OXO Brew Conical Burr Electric Coffee Bean Grinder - 12 Oz, Silver

Why it's worth it

The OXO uses 40mm stainless conical burrs and a 15-position dial with micro-adjustments hidden inside, so there's almost nothing to get wrong. If you're leaving a blade grinder behind and you brew drip or French press, this is the upgrade that costs the least.

Fewer choices is the whole point here. Home Grounds calls the 15-setting dial one of the easiest budget grinders to use consistently for drip, and that tracks: you pick a number, you push the button, and it remembers where you left it. Compare that with a 60-setting scale you have to relearn every time somebody borrows the grinder.

The 40mm stainless conical burrs are real burrs, not a compromise. For drip, pour-over and French press, the grounds come out even enough that your brewer can do its job, and the difference from a blade grinder is not subtle. There are 43 micro-adjustments behind the main dial if you eventually want finer control, but you can ignore them for years.

From our review of 7 coffee grinders

What we like

• +Fewer choices is the whole point here
• +The 40mm stainless conical burrs are real burrs, not a compromise
• +Small conveniences add up

What to know

• –Espresso is not what this is for
• –It's a hopper grinder, so grounds hang around in the chamber between doses, and it's noisy in the way most consumer grinders are…