High Quality Burrs: Manufactured in Europe, the Encores 40 mm conical burrs will grind for many styles of coffee. Conical burr grinders are exceptional at producing consistent grinds from very fine to very coarse as well as being durable and will remain sharp for many years. Gearbox: In 2012, Baratza introduced the second generation Gearbox (GB 2.0). With GB 2.0, Baratza has significantly increased the strength and durability of the drive transmission while decreasing noise. In addition to a new drive shaft, motor mounting plate and bushings, this change includes a new drive gear made of 15% glass filled thermo plastic which is quieter than the prior metal gear, wears better and is more shock resistant. During the Encores rigorous testing process, stainless steel screws were thrown into the burrs, and in every case the rev. 5/12 motor/gear/burrs stopped immediately, the (automatically-resettable) thermal cutout was triggered, and the gears were fine. Grind Adjustment: Turn the hopper and with 40 settings you can quickly adjust from fine for espresso to coarse for French Press. The grind range is from 250 to 1200 microns. Grinds Left in Grinder: To maximize freshness, the Encore minimizes the ground coffee left in the grinder. Brewing Methods: The Encore is a great grinder for manual brewing and espressoMotor: A powerful, high torque DC motor effortlessly drives the burrs. This motor turns slowly resulting in cool, quiet operation and permits long grinding duty-cycles. The circuitry is equipped with an automatically resetting, thermal cutoff switch. Calibration: An innovative burr calibration system ensures that each grinder has the full range of grind. If necessary, the grinders can be user calibrated. Speed Control: With unique speed control, the Encore uses a combination of gear and electronic speed reduction to control the rotation of the burr to 450 RPM. The electronic speed controller is adjustable from 405 to 495 RPM in the event that specific user conditions require modification of the speed. This slow speed reduces heat, noise, and static generation in the grinder. It also ensures that the beans feed smoothly into the burrs. On-off Switch: The Encore has an easy on-off switch. Cleaning: Burrs are easily removable with no tools, making cleaning very easy.Hopper extender: An extension that can add 9 oz. of capacity to the existing 8 oz. bean hopper. Several extenders can be added to get to the capacity you need.