I’ve told people over and over that if you’re going to buy coffee gear, the first thing you should get is a good grinder. Some of the best all-purpose coffee grinders out there are Baratza grinders.

They’re a little more expensive. You can certainly find a cheaper grinder on the market pretty easily. Here are 4 quick reasons why we recommend Baratza:

1) 4 Years. Nothing lasts 4 years. Most small housewares last 2-3 years (planned obsolescence).

2) Baratza parts are available online for all of their grinders. Find parts for that Cuisinart. I dare you.

3) Parts are customer replaceable by anyone who can use a screwdriver. There are PDFs/videos/instructions available several places online. Everything you need to fix your grinder (except the screwdriver). If you don’t feel like it, you can send your grinder in to Baratza for repair for a very reasonable price.

4) Absolutely stellar support. Four years after I purchased my Baratza Virtuoso the motor died. It’s an electronic part. These things happen. I called Baratza. A real person answered the phone. That person knew what he was doing. That person has the authority to make decisions without passing it on to fifty other people who are going to charge you the cost of a new grinder just for the parts. He shipped me the new motor without running me through seven other departments.

Bottom line – My Baratza Virtuoso grinder is working better than ever. I’m 100% sure it will be working for at least the next 4 years. All of that is worth the couple of extra bucks for a Baratza grinder.