Best Coffee Grinder for French Press

French press is a wonderful, no-nonsense, brewing method that’s extremely simple to perfect and requires minimal, and generally inexpensive, equipment. The easiest thing you can do to take your French press to the next level is buy a coffee grinder so you have fresh ground coffee to brew with.

The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is the best coffee grinder for French press. Very simple to use with excellent grinding consistency and build quality. Even better, you don’t have to buy another grinder if you want to branch out in other brewing methods.

There are good choices for every budget, we’ve tested a lot of coffee grinders to pick the best option for you to enjoy better French press.

Quick Summary: Top Grinders for French Press

1. Breville Smart Grinder Pro – Overall Best Coffee Grinder for French Press

We loved using the Breville Smart Grinder Pro. The simple-to-use interface made choosing our grind size and dose really easy. Plus we could save our settings so its easy to just push a button in the morning.

It’s not at the elite level of stepless grinders. But, if consistency is what you’re after, then this is a fantastic coffee grinder for French press or any other type of coffee maker.

While it isn’t the cheapest option, we love the investment as it’ll last a long time and has the ability to be your coffee grinder if you choose to move to pour over, AeroPress, or espresso brewing.

Our clear winner for best coffee grinder for French press.

2. OXO Brew Conical Burr Grinder – Best Budget Grinder

The OXO Brew Grinder performs very well at its price point:

The grind consistency was excellent and we brewed many delicious cups of French press coffee using the OXO Brew grinder. Since you can only adjust the grind size and the grinding time, we used a coffee scale to ensure we got the amount of coffee we wanted.

Once we’d done that it was just a case of “push button for coffee” each time we wanted to brew.

Other cheaper options will usually compromise on ease of use or consistency. Many quality cheaper grinders will be manual, which are great, but if you need to grind 30g+ for each pot then it’s going to be a drag.

You won’t be using your OXO Brew for pulling great espresso shots. It can’t really grind finely or accurately enough to be great for espresso. But everything else it will handle admirably.

At just around $100, this is a really impressive electric grinder.

3. 1Zpresso K Ultra – Best Manual Grinder for French Press

If you’re looking for a manual grinder for French press then you won’t find a better option than the 1Zpresso K Ultra. With the ability to grind accurately from Turkish coffee all the way to Cold Brew at 20 microns per click, you’re guaranteed to be able to dial in a great brew.

We found that the French press range started at 9.0 on the dial and lasted until 0.0, depending on your beans etc. This gives you around 10 clicks of range, which is plenty. Maybe more if you use very light roast beans that require a little finer grinding.

2 downsides with the K Ultra, you have to grind by hand and it’s quite expensive. Grinding by hand is only really an issue if you need to grind more than the 35g capacity of the K Ultra. At coarser settings the 48mm burrs chew through your beans with ease.

The price is maybe a bigger issue. Its great if you’re looking to invest in a grinder for the next decade that will also do well for other brewing methods. If you’re just going to brew French press, you’ll get decent results spending less.

4. Rancilio Rocky

The Rancilio Rocky is a serious coffee grinder for serious coffee people.

But it also comes with a serious price tag. If you’re looking for something to grind beans for French press, you don’t need to be spending over $400.

But it is a fantastic coffee grinder in general. So if you were looking for a top-end coffee grinder as you are looking to maybe move into different coffee brewing methods in the future, it becomes a better choice.

We loved the precision of the Rancilio Rocky. We made espresso, AeroPress, Pour over, French press and the grinding was brilliant for all. The 55 grind settings are plenty to work with and the flavor in the cup is superb.

It’s just a lot of money for a coffee grinder.

5. JavaPresse Manual

French press is great because its so accessible. Just a kettle, a French press, and some coffee.

The JavaPresse Manual allows you to keep this budget set up but add a decent coffee grinder to the mix to improve your coffee brewing.

The consistency is impressive for such a cheap grinder and it doesn’t take too long to grind the beans.

The issue is it is only big enough to grind for a small French press in one go. We always had to grind multiple times to get enough coffee. This isn’t a deal breaker but you have to be prepared for it.

If you’re on a really tight budget then this is a great choice to instantly up your French press game, or as part of a set up for under $100 total.

6. Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Baratza makes high-end home coffee grinders and machines. And the Virtuoso Plus is no exception.

We found the grind consistency was particularly good at the coarser end of the spectrum, which is obviously ideal for French press brewing. We didn’t particularly rate it for dialing in espresso shots though, and it is quite expensive.

There’s nothing wrong with the Virtuoso+, we liked almost everything about it. It’s just a little more expensive than other grinders that are better.

We wouldn’t spend the extra money over the grinders above. However, it really is superb at grinding for French press so maybe its worth it to you for that performance.

7. Hario Skerton Pro

The Skerton Pro is the third generation of the Skerton manual grinder from Hario. And they have improved the design with each iteration.

Where the Skerton Pro excels over some other manual grinders is that it is big enough that you can easily grind for 2 people’s worth of coffee at a time. 

It is chunky, those with smaller hands may struggle a little. The grounds cup is also made of glass so its not ideal for travelling.

A solid but unspectacular manual grinder for French press which also performs well for pour over.

9. Capresso Infinity

The Capresso Infinity conical burr coffee grinder is not the most precise grinder out there. But it is really good value for money.

You’re always going to lose some quality as the price drops. But we found the Cuisinart Infinity did pretty well for brewing French press. There is more margin for error in terms of grind consistency at the coarser end though.

As you grind finer and need more precision, say for pour over or AeroPress, it starts to struggle.

If you’re just after an electric grinder for French press then the Capresso is fine, we’d highly recommend choosing the OXO brew though as its the same price.

But if its a looks thing, brand loyalty, whatever, the Capresso will serve you very well grinding your coffee beans for French press. But not much else.

10. Cuisinart Supreme Grinder

On a budget, this is one of the best electric coffee burr grinders for French press.

Despite the low price tag, the Cuisinart Supreme grinder looks really good.

We found that the consistency isn’t very good. However, it is also extremely cheap for an electric burr grinder so we can’t be too harsh.

The Supreme Grind (also known as Cuisinart flat burr grinder or DBM8) is one for the masses.

It can grind for a huge pot of French press pretty quickly and accurately enough. If you’ve been using pre-ground coffee then this is a huge step up without putting in much extra money or effort.

You can grind for a drip machine nicely too but anything finer than or requiring more precision, will not work out so well. But we didn’t pay much for it so can’t complain too much.

A great way to instantly improve your morning French press coffee with minimal effort on your part.

Once ground, coffee loses “freshness” after about 15 minutes. What this means is that the oils from within the beans start decaying or evaporating. The end result is a loss of flavor and aroma.

So, pre-ground coffee will just never measure up to freshly ground coffee beans. Even from a poor quality coffee grinder.

You also need a coarse grind size for French press, if you want the best results. And, unfortunately, most pre-ground coffee is just too fine.

By using a decent coffee bean grinder, you are laying the groundwork for a great coffee at home. In fact, the type of coffee grinder you choose is one of the most important factors in determining how good your French press coffee will be.

Why?

The French press is an immersion brewing method. This means that the coffee grounds stay in contact with the water for a long period of time (4 minutes is optimal). Doing so allows the flavors to be extracted slowly. 

If your grounds are very fine, they will get through the mesh filters. This will create a very gritty, unpleasant coffee. The flavors will also be extracted too quickly, leaving behind a very bitter taste that nobody wants.

So, it is important to get yourself a good coffee grinder that performs well at the coarser end of the spectrum. Some specialize in only one style of grinding like coarse French press or fine espresso which you don’t want to mix up.

For us, the top performer is – hands down – the Smart Grinder Pro. It is just so easy to use, clean, and customize for the perfect French press grind size. Coming in as a close second is the Rancilio Rocky. But it was knocked off the top spot due to its hefty price tag.

If manual grinders are more your thing, the 1Zpresso K Ultra knocks it out of the park. Not only will it perform well at home, but you can also take it on the road with you.

Or, for the ultimate in affordability and ease, the OXO Brew Burr Grinder.

When it comes to French press coffee grinders, you are truly spoiled for choice.

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds

Matt's coffee obsession started in 2006 when working as a Barista. A tendency to turn up to work hungover kickstarted his coffee journey which quickly turned into a love affair. As he moved on to work as a Restaurant Manager and Sommelier, the obsession continued to grow. Now, his passion is helping others to enjoy better coffee at home.