Club Benefits
I worked in coffee shops for over three years, and now as Tom's Guide's resident coffee expert, I get my caffeine-addicted mitts on every piece of hot-bean-juice tech ever made. I've tested $3,000 and $129 espresso machines, $20 and $300 coffee scales, $60 and... $1,500 coffee grinders.
Yes, $1,500 for a coffee grinder. Let me introduce the revered Mazzer Philos. Just the slightest utterance of this name will send fellow coffee nerds into frenzies. While yes, expensive, the Mazzer Philos is also a beauty. Just look at it (scroll up, on your left). With a 0.8% average retention, the Philos is also the lowest-retention motorized grinder I've ever tested.
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Hi! I'm Erin, and I'm a former barista and now a professional espresso machine reviewer. I tested loads of espresso machines every year — last year I reviewed 30 coffee machines — and I'm also a self-professed coffee snob. I use the Breville Bambino Plus, Comandante C40 MK4, and Wacaco Exagram Pro to make consistently delicious coffee.
Meet the competitors
Affordable vs premium grinder taste test 1: flat white
For the first test, I made my favorite drink: a flat white. I used my Breville Bambino for both drinks, the same Ethiopian beans, and the same 1:2 ratio shot in the "golden window" of 25-28 seconds. I made an obscene amount of espresso to get identical shots (I lost count at 20).
Take a look at the photos above. From the images, can you tell which one used the Philos and which the Encore ESP Pro?
If you guessed left: Mazzer Philos and right: Baratza Encore ESP Pro, you'd be correct. Now let's get into the meat (or the crema?) of the story: the results.
I labelled the Philos as coffee A and the Encore ESP Pro as coffee B.
I had six taste testers, varying from serious coffee enthusiasts: Pete, my colleague on MusicRadar, and Pete (confusing), our Reviews Senior Editor here at Tom's Guide, coffee appreciators: my colleagues Harry on TechRadar and Matt, our photographer, and self-described coffee novices: my colleagues Simon and Stu on MusicRadar.
Pete (MusicRadar) immediately identified coffee A as the Philos, as coffee B was a little bitter and coffee A had more juicy, floral notes. Philos = 1.
Simon said coffee B was sourer and preferred coffee A, but the difference wasn't as vast as he'd expected. He guessed coffee A was the Philos. Philos = 2.
Pete (Tom's Guide) said he thought coffee B was the more expensive grinder. Encore ESP Pro = 1.
Stu said he preferred the richer flavor of coffee A; consequently, the Philos was used on coffee A. Philos = 3.
Matt said coffee A was milkier, but also richer. However, he guessed coffee B was the Philos as it tasted more full-bodied than coffee A. Encore ESP Pro = 2.
Harry said coffee B had more of that archetypal "coffee" flavor, but was quite bitter at the end of each mouthful. He said coffee A was creamier and more pleasant to drink, and guessed coffee A was the expensive grinder. Philos = 4.
The results: coffee A received the most votes, so the Philos was correctly identified.
Mazzer Philos wins the flat white round.
Affordable vs premium grinder taste test 1: Americano
As with the flat white round, I made both of these Americanos on the Breville Bambino with as close-to-identical espressos as possible. Both espressos were extracted at a ratio of 1:2 within the "golden window" of 25-28 seconds. I used the same amount of 200°F water to top up the double shots.
Can you tell which was ground using the Mazzer Philos and which was used by the Baratza Encore ESP Pro?
I switched it up for this round: left (coffee A) was Encore ESP Pro, and right (coffee B) was Philos.
Let's get into the results. Remember, coffee A = cheaper grinder and coffee B = expensive grinder.
Pete (MusicRadar) said coffee B was a little astringent and dried out his mouth. He said coffee A was a little bitter, but due to its softer mouthfeel, he guessed coffee A was the Philos. Encore ESP Pro = 1.
Simon found coffee B smoother overall, but preferred the richness of coffee A, so guessed coffee A was the Philos. Encore ESP Pro = 2.
Pete (Tom's Guide) said coffee B was a little watery, and coffee A was fuller-bodied, so he thought coffee A was the Philos. Encore ESP Pro = 3.
Stu said coffee A was bitter, whereas coffee B was a little softer in flavor and had more bloom. However, he thought coffee A was the Philos. Encore ESP Pro = 4.
Matt immediately guessed coffee A was the Philos and coffee B was the Encore ESP Pro, as B had more depth. Encore ESP Pro = 5.
Harry didn't like coffee B at all, saying it tasted overwhelmingly bitter, and said coffee A was much more drinkable. He guessed coffee A was the Philos. Encore ESP Pro = 6.
This round was unanimous: everyone thought coffee A was made with the Philos. However, coffee A was actually made with the Baratza Encore ESP Pro — $1,200 cheaper.
The Baratza grinder matched the Mazzer Philos overall
As the Philos won the flat white round and the Encore ESP Pro won the Americano round, this blind taste test resulted in a draw.
I was really surprised by these results. I honestly expected the Philos to win every round with very little contention. The Philos is way more uniform than the Encore ESP Pro — big jumps from 0%-100% in my lab testing. Essentially, this means all the coffee grounds are the same size, which is what you want.
In contrast, the Encore ESP Pro struggled to grind consistently: 0%-20%-50%-70%-80% in coarser grind settings. This means the coffee granules were all different sizes. Zero grounds were >300μm, 20% were 300-500μm, 50% were 300-800μm, 70% were 300-1100μm, and 20% were larger than 1400μm.
However, in real-world testing, it looks like uniformity might not be the be-all and end-all of enjoying your coffee. Maybe saving $1,200 is actually worth it — you probably won't be able to taste the difference.
Price isn't the only thing to consider, though
Although this blind taste test was for espresso-based drinks, there are loads more coffee brewing methods. The Mazzer Philos is more consistent across the entire grind size spectrum: espresso grounds were just as uniform as cold brew grounds in my testing. If you tend to use a wider range of methods, the Philos might be worth the splurge.
This also calls into question the longevity of the two grinders. Baratza grinders are good, yes, but they are mostly plastic. The Philos is 100% metal, and you can clean the entire grinding system without tools (or risking breaking anything).
For under $300, though, Baratza has fantastic aftercare. Baratza offers a repair program for a flat rate charge; a Reddit user reported that Baratza repaired a 10-year-old grinder. You also get a 2-year warranty with both grinders, so the Mazzer isn't exactly the winner here.
However, the Philos and the Encore ESP Pro are built for entirely different purposes. The Philos is a home-slash-commercial grinder, whereas the Encore ESP Pro is solely a home grinder. As Mazzer built the Philos to withstand the demands of a cafe environment, you likely wouldn't be wrong to think it would outlast a Baratza.
But what do you think? Do you think the $1,500 asking price of the Mazzer is too much? Do you think it's something worth saving up for, or would you be happy with a Baratza or Baratza-adjacent grinder? Let me know in the comments!
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