With the Mahlkönig E65S Grind by Weight (GbW), we land in the top price segment of our espresso grinder test series. This grinder is considered a benchmark in our range, as it combines state-of-the-art technology with professional performance. In the test video, the question was already raised whether the E65S GbW is indeed the best grinder in the test – and whether it might be completely oversized for home use.
In this blog post, we address these questions. We introduce the grinder and its special features, discuss design and craftsmanship, highlight its operation and technical features like the Grind-by-Weight system, check grinding speed, particle distribution and precision, discuss single dosing and retention, and share practical experiences from gastronomy and home use. Finally, we draw a conclusion: For whom is this high-end grinder truly worthwhile, and is it sensible for home use?
Buy Mahlkönig E65s Grind by Weight
The following specialist shops sell the Mahlkönig E65s GbW, and we recommend purchasing from these businesses. All offer the option to adjust the machine's offset.
Germany:
Austria:
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We are still looking for competent partners in the DACH region for you.
Design & Craftsmanship
The Mahlkönig E65S GbW impresses at first glance with its massive yet elegant design. Despite its size, it appears sleeker and more modern compared to older Mahlkönig models. Where previous commercial grinders were often very wide and bulky, the E65S GbW presents a narrower silhouette: approx. 20 cm wide with a considerable height of 62 cm. The body is made of high-quality materials (metal housing in matte black, robust build quality), which also contributes to its hefty weight of around 13 kg. The depth varies between 23 cm (without drip tray) and 29 cm at the base, depending on the measuring point. With these dimensions, the grinder takes up significantly more space than typical home barista grinders – an initial indication that it is primarily designed for professional use.
The included bean hopper also underlines its professional character: a 1.2 kg capacity allows for an entire kilogram bag of coffee beans to be filled. This is ideal for continuous operation in cafes, but rarely necessary for home use. Overall, the design appears well thought out: despite its size, the E65S exudes a certain elegance – clean lines, a high-quality finish, and a form factor that tends to be taller rather than wider. The material quality is convincing; everything feels sturdy and durable. This grinder is designed to withstand daily intensive use, as is common in gastronomy. In short: the craftsmanship is top-notch, which is to be expected in this price range (around €2,000 or approx. CHF 2,700).
Operation & Features
Despite – or precisely because of – its professional aspirations, the E65S Grind by Weight relies on modern, user-friendly features. Central to this is the display on the front, which not only serves for operation but also shows important information. An icon-based menu allows for intuitive control of the grinder (e.g., retrieving dosing settings, changing profiles). A special highlight: the display shows the grinding gap in real-time. This Disc Distance Detection (a patented Mahlkönig technology) measures the distance between the burrs in micrometers, enabling extremely precise and reproducible grind size adjustment. In practice, this means: once the perfect grind size for an espresso has been determined, this value can be precisely saved or at least re-set at any time. It's even possible to lock the grind size to prevent accidental adjustments – a useful feature, especially in the hectic daily routine of a café when multiple people are working with the grinder.
The operation is largely carried out via the rotary/push button in combination with the display. For more in-depth settings – such as calibrating the scale or changing the language – you need to access the administrator menu, which is protected by a PIN code. This code (mentioned in the video) allows for calibrating the grinder and adjusting parameters such as the sensitivity of the scale. The E65S GbW offers a range of individual customization options: for example, you can regulate the sensitivity of the integrated load cell. Higher sensitivity ensures maximum precise weighing but can cause the grinder to "think" a little longer (more on this in the practical experience section). Lower sensitivity speeds up the workflow by accepting small weight fluctuations more quickly.
Another great strength of the grinder is its automatic portafilter detection. As soon as the portafilter is hooked into the holder, the scale briefly tares (the display first lights up red) and then automatically begins grinding until the target dose is reached. Once the target amount is in the portafilter, the display turns green – the signal that the portion is finished grinding. This traffic light principle makes operation foolproof: red means "please wait, grinding process is running/about to start," and green means "dose reached, you can remove the portafilter." The grinder learns from shot to shot: it usually settles on the exact dose after a few uses and then grinds the desired weight with high precision for each shot. It is important to calibrate the scale when first starting up (or after a long break) – ideally with a suitable calibration weight. Regular calibration ensures maximum accuracy (Mahlkönig recommends a tolerance of ±0.1 g; in the test, the deviation was practically 0.00 g after calibration!).
The heart of the E65S GbW is, of course, the Grind-by-Weight system – the integrated load cell under the portafilter fork. Unlike timer-based grinders, the E65S GbW grinds not by time, but stops exactly when the target weight is reached. This system works with impressive precision: in our tests, we consistently ground exactly 18.0 g of espresso over many shots, without noticeable deviation. This instills enormous confidence when setting up the espresso – you know that dose X truly ends up as dose X in the portafilter, shot after shot. Also unusual: the integrated weighing system is so precise that conventional barista scales pale in comparison. In our test, we found that it makes little sense to double-check with an additional (often less accurate) scale. The prerequisite, of course, is that the internal scale is calibrated and used correctly. Our tip: Get a calibration weight and regularly adjust the scale; then the grinder operates at laboratory scale level.
In addition to the weighing mechanism, the E65S GbW also offers the usual features of a professional grinder: memory slots for various dosages (e.g., single and double shot, possibly even multiple recipes), easily adjustable grind size settings (steplessly via a grippy ring), and an easily removable spout/portafilter holder for cleaning or adapting to different portafilter sizes. Overall, operation – despite many high-tech elements – is logical and fluid. After a short familiarization period, you can confidently navigate through the menu, set grind sizes and doses, and in everyday use, focus on what matters: consistently good espresso.
Grinding Speed & Performance
In terms of performance, the Mahlkönig E65S GbW sets new standards. The grinding speed is truly brutal – and with high precision. In our test, we ground approximately 18g of espresso in just under 3 seconds. Extrapolated, the grinder achieves about 6g per second, meaning that, for example, 40g of ground coffee ends up in the portafilter in about 6-7 seconds. This makes the E65S GbW one of the fastest espresso grinders we have ever had in our lab. "Speed is awesome," I summarized in the video. This speed is particularly valuable in a gastronomic environment: during peak hours in cafes, when many espressos are prepared consecutively, every second saved per shot saves time and nerves.
It's important to note: Despite the high speed, the grinding performance remains extremely consistent. Often, fast grinders suffer from overshooting the target amount or fluctuating when grinding so rapidly. Not so the E65S GbW – thanks to real-time weighing, it hits the dose almost perfectly. We observed that the grinder finely "pulses" at the very end of the grinding process – the grinding slows down minimally just before reaching the target weight, and then stops precisely at, for example, 18.0g. This clever fine-dosing allows for both fast and precise grinding.
The E65S also impresses in other performance aspects: the large grinding unit (65mm flat burrs made of hardened steel) grinds the beans efficiently and without excessive heat generation. Our measurements showed an average grind temperature of approx. 33–34 °C, which is only about +1.3 °C higher than the beans before grinding. Such values are within the green zone and indicate good temperature management despite high-speed grinding. Furthermore, the grinder is surprisingly quiet for its size and power. At approx. ~70 dB (measured at 1m distance), it operates within a pleasant noise range in the test. Some smaller grinders were similarly quiet or sometimes slightly quieter in our measurements, but for a commercial grinder of this performance class, ~70 dB is excellent and unobtrusive in daily operation.
A word about performance during continuous operation: The E65S GbW is designed as a workhorse. It can grind repeatedly for hours without problems, for example, during a coffee shop shift, without results diminishing. The robust motorization (approx. 450 W) and the well-thought-out cooling system pay off here. We found no significant loss of consistency even after several consecutive portions – the dose was correct, the grind size remained stable, and the temperature hardly increased. All of this underlines: This grinder is a performance benchmark in our test field, and for this reason, the grinder has also found its place in our cafes.
Particle Distribution of the E65S Grind by Weight
Conclusion and Summary Mahlkönig E65S GbW
