Eureka Mignon XL Espresso Grinder Test

The Eureka Mignon XL performed well in our espresso grinder test. A total of 24 espresso grinders were compared, in the price range of 100 to 2000 euros. The grinder test was developed over several months by Swiss master barista Michel Aeschbacher, his barista team, and in collaboration with the Zurich University of Teacher Education. Thank you very much for the support!

Eureka Mignon XL Oro - Compact Quality

The Eureka Mignon XL is positioned in the upper segment of home espresso grinders. With this, Eureka closes a gap in its own range between the more affordable Mignons and the entry-level professional class. At a price of around 680 € and around 800 Swiss francs, the Mignon XL belongs to the premium category (Oro designation from Eureka), and yet remains clearly in the segment of espresso grinders for home use.

The Mignon XL weighs 7.2 kg and is packed into dimensions of 12 cm width, 18 cm depth, and 38 cm height. Compared to the Mignon Magnifico and Specialita, it does not differ in width and depth, but is 3 cm taller.

If you're looking for a quieter espresso grinder, the Eureka Mignon XL is a good choice. With a noise level of 77.2 decibels, the grinder demonstrates relatively quiet performance compared to 23 other popular home espresso grinders. Values below 80 dB were rated as good by us.

The Eureka XL is available in chrome finish, matte black, white, gray, and Ferrari red. In our test, we were able to use the chrome version. It looks nice, but is very prone to fingerprints. A polishing cloth should be kept nearby in case you choose this option.

The stepless burr grinder has a diameter of 65mm and is treated with Eureka's patented Diamond Inside technology. Eureka claims the burr has a longer lifespan of up to 1,500 kg of coffee grinding. We haven't tested this, but based on the particle distribution discussed below, we can assess the quality of the burrs.

Recommended specialist retailers for the Eureka Mignon: Lücke Technik*

Good Espresso is No Accident!

In both the comparative tasting and in individual tests, we repeatedly drank good espressos brewed with the Eureka Mignon XL. Individual good and very good espressos are sometimes outliers. However, the Mignon XL provides several arguments for good consistency.

With a retention of 3.1 g, the espresso grinder is among the better grinders. Up to 3.5g retention we consider good. Retention is the ground coffee that remains around the grinding chamber and is not dispensed when grinding stops. On the next grind, the ground coffee in the retention is then dispensed first. Depending on how long the last grind was, part of the grind is therefore not fresh.

Over ten grinds with a set output amount of 18g coffee, the Eureka Mignon XL showed a standard deviation of 0.27 g. This is also a good value.

Particularly with cheaper espresso grinders, the ground coffee often heats up significantly, which can negatively affect the taste. With an average temperature of 34.4 degrees and a gentle increase over 6 grinds at 30-second intervals, the Mignon XL also delivered good results here.

Only in terms of speed does the XL place itself in the middle range. In ten seconds, the Mignon XL grinds 28.7 grams of coffee. That's quite a bit, some do worse, but others do better.

The espresso tasted silky-strong and complex - it reminded us of marzipan and got everything out of our Apas espresso. If you want to try the Apas, you can order it here in Germany/EU and here in Switzerland.

Particle Distribution of the Eureka Mignon XL

Let's take a look at the particle distribution of the Mignon XL. We measured a total of seven different curves. For this, we each drew a ground coffee sample and examined it in the laboratory of ZHAW Wädenswil.

The Eureka Mignon XL was coded as grinder 15 (M15). The tests were each numbered, see also legend. T1 in red (see above) represents a check of the ground coffee upon delivery. The grinder was very finely adjusted and shows a correspondingly high fine content and a correspondingly low main peak.

Tests 2, 3, 4, and 7 overlay here desirably well. For each of these grinds, the same recipe was set. For this purpose, we weighed out 18g of coffee and adjusted the grinder so that the grind size was calibrated for an extraction of 45g coffee in 25 seconds.

For T2 and T3, 6 espressos were pulled every 30 seconds in the meantime. We investigated whether the temperature of the ground coffee increased and whether this resulted in a significant effect on particle distribution as a function. We could not detect any such deviation. In fact, the temperature averaged 34.4 degrees Celsius and was not high.

Next, we adjusted the espresso back to the original brewing recipe (T4) and obtained a corresponding sample. This was the baseline sample for determining fine content and main peak. The Eureka Mignon XL has a fine content of 21.63 percent. This places it in the average (21.96%) of the grinder field. In some cases, we detected a slight dryness in the aftertaste of the espresso, which could be attributed to the fine content. However, this did not predominate.

The coarse peak had a width of 238. The average coarse peak was 249.6. From this, we can conclude that the Eureka Mignon XL has a slightly higher proportion of particles in the desired grind size range and thus performs somewhat better than average.

We then first adjusted a ristretto (T5) and then a café crème (T6). Curve 7 shows the particle distribution when subsequently attempting to adjust back precisely to the same grind size, based only on the marking on the grind adjustment dial. Unfortunately, this was not as exact as desired. The coarse peak after readjustment was at 249 width and the fine content at 21.4. The espresso ran slightly faster and had to be readjusted.

The grind adjustment of the Mignon XL Oro is not precise enough to flexibly switch between different beverages and beans.

Suitability for Single Dosing

More and more home baristas prefer single dosing when grinding coffee. The desired amount of coffee is weighed, placed in the grinder, and ground immediately. This way, coffee beans don't age in the bean hopper, and switching quickly between different coffee beans is possible. This also allows you to change the brewing recipe from espresso to café crème and back.

For a grinder to be suitable for use as a single dose espresso grinder, it should have little retention, empty the grinding chamber as completely as possible during longer grinding, and be precisely adjustable.

While the Eureka Mignon XL's retention is relatively small at 3.1 grams, at least 0.3 grams of coffee remained in the grinder even with extended grinding. That could definitely be better!

Also, the precision of the grind adjustment may not always be sufficient to hit the mark when jumping from recipe to recipe and from bean to bean. Therefore: the Eureka Mignon XL can certainly be used as a grinder for single portions, but won't keep up with grinders specifically developed for this purpose. With an upgrade like a bellows bean hopper, you can at least improve the performance of the remaining coffee powder.

And how easy is it to switch coffee beans when the bean hopper was full?

When the slide on the Mignon XL is closed, the bean hopper can be removed. The bean hopper itself holds up to 300g of coffee. However, we recommend not filling it completely, and instead adding coffee to the container more frequently. The bean hopper is transparent and not airtight. As a result, the coffee reacts with light and oxygen and ages more quickly. Rancid off-flavors develop surprisingly quickly.

Below the bean hopper beneath the closure slide, there are 15.2 grams of coffee. This needs to be removed before, for example, a different coffee can be used. Relative to many other grinders, that's relatively little.

Conclusion: Good Espresso Grinder for Home Use

The Eureka Mignon XL convinced us as an espresso grinder for home use. It delivers at least good results in all areas, and in some cases even very good results.

Operating the grinder's display is intuitive and practically simple. The grind adjustment could be more precise, but is, for example, more accurate and easier to adjust than the smaller grind adjustment of the Eureka Mignon Specialita or Magnifico.

The most important thing is that the espresso tasted good across the various extractions. With the Eureka Mignon XL Oro, you're definitely choosing a good grinder.

If the espresso doesn't taste good with the Eureka Mignon XL, perhaps our article on espresso preparation or one of our coffee courses can help you.

The XL is Eureka's premium home grinder. Where it stands in the field of all Eureka grinders in comparison you can read here.