BEST ESPRESSO GRINDERS UNDER $2000

If you’re looking to add an espresso grinder to your business or home, then, like with many other things, you’re probably searching for the one that brings high-quality and a low price together.

Frankly, that may sound impossible to do. But the good news is there are espresso grinders out there for budgets of every size.

Our goal in this guide is to show you the best espresso grinders under $2,000. We’ll teach you about some of their features and shed some light on why each of these grinders are great budget models.

We’ll go over the following:

• Fundamental features of these grinders
• What to consider when you choose a grinder
• Our choices for the best espresso grinders under $2000

Let’s take a closer look.

FUNDAMENTAL GRINDER FEATURES

BURR TYPE

As you can imagine, one of the most important parts to any espresso grinder is its burrs.

The burrs are the grinding discs inside the machine. Their type can have a surprising amount of impact on the flavor of your coffee.

You’ll usually see flat or conical burrs when you look at grinders. You’re probably wondering which one is better or what that means.

Flat burrs are famously consistent in the texture of their grind. Because particles from flat burr grinders are so uniform, the flavor is balanced.

As a result, you’ll get rich chocolate and nutty notes from coffees that were ground with flat burrs.

Conical burrs, in contrast, are cone-shaped. They create bimodal particles, or particles of varying sizes.

This leads to highlighting bright and zesty flavors in the coffee. 

Either type of burr can help create to a delicious drink, but since they can enhance differing flavors, you should take your or your customers’ overall flavor preference into consideration as you look at grinders. 

BURR SIZE 

Size matters in the world of burrs.

That’s because bigger burrs don’t need to rotate as much as smaller ones to grind more coffee. This means less friction is caused and less heat generated. 

In a grinder, aside from grinding the beans, the goal is also to keep as cool as possible. Otherwise, you could end up with burnt beans that render your beverages undrinkable.

STEPPED OR STEPLESS GRIND ADJUSTMENT

Coffee, like wine, is an extremely nuanced drink and making a high-quality cup is influenced by a number of events.

An especially important step is when you choose the texture of the grind. Different types need different levels of fineness, and a good grinder will assist you in complementing specific flavor profiles.

Grinders generally achieve this with stepped or stepless adjustment. 

With stepped adjustment, there are specific manufactured settings to choose from, usually as notches you can slide a switch into. These types of grinders are easier to operate for beginners who may not necessarily know which fineness setting to choose, or businesses that don’t focus on specialty coffees.

Stepless adjustment is the alternative, and is often favored by experts. In stepless adjustment grinders, you’re able to choose from any fineness setting from fine to coarse without the limit of pre-set choices.

It can take time to familiarize yourself with the options on a stepless grinder, but once you do, the grind adjustment options are just about endless.

HOPPER CAPACITY

The more beans a grinder can hold, the longer it can go before it needs to be refilled.

In smaller businesses or even homes, this isn’t as much of a priority, as the grinder may not be used for extended periods of time.

But if you’re anticipating you’ll need to grind continuously, a large capacity hopper is worth adding to your list.

COOLING SYSTEM

Keeping a low temperature is absolutely vital when it comes to grinding coffee.

If the temperature gets too high, you can damage the flavor by burning the beans. This is the reason why some coffee or espresso drinks leave a burnt aftertaste.

To combat rising temperatures, many grinders come with features that aid in cooling them. Commonly, you’ll see cooling systems that use attributes such as larger burrs or fans.

This is something important to keep in mind if you’ll be using the grinder continuously and frequently.

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY

An espresso grinder can be a real investment, and you’ll want to get as much out of it as possible.

To make sure you choose the one that will benefit you the most, you’ll want to think about a variety of aspects, such as:

• Price
• Your or your employees’ experience level
• What you’ll need to use it for
• How often you’ll use it

Price is an easy consideration. You’ll just need to determine how much you’re willing to spend initially.

Be warned, however, that a grinder’s price isn’t the most important part about it. If you focus on price by itself, you could end up choosing a grinder that doesn’t fulfill your requirements.

If you’re a more experienced coffee aficionado, then you might be more interested in a stepless grinder that will offer you as many fineness options as possible. Stepless grinders are also fantastic for enhancing specialized coffee profiles.

But all these options might be excessive for a beginner who doesn’t understand their function yet or someone who only wants the basics. In that case, a stepped grinder will be simpler to grasp.

Personal taste preference is also crucial. Those who like rich and sweet flavors should think about choosing a flat burr grinder, while those who prefer fruitier tastes will like what a conical burr grinder can do for them.

Last, you should also factor in how often you’ll be using the grinder. Burr and hopper size grow more important when you’re going to put the grinder through heavy-duty use, because larger burrs keep beans cooler and a larger hopper means you have to refill it less.

If you’re just looking to make a morning cup of coffee for yourself every day, these things won’t matter quite as much because you’ll probably find that just about any size burr or hopper is sufficient.

BEST ESPRESSO GRINDERS UNDER $2000

MAHLKONIG K30 VARIO AIR SINGLE ESPRESSO GRINDER

The Mahlkonig K30 Vario Air Single Espresso Grinder is an affordable espresso grinder with the power to meet the needs of small to large businesses that sell espresso drinks.

True to the high-quality name of Mahlkonig, this grinder is built to effortlessly speed through large amounts of coffee. Its large 65-mm flat burrs allow it to pulverize beans at a speedy rate of 3.6-4.8 grams a second, leading to shots of espresso in short time.

A gigantic 3.3-pound bean hopper on the top allows users to go for long periods of extended use without the frustration of frequent stops for refills. You’ll have no problem blazing through rushes of customers in a business or making rapid shots at home with the K30 Vario.

• Majesty Coffee Price: $1,900
• Burr Type: Flat
• Burr Size: 65 mm
• Hopper Capacity: 3.3 pounds
• Grind Adjustment: Stepless
• Portafilter Holder: Spend more time with your customers or working on other tasks, because this grinder will hold the portafilter in place for you as it grinds.
• Fan Cooling System: Preserve the integrity of your beans even during heavy use with the K30 Vario’s fan cooling system.
• Programmable Single and Double Shots: By programming the precise doses for single or double shots, you can save time from having to adjust settings for each drink size.
• Illuminated Display: Operate the grinder through one clearly lit central display.

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MAHLKONIG TANZANIA FILTER COFFEE GRINDER

With the Mahlkonig Tanzania Filter Coffee Grinder, the old saying that good things come in small packages has never been truer.

At 24.9 inches tall, 8.1 inches wide, and 11.6 inches deep, you won’t need to fight to find room for this grinder. But if you’re worried that a smaller size means less power, you’ll be pleased to learn that’s wrong when it comes to the Tanzania.

Its enormous 80-millimeter flat burrs give it the power to zip through 1-2 pounds of coffee a minute. Meanwhile, its motor ventilation system gives it the power to stay cool as it works.

This is the perfect machine for businesses that need to sell retail bags of coffee to customers as quickly as possible.

• Majesty Coffee Price: $1,850
• Burr Type: Flat
• Burr Size: 80mm
• Hopper Capacity: 1.6 pounds
• Grind Adjustment: Stepless
• Bag Clamp and Knock-Off Device: If you’re grinding a bag of coffee for your customer, you won’t need to stand at your grinder and hold it in place. Once it’s done grinding, the Tanzania will knock off any leftover coffee into the bag for you, cutting down on waste.
• Bag Shaker: With gentle vibrations, the grinder will settle grounds in the bag for you, smoothing the process just a little more.
• Magnetic Disc Carrier: Cleaning the inside is a cinch, since the grinding discs are simpler to remove.
• Motor Ventilation: Prevents your beans from being burnt even during your busy hours.

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CEADO E37S WORM GEAR ESPRESSO GRINDER

Consistency is key with the Ceado E37S Worm Gear Espresso Grinder. 

You’ll adjust the fineness by simply turning the worm gear knob located right at the top of the grinder. But unlike other stepless grinders that require recalibration, the E37S has a steady lock system that lets you lock a specific setting into place.

This is a handy feature that is perfect for home users who have found the perfect setting for a coffee they use the most, or for coffee shops that are grinding the same kind continuously.

Adding to its helpfulness is a portafilter holder that will keep the portafilter in place for you so you can focus on other work.

• Majesty Coffee Price: $1,700
• Burr Type: Flat
• Burr Size: 83mm
• Hopper Capacity: 1.3 pounds
• Grind Adjustment: Stepless
• Touchscreen Display: Control of the grinder is straightforward with a modern, easy-to-use touchscreen display.
• Steady Lock: Lock a particular setting into place, so you don’t need to stop and recalibrate your grinder even during continuous use.
• Shot Counter: Keeping track of the amount of shots being made is useful for businesses calculating their expenses and interesting for users at home to consider.