In 2024, Ligre not only presented an espresso machine called Ligre Youn, but also the first grinder from the spin-off of the German-Austrian company Gronbach. Ligre Siji is the name of the espresso grinder in Ligre design, which promises consistent dosing of ground coffee thanks to an integrated scale.
We conducted an initial test of the grinder at the beginning of the year. At that time, we still had some difficulties using the grinder, as the distribution, the angle of the portafilter holder, and the fill level of the basket in combination with static charge spread some of the coffee instead of grinding it into the portafilter.
After our first test of the production model, Ligre quickly made improvements and sent us a revised unit in exchange for the grinder we had purchased. We were correspondingly curious whether the Siji would meet our expectations for a high-quality espresso grinder with weight dosing. In typical coffee maker fashion, we measured the grinder extensively, gathered practical experience, and now share our results after many hundreds of espresso shots and measurements.
Design & Construction
Visually, the Ligre Siji appears as an aesthetically pleasing unit when paired with the Youn espresso machine. In the current version, the grinder is finally parallel and flush with the machine – a detail that bothered us with the first model. The design looks modern and clean: front and sides are defined by anodized aluminum, giving the Siji a high-quality appearance. However, upon closer inspection, you'll also notice less noble materials. The bean hopper lid has plastic on the underside (with seal) and an aluminum plate on top. The entire portafilter holder – the bracket into which you hang the portafilter – is also made of black plastic. These plastic elements fall a bit short compared to the otherwise noble aluminum housing.
Haptically, there's little to complain about: the grinder stands stably, and all parts fit precisely. Inside, you can see that much space is due to the stylish design – the Siji feels somewhat hollow as the housing is larger than technically necessary. This rarely bothers in everyday use, especially since the construction is based on proven technology: at its core, the Siji is a Eureka Mignon Specialità – a solid 55mm burr grinder with direct drive – enhanced by Ligre's own scale technology. The clear design language of the Siji fits perfectly with the Youn machine but limits it stylistically somewhat. Apart from this duo, the striking design aesthetic could polarize – the Siji wants to stand next to its partner machine and less so next to any other espresso machines. Overall, the construction leaves a mixed impression: outwardly chic and largely high-quality, but not quite at the level you'd expect for around €1,200 retail price.
Operation & Everyday Usability
In terms of operation, the Siji shows an intuitive side. On the front display, you select between single and double shot with a touch. A short touch on the display takes you to the menu, where you can switch to time-based grinding, among other things. This switching between Grind-by-Weight and classic time dosing is a clever function that many other scale grinders don't offer. In everyday use, it allows you to quickly grind a larger amount of coffee into a dosing container without having to hang in a portafilter. The menu system itself struck us as clear and logical: through the display, you can adjust grinding time or target weight, brightness, etc. The display shows exactly what you need at the moment – no more and no less. Overall, the electronics feel well-thought-out and user-friendly.
A small weakness of the Siji reveals itself in the grind setting adjustment. Like the Eureka Specialità, this is done via a small dial wheel at the top of the grinder, with a scale from 1 to 6 (stepless in between). This little wheel is unfortunately quite delicate – precise fine adjustments are tricky with it, especially if you frequently switch between different recipes. In the test, we made extreme adjustments (from espresso setting to ristretto and lungo and back) and noticed how difficult it is to precisely hit the original grind point again. We often ended up slightly off, leading to deviations in flow time (e.g., the espresso suddenly ran ~5 seconds faster). Eureka itself has recognized this shortcoming and now offers larger dial wheels as an upgrade for the Specialità – which makes it all the more puzzling that Ligre missed the opportunity to improve this out of the box. In everyday use, this means: frequent bean switching or recipe variation is less suited to the Siji. If you stick with one coffee and only adjust occasionally, the handling is straightforward.
We also found the grinder cleaning to be impractical for daily use. The Siji – like its Eureka core – is not designed to be quickly opened. To access the burrs, you have to screw and fumble quite a bit; putting it back together requires patience. Our tester Michel certainly cursed at one point, as the grinder is obviously not designed for frequent opening. Sure, you can work with cleaning powder (we recommend this weekly), but a thorough manual cleaning every few months would be important especially with darker, oily roasts – and the Siji really makes no joy out of that. We would have appreciated a more user-friendly construction here.
One more note on ergonomics: The grind setting of the Ligre Siji is not readable from the front. The display and controls are on top; you have to look down from above. In our test environment, the grinder stood next to the hardly petite Youn machine – both devices are quite tall. Anyone who is short or works seated (wheelchair) has difficulty seeing the display. This aspect of operation is not inclusive. In an average kitchen, that may not be a problem, but it's a detail that stands out – especially since we've always criticized this with Eureka grinders and here it's even more pronounced by the special housing.
Grind-by-Weight Function in Focus
Let's come to the heart of the Siji: the Grind-by-Weight function. The grinder has an integrated load cell that should first tare the hung-in portafilter and then monitor the weight of coffee in real-time during grinding. In practice, this works impressively precisely. We checked the dosing accuracy over many shots: if we set, for example, 17.5 g as the target amount, then exactly 17.5 g lands in the basket. The deviations in our test were usually at most ±0.1 g, which is absolutely negligible. Often the Siji hit the weight to the tenth of a gram precisely – exemplary!
Even vibrations didn't shake the scale. In the test, we even knocked hard on the table without the grinding process being irritated. The algorithm seems robust enough to filter out everyday vibrations. For extreme cases (e.g., suddenly moving the grinder or perhaps a slight earthquake), there's always manual time control as a fallback option.
The functionality of weight-based grinding has convinced us overall. Especially for beginners, it eliminates a stumbling block: you no longer have to think about the gram amount; the grinder automatically delivers the right amount. This means the user can fully concentrate on the grind setting – and here the Ligre Youn machine helps again, which gives tips ("go a bit finer" or "a bit coarser"). Combined, this system significantly eases the path to successful espresso.
Our everyday experience with the scale also reveals an important point: static charge of the ground coffee can cloud the beautiful theory. With certain beans (usually very light roasts or fresh coffee), static electricity is generated, and the ground powder then shoots quite "fluffy" into the portafilter. In the original model, this meant that above about 16 g so much ground coffee ended up outside that practically nothing fit into the portafilter anymore. Ligre responded: the new version of the Siji grinds significantly more compactly into the portafilter; the powder doesn't spread as much. In our test, we could easily dose 17 g without needing the included dosing ring. Should too much still fall outside, you can slightly reduce the target amount or attach the ring – with the funnel, everything definitely stays in the sieve, but you also risk channeling faster through its edge. In normal operation, it worked for us without the ring, which represents real progress over the first version. Overall, the Grind-by-Weight function of the Siji is a precise and extremely convenient solution – it takes work off your hands and makes espresso brewing more consistent. Only with very unruly static charge do you need to be careful or make minor adjustments.
Ground Coffee & Particle Distribution
Particle distribution of the Ligre Siji: The measured particle size distribution (laser diffraction) shows a typical espresso profile. The main amount of particles is around 200–250 µm (main peak at ~211 µm), the proportion of fine particles (~fine peak) is around 28%. The median (X50) of the ground coffee was around 250 µm in the espresso setting – a good average value for espresso. The curve is relatively narrow, meaning the Siji produces a tight spectrum of particles without excessive outliers up or down.
This means in the cup: espresso succeeds with good balance. That's exactly how we tasted it – the shot with the Siji produced a soft espresso with nice sweetness, medium-bodied. The texture was silky, notes of cocoa and roasted almonds came through – a profile we know and appreciate from the Eureka Specialità. No question, the Siji grinds espresso at the level of good household grinders.
An important point in our test was the particle distribution reproducibility. Here we really pushed the grinder: after the first espresso run (test 4), we set extremely fine for a ristretto (test 5) and then very coarse for a lungo/caffè crème (test 6). Then we went back to the original espresso grind setting (test 7), which we adjusted again by eye. The result: the particle size distribution of test 7 matched the initial measurement surprisingly well. Median, fine and main peak were nearly identical to before – an indication that the grinder delivers the same performance at the same setting and our visual adjustment was quite precise. In theory, the Siji can thus grind reproducibly.
In practice, however, we had – as mentioned in the operating chapter – small differences in extraction time. This was less due to the grinder itself than to the difficulty of turning the tiny adjustment dial back exactly to the old value. But if you proceed carefully and in small steps, you can certainly switch between different recipes and find your way back to the starting point. For consistent taste, however, we recommend not jumping too often between drastically different grind settings – but that applies to most espresso grinders with such delicate adjustment.
Comparing the Siji's ground coffee profile to known grinders, it becomes clear: it corresponds to the character of the Eureka Specialità. No wonder – identical burr set. In plain language: the Siji delivers a good all-around espresso profile, as we know it from good flat 55mm burrs. Compared to larger 65–75mm grinders (or single-dosing grinders with special burrs), it might lack a smidge more clarity or the last ounce of fineness in particle distribution. But the result is delicious right away and well-balanced – and many coffee lovers even prefer it to overly "sharp" separated flavor profiles. With the Siji, you can represent both light and darker roasts decently. It produces enough fine particles for rich crema and fullness, but not so much that the espresso would become unbearably bitter. In our courses, we worked with the Specialità for years and brewed thousands of espressos with it – the Siji fits right in there taste-wise. So if you like this proven flavor profile, you won't be disappointed by the Siji.
Special Features / History
Our test of the Ligre Siji held a couple of surprising findings that go beyond the mere data sheet. First, we were pleased that the manufacturer takes feedback seriously and continues to work on the grinder. Since our test of the first iteration of the grinder was filmed but not yet published, it seemed sensible to wait for the improvements. And it was worth it.
Also noteworthy is the background of the Siji. Ligre is a young company on the German-Austrian border, but it draws from a long family tradition. They dared to take an established grinder (the Eureka Specialità) as a base and upgrade it with their own expertise. You notice the Eureka technology under the hood in many parameters – from grinding noise to retention – but the integration of the weighing technology is Ligre's merit. This scale is not a Eureka Libra unit, but an independent development. The excellent weight dosing to 0.1 g speaks for Ligre and the menu navigation and functionality are better than those of the Libra and especially the Siji doesn't deliver an F4 error...
Conclusion
The Ligre Siji proves to be a successful espresso grinder with Grind-by-Weight that impresses above all with its dosing precision and solid grinding quality. After the necessary revision, we can recognize many strengths:
Dosing Accuracy: The integrated scale works extremely reliably – deviations were around 0.1 g or less. This removes a source of error for the home barista and enormously increases the reproducibility of shots.
Grinding Quality: Based on the Eureka 55mm burrs, the Siji delivers the proven good espresso ground coffee. The particle distribution is even and the flavor profile balanced, with pleasant body and sweetness.
Noise & Speed: At ~78 dB, the Siji is relatively quiet. It also grinds quickly – 18 g in about 8 seconds. This is above average for this class and allows for swift working.
User-Friendliness: The menu navigation is simple and intuitive. Weight and time modes are easy to select; the display clearly shows relevant information. For beginners, the need to fiddle with a scale is eliminated; for advanced users, the precision brings joy.
Design Integration: If you own the Ligre Youn, the Siji is the perfectly matching grinder – visually and functionally. Designed as a combo system, it eases the "guided" espresso process that Ligre envisions.
Of course, there are also weaknesses or points to consider before purchasing:
Price-Performance: Around €1,180 (MSRP) is quite an ask when you consider that it contains a Mignon Specialità at its core. So you're paying a significant premium for housing design and scale technology. Other grinders with similar technology (e.g., Eureka Libra) are sometimes cheaper.
Grind Setting Adjustment: The small adjustment dial does allow stepless fine-tuning, but it's fiddly. Frequently switching back and forth between different drinks requires a lot of finesse – reproducibility suffers somewhat here.
Cleaning & Maintenance: The Siji is relatively involved to clean. Without disassembly, you can't reach all corners; opening requires time and care. If you use many dark, oily beans, you must definitely stick with cleaning powder to prevent old coffee residue from ruining the aroma.
Scatter Loss with Static Beans: While improved, not completely eliminated – with some coffees the Siji splatters a bit. A dosing ring is included and can help grind the coffee into the portafilter.
Limited Placement Options: Due to the specific design and top controls, the Siji feels most at home in combination with the Ligre machine. In other setups, the top display can be impractical, and the futuristic look must fit the environment.
So who is this grinder suitable for? In our view, the Ligre Siji is ideal for home users who want a convenient espresso experience and perhaps already use the Ligre Youn.
- Beginners benefit enormously from automatic weight dosing – a major uncertainty factor in espresso is eliminated.
- But also advanced users who like to work consistently and appreciate the luxury of precise gram control will enjoy the Siji.
- Anyone who frequently entertains guests or simply wants to make several shots in quick succession will appreciate the speed and stability of this grinder.
We would not recommend the Siji for hardcore experimenters who constantly switch between filter, espresso, and different beans – the grind adjustment and cleaning are too cumbersome for that. Likewise, it's not a classic single-dose grinder for those who want to fresh grind every cup with weighed beans; there are more suitable devices with virtually zero retention.
In the final analysis, Ligre has created a fresh take on a proven classic with the Siji. The grinder is competently executed, feels natural to operate, and delivers approachable results – you get delicious espresso in the cup right away, without any guessing. At the same time, Ligre shows thoughtfulness: critical points from the first version were taken seriously and corrected. The Ligre Siji is certainly no bargain and not perfect, but it's fun, delivers on its promises, and brings new momentum to the espresso grinder segment. For anyone who appreciates convenient precision and is willing to invest in it, this grinder is definitely worth considering. Cheers – and to good coffee!
