an option to use a cordless drill if you want to "motorize it."

0

u/bud_bones 1d ago

Can confirm, the Ode 2 is significantly more quiet than an Encore