Received the Mahlkonig E64 WS and have been putting it through its paces the past 2 weeks.
Initial impressions:
– Coming from a Timemore 078S, this is certainly an upgrade!
– Really digging the fluffy and perfect grounds
– Somehow brings out the flavor even better and I can even taste sweetness as a latte
– Grinds really fast, around 6s for 18.0g
– Grounds fall neatly within the dosing ring, I hardly have to re-adjust the pile (just lift the dosing ring and use a leveler. Great for workflow)
– Super bright, large display
– Love the convenience of the hopper (250g), since I don’t change beans. Single dosers should look to something like the Mazzer Philos instead
– Cons: not many, except the base a bit shorter than the highly raved E65 commercial version. This means the portafilter sits relatively close to the counter. If you flip the holder to accommodate a (taller) dosing ring, the portafilter handle might almost rest on your counter (bummer). Mine fits ok though.
– Dosing ring has to fit WITHIN the portafilter diameter. If it’s larger, it will hit the top of the portafilter holder and you can’t slot it in (in my use case, I was using a MH3-Bomber ring but it’s too tall and wide)
– Grounds chute is a little short (and not firm), so it took some adjusting to make sure the grinds fall right. I pull it out and twist it a bit to the left so it’s longer.
Overall, 9/10 GBW grinder and highly recommended! Especially if you don’t single dose.
by Mashkitt
7 Comments
Looks way better than what my hand grinder pulls off! Those some beautifully ground beans
Wow, that sounds awesome! Fluffy grounds and sweet lattes make me want one immediately
You need to use a dosing ring even for a hopper grinder? Curious why you went from 78mm burr back to 64mm. Is the gbs feature worth that? Feels a bit like one step forward and two steps back to me
I’ve got an X54 that I’m super happy with. Don’t see many posts about Malkonig or may that aren’t single dose lol. Glad you like it
Thanks for the review. A couple of quick questions:
How’s the general build quality? Is everything satisfactory? For example, on the E65, the buttons feel like oddly cheap plastic.
How’s the retention? More specifically, how much do you purge every time you make a grind adjustment? Also, when you leave beans in the hopper overnight and make a coffee the following morning without first purging a little, do you find your shot parameters drifting (towards a slightly faster shot)?
Thanks and congrats.
Sometimes I feel like just grinding some beans, just to look at a grinder doing its thing and how beautiful the grounds are.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you mind explaining what the gbs feature is? You’re already using gbw, right, so what’s the point of gbs?
Also, what other gbw grinders did you consider, and what made you choose the e64 ws over those?