MAHLKÖNIG - EK43

I hear you. The best cup I had Was a coffee from Bright Jenny's in kelowna, and ground on an ek43. This was peak flavour for me. It would be a bit over budget, but I'll look around and see where I can get more funds if necessary:)

Almost every local cafe I went to has an EK43 on the counter but the cups were mostly meh or even disappointing. So I wouldn't discount the fact that having great roasted beans to begin with is still the king. My best cup were from Koffee Mameya Tokyo. They just had plenty of body to the cup (opposed to being tea like) while having very clear tasting notes, and it were consistent of a cup in 2019 and 2 different cups this year, total of 3 different beans but they are all geshas (!). An EK43 wouldn't be a great grinder to have at home with the noise and size, but I would bet my money on 078. You can search Hoon's coffee on YouTube as he compared some notable grinders including the two mentioned. Good luck!

I think if I got to choose all over again, I might just skip the EK43, buy a ZP6, and be happy. Having something small you can pack away, or take on trips, really does add a whole type of quality of its own.

I second this comment and perspective. I have (1) a Wilfa Uniform with SSP 'brew' burrs (£200 + £150 for the burrs); (2) an EK43s with SSP 'brew' burrs and augmented by lots of micromechanical adjustment and precision measurement (£2500 + 500 + 400 for tools and instruments); (3) a 1Zpresso ZP6 hand grinder (£200). The EK43 is definitely the best... but it's nowhere near 10x the quality in the cup of the ZP6, which is much less maintenance and long term hassle, and can go with me on holiday. The ZP6 honestly gets to perhaps 90% of the quality of the EK43, if not the ease of just flipping a switch. And the ZP6 I feel somewhat betters the Wilfa Uniform (it was no slouch though!) In short, for a single grinder that won't go wrong, and offers bang for buck and can go with you on trips, get a *good* hand grinder. For deeper pockets, or sheer convenience, go for electric. But the same money gets you a better hand grinder than electric, up to where sensible hand grinders top out (about £250) and quite far beyond (probably to around £600). Hope this helps!

# **Without philosophizing in the answer, you have two options: a handgrinder, or electric grinder.** — ## **🔹 Hand Grinders** ### **High-End Options:** - **1Zpresso K-Ultra** – External adjustment, versatile for both pourover & espresso. - **1Zpresso J-Max** – 8.8-micron steps, optimized for espresso but handles pourover. - **Kinu M47 Phoenix / Classic** – Precise & durable, great for both. - **Comandante C40 MK4** – Ideal for pourover; needs *Red Clix* for better espresso dialing. - **Timemore Chestnut S3** – Stepless adjustment, more suited for pourover. - **1Zpresso ZP6** – Produces ultra-clean grinds, excelling in filter brews. ### **Mid-Range Options:** - **1Zpresso JX-Pro** – Espresso-friendly with finer adjustments than JX. - **Timemore Chestnut C3 ESP** – Budget option with espresso-compatible burrs, decent for pourover. - **1Zpresso X-Pro** – Compact, external adjustment, slower but espresso-capable. — ## **⚡ Electric Grinders** ### **High-End Options:** - **Mahlkönig EK43** – The gold standard in specialty coffee shops. - **Weber EG-1** – Premium single-dose grinder for all brew methods. - **Lagom P100** – High-performance, SSP burr options for precision grinding. ### **Mid-Range / Prosumer Options:** - **DF64 Gen 2 / DF64P / DF64E** – Affordable single-dose grinders, great for both. - **Niche Zero** – Top-tier single-dose grinder for espresso & pourover. - **Eureka Mignon Specialita** – Stepless adjustment, solid for espresso & can handle pourover. - **Fellow Opus** – Budget-friendly, designed for both espresso & filter brewing. - **Baratza Vario+ / Sette 270** – Great entry-level grinders with micro-adjustments for espresso. - **Timemore Sculptor 078 / 064S** – New contenders with solid grind consistency. ### **Budget-Friendly Options:** - **Fellow Ode Gen 2** (Needs *SSP burrs* for espresso) – Excellent for pourover, but needs mods for espresso. - **Baratza Encore ESP** – Beginner-friendly with stepped adjustments. - **Eureka Mignon Crono** – Simple & effective for both espresso & filter. — 🔎 **Check reviews before buying**—grind quality & user experience vary. Preferences are subjective!

I used to have a Baratza preciso and the difference in taste of that and a eureka specialita or a mahlkonig is absolutely shocking to me. My first stack was about $600 as well and I thought I was making good coffee too. Till I got an ecm classica and a specialita. It's basically a different type of drink frankly.