Eureka makes many good grinders. However, in the game of single-dose espresso grinders, the Italian manufacturer was long absent. Now Eureka has caught up and built a single dosing espresso grinder that combines the strengths of Eureka Mignon XL and Eureka Specialita. In addition, there's a forward-tilted design to further reduce the dead zone. Whether Eureka's plan has worked and how the espresso grinder performs as an underdog compared to the popular Niche Zero and the G-Iota, we discuss in this test report.
This test appears as part of our large espresso grinder test series. The summary of the tests can be found here. For the tests, we use our Espresso Apas. With this, you can replicate our results at home:
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Single Dosing and Single Portions
The principle of single-dose espresso grinders is clearly having its moment. More and more manufacturers are presenting corresponding grinders and helping the barista community achieve even more freshness. Direct grinding has long been the norm, and the trend towards smaller bean hoppers has also established itself in recent years.
The reason is simple. Coffee should be exposed to oxygen and light as little as possible to prevent premature aging and oxidation. This keeps not only the coffee fresh but above all also aromatic and complex.
Single dosing espresso grinders like the Niche Zero, the DF64 (G-Iota), or the EK43 used in gastronomy consistently implement this concept. The home barista weighs out the espresso, puts it into the running grinder, and receives — if the grinder is good — the exact amount of coffee ground back out. Then it's straight on to brewing.
Advantages of single dosing espresso grinders:
- Espresso is freshly ground. No old coffee is left behind in the grinding chamber.
- The coffee variety can be changed quickly and easily. Guest A can choose decaf, Guest B a complex espresso from El Salvador. Switching beans and grind size is quick and easy.
- Grind size adjustments are possible more quickly because no ground coffee needs to be run out.
- Cleaning the grinder is faster and no coffee needs to be run out.
- Some single-dose grinders are also well-suited for grinding filter coffee if espresso is not desired for a change.
Inside an Eureka Mignon XL
The Eureka Mignon Oro Single Dose is internally an Eureka Mignon XL. Accordingly, it performs well across almost all parameters. The 65mm grinding discs do quick and good work. This is evident not only in espresso but runs through all the parameters.
The increased noise level compared to the Mignon XL is likely due to the changed placement area. As a reminder, the XL was supplied with a rubber mat. The "simulated" dead zone of the grinder is 0.9 grams.
For comparison with traditional espresso grinders, we interrupted the grinding process on single-dose grinders and removed the beans. Then, analogous to other grinders, we weighed the ground coffee residue remaining between the grinding discs. The Single Dose came in at just 0.9 grams. The positive effect of the approximately 15-degree tilt is already evident here.
When the Eureka Single Dose is used as intended and fully ground, 0 grams of coffee remain. In other words: whatever goes in gets ground out. Excellent! That's how single dosing should be.
Something amusing about it: Eureka itself doesn't seem to have believed that the ground coffee slides completely out of the grinder. That's why the grinder was equipped with a bellows that, like the G-Iota, is supposed to blow out the remaining coffee powder through repeated pumping. Well-intentioned and thanks for that. But you can't get less than 0 grams of dead zone.
Stable, high-quality, and somewhat short-sighted
The grinder is well-made, impresses with a weight of just 8.1 kilograms, and is available in chrome and black as well as other color variants. The wooden lid looks smart on the rubber bellows and makes the XL a real eye-catcher.
Since we discovered in our test that the bellows aren't necessary at all, we removed it. This is certainly as intended. The bellows can simply be pulled off. It's unfortunate that the nice wooden lid is now just a millimeter too large to fit on the plastic bean hopper. Instead, a plastic lid is supplied. A bit frustrating, because really not much is missing here and the wooden lid would fit and would also add that certain something even to the reduced size of the grinder.
With a width of 12 cm, a height of 32 cm, and a depth of 26 cm, the grinder is typically Eureka-compact and fits well next to almost any espresso machine.
Espresso Quality and Particle Distribution
We pulled many excellent espressos with the Single Dose. The coffees were soft and balanced. In some cases, we had a slight astringency in the finish, but it didn't weigh heavily.
The particle distribution of the Eureka Single Dose matches our expectations. The main peak is not too broad and the fine particle portion is relatively low. This should result in less unpleasant bitterness in the cup. The main peak's width is in the midrange, whereas the fine peak would be in the lower midrange, meaning it has less fine particle content.
In our example, it was relatively easy to adjust the espresso back to the original after adjustment. With the small grind size adjustment of the Eureka Single Dose, this isn't simple. As with the Mignon XL, it works better than with the Eureka Specialita, but the Eureka Single Dose can't convince as much as other grinders with larger grind size adjustment.
Note: Before you read the conclusion, you should know two things. First, it's important to always read different sources and reviews. We're giving you our perspective on the grinder, but other reviews may emphasize different strengths and weaknesses.
Conclusion on the Eureka Mignon Single Dose
The Eureka Mignon Single Dose from the Oro series is an overall excellent espresso grinder for home use and is particularly interesting price-wise. It's cheaper than the XL but has comparable technology inside. So if you don't necessarily want to top up the bean hopper, the Eureka Single Dose is the better choice.
It has a smaller dead zone because the remaining ground coffee slides out of the grinder remarkably effectively due to the tilt angle. The grinder also impresses in terms of speed.
Of course, espresso quality is central, but the Single Dose also delivers proven Eureka quality here. Over multiple shots, the temperature barely rises and it's ahead of the Specialita here as well.
There aren't really any serious arguments against the grinder. Its greatest weakness may be the grind size adjustment. In our tests, however, we reliably returned to the base setting.
The only caveat: the grinder cannot simply be turned further into the filter coffee range. At coarse grind sizes, the grind size adjustment no longer works reliably. That's a shame because the best single-dose grinders shine in this category too.
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