Mahlkonig EK43 VS....?

[EspressoMania]

Hey everyone!

I'm so excited to join AND LEARN in this forum - enjoying every day upgrading my espresso shot knowledge, and thinking its time to go premium on grinders!

QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think of the EK43? Pros and Cons? Price versus value? Hype/Not Hyped?

2. What's a premium machine alternative to this unit?

:coffeemug:

Thanks in advance!

 

[John P]

Since nobody has answered.

1) Not a fan.

Pros: Looks cool on the counter!!

Cons: Too numerous to list, but in a nutshell, it creates a "small cup of coffee" rather than an espresso. It loses all body and texture, and it does not create or give better flavor. IF you have an extremely skilled roaster who can do light roasted coffee of excellent quality then, and only then can it create a tasty cup of something which does not resemble espresso. All of this could have been avoided had said roaster know how to properly craft a light roasted espresso.

Price/Value? -- I think it erodes the craft so there's value in understanding that. Using words like "progressive" are nonsense when the issues have been known for years and...

If it does not create something better, it's not progress. It's fanboy hype.

2) The EK43 is the alternative grinder, not the other way around. Any large conical like the Compak "10" series or a Mazzer Robur (good, but overpriced)

 

[Nugget]

i have both the EK and compak E10 master. I love the EK, it's my favorite grinder (ever), you can do some fun things with it, but it would never be my only espresso grinder or my go to espresso grinder. The Compak is way more suited for it. I don't think the EK is over-hyped, as the people I trust (including myself) think it's just another tool that can help you do some interesting things with espresso, but it can't replace a proper, dedicated espresso grinder. Just my opinion---and we haven't even discussed the dosing challenges.

Not sure if you were asking just for espresso, but I believe people should give up on having one grinder that does good espresso and brew.

 

[chast]

A barista wins a title by using a seed grinder and the next thing you know they are in high demand. Why not before. Take the Guat lab grinder, EK43 and a VST and you will get different results on or about the same settings. Cupping grind on or EK is set at 7.5 which was justified with a number #20 sieve. If we are grinding just for a cup let's say for the Gold Cup Brewer we use the EK. For an Aeropress we get better results with a VST, go figure, and for bulk we only use the VST. Also have great results for FP with all 3. I still like the K30 for espresso and the VST for most applications

 

[Nugget]

A barista wins a title by using a seed grinder and the next thing you know they are in high demand. Why not before. Take the Guat lab grinder, EK43 and a VST and you will get different results on or about the same settings. Cupping grind on or EK is set at 7.5 which was justified with a number #20 sieve. If we are grinding just for a cup let's say for the Gold Cup Brewer we use the EK. For an Aeropress we get better results with a VST, go figure, and for bulk we only use the VST. Also have great results for FP with all 3. I still like the K30 for espresso and the VST for most applications

Genuine question: do you mean VTA grinder? Or versalab? Or something I don't know about

 

[sin123]

EK43 Pros:
1.Evenness of grind
2.More even extraction
3.Higher extractions equal more flavour
[h=2][/h]

 

[Nugget]

EK43 Pros:
1.Evenness of grind
2.More even extraction
3.Higher extractions equal more flavour

to keep the conversation going....some of those assertions are true, but not necessarily correlated with better taste. The key, for me, is to extract what I want to extract, not just more. I use my EK for single origin, lighter coffees, but I may not be skilled enough to pull delicious, more chocolate, balanced, "traditional" shots with it.

 

[chast]

Hate spell check..... it should have been VTA grinder

 

[shadow745]

I think something like the EK43 is ridiculous overkill for home use. Maybe high volume cafe use for pourover, drip, etc. Guess I will never know if it's good for light roasts/espresso as I don't like anything lighter than full city for espresso. I have seen a pic on a forum with what I believe is an EK43 paired with an Olympia Cremina in some dude's kitchen. To each his/her own, but what a waste of space and money if you ask me.