Mahlkönig E64 WS Review 2026: Grind by Weight with Pro Software for Home

Mahlkönig packs the technology of its commercial E65S grinder into a compact home package – including Grind by Weight, electronic grind adjustment in micron steps and portafilter recognition that no other grinder in this price range offers. The E64 WS costs EUR 999, is manufactured in China and shares its grinding chamber with the well-known Mahlkönig SD64. We bought the grinder and tested it through several iterations.

By now, the third Mahlkönig E64 WS sits on our test bench. And the potential of this little grinder is starting to show. Model number three is shaping up to be the most interesting entry-level espresso grinder for home use – if you're willing to invest EUR 1,000 and the full feature set matters to you.

A note: we tested the grinder on its own and synchronized with the Mahlkönig Sync Scale. In the future, we will also look at the synchronization with the Mahlkönig Xenia.

Design & Build Quality

The E64 WS weighs just under 6 kg at 39 cm tall and sits firmly on the counter. The housing feels solid, the portafilter fork is well-made and has been improved compared to the first models. The bean hopper holds 250 g.

What stands out negatively: the buttons feel a bit wobbly, especially compared to what we've seen on other grinders at this price point. And the chute – actually a feature because it's height-adjustable – still sags slightly at its highest setting. Better than the first models, but not perfect yet.

An important point: the original flapper on the first production runs is terrible. Static charge is massive, coffee sprays everywhere. Mahlkönig now supplies a metal flapper as a replacement – make sure to request it from your dealer if you have one of the older versions. Newer production units come with the improved flapper as standard. With the new flapper, the grinder is in a different league: clean, fluffy grind result with little clumping. Without it, working properly is nearly impossible.

Burrs & Technology

At the core: 64 mm flat burrs – the same grinding chamber as the Mahlkönig SD64. No RPM control, the motor runs at a fixed speed of approximately 1,950 RPM at idle.

What sets the E64 WS apart from every other grinder in this price range is the electronic grind adjustment. There's no dial, no ring – everything is controlled internally by a motor, operated through the display. Adjustment is made in microns, and the precision is remarkable: a single micron? Barely one second of difference in extraction time.

We recommend calibrating the zero point right after purchase. In the menu under "Maintenance", you bring the burrs together until you hear them touch, then set the zero point. This way, all E64 WS units work in comparable micron ranges – which makes it possible for us as roasters to give you concrete grind setting recommendations as a starting point. For our Compadre, for example, we dialed in at 95 microns. You should find the right grind setting within +/- 10 microns.

Grind by Weight & Guided Dial-In

The E64 WS is a weighing grinder: hook in the portafilter, the built-in scale tares, and the grinder grinds to the set weight. No fiddling with timers, no fluctuations when you change the grind setting. That's the core advantage over time-based grinders – and the reason we believe this category is the future of home espresso. It makes dialing in a pleasure.

The portafilter recognition deserves special mention: you can save multiple portafilters, the grinder identifies which one is hooked in by weight, and automatically switches to the corresponding recipe. No other Grind by Weight grinder in this price range offers this. Practical when you alternate between a single and double portafilter.

The guided dial-in is the feature we were most curious about. You enter whether your coffee is light, medium or dark, set your target recipe and brew time – and the grinder adjusts itself. You tell it how long the actual extraction ran and the grinder corrects its grind setting.

Our result: within two to three brews, we were in the target range with every coffee. That's impressive. Particularly clever: the grinder anticipates retention. It knows that after a grind setting change, old coffee ground at the previous setting is still sitting in the chamber, and corrects proactively.

But – and this matters – there are (still) limitations in the software: for a double shot, you cannot set less than 40 g brew weight. That's a problem for anyone working with 36 or 38 g. The input weight is also capped at 19 g – if you use a 21 g basket, you're out of luck. Mahlkönig has announced this will be fixed via update. Over-the-air updates are possible, which is the good news.

Grind Speed & Noise

27.3 g in 10 seconds – a medium speed. For 18 g the grinder takes 7.5 seconds, which is fast and enjoyable in daily use.

During operation we measure 85.1 dB(A). That's upper-mid range – audible, but not bone-shaking. For context: a vacuum cleaner sits at about 80 dB, and the E64 WS is just above that. Still acceptable for a morning kitchen, but if you're noise-sensitive, you'll notice it.

Grind Temperature & Consistency

After five consecutive grinds (18 g each, 20-second intervals) we measure an average grind temperature of 32.52 °C. That's in the good range – no thermal stress, no issues even with multiple back-to-back shots.

0.067 g standard deviation across our consistency measurements. That's excellent. The scale works precisely: 18.0 – 18.1 – 18.0 – 18.1 – 18.2 g. For a Grind by Weight grinder, exactly what we expect. The commercial DNA of the E65S shows here.

Retention

Retention is 4.1 g total – 3.8 g exchange retention and only 0.3 g permanent. The low permanent residue is a positive: hardly any coffee cakes permanently inside the grinding chamber.

But 3.8 g of exchange retention – that's noticeable at home. With an 18 g dose, that's over 20% of your total that is always one generation older than freshly ground. If you pull your first espresso in the morning after an overnight pause, those 3.8 g were ground yesterday. You can taste that.

For comparison: grinders like the Zuriga or the Acaia Orbit come in at 0.5–0.7 g. The Fiorenzato Allground at about 6 g. The E64 WS sits in between – not catastrophic, but nothing to brag about either. Retention becomes especially relevant in conjunction with the Grind by Sync function: the grinder is supposed to adjust automatically, even after hours of standing idle. But when almost 4 g from the old grind setting are still sitting in the chamber without being purged, the anticipation becomes more complex. The software handles this surprisingly well – but less retention would make its job easier.

Single Dosing Performance

The E64 WS is not a single dosing grinder. It's designed as a hopper grinder with Grind by Weight. The 3.8 g deviation when inputting 18 g corresponds exactly to the exchange retention – the grinder simply doesn't output everything that goes in at the top. That's by design, not a defect.

If you want to switch beans, you need to purge the retention – about 4 g. Doable, but considerably more involved than with a dedicated single dosing grinder.

Particle Size Distribution

We analyze particle size distribution in cooperation with ZHAW using a Retsch Camsizer X2.

The E64 WS shares its grinding chamber with the Mahlkönig SD64 – but the results differ. The reason: bean load and likely the flapper. In hopper operation, the weight of the beans pushes the grounds through the burrs differently than with a single dosing grinder, where only 18 g are fed in without pressure from above. We also see this effect on the commercial E65S and E80: when the hopper is nearly empty, extraction behavior changes.

For comparison – the SD64 in single dosing mode produces a main peak of 209 µm at T4. The E64 WS, at 265 µm, is considerably wider. The fines percentage is similarly high at 32%, which provides body and density – but the wider main peak means a less homogeneous extraction.

What does that mean in the cup? The E64 WS plays to its strengths with medium to dark roasts: full-bodied, dense, with integrated sweetness. For these coffees, the particle distribution is good. If you're after maximum clarity and transparency with very light specialty roasts, the SD64 delivers the narrower, more homogeneous grind. For the target audience of the E64 WS – a grinder with assistance features designed to make getting started easier – this is not a problem. Most coffees you'll grind with it will be in the medium roast spectrum. And that's where it delivers.

Grind Setting Reproducibility

In our adjustment test: espresso (T4), ristretto (T5), lungo (T6), back to espresso (T7). The grinder was visually returned to the T4 starting mark.

The x50 value deviates by about 34 µm between T4 and T7 (289.8 vs. 256.0 µm). The fines percentage also shifts from 32 to 35%. That's more than we would have expected from a grinder with electronic micron adjustment. However, we can only support this result with a single measurement series. So we ran additional tests.

In a practical test with fixed extraction time, the picture is more nuanced: at 95 microns and 27 seconds, the grinder reliably delivers 44–48 ml in the morning. After an adjustment to 50 microns (ristretto) and back to 95 microns, the result stays stable. Even after three hours of idle time with no adjustment: 46 ml at the same recipe. Only with larger adjustments (103 microns and back to 95) do outliers appear – 53 ml instead of the expected 46. The next shot settles back in.

Overall, the grinder reproduces well, but not as well as you might expect from an electronic grind adjustment. Occasionally the micron display shows a different value after turning off and on again. Occasionally there are unexplained deviations. Perhaps that's exactly what happened during our particle distribution measurement.

At the current software stage, this is a weakness. In practice it means: after larger adjustments, it's worth checking the first shot and readjusting if needed. For small adjustments within the espresso range, reproducibility is not an issue.

Software & Usability

To put it bluntly: the software of the E64 WS is not finished yet.

Boot time is about 30 seconds – an eternity when you want your morning espresso. The display responds with noticeable lag. Settings saved in a recipe occasionally don't get applied. A grind setting is assigned, but the grinder doesn't move to it. That's frustrating.

The WiFi connection to the optional scale (Mahlkönig Sync Scale, about EUR 200 extra) works, but the setup literally drove us to sit down: grinder into WiFi, scale into WiFi, assign scale to grinder, set mode on the scale. There are Mahlkönig videos explaining it, and once you've understood the process it works. It's just not intuitive.

The scale itself offers several modes. If you already own a scale, the added value is limited. The automatic timer starts when the first drop hits the cup, not when the brew starts. So you're forced to start the timer yourself along with the machine. The scale transmits this information, when connected, automatically to the grinder. And in Sync mode, the grinder then readjusts and compensates the espresso extraction by adjusting the grind setting accordingly.

Mahlkönig can push updates over the air. Much of what's still rough is software – and therefore fixable. But as of today, you're buying a grinder that still needs to mature in some areas.

Tasting

In the cup, the E64 WS delivers what the particle distribution promises: structured, clear espressos with pronounced sweetness and lovely crema. The versatility of the 64 mm burrs shows across different roast levels – from our Apas Espresso to medium-light specialty roasts to darker blends, we consistently got positive results.

Dialing in goes surprisingly fast with the guided dial-in: two to three shots, then the recipe is set. That's faster than most of us manage manually. If you normally need eight attempts to dial in a new coffee, you'll appreciate this.

Verdict

The Mahlkönig E64 WS is the most feature-rich grinder we've ever tested – and at the same time one that isn't fully finished yet.

Strengths:

• Electronic grind adjustment in micron steps: precision that doesn't exist elsewhere at this price point
• Guided dial-in with an intelligent algorithm that anticipates retention
• Portafilter recognition with recipe storage
• Excellent dosing consistency (0.067 g std. dev.)
• Versatile particle distribution – light to dark

Weaknesses:

• Software still buggy: lag, occasionally ignored settings, long boot time
• 4.1 g retention – noticeable at home, especially on the first shot after a pause
• Software-side limitations on recipe input (min. 40 g brew weight, max. 19 g dose)
• Flapper on earlier versions (must be requested from dealer), now included as standard
• WiFi setup cumbersome

Who is it for? Home baristas who want a weighing grinder and don't want to adjust the grind setting manually. Especially beginners who feel unsure about dialing in – this grinder genuinely takes work off your hands. And anyone who finds Mahlkönig's vision of a connected chain of grinder, scale and espresso machine (Xenia) exciting and wants to get in early.

Who is it not for? If you want single dosing and switch beans daily, the SD64 or other single dosing grinders are a better fit. If you expect a grinder that works flawlessly from day one, you may be frustrated. And if you expect flawless build quality down to the last button for EUR 999 – the buttons show where corners were cut.

Value: For EUR 999 you get commercial-grade technology in a home format: GbW, electronic grind adjustment, portafilter recognition, OTA updates. Nobody else offers this at this price. The question is how much patience you have with software that's still maturing. We'd say it's at 85 percent. And we'd buy it anyway.

This grinder won't be on our bench for the last time. We'll test the connection to the Mahlkönig Xenia and see what the next updates bring. The potential is there.

If everything Mahlkönig has set out to do here comes together, the E64 WS is an almost unbelievably good deal at this price. The proposition: assisted brewing. A grinder that guides you to the perfect espresso.

Manufacturers like Maro have done it on the espresso machine side. Mahlkönig follows on the grinder side. In its design and ambition, this grinder is a real statement – and already close to where it could be.

Specifications