It sounds promising when the German mill forge brings its own single dosing grinder for home use to the market. It's a momentous occasion, because with Mahlkönig, "single dosing" as we know it today began almost 15 years ago. Back then, a young Australian named Matt Perger ground his coffee for the Brewers Cup and the Barista Championship on a grinder that Mahlkönig itself primarily understood as a grain mill. We're talking about the legendary EK43. This grinder embarked on its triumphal march and became at home in numerous cafés around the world.
Today, many years later, single dosing is hardly absent from home kitchens either. Mahlkönig, once a pioneer – albeit without any notable contribution of its own – has become an unwilling pioneer and has largely slept through the topic of single dosing for home use until today. But this summer it finally happened. Mahlkönig delivered: with the Mahlkönig x64 SD, it was finally here. Since then, we have thoroughly tested the grinder from the Swiss-German company. Though I should note directly: the x64 SD model is not built in Hamburg, but in Chinese Mahlkönig manufacturing.
Whether the grinder, which comes to market at the competitive price of 499 euros, also shines under the magnifying glass of our test protocol, you'll find out in this test report.
Design and Build Quality
The first impression was – unusual. Those familiar with the clean, industrial lines of the EK43, E65, or X54 will hesitate at first with the X64 SD. The compact design looks almost squat, the curves rather playful. We experienced what many do: Does a Mahlkönig look like this?
But once the grinder was in our test lab, the impression changed. What might have looked like plastic in pictures turned out to be a solid aluminum housing, giving the grinder a substantial weight of over 4.5 kg. Everything feels high-quality, from the premium silicone blower to the thoughtfully designed magnetic holders. Despite its compact mass – 14.3 cm wide, 25 cm tall, and around 26 cm deep – it stands rock solid on the work surface.
Nevertheless, we couldn't help but make an amusing association that solidified over the course of testing: with its squat body and central round grind adjustment wheel, it reminds us of a frog cyclops, a figure from Greek mythology. Once in your head, you can't get rid of this image – a likable, if idiosyncratic character for the home coffee bar.
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Technical Specifications at a Glance
| Measurement Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Grinding Discs | 64 mm flat grinding discs |
| Speed / 18 g | approx. 7.0 seconds |
| Speed / 10 sec | approx. 35.0 grams |
| Volume | 81.0 dB |
| Temporary retention | 0.6 g |
| Absolute retention | 0.9 g |
| Grind Setting Repeatability | Theoretically good |
| Price (RRP) | 499 € / 499 CHF |
Daily Operation
The grinder has a simple design: no display, no gimmicks, no menu. Grind, press the blower, done. We like that in principle – but there are nuances you should know about.
The adjustment wheel works with a small planetary gear that translates the rotation. This allows very precise grind setting. You can feel how something moves "reduced" inside – a clever solution that allows delicate adjustment.
However, the grind setting indicator itself is quite small. The printed dots and lines are far apart, which means a tiny movement on the wheel often makes several seconds difference in extraction time. It's not advisable to go all the way to the next line when adjusting the grind setting. Those who stay precisely between the lines and make quarter-steps can adjust the grinder very precisely. We would simply have preferred more intermediate lines here.
Positive: The zero point is easy to adjust. Those who regularly open and clean the grinder can very easily find the zero point again. Negative: necessary after every opening.
The Ground Coffee: Where the x64 SD Really Shines
Let's get to the decisive point: the taste in the cup. And here we can keep it brief: The espresso from the Mahlkönig x64 SD is excellent. In our tests with our Mano espresso, the results were consistently convincing. We obtained complex, dense, and fruity espressos with wonderfully velvety texture and a long, very pleasant aftertaste. But darker roasts like Apas or Compadre also worked very well.
What particularly distinguishes the grinder is its enormous versatility. It's a true all-rounder. With modern, light roasts, it draws out fruity notes beautifully with shorter shot times. At the same time, it also masters the classic spectrum. With darker roasts, it delivers a full body and clear notes of marzipan and chocolate. This ability to serve both worlds so well is rare in this price range.
Another typical Mahlkönig characteristic is very low clumping. Even at the finest grind settings for espresso, the grounds remain loose and fluffy. This not only facilitates distribution in the portafilter but is also an important prerequisite for even extraction.
This outstanding performance in the cup reveals a clear design philosophy. It appears that Mahlkönig was willing to make compromises on the external form, acoustics, and even workflow details to achieve a price under 500 euros. However, where they made no compromises is in their core competency: the quality of the ground coffee and the resulting taste. The x64 SD may have its quirks, but it delivers in the cup.
Caveat: Those who experiment with very light roasts and absolute clarity will find more suitable grinders for that. The x64 SD delivers a very good quality compromise in terms of particle distribution that bridges different worlds from classic Italian roast (Compadre), transition roasts (Mano), and bright and very complex specialties (colored lines).
A Closer Look: Particle Distribution and Mechanical Precision
To support our taste impressions with objective data, we subjected the grinding material of the x64 SD to particle analysis. The result confirms what we tasted: the grinder does excellent work.
The particle distribution for espresso shows a typical bimodal curve, i.e., a distribution with two peaks. The so-called «fine peak», which represents the proportion of the finest particles, is at about 33 µm. The «main peak», which is crucial for extraction, is at around 210–215 µm with our espresso settings. This distribution is narrow enough to provide clear flavor profiles even with complex, light roasts, but at the same time broad enough to give classic espressos the necessary balance and body. This explains the versatility of the grinder already mentioned.
However, our replicability test provided a truly impressive finding. For this, we first ground an espresso with one setting (T4) and measured the particle distribution. Then we adjusted the grind significantly to grind a ristretto and a lungo. Finally, we visually returned to the original T4 marking without measuring instruments and performed a final measurement (T7).
The result is astounding: the main peak of measurement T7 was at 214.61 µm, only a few micrometers away from the initial value of 209.49 µm from test T4. This is a highly precise, almost identical repetition. This test provides the objective proof that resolves the paradox of operation. The grinder is a precision instrument. Its mechanics, from the planetary gearbox to the burr holder, operate with extraordinary accuracy. The weakness lies solely in the visual representation of this precision on the adjustment dial. It is unfortunate that such good mechanics are hidden behind an inadequate scale, but it proves that the foundation of the grinder works.
Cleaning capability from yesterday
Unfortunately, cleaning the grinder is quite involved apart from the burr. While other manufacturers have meanwhile managed this without tools, we reach for the screwdriver up to seven times with the x64 SD. This is always the case when we want to clean the grinder properly. We recommend this regularly, especially for grinders that also have a certain retention.
What can certainly be cleaned well is the chute. It can be removed simply and quickly in typical Mahlkönig fashion.
The Achilles heel: A single doser with backlog
One of the most important properties of a single-dosing grinder is the smallest possible retention, i.e., the amount of ground coffee that remains in the grinder after grinding. Here, the x64 SD shows its greatest weakness. Our test revealed an absolute retention of 0.9 g. This consists of 0.3 g permanent retention (coffee stuck in screw heads and crevices) and 0.6 g temporary retention.
This temporary retention of 0.6 g is the decisive value for daily use. It is the amount of old ground coffee that is replaced with fresh flour with each new grinding process. For a grinder marketed as a single doser, this value is «rather high». The top performers here deliver values between 0.1 and 0.3 grams.
For everyday use, this means: If you frequently switch between very different coffee varieties – for example from a fruity-fermented natural to a chocolatey-nutty washed coffee – you will taste the influence of the 0.6 g residual coffee. To avoid flavor mixing, we recommend grinding two to three beans of the new coffee before grinding the actual dose («purging»). This makes the workflow a bit more involved, but ensures the purity of the result.
Speed and acoustics: Small, fast and hard to miss
In addition to grinding quality, the x64 SD impresses with its speed. For an 18-gram dose, it takes only around 7.0 seconds, which corresponds to a throughput of about 35 g in 10 seconds. This is remarkably fast for a household grinder and ensures a smooth workflow in the morning.
However, this speed comes at an acoustic price. At 81.0 dB, the grinder is loud. It is just above the threshold that we would consider pleasant. But it is not just the volume, but also the character of the sound that stands out. The grinder sounds and feels slightly «imbalanced» when grinding and especially when running out.
At this point, it is important to clarify a possible misinterpretation: an imbalanced sound could indicate poor alignment of the burrs. However, our particle analysis proves the opposite. The excellent and consistent distribution of the ground material shows that the burrs are well aligned. So the sound is a characteristic of the motor and construction, but seems to have no negative impact on grinding quality.
Our conclusion: Excellent value for money
After intensive testing, the Mahlkönig x64 SD leaves a mixed but ultimately positive impression. It is a grinder of contradictions. On one side is good performance in the cup. The espresso is multifaceted, supported by good particle distribution and mechanical precision that sets a strong exclamation mark in this price range.
On the other side are noticeable compromises in workflow: a frustratingly inaccurate grind scale, a relatively high retention for a single doser, somewhat messy discharge behavior, and loud, slightly unstable operating noise.
At the end of the day, the decisive question is one of priorities. The price-to-performance ratio, relative to pure taste performance, is very good. For 499 euros, you get a grinder that produces coffee that can compete with significantly more expensive equipment.
One final, not to be underestimated point is the security and reliability that comes with purchasing from an established German-Swiss company. In a market flooded with direct imports, the x64 SD offers the assurance of CE certification and a functioning dealer and service network – an important added value that rounds out the overall package.
