Grind setting conversion
Baratza Encore vs Baratza Virtuoso+
The standard upgrade question: same 40-step collar, better burrs.
| Encore | Virtuoso+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Baratza | Baratza |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 40 | 1 – 40 |
| Burrs | Conical | Conical |
| Espresso → filter | 15 numbers | 13 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 15 numbers | 14 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 21 sits at grind index 43.4 on the Encore but 54 on the Virtuoso+ — 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 | Virtuoso+ |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 |
| 7.7 | 7.1 |
| 10.6 | 9.5 |
| 14.1 | 12.6 |
| 17.6 | 15.8 |
| 20.5 | 18.4 |
| 22.7 | 20.3 |
| 24.4 | 21.7 |
| 26.2 | 23.3 |
| 28.3 | 25.2 |
| 30.5 | 27.4 |
| 32.7 | 29.7 |
| 35 | 32 |
| Virtuoso+ | Encore |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 |
| 7.1 | 7.7 |
| 9.5 | 10.6 |
| 12.6 | 14.1 |
| 15.8 | 17.6 |
| 18.4 | 20.5 |
| 20.3 | 22.7 |
| 21.7 | 24.4 |
| 23.3 | 26.2 |
| 25.2 | 28.3 |
| 27.4 | 30.5 |
| 29.7 | 32.7 |
| 32 | 35 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Encore | Virtuoso+ |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 6.6 | 6.3 |
| Moka pot | 10 | 9 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 14.1 | 12.6 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 19.3 | 17.4 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 21.4 | 19.3 |
| Drip / batch brew | 22.7 | 20.3 |
| Chemex | 24.4 | 21.7 |
| French press | 27.5 | 24.5 |
| Cold brew | 31.8 | 28.7 |
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
Baratza Virtuoso+
Dialing in the Encore
The Encore is the default first grinder for filter coffee, and its scale is the one most recipes are implicitly written against. Its stepped collar is honest about what it is: excellent from medium-fine upward, progressively less consistent as you go finer. Treat the bottom of the range as a moka-pot floor rather than an espresso range — Baratza built the Encore ESP precisely because this one was never meant to reach it. If your cup tastes thin at the recommended setting, go one step finer rather than two; the steps here are wider than they look.
Dialing in the Virtuoso+
Same 40-step collar as the Encore, meaningfully better burrs. The practical difference is not the range but the spread within it — at any given number the Virtuoso+ produces fewer fines, so a setting that ran bitter on an Encore often lands clean here. If you are migrating from an Encore, start at the same number rather than compensating, then adjust by taste.
Own a different grinder?
Convert between any two of 78 models
The converter runs the same maths for any pair in the catalog.
Open the grind converter →Switching grinders mid-bag?
Log a brew, say how it tasted, and BrewMark tells you which way to move — in whichever grinder’s numbers you are actually using. Free on iOS.
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