The key difference between the ESP and the original Encore is that the new one can grind for espresso. (Or should I say ESPresso?) Yes, you can get the original to grind for espresso, but it isn’t made to do it. Espresso grinders need the ability to make very tiny grind-size changes to cope with fine-ground coffee’s fickle needs—a simple fluctuation in humidity will change the quality of a shot—and the original Encore is not built for that.

Flip the whole locking section over and you'll see where the rest of the lock fits. Lock it without the shackle and you can see one of the most important features of any quality U-lock design. On each side, a steel locking tab will protrude. The double-locking tabs mean that even if someone were to cut through the lock it requires two cuts to get it loose. There's no correct orientation either so you can lock it no matter which way you turn the two pieces.

We had come far enough in the testing that I asked Reyna if we had a true all-rounder, a grinder that could do everything from espresso fine-grind to French-press coarse.

If you take a look at our article on how to lock your bike, you'll see that it's important to get the lock through the frame, the rear wheel, and whatever you are locking it to. With an internal size of 155mm x 92mm the D1000 falls into the smaller category of U-locks. Another popular high-security lock is the New York Fahgettaboudit Mini which carries an internal size of 153mm x 83mm. The D1000 is larger, but not by much. This size is popular on the most secure locks because it keeps the lock safer from prying attacks. The downside is you’ll struggle to get around the rear wheel also. If you don’t have a fender I think it could make it through the rear wheel but with a fender, it’s just a bit too tight.

Back at home, I saw what she meant; it made for good but sludgier French press than I'm used to. As a regular French-press drinker, I don't mind a bit of sludge, but wasn't sure if I'd want this much from here on out. Still, I found this machine impressive.

The primary defence for other U-Lock designs is thickness. A steel shackle is tough to break through and the thicker you make it the longer it takes. Hiplok still has a steel core but there's an additional coating with a material called Ferosafe. Ferosafe is a patented material designed to resist grinder cutting wheels and carbide tipped drill bits. It's both light and strong.

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Home grinders struggle to achieve this all-in-one style, which is a bit of an industry unicorn. Usually, manufacturers focus on the filter range and leave espresso grinding for the coffee shop. The possibility of finding a grinder that does it all at a reasonable price is a coffee nerd's dream.

There is no other lock on the market that competes with the features of the Hiplok D1000. It can resist a portable angle grinder attack, it's the same silhouette as other U-locks, and it's light enough to easily carry

At the top of the locking section is where you'll find the keyhole. It's not immediately visible because the keyhole finds protection behind a strip of rubber. It's perhaps not completely watertight but it does provide the lock cylinder with protection from the elements. Open it, the flap is large to make it easy even with gloves, and the lock cylinder sits about a centimetre inside the housing. Keeping the cylinder less accessible makes it harder to defeat as well as helps to protect it from the weather.

From there, we went to the far end of the grind size capabilities, exploring what fans of French press and cold brew had to look forward to. To start, she poured a tablespoon of grounds onto the countertop, where we noted a fair amount of variability in grind size.

We immediately hit speed bumps. First, we realized that the ESP is just as loud as a normal Encore. (We were also looking at another, quieter grinder at the time and the noise really stood out.) Another is that while the ESP has 40 steps between coarse and ultra-fine, those steps don't correspond at all to the settings on the classic Encore, which also has 40; this will be surmountable but confusing for Baratza devotees. Slightly worse, the indicator on the ESP we tested didn't line up neatly above the step numbers.

"This could give you a more sludgy French press," she said, with what may have been a note of disappointment in her voice, "but it's also a more forgiving method."

Part of that is pure familiarity. Baratza's new $200 Encore ESP is a souped-up version of the original Encore, the high-performing critical favorite and the grinder I use at home. The two are so similar, my old one fit perfectly into the ESP's packaging. My original Encore is a beloved workhorse, well suited to make grounds for anything from AeroPress to drip to French press. I've had mine for more than 10 years, had an over overhaul done on it a few years ago, and it’s still running great. Baratzas are fixable and the company is pleasantly pro-repair.

Next we tightened the grind back up a bit to try Reyna's current favorite brewing method, putting a Chemex filter into an Origami dripper, creating what was essentially a hybrid between classic Chemex and pour-over coffee. On grind size 30, it ground through the beans at what she called "turbo speed," revealing a slightly varied consistency in the grind.

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If there wasn't enough espresso after 30 seconds, I adjusted the ESP to make the grinds for the next shot a little coarser. If it poured too freely, I tightened it up. Having struggled with this using other grinders and machines, I was impressed with the ESP's performance. I rolled through several different roasts: some from Passerine Coffee Roasters, which I picked up at Seattle's Empire Roasters and Records, Fidalgo's Organic Italian roast, Herkimer's Espresso Blend from Columbia City Bakery, and an unlabeled dark roast my dad picked up on a visit to Bainbridge Island, Washington. Using different beans forced me to use the grinder to adapt. These weren't precise shots for espresso perfectionists, but they were great for people like me who want to make espresso at home along with a variety of other coffee styles. I quickly realized that I could potentially be happy with the ESP for mixed use, for years, if not forever.

With that in mind, I took the ESP with me to see some friends at Olympia Coffee Roasting Company's Seattle lab. I wanted to see if they thought that the ESP was as solid as I did at espresso, then try some filter coffees and see if it was capable of doing it all.

"Variance in grind size is a personal preference," she said, taking on the somewhat controversial issue of grind consistency, "Some is desirable, none is too one-note, but a lot can be a lot for some people."

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For my testing, I borrowed a lovely, sturdy, Diletta Mio espresso machine from the good folks at Seattle Coffee Gear. Not only did the Mio class up my countertop, but using it meant I could treat its consistent performance like a fixed variable in my testing, allowing me to give all my attention to the grinder.

Overall, I hadn't taken many notes on the machine because it was so impressively capable at grinding for a near-full spectrum of coffee types. If I was a regular home coffee maker who wanted to make espresso—and also liked the simplicity of drip, the meditation of pour-over, and the coarser grind of Chemex—it might not be coffee-shop perfect. But as Reyna reminded me, "It does espresso. That's a lot."

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Sam was still a little hung up on the off-center numbering, but that one dialing-in session told him a lot. "I don't like the way the numbers don't line up, but do I love the fine adjustment."

The form of the Hiplok D1000 is all about the function. The locking section is entirely clad in glossy black plastic. It's a clamshell design that meets in the middle. One side houses a matte panel with the name, company logo, a diamond signifying the Sold Secure Diamond rating, and a Ferosafe wordmark. On the opposite side, you'll find just the Hiplok logo.

Keep moving to the shackle and this is where the magic of the D1000 resides. Initially what's noticeable is the rubberized outer. It's not a coating but instead a cover, and it's very thick. This is here to keep you from scratching your bikes finish. The hardware underneath is square. This protects against bolt cutters but it's the material design that's special.

We all appreciated the taste of the coffee and enjoyed the body, too, something conical burrs like those in the ESP can often do better at than their flat-burr competition. Flat-burr grinders are typically good at grind-size consistency, but the coffee they make can be a bit more one-note; it's complicated, but in the end, it's usually a matter of personal preference.

Like the original Encore, coarser grinds pour into the ESP's grounds bin, but for espresso, you can grind into a "dosing cup," which fits neatly into a portafilter, the "handle" that holds the puck of grounds in an espresso machine. Since you can't use the ESP to dispense the grounds directly into the portafilter, which you can do with some pro grinders, this is a nice workaround, allowing you to transfer the grounds without making a mess.

Hiplok is a company of enthusiasts just like you. They know that finding the right bike is a big deal and that's especially true in this time of shortages and empty bike shops. Once it's in your hands, no one wants to experience that sinking feeling of looking at an empty spot where you know you locked your bike.

Things got better after that though. Sam manned the grinder and Olympia's retail trainer, Reyna Callejo, ran the espresso machine while I sat back and watched the experts work. Each time, the duo used 18 grams of Big Truck blend, working their way to 36 grams of espresso. Grind size 15 was too coarse, and 12 and 8 were, too. Six was too fine, and 7, as Reyna declared, "tastes like Big Truck!"

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To make sure that never happens, Hiplok is releasing the D1000. It says it's the most secure lock on the market, and we had an opportunity to spend some time with it. The Hiplok D1000 is too new to be on our list of the best bike locks available, and much too heavy for our list of best lightweight bike locks. Keep reading to see our thoughts on it and whether we think it should be on a future version of our best lists.

Relatively large grounds rose to the top of the bed after she poured the water in, and Reyna said next time she'd try a finer grind. We agreed that what she made was already quite good, with a pleasant texture, and it would be easy to finesse our way to an even better cup.

Right away I think it's important to note that I did not attempt to cut the Hiplok D1000. My expertise is in using a lock, not breaking one and I was happy to let the videos from Hiplok stand in that regard. What I tested was what it's like to use and on that front, it's a joy.

Reyna took it from there as we explored the coarse-grind capabilities. She started making pour-over in a Kalita Wave, one batch based on grind size 28, one on 25, lauding its grind speed as she went. On grind size 20, she pronounced that this would be the one, and it turned out to make a damn fine cup.

While the D1000 is on the smaller side it is not on the lighter side. My scale shows 1,923 grams which is a bit heavier than the Hiplok quoted weight of 1.8kg. Even at 1.8kg though, it's heavy. There is an optional carry pouch but no frame mounting provision and it's likely because of the weight. It's worth noting though that despite being bigger than the Kryptonite it is about 100 grams lighter. I always choose to carry a heavy lock when I want a lock and for me the roughly 2kg was fine in the bottom of a Chrome Industries Barrage Cargo backpack.

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The Hiplok D1000 has no competition. There exists only one other lock on the market that claims to resist a portable angle grinder and it's more than four times as heavy. Outside of the headline feature, it's also a generally well thought out lock. The size is a little tight to get through a frame and a rear wheel, there's no frame mounting provision, and the bag is an optional extra on an already expensive lock. Despite that, the most important thing a lock can do is keep your bike safe and there isn't another lock that does that better. As long as you can afford it this is the best even if it's not perfect.

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The ESP is. Half of the steps in its grind range deal with the coffees most of us commonly brew at home, like AeroPress, pour-over, drip, Chemex, and French press. The new capability is that the other half of that range is for the fine-grind needs of espresso. A company rep told me that for steps zero through 20, each click moves the burr 20 microns vertically, and from steps 21 to 40—what they called the "filter range"—it moves 90 microns.

The Hiplok D1000 is peace of mind for me. I don't lock my bike overnight but I do lock it in some rough neighbourhoods. No one would bother someone cutting through a bike lock and I worry about my bike all the time. With the D1000 I was able to walk into the grocery store and feel secure that no one was going to cut through my lock before I got back. I was also able to enjoy peace of mind that I wasn't going to scratch my bike with the lock. If I somehow lost the keys there's a registration and replacement program, I could take advantage of. It's not a cheap lock but it's cheaper than my bike and I only have to buy it once.

A big hunk of my work is testing the kitchen products and cookbooks I review. Words don't write themselves, but I live with the gear I review for weeks or months at a time, scribbling away as I incorporate it into my life before I start a rough draft. The weird thing about testing a new coffee grinder from Baratza, one that could purportedly make everything from fine-grind espresso to coarse French press, was that I barely took any notes at all. Typically this means it was fantastic; either that or I was really slacking.

Josh hails from the Pacific Northwest of the United States but would prefer riding through the desert than the rain. He will happily talk for hours about the minutiae of cycling tech but also has an understanding that most people just want things to work. He is a road cyclist at heart and doesn't care much if those roads are paved, dirt, or digital. Although he rarely races, if you ask him to ride from sunrise to sunset the answer will be yes. Height: 5'9" Weight: 140 lb. Rides: Salsa Warbird, Cannondale CAAD9, Enve Melee, Look 795 Blade RS, Priority Continuum Onyx

"I don't know if I'm on step 15," said Olympia co-owner Sam Schroeder, who was twisting the hopper to adjust grind size. "That's really sloppy."

What the Hiplok D1000 does is provide security against portable angle grinders. As technology progresses so does the technology used to steal bikes. A portable angle grinder doesn't cost much and you only need one. They've become a frequent option in the tool chest of those who steal bikes. Other locks on the market use thicker hardened steel shackles so that cutting them takes longer. The point of the D1000 is that the Ferosafe material will quickly dull a cutting wheel. It's not impossible to cut through but you'd need to change the cutting wheel regularly.

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The ESP did great. Dialing in an espresso shot involves trial, error, and experience. Unless you're lucky, every time you use a fresh or new batch of beans, you almost certainly need to adjust the grind, something you might even need to do daily. You pull a shot and make adjustments based on how it came out, working your way to something wonderful to drink. I kept it simple with home testing and stuck to a one-to-two ratio, usually 16 grams of beans to 32 grams of liquid espresso, which I weighed out by placing my cup on top of a scale as the shot poured. To avoid under- or over-extracting your coffee, you want your shot to hit that weight in 24 to 30 seconds.

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