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 conducted over several months by Swiss master barista Michel Aeschbacher, his barista team, and in collaboration with the Zürcher University of Applied Sciences. Thank you for your support!

Eureka Mignon XL Oro - Compact Quality

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

The Mignon XL weighs 7.2 kg and has dimensions of 12 cm in width, 18 cm in depth, and 38 cm in height. Compared to the Mignon Magnifico and Specialita, it doesn't differ in width and depth, but is 3 cm taller.

Anyone looking for a quieter espresso grinder will be well served with the Eureka Mignon XL. With a noise level of 77.2 decibels, the grinder demonstrates relatively quiet performance compared to 23 other popular espresso grinders for home use. 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 variant. This looks beautiful, but is very susceptible to fingerprints. A polishing cloth should be nearby when choosing this option.

The stepless disc burr has a diameter of 65mm and is treated with Eureka's patented Diamond Inside technology. Eureka claims the burr has extended durability 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 grinding discs.

Recommended specialty retailers for the Eureka Mignon: Lücke Technik*

Good Espresso is No Accident!

In both comparative tastings and individual tests, we repeatedly enjoyed 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 dead zone of 3.1 g, the espresso grinder is among the better grinders. We consider up to 3.5g dead zone as good. Dead zone 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 dead zone is dispensed first. Depending on how long the last grinding was, part of the grind is therefore not fresh.

Over ten grindings 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.

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

Only in terms of speed does the XL rank in the middle field. In ten seconds, the Mignon XL grinds 28.7 grams of coffee. That's quite a bit, could be worse, but also better.

The espresso tasted silky-strong and complex - it reminded us of marzipan and brought out everything from 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 sample of ground coffee 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 set and shows a correspondingly high fine content and a correspondingly low main peak.

Tests 2, 3, 4 and 7 overlap here in a desirable way. For these grindings, the same recipe was set each time. 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 of coffee in 25 seconds.

For T2 and T3, 6 espressos were pulled at 30-second intervals in between. We examined whether the temperature of the ground coffee increased and whether this resulted in a significant effect on particle distribution. We could not detect such a deviation. In fact, the temperature was not high with an average of 34.4 degrees Celsius.

Next, we cleanly reset the espresso to the original brewing recipe (T4) and drew a corresponding sample. This was the starting sample for determining fine content and main peak. The Eureka Mignon XL has a fine content of 21.63 percent. This performs here at the average (21.96%) of the grinder field. We occasionally detected a slight dryness in the aftertaste of the espresso, which could be attributed to the fine content. However, this did not dominate.

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

We then first set a ristretto (T5) and then a café crème (T6). Curve 7 shows the particle distribution when we subsequently try to set exactly the same grind size "back", using only the markings on the adjustment wheel. Unfortunately, this was not as precise as desired. After resetting, the coarse peak was at 249 width and the fine content at 21.4. The espresso ran correspondingly slightly faster and had to be readjusted.

The grind size 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 out, put into the grinder, and ground immediately. This way, no coffee beans age in the bean hopper and quick switching between different coffee beans is possible. This also makes it possible to change the brewing recipe, from espresso to café crème and back.

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

While the dead zone of the Eureka Mignon XL is relatively small at 3.1 grams, at least 0.3 grams of coffee always remained in the grinder even with prolonged grinding. That could definitely be better!

Also, the precision of the grind size adjustment will not always be sufficient to hit the mark exactly 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 will not be able to keep up with grinders specifically designed for this purpose. With an update such as a bellows bean hopper, at least the performance of the remaining coffee powder can be improved.

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

When the Mignon XL slider 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 hopper more frequently. The bean hopper is transparent and not airtight sealed. As a result, the coffee reacts with light and oxygen and ages faster. Rancid off-flavors develop surprisingly quickly.

Below the bean hopper under the closure slider there are 15.2 grams of coffee. This needs to be removed before, for example, a different coffee can be used. Compared to many other grinders, this is relatively little.

Conclusion: Good Espresso Grinder for Home

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

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

Most importantly, 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, our article on espresso preparation or one of our coffee courses might help you.