Which to buy · Every setting
Baratza Encore ESP vs Fellow Opus
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The Opus is numbered 1–11; the Encore ESP is numbered 1–40.
Which to buy
Choose the
Encore ESP if you…
- want half the dial for espresso — settings 1–20 are a high-resolution range
- grind from a hopper — it holds 300 g
- pull shots into a portafilter — a 54 mm dosing cup and 58 mm adapter come with it
Choose the
Opus if you…
- want a timed auto-stop at 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds
- want an inner ring for micro-adjustment between the 41 dial settings
- want anti-static and a magnetic catch cup
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Fellow now sells the Opus 2 in place of the original. The settings on this page are for the original Opus.
Sources: Fellow — Opus (archived) · Fellow — Opus gear guide · Fellow — Opus page today · Baratza — Encore ESP · Baratza — Encore ESP manual
| Encore ESP | Opus | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Baratza | Fellow |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 40 | 1 – 11 |
| Burrs | Conical | Conical |
| Espresso → filter | 12.7 numbers | 5.7 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 10.1 numbers | 3.9 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 6 sits at grind index 0 on the Encore ESP but 34.2 on the Opus — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| Encore ESP | Opus |
|---|---|
| 13 | 1.2 |
| 16 | 1.2 |
| 19 | 2 |
| 22 | 3.2 |
| 24 | 5.3 |
| 26 | 7.1 |
| 28 | 8 |
| 30 | 8.2 |
| 31 | 8.3 |
| 33 | 9.1 |
| 34 | 9.3 |
| 35 | 10.2 |
| 36 | 11 |
| Opus | Encore ESP |
|---|---|
| 1.2 | 13 |
| 2 | 19 |
| 3.2 | 22 |
| 5.3 | 24 |
| 7.1 | 26 |
| 8 | 28 |
| 8.2 | 30 |
| 8.3 | 31 |
| 9.1 | 33 |
| 9.3 | 34 |
| 10.2 | 35 |
| 11 | 36 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Encore ESP | Opus |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 15 | 1.2 |
| Moka pot | 19 | 1.3 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 22 | 3.2 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 25 | 6.3 |
| Siphon | 26 | 7.2 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 27 | 7.3 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 28 | 8 |
| Drip / batch brew | 28 | 8 |
| Cupping | 28 | 8 |
| Chemex | 30 | 8.2 |
| French press | 32 | 9 |
| Cold brew | 34 | 10 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Baratza Encore ESP
Fellow Opus
Dialing in the Encore ESP
The Encore ESP is the Encore with the espresso range Baratza left out of the original — a recalibrated burr set and a collar remapped so the fine end has usable resolution instead of bottoming out. If you are cross-referencing recipes written for a standard Encore, the numbers do not transfer directly; the same figure sits finer here.
Dialing in the Opus
Marketed as all-purpose, and it genuinely does cover more range than the Ode, but the espresso end is workable rather than good — expect to chase it. Where it earns its place is the coarse end: cold brew and French press come out notably even. If you bought the Opus mainly for espresso, dial it as a brew grinder first and judge it there.