The only grind and brew that I've heard decent personal reviews about is the Breville Grind Control. I was looking into them myself at one point, but they all had a major gripe of some sort from reviewers so I stayed clear. With a grind and brew machine something's bound to break eventually, and most of those companies will not help you out. If the grinder shits out on you, you'll have to buy a new grinder anyways to put next to your clunky, overpriced drip machine with a broken unit inside just wasting space. Another thing to consider is the burrs being in a closed system with steam. Moisture getting into the grinder is one of the most common issues I have seen with any of them.

The Breville is the best option and there are still a ton of bad reviews for a plethora of different issues that make it seemingly a bad investment. I personally would not buy an all in one machine because it's overpriced for something with a potentially short life span. Google "breville grind control bdc650 reviews" and read through the reviews, and the whopping 20% 1 star reviews on Amazon here. The warranty is only a year and if it breaks, you are SOL. Where some people enjoy them, an equal amount of people enjoy them at first and then deeply regret them. I own several products from them including the Infuser in my setup and support was very poor when I needed it. Fortunately I am an electrician and my husband is an engineer so the minor issues over the last 5 years have been easy fixes, but I bought the model without the grinder for the same reason. Just seemed like a bad idea.

I’ve used Capresso for years. I love that it grinds right before it brews and coffee is done when I wake up. Two things break—the water line (leakage underneath) or the digital stuff goes out. Generally they last about 6 years.

If she must have them together, buy a separate grinder and brewer, then duct tape them together. Problem solved.

Nope. Breville is the really the only “okay” one and it’s still terrible. Separate grinder and machine all the way

Good? Nope. They certainly exist though!

Unless you’re talking about superautomatic espresso machines in which case...eh...passable coffee

no matter what, I'd say get a separate grinder. if you don't want a hand grinder, then get a separate electric grinder. built-in is either going to be disappointing or fine until it breaks, or you feel like upgrading. at which point because it's attached, it will be more difficult to exchange. buying all in one is kindah like buying an all-in-one computer where the computer and the display are 1 unit. it's nice from an experience standpoint of it being 1 machine, but sooner or later, you're gonna pay the price for that convenience in the form of inconvenience as well as the upfront monetary cost.

If money is no object, you’re not getting a built in grinder.

Xbloom is kind of the only one worth mentioning but it's single cup only, maybe two cups if you put a 02 v60 on it

Maybe the XBloom?

xbloom

I recently took the plunge and got my first coffee maker with a grinder, the Cuisinart Grind & Brew, and I'm genuinely pleased with it.

A jura super automatic makes decent coffee but the convenience is unmatched. I can make coffee with 2 presses of a button and it takes about a minute at home... For my wife.

Then I do a 7 minute pour over for myself.

How will a built in grinder help with less effort? Or do you mean a bean to cup machine?

For the same reason as OP, we have a Delonghi Magnifica (was $499 on Amazon three years ago). Has held up well, my only complaint is that the wand only does cappuccino froth, so very bubbly and thick, not microfoam. Wife pushes a button, gets her coffee, goes on with life. Only need to fill with water and beans, empty the drip tray occasionally, and of course, dump the used coffee pucks. The brew element sometimes needs to be rinsed. Very minimal and fully automatic.

If you want a superauto, r/superautomatic is the best place to ask for recs.

Otherwise, a Breville like the BBE may be the bes of both worlds. The workflow is only very slightly more manual but you'll appreciate the extra control and it won't be that much more work for your wife.

The very reliable, tried & true Baratza Encore

I have the Baratza Virtuoso. I love the work it does.

I started roasting my own coffee to "save money" or just have fresher coffee.

1. Baratza Encore is always the answer

2. Electric

3. Whatever you can get that freshest and local typically - I have “me” beans (local) and beans for company (Caribou medium roast)

I have a baratza encore.

I get my whole beans from HomeGoods. They carry various varieties of 12oz whole bean bags for around $7.99. I usually get BKG bags from them and try other unique roasters when they have em (https://bkgcoffee.com).

Normally the roast date is not on the package but I never had an issue with freshness they taste great. I feel it’s a good compromise for non grocery store coffee and not paying $12-$16 for same size bags at small local coffee shops.

Check the marketplace on Facebook, can usually find really good deals on there. I just now checked my local area & was able to find a used one for $75

The Oxo Brew grinder works well for me and it's very reasonably priced.

My JX Pro is fantastic. Didn't try the C40 to compare, but I am satisfied.

If you can afford it, just go the c40. There's a reason they're the benchmark high end in manual grinders.

Even if it seems a bit expensive, it's an absolute joy to use and the quality is just amazing. You'll enjoy using it every day.

I have no regrets with my 1zpresso JX. Punches well above its weight and is really well made with stainless steel parts. Diminishing returns is definitely a thing. No doubt the C40 is “better”. But I’m not sure it’s $100 better.

Comandante is awesome and have had mine over a year now

I am extremely satisfied with the c40. Highly recommended!

Kingrinder k2/k4 are better for espresso, but can do filter coffee. Kingrinder k6 more universal and has a faster grind. Timemore C2/3 is similar to K6 but more oriented for pourover and can be used for occasional espresso.

1zpresso Q2 heptagonal

The pentagonal is also okay if having more fine particles produces the coffee you like.

It's a small hand grinder that I bring with me to work. Anything more than a single serving would be multiple fills into the grinder and emptying the catch cup.

I've got the hario slim and just got a Kingrinder K4. Haven't used it for espresso yet but my goodness the speed compared to the Hario is incredible.

I just bought an eighty dollar Oxo burr grinder after fifty years of using a rotary blade grinder because both of my brothers insisted that I was wasting my life drinking sub-par coffee. I am very happy with the results.

I chose this Oxo because 1) it was way cheaper than 'good' ones; 2) it has a timer so that I have (roughly) repeatable coffee amounts from day to day.

Here is what I have learned:

1. As anyone will tell you, using a timer is not an accurate way to measure grounds. However, I have been weighing the results and it is plus/minus a few percent.

2. Plus/minus a few percent is not important. The coffee tastes really good. I do not perceive the difference in the brew day to day.

3. Grind particle size consistency is supposed to be the big benefit of using a more expensive grinder. My brother has a $250 Breville grinder and we compared macro photos of the grounds. Visual inspection says there's not a lot of difference

Hoffman used a sieve thing the other day to sort grounds into three sizes. I'd very much like to try that.

Oxo Eighty Bucks. You won't be sad.

If you are low on budget, get a hand grinder, as you wont get good electric grinders in that range. Any steel burr hand grinder will be better than the Hario.

As recommended, the 1zpresso Q2, Timemore C3 are good options. If you can spend more, get a higher spec grinder, like the 1zpresso J/JX/JX-Pro, or Kinu M47.

I've got an old Peugeot hand grinder, for my morning ritual. Perfect for pour over and French Press grinds. You can get close to moka grind but it's a labour. If I don't have time, in to the Wilfa it goes

Comandante C40 it’s engineering art, easy to use, jars fit my espresso basket and aeropress, quality grind

Baratza Encore. I sold my fellow ode for this $150 grinder and it does the job wonderfully.

Comandante c40. Bombproof design and great burrs. Cons; doesn’t fit in an aeropress and the owner is a bit of an arsehole.

My favorite is the 1zpresso JMax.

They’ve decided that they invented the idea of ‘cylindrical hand grinder operated by a handle’ and have initiated legal action against other companies, mainly timemore i think

I used C40, 1Zpresso JX and Timemore Chestnut. Commandante was my least favorite. It grinds better than Timemore but I prefer the feel of Timemore (wood + metal). 1Zpresso is the best of the three imo.

I haven't tried Kinu Phoenix but it looks great and gets great reviews.

Thank you, this is really helpful! That Comandante looks awesome, a little pricey but definitely the grinder I want to save ion for!

I have the comandante, I had a good impression on it and I have even written good things about it on reddit. However, I truly don't think it is worth its price after finding a manufacturing defect that they commented the following "falls under acceptable range" on it.

Here are good and even cheaper options: For espresso: Helor 101 and Lido E-T.

For Filter: I'd say Lido E-T is on bar with Comandante, as comandante in my experience was all over the place (due to alignment).

I'd say if you want to up your espresso (more expensive) even more than commandante with a red clix then I think there're: Apollo BPlus and Kinu M47 (all models are good )

TBH, I haven't tried them all but I have tried Kinu M47 classic and Lido E-T (was too big for my taste). However if I could go back and buy another one it'll most probably be Lido... Again.. or on a totally opposite path, maybe a Vario with steel burrs.

I don't want to hate on Comandante but trust me not all of their grinders are well aligned. You could get a really good one from them or not. In my case, I wasn't lucky and their support team was active but not helpful.

Please know that this is my experience and yours may vary, and I felt the need to type this to balance out the praise I've given this grinder before. Consider me as the devil's advocate.

Feel free to ask me if you wish.

Sure dude. The alignment was clearly off, one of the burrs blades was kinda chipped off from factory. Most importantly my cups weren't consistent, sometimes fines clog my filter and sometimes boulders are so visible.

Generally speaking you'll hear people recommend the LIDO 3 or the Commandante C40.

You might find Hoffmann’s review of “ultimate” grinders to be helpful. I have a Comandante. Interestingly enough, the Porlex Mini is included because it won the cheap grinder review.