Option-O Lagom P80 review: measurements and espresso

The Lagom P80 by Option-O is grinder number 100 in our test field. You requested it as our anniversary grinder, and it delivered numbers we've never seen in over a hundred grinders we've tested. Ordered directly from the manufacturer in Germany, it costs around 1,600 euros including tax and shipping. For that you get 80mm flat burrs, a 500-watt brushless motor, adjustable rotation speed from 300 to 1,700 RPM, and a single-dosing grinder that follows the basic design of its smaller sister model, the P64.

Three things upfront. The main peak in the particle distribution is the narrowest we've ever measured. The retention is 0.2 grams. And the grind dial is hard to excuse for a grinder in this price range. Let's take it one step at a time.

Design and Technology: The Bigger Sister of the P64

If you know the P64, you'll recognize the P80 immediately. Everything is a bit larger, a bit more powerful, which is due to the burr size. 8.1 kilograms at 24 × 14 × 38 centimeters, milled from anodized aluminum and stainless steel. Inside, though, Option-O has rebuilt almost everything: The upper grinding chamber is now a single-piece component, loose springs and separate bearings are gone when you take it apart. The burrs sit magnetically on a three-point mount, dual-screw burrs in M6x7 format also fit.

In everyday use, two details stand out positively. The dosing ring closes cleanly against the sieve. And you can grind directly into the 58mm portafilter without having to help it along on the sides.

The criticism is about the knocker at the grounds outlet. It effectively helps expel remaining coffee powder. But the mechanism is so tightly sized that it occasionally gets stuck at the bottom and only comes back after a slight wiggle. Course participants have reported this to us too. For me personally, the design feels strange: I don't want to milk my grinder. And at the gap setting, the knocker is almost flush at the top but stands out by a millimeter at the bottom.

Noise and Speed: 9 Seconds for 18 Grams, 82.8 dB

At 1,100 RPM, our measurement speed for blocks two and three, the P80 takes nine seconds for 18 grams. With a full hopper, it dispenses 26.2 grams in ten seconds. That's remarkable because the beans are deliberately fed slowly via the screw. Despite the throttled feed rate, the 80mm burrs grind through quickly.

In continuous operation we measure 82.8 dB. According to our protocol, that's in the mid-range, and purely by the number the grinder wouldn't be quiet. But the number describes it poorly: The sound is pleasant, a solid motor noise that I compare to an electric car in the test video. No resonances, no screeching. Even in purge mode at high speed, it remains tolerable.

Thermally, the grinder is unremarkable. The beans go in at 21.7 °C, over five consecutive grinds with 20-second breaks we measure 29.9 / 26.0 / 26.7 / 29.3 / 29.8 °C, averaging 28.3 °C. The series doesn't increase, so the grinder doesn't heat up even with multiple shots in succession. For light and dark roasts, that's just right.

Retention: 0.2 Grams, We've Never Measured Better

For retention, the P80 delivers the value against which all future single-dosing grinders must be measured. Andrea is responsible for this measurement on our test team and approaches it uncompromisingly: loosen every screw, brush the burrs from below, scrape together everything that can be found. She managed to get 0.1 grams temporarily and 0.1 grams permanently. Absolutely 0.2 grams then.

The practical consequence is bigger than the number suggests. You can switch beans without grinding something out first. You can adjust the grind setting and see the effect immediately in the next shot, instead of first pushing through half a portion of old stock. And the coffee in the basket is the coffee you just ground. That's exactly the idea of single dosing, and Option-O did the right detailed work here. We wish a few other manufacturers would take a page from their book.

This is achieved through two things: the knocker, which is tuned to the angled grinding chamber, and a purge function that increases the rotation speed at the end of grinding and blows the rest out of the chamber. The grinder recognizes when resistance drops via a torque sensor, ramps up once, then shuts off. You can also trigger purge manually by double-pressing if you want. The other values fit this well: From 18 grams of beans input, 17.9 grams land in the cup, that's 0.1 grams deviation. Over five portions the standard deviation is 0.04 grams. Both are excellent.

The Grind Dial is the Biggest Criticism

The P80 adjusts continuously via a fine-pitch thread, and Option-O specifies ten micrometers per line. In practice, that means: One line equals eight to ten seconds of extraction time depending on the coffee. Half a line gave us six to eight seconds difference multiple times when pulling shots. At grind setting 0.65 we were at 22 and 23 seconds, at 0.6 then at 28 seconds.

That's a problem because there are no intermediate markings between the vertical lines on the adjustment ring. So you inevitably work between the lines but can't read exactly where you landed. 8.1 or 8.15 or 8.16 looks the same. Michel therefore photographs the setting with every coffee, and even with that he doesn't hit the position exactly again. The reference line on the housing is also thicker than the lines on the ring, and the spacing between lines isn't even consistent: The distance from 3.5 to 3.6 is visibly different from 3.6 to 3.7.

For a grinder whose strength is precision, that destroys some of that precision. For a single-dosing grinder where you switch between recipes multiple times a day, it's the most expensive design flaw in the whole device. If you always grind the same coffee, you'll barely notice it. If you change beans daily, photographing the setting becomes a required practice.

Dear Option-O team: You build fantastic grinders. Make the scale finer and even. And until then, a cleanly printed scale as a sticker would be an interim solution you could ship out. Individual users are already putting this together themselves on online platforms. With a grinder for 1,600 euros, that shouldn't be the customer's job.

Reproducibility: The Main Peak Returns, the x50 Doesn't

For the adjustment test we go from espresso (T4, grind setting 0.7) to ristretto (T5, 0.55), then to lungo (T6, 0.95) and visually back to the starting mark (T7).

The main peak returns almost exactly: 106.0 µm at T4, 110.0 µm at T7. The x50 value, however, shifts from 144.8 to 172.3 µm, so a good 27 µm. At the same time the fine peak drops from 44.1 to 39.8 percent. The even main fraction is back, but the rest of the curve isn't. And because with this grinder it's precisely the fines that build resistance in the puck, you feel that in the cup.

Practical consequence: Turning visually back to the old mark isn't enough. What shows up in our measurement data as inaccuracy is largely the coarse dial from above. Michel notes that it definitely works with practice, but it requires getting to know this grinder. So the P80 grinds reproducibly well once you have the dial figured out.

Particle Distribution: Main Peak at 106 µm, We've Never Measured Narrower

We measure particle distribution in cooperation with the Coffee Excellence Center of ZHAW on the Retsch Camsizer X2. In the espresso setting at 1,100 RPM (T4) the x50 is at 144.8 µm, the main peak at 106.0 µm and the fine peak at 44.1 percent; that's the proportion of grounds under 100 micrometers.

The 106 micrometers are the value we planned this video twice for. We tried SSP burrs, 80 and 100 dimensions, blind and non-blind screwed. We've never found such a narrow main peak. By comparison: Anything beyond about 300 µm peak width we classify as heterogeneous, and good espresso grinders usually fall somewhere between 150 and 250 µm.

The feed system is responsible. A screw delivers beans slowly and evenly to the burrs, and integrated into the Mizen-80OM burrs is a crusher that pre-breaks beans before they enter the cutting zone. Slow feeding then, just built-in instead of dosed by hand. The burrs also mount screwless from the rear, which reinforces the grinder's cutting edges and consistency even more. Top-mounted screws are actually one of the biggest impacts on burr grinding behavior you can make.

The apparent contradiction in the numbers is interesting. The main peak is extremely narrow, yet 44.1 percent of the grounds are under 100 micrometers. That's not coincidence, it's a condition: Because the main fraction is so even and there are hardly any mid-range particles between the main and fine in the 100-micrometer range, we must grind fine enough on the other side to have sufficient fines to build adequate resistance and reach reasonable extraction times. We know the same pattern from all-purpose burrs.

In the shot, however, the grinder—or rather the grounds—behaves differently. Instead of first drops after over 13 seconds like with all-purpose burrs, we see initial drops around nine seconds. Unlike with AP burrs, the puck also maintains its integrity much longer and stabilizes at a steady 4 milliliters per second toward the end. The P80 accelerates, but much less brutally than expected.

For whom is this curve designed? Definitely for light, complex roasts. But our tests with various roasts have proven that medium to dark roasts also work very well and retain body. What you do need: clean puck preparation. Because of the high fine peak, clumping occurs, and without WDT, channeling is a real risk! With this grinder, that's not a recommendation—it's a requirement.

RPM from 300 to 1,700: What Rotation Speed Changes

You adjust rotation speed via a stepped dial with number scale on the side, from 300 to 1,700 RPM. Because we pulled three shots at the same grind mark, we can show what rotation speed does to the curve.

At 300 RPM the main peak becomes slightly narrower again and the fine peak drops slightly. This is the setting for maximum clarity. Between 1,100 and 1,700 RPM, however, the curve barely changes, which is unusual for a grinder with RPM control.

From the data and also considering other slow-feeding experiments, we interpret this to mean that slow feeding here already reduces the chaotic distribution and grinding in the grinder so much that slower rotation speed doesn't provide additional benefit. Read more about this in our article on slow feeding.

Static, Cleaning, and Operation

The grounds sausages that we affectionately called that with the P64 are history. An ionizer reduces static buildup, and in principle you no longer need RDT. Some residual charge remains, and it increases the darker and finer you grind. For everyday use at home we'd still work with water spray. But it's no longer a requirement like with the P64—it's a comfort gain. A clear difference from the previous model.

To clean, remove the collection ring and loosen two hex socket screws, then you're at the grinding chamber. It's simple and logically laid out, but it does require a tool. That's why we rate cleaning as good and not very good. For basic cleaning between uses you don't need to unscrew anything; for deep cleaning you do. If you want to work with grinder cleaner, we have Cafetto Grinder Clean in our shop.

On the side are two buttons: a real power switch that locks in, and the grind button, which runs the grinder until the torque sensor recognizes the end of grinding. The zero calibration is simplified compared to the P64; a limiter protects the burrs during calibration and can be removed when you want full control.

In the Cup: From Light to Decaf

In the test video we intentionally brewed at nine bar as standard, without flow or pressure profiling. Not because it's the best solution, but because nine bar is most common and not many machines can regulate flow and pressure.

The first espresso was a light roast, our Shyira. Incredibly complex, with everything in this coffee and surprisingly much body. Heavy, but elegant, thick-bodied, with a creaminess that lingers in the mouth. We didn't expect that with this particle profile; we were thinking more of a lighter, juicier body. First drops at eleven seconds.

Then our interpretation of an Italian espresso, the Compadre. Fat-caramel, with a cocoa note so clear and tangible you could write it down. Sweetness fully present, medium to heavy body, as it cools toward caramelized nuts and dark chocolate. The acidity is low in this coffee anyway, but what's there is clearly structured. Set to 24 seconds and it tastes good at 26 or 28 seconds too, so the range isn't pinpoint limited.

To finish the Apas Decaf, decaffeinated in Bremen with sub-critical CO₂, so with natural spring carbon dioxide. Decaffeination significantly alters a coffee's structure and thus its extraction behavior: This coffee doesn't accelerate toward the end; the flow actually drops. We've never seen that before. In the cup the nougat note we know from the Apas Espresso, our reference coffee from the test protocol.

Apas Decaf, Decaffeinated Espresso from Brazil

The coffee from the final shot in the video: sweet and chocolatey, nougat and dark chocolate, plus extraction behavior that's quirky with the P80.

Brazil Decaffeinated APAS Cooperative

To the Coffee

Across all three coffees: The espresso potential of this grinder is outstanding. But it's not a grinder for beginners. You need an understanding of extraction, brewing, and clean puck preparation. The path to the sweet spot is a narrow ridge over a wide stream: Too fine and you have a clogging moment, and you're working close to that line. Grinders with this particle profile show their strengths most clearly on machines that can profile flow or at least pressure. Nine bar works, but profiling gets you more.

Technical Specifications Overview

As always, we tested this grinder according to our KM protocol and purchased it ourselves. This test was not commissioned by Option-O.