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 Teacher Education. 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. Eureka thus 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 Eureka's premium category (Oro designation), and still clearly remains in the segment of espresso grinders for home use.
The Mignon XL weighs 7.2 kg and is packaged at 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.
Dimensions and Key Data of the Eureka Mignon XL
- Disc grinding mechanism, 65 mm diameter
- Weight: 7.2 kg
- Width: 120 mm
- Height: 380 mm
- Depth: 180 mm
- 300 gram bean hopper
The user manual for the Eureka Mignon XL can be found here.
If you're looking for a quieter espresso grinder, the Eureka Mignon XL is a good choice. With a noise level of 77.2 decibels, the grinder delivers relatively quiet performance compared to 23 other popular home espresso grinders. Values below 80 dB were rated as good by us.
The Eureka XL comes in chrome finish, matte black, white, gray and Ferrari red. We were able to use the chrome variant in our test. It looks nice, but is very prone to fingerprints. A polishing cloth should be nearby with this choice, just in case.
The stepless disc grinding mechanism has a diameter of 65 mm and is treated with Eureka's patented Diamond Inside technology. Eureka claims the grinding disc has extended durability of up to 1,500 kg of ground coffee. We haven't tested this, but based on the particle distribution below, we can make an assessment of the quality of the grinding discs.
Recommended specialist retailers for the Eureka Mignon: Lücke Technik*
Good Espresso is No Accident!
Both in the comparative tasting and in the individual tests, we repeatedly drank good espressos brewed with the Eureka Mignon XL. Individual good and very good espressos are occasionally outliers. However, the Mignon XL provides several arguments for good consistency.
With a retention of 3.1 g, the espresso grinder is among the better grinders. Up to 3.5 g retention we rate as good. Retention is the ground coffee that remains around the grinding chamber and is not dispensed when grinding stops. During the next grinding, the ground coffee in the retention is then dispensed first. Depending on how long the last grinding was, part of the ground coffee is therefore not fresh.
Over ten grinds with a set output amount of 18g coffee, the Eureka Mignon XL showed a standard deviation of 0.27 g. That's also a good value.
| 17.50 | 17.50 |
18.00 |
18.00 |
18.30 |
18.00 |
18.10 |
17.80 |
17.70 |
18.10 |
Especially with cheaper espresso grinders, the ground coffee often heats up significantly, which can lead to a negative change in 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 rank in the middle range. In ten seconds, the Mignon XL grinds 28.7 grams of coffee. That's quite a lot, 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. To do 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 set very fine and shows a correspondingly high fine fraction and a correspondingly low main peak.
Tests 2, 3, 4 and 7 are nicely aligned here. For each of these grinds, the same recipe was set. For this purpose, we weighed out 18g of coffee and set the grinder so that the grind size was calibrated for an extraction of 45g coffee in 25 seconds.
For T2 and T3, 6 espressos were pulled at 30-second intervals in between. We investigated whether the temperature of the ground coffee increased and whether, depending on this, there was a significant effect on particle distribution. We could not detect any such deviation. In fact, the temperature was only 34.4 degrees Celsius on average.
Next, we reset the espresso cleanly to the original brewing recipe (T4) and drew a corresponding sample. This was the reference sample for determining fine fraction and main peak. The Eureka Mignon XL has a fine fraction of 21.63 percent. With this, it performs at the average (21.96%) of the grinder field. We could occasionally detect a slight dryness in the aftertaste of the espresso, which could be attributed to the fine fraction. However, this was not predominant.
The coarse peak had a width of 238. The average coarse peak was 249.6. From this we can conclude that the Eureka Mignon XL has a slightly higher proportion of particles in the desired grind size range and thus performs somewhat better than average.
We then first set a ristretto (T5) and then a café crème (T6). Curve 7 shows the particle distribution when attempting to return exactly to the same grind size afterward, based only on the marking on the grind adjustment dial. Unfortunately, this was not possible as precisely as desired. The coarse peak was at 249 width after resetting and the fine fraction was 21.4. The espresso ran accordingly slightly faster and had to be readjusted.
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 single dosing when grinding coffee. The desired amount of coffee is weighed out, placed in the grinder and ground immediately. This way, coffee beans don't age in the bean hopper and switching quickly 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 retention, the grinding chamber should empty as completely as possible during longer grinding, and be precisely adjustable.
While the retention of the Eureka Mignon XL is relatively small at 3.1 grams, at least 0.3 grams of coffee remained in the grinder even with prolonged grinding. That could certainly 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 doses, but will not be able to keep up with grinders specifically designed for this purpose. With an update like a blow-out bean hopper, at least the performance of the remaining coffee powder can be improved.
A powerful combination is the grinder with a knock box or grounds drawer.
And how easy is it to change 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, but rather adding coffee to the hopper more frequently. The bean hopper is transparent and not airtight. This causes the coffee to react with light and oxygen and ages faster. 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. Relative to many other grinders, that's relatively little.
Conclusion: Good Espresso Grinder for Home
The Eureka Mignon XL convinced us as an espresso grinder for home use. It delivers at least good, and in some cases even 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 across the various extractions. With the Eureka Mignon XL Oro, you're making a safe choice for a good grinder.
If the espresso doesn't taste good with the Eureka Mignon XL, perhaps our article on espresso preparation or one of our coffee courses can help.
The XL is Eureka's premium home grinder. Where it stands in the field of all Eureka grinders compared, you can read here.
Additional tuning tip: our solid wood lid for the Eureka Mignon Series.
