Eureka Mignon Specialità espresso grinder reviewed

The Eureka Mignon Specialità is one of the most popular espresso grinders in the mid-entry range. It can be found in many households and overall performs well as an espresso grinder. In this espresso grinder test, we take a closer look at the Specialità and assess its strengths and weaknesses in href="https://kaffeemacher.de/blogs/kaffeewissen/espressomuehlen-zuhause" comparison with 23 other grinders.

The Specialità is just one of many. How it performs against Magnifico, XL, Zero, and Libra is shown in our Eureka comparison.

Specialty Retailers for Eureka Specialità

We search for specialist partners for you who we know offer good quality and service. We maintain close contact with these retailers. These are affiliate links. If you order through this link, it costs you nothing extra, but we receive a small commission that we invest in new test equipment.

• Germany: Stoll Espresso, Bohnendealer, Lücke Technik, Die Röster
• Switzerland: deon
• Austria: Bohnendealer, Die Röster

Eureka Specialità from above and the side. Compact and with small grind adjustment.

External Facts about the Eureka Mignon Specialità

Small and compact – that's the Eureka Mignon Specialità. Next to an espresso machine, it doesn't stand out but rather takes a back seat due to its shallow depth. Much of the Eureka Mignons are well-made, particularly the outer main body, display, and stand. However, all Mignons (Perfetta, XL, Specialità) share one common issue. The plastic bean hopper and lid sit rather snugly on the grinder, and especially the lid can easily crack with careless use.

• Burrs: Flat burr grinder, 55 mm diameter
• Weight: 5.6 kg
• Width: 120 mm
• Height: 350 mm
• Depth: 180 mm
• Bean hopper: 250 grams capacity, plastic

The portafilter holder can be adjusted, allowing portafilters from La Marzocco, ECM, Rocket, or Ascaso to be clamped in without any problem. However, the holder is not robust enough to simply release the portafilter during grinding. The vibrations cause it to move and it can even slide out of the holder. Definitely hold it in place.

Core Competence: Grinding Espresso Finely and Well

The Eureka Mignon Specialità not only delivers espresso-fine coffee powder but also good particle distribution. The main peak is good compared to many grinders in the same price range, and the fine portion is also in the better mid-range. This makes the Specialità well-suited for brewing delicious espresso in all its facets.

We achieved corresponding results with both lighter and darker roasts. A blind tasting comparing it to other espresso grinders in the same price range follows.

While the grinder delivered good results across different extractions and showed very reproducible results even without adjusting the grind (see table above: Test 2: X50=307 microns, Fine peak=18.8%, Coarse peak=233 and Test 3: X5=309, Fine peak=19.5%, Coarse peak=234), the results when adjusting and resetting were less convincing.

The basic setup of the Eureka Mignon Specialità is simple and quick to perform. Unfortunately, reproducibility when adjusting and returning to the same grind setting is not as good. The small grind adjustment wheel is mainly responsible for this.

Grind Setting with the Eureka Mignon Specialità

The grind of the Eureka Specialità is adjusted using the small dial on top of the grinder. In principle, that's simple! However, even the smallest adjustments result in a significant change in the grind. Since the grind is responsible for the flow rate of the espresso, it determines quality.

Nevertheless, with careful turns, the grind can be set well, and the results are, as explained above, generally good. However, it's more difficult to repeat defined recipes and switch the grind between uses. Most espresso grinders in the Specialità price range are not well-suited for this. Since many households have different beverage preferences, we examine this criterion nonetheless.

In our test, we set the espresso perfectly and tried to mark and note the grind position. Then we pulled a ristretto and café crème (T5 and T6). We then tried to reset the grind to the same position based on our previous visual marking. This is visible in the particle distribution curve T7, which deviates more from T4 than desired. While this grind and the subsequent extraction are still in the espresso range, it's no longer at the same grind setting as in T4.

When we compare the data from espresso measurements 2, 3, 4, and 5, we can draw the following conclusion: The Eureka Mignon Specialità is excellent at reproducing its own results from shot to shot. It sets very high standards here. Once you've set an espresso, you only need minor adjustments as the coffee ages. The grinder is less suitable for quickly switching between different coffees and returning to a previously noted recipe.

Not a strength of the grinder: the portafilter holder.

Retention, Speed, and Performance

With only 2.7 grams of coffee, the Eureka Specialità has a small retention and ranks among the best espresso grinders in the test in this category. This is a significant factor because old coffee that gets stuck somewhere in the grinder and comes out during a later grinding session can have a major flavor impact depending on the amount. At 2.7 grams, this dead space in the Specialità is admirably small.

In terms of speed, the Specialità sits in the rear mid-range. It's not quite as slow as a Niche Zero or Mazzer Electronic, but slower than, for example, the ECM S64. In 10 seconds, the Specialità grinds 21.3 grams.

What's really positive is the low noise level. We measured 78.9 decibels. Grinders that stayed below the 80 dB threshold were rated as "quiet" by us. For comparison: a Lelit PL72 achieves 86.4 dB with our measurement method.

To assess grinder performance under load, we pulled 6 shots at 30-second intervals and measured the ground coffee temperature at each exit. The Eureka Specialità averaged 37.2° Celsius with an increase of 1.1 degrees across the shots. This puts it in the higher range, like many grinders with flat and smaller burrs. We detected no sensory changes due to heat, but we don't recommend using the grinder at high frequency.

Eureka Mignon Specialità

Single Dosing, Dose Consistency, and Usability

The dose setting on the Eureka Specialità is intuitive and really easy to perform. Via the touch display, you set the grind amount using the plus and minus buttons for single or double dosing. This makes it easy to set the dose amount. We really liked this aspect of the grinder's usability.

There are drawbacks to the much too sensitive grind adjustment control. The grind dial is simply too small, and the adjustments are too large, making it not as easy as it should be to dial in the correct grind.

The grinder's consistency is also good. Once the target amount is set, the grinder grinds the desired amount with good reliability. In our case, we calculated a standard deviation of 0.11 grams over 10 shots. Excellent!

The grinder repeats this good performance in the "single dosing" test as well. For this, we dose 18 grams into the empty bean hopper. At the same time, we purge the grinder and then begin the test. The 18 grams are loaded, ground, and the output is measured. Many grinders "consume" beans in this process. That's actually surprisingly the norm. The Eureka Mignon Specialità delivered the dosed amount every time with a deviation of at most 0.1 grams. This makes the grinder essentially very suitable for single dosing applications.

However, it must be noted that single dosing only makes sense if you can also quickly and precisely set different recipes. Since this isn't among the grinder's top abilities, the most popular use of single dosing is only possible to a limited extent. But if you like adding fresh beans and grinding them, and don't want to store them in the bean hopper (which you really shouldn't do anyway), you can still use the grinder well this way.

Learn More About Coffee: Our Courses

If you want to learn more about coffee, we'd be happy to welcome you to Basel or the href="https://kaffeemacher.de/pages/kurse" Lower Rhine region, for example at our Home Barista Courses.

If you'd rather learn from home, you'll find a format in our Online Home Barista Course. In over 30 videos, barista professional Michel Aeschbacher explains the most important tips for setting and maintaining an espresso machine.