Illustration: Dana Davis; Photos: Michael Hession

We do not normally offer product promotion nor seek endorsements other than for products we personally love enough to dedicate our lives to making them and selling them. Lesley Stockton is in the business of helping others make smart purchase decisions and does so with this same sense of personal devotion. I share one example today because this is the grinder I use, and I feel the same way about it:

The Baratza Encore Transformed My Morning Coffee (and Turned Me Into a Lowkey Barista)

I cannot overstate how much the Baratza Encore burr grinder improved my morning routine.

I strike a weird balance between investing heavily in my home coffee setup while not taking coffee culture too seriously. Like, I love a well-balanced cup in the morning, but I’m not about to weigh my beans on a scale to get the perfect coffee-to-water ratio. Of the $1,000-ish worth of coffee gear in my kitchen, though, my Baratza Encore burr grinder is the one thing I cannot live without.