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 Applied Sciences. Thank you 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 product range between the more affordable Mignons and the entry-level professional class. At a price of around 680 € and around 800 francs, the Mignon XL belongs to Eureka's 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 packaged with a width of 12 cm, a depth of 18 cm, and a height of 38 cm. 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 volume of 77.2 decibels, the grinder demonstrates relatively quiet performance when compared with 23 other popular home espresso grinders. Values below 80db 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. It looks nice, but is very prone to fingerprints. A polishing cloth should be nearby if 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 grinding burrs have an extended 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 provide an assessment of the quality of the grinding burrs.

Recommended dealers for the Eureka Mignon: Lücke Technik*

Good Espresso is No Accident!

Both in comparative tastings and in 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 retention of 3.1 g, the espresso grinder ranks among the better grinders. We rate retention up to 3.5g as good. Retention is the ground coffee that remains around the grinding chamber and is not dispensed when grinding ends. On the next grind, the ground coffee in the retention is dispensed first. Depending on how long the last grind was, part of the grinding is therefore not fresh.

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

Especially with more affordable 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 slight 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 of the field. In ten seconds, the Mignon XL grinds 28.7 grams of coffee. That's quite a bit, goes 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 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 numbered accordingly, see also legend. T1 in red (see above) represents a check of the ground coffee upon delivery. The grinder was set very fine and shows a correspondingly high fine fraction and a correspondingly low main peak.

Tests 2, 3, 4, and 7 overlap here as desired. 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 of coffee in 25 seconds.

For T2 and T3, 6 espressos were pulled every 30 seconds in between. We examined whether the temperature of the ground coffee increased and, depending on it, whether there was a significant effect on the particle distribution. We could not determine any such deviation. In fact, the temperature was not high at an average of 34.4 degrees Celsius.

Next, we adjusted the espresso back cleanly to the initial brew recipe (T4) and drew a corresponding sample. This was the baseline sample for determining the fine fraction and main peak. The Eureka Mignon XL has a fine fraction of 21.63 percent. This means it performs here on average (21.96%) of the grinder field. In some cases, we could detect a slight dryness in the aftertaste of the espresso, which could be attributed to the fine fraction. However, this did not dominate.

The coarse peak showed a width of 238. The average coarse peak was 249.6. From this, it can be concluded 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.

Subsequently, we first set a ristretto (T5) and then a café crème (T6). Curve 7 shows the particle distribution when subsequently attempting to return to exactly the same grind size, based solely on the marking on the grind adjustment wheel. Unfortunately, this was not possible as precisely as desired. The coarse peak after adjustment was at 249 width and the fine fraction was 21.4. The espresso ran slightly faster accordingly and had to be adjusted.

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

Suitability for Single Dosing

More and more home baristas prefer to use single portions when grinding coffee. With this method, the desired amount of coffee is weighed, placed into the grinder, and ground directly. This way, no coffee beans age in the bean hopper, and quick switching between different coffee beans is possible. It 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 dosing espresso grinder, it should have low retention, empty the grinding chamber as completely as possible during longer grinding, and be precisely adjustable.

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

Also, the precision of the grind adjustment will 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 will not be able to compete with grinders developed specifically 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 slider of 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 rather adding coffee to the hopper more often. 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 under the closure slider 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, that's 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, and in some cases very good, results in all areas.

Operating the grinder 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 of the Eureka Mignon Specialita or Magnifico.

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

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

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