Mahlkönig X54 – Home Espresso Grinder

The Mahlkönig X54 espresso grinder has hit the market. As a coffee grinder, the X54 is designed for both espresso and filter coffee and aims to serve home coffee drinkers as an "all-rounder." At 460 euros, the price is very competitive, opening up a new price segment for the industry leader, Mahlkönig.

We took a first look at the Mahlkönig X54 when it was released. In the meantime, we have followed up with a detailed test as part of our extensive espresso grinder review series. You can learn everything you need to know about retention, consistency, and particle distribution in this report.

We have categorized the Mahlkönig X54 into comparison group 4 and are comparing it with the Eureka Specialià, the Lelit PL72, and the G-Iota. The other videos and the comparison video will be released in March 2022.

Buy the Mahlkönig X54

The following specialty shops sell the Mahlkönig X54, and we can recommend purchasing a machine from these retailers. All of them offer the option to adjust the machine's offset.

Germany: [Affiliate links]*: Stoll Espresso,

*We search for specialized partners for you that we know provide good work and good service. We are in close contact with these retailers. These are affiliate links. If you order via this link, it costs you nothing extra, but we receive a small commission that we put toward new testing equipment. We are continuously working on this and looking for competent partners for you in the DACH region.

First impression – the exterior build of the X54

The Vario from Mahlkönig was previously the entry-level grinder from the Swiss-German coffee grinder group. I had it at home about a decade ago—a grinder that felt like a foreign object in an otherwise high-quality assortment of coffee grinders. Mahlkönig simply didn't make entry-level grinders—or if they did, it was with the handbrake on—that was my conclusion at the time when using that plastic device. When I think back to adjusting the grind size with those two levers, I still get cramps today.

All the more reason I was happy about the announcement of the X54. A real grinder—an "all-round home grinder" with a focus on espresso. That is quite ambitious! Achieving precision in the fine espresso particle range demands a lot from a grinder and rarely goes hand in hand with good grind adjustment for filter coffee.

The first impression of the X54 was quite impressive. The machine appears very high-quality and well-built. At around 5 kg, it is on the lighter side, but still feels solid. The exterior of the X54 resembles a smaller E65 or the Anfim Practica, both of which, like Mahlkönig, are part of the Hemro Group.

View of the Mahlkönig X54.

The bean hopper is made of quite durable plastic. It can even handle being dropped once or twice. This is much better than with earlier Mahlkönig grinders. The bean hopper mount is also solid. No more tedious locking mechanisms breaking off as with the K30 or Peak. The grind adjustment feels just as high-quality as the display works well. That's a pleasure!

Consistency of the grinder – shot by shot

For dialing in espresso cleanly, a reliable amount of ground coffee is an important factor. We measured 10 shots each in the espresso range as well as the filter coffee range. The grinder fluctuates by +/- 0.3g from the target grind amount. That is not perfect, but completely acceptable for a home-use grinder. However, it was noticeable that there were outlier shots every now and then. For instance, instead of the target amount of 18 grams of coffee, only 16.5 grams were ejected, followed by an increased amount in the next grind. Unfortunately, the Mahlkönig X54 has a tendency to retain coffee powder beyond the usual retention from time to time. This powder clumps in the relatively large open area around the grinding discs and then releases during a later grind.

New grinders initially produce more static charge until the grinding discs have been broken in a bit. The static charge was manageable and not noticeably high. Once the grinder has processed a hundred shots, the static electricity of the particles will decrease, and the fluctuation will likely level off at 0.2 to 0.3 grams.

Particle distribution and espresso quality

The look at the particle distribution is initially positive and matches many good espressi we have drunk from the Mahlkönig X54. As part of our T4 measurement, we set the espresso grinder once again for an espresso with our Apas training espresso, using an input weight of 18 grams and 45 grams of espresso drink weight in 25 seconds.

The measurement shows a low percentage of fines of 19.6% compared to other grinders and at the same time shows a relatively narrow main peak of 236 microns. In terms of sensory experience, this manifests in clear espresso shots, relatively low unpleasant bitterness, and good extraction behavior.

Unfortunately, the grinder did not produce the same distribution every time. This is clearly shown in the diagram above and the following one.

For T3 and T4, the grinder was adjusted to the target espresso recipe. After T4, a ristretto (T5) and café crème (T6, see diagram above) were pulled. For T7, the grinder was set back to the same mark on the grind dial based on the best adjustment possibility.

In all cases, the curves and measurements deviate from one another. This manifested in "jumping" extraction results as well as espresso quality. However, the results were in the good range in all cases, which is why the fluctuations were less significant. Nevertheless, the large fluctuations were a negative surprise.

Stepless or 35 steps for the X54?

Mahlkönig made a mistake here in their own communication, and some resellers adopted it. The grinder does not have 35 steps; it is stepless. However, it does have a scale that spans 35 digits or incremental steps.

When adjusting the grind size, there is no resistance and no clicking sound. Conversely, this means that the grinder can be adjusted precisely and steplessly. We adjusted the grinder from espresso to filter and back again without any problems. In the espresso range, it then takes a few shots to nail the perfect espresso extraction exactly. That is our first impression. We will be examining this area of the grinder even more closely. At first glance, the grinder seems significantly more flexible here than many classic espresso grinders.

Grind adjustment of the X54.

In principle, we are more in favor of using one grinder just for espresso and another one for filter coffee. We will report back to you after further tests on whether the Mahlkönig X54 changes our opinion here.

Retention – the forgotten grounds in the grinder

Retention refers to the space in the grinder that does not empty of coffee powder after a grinding session is finished. Depending on the grinder geometry, the design of the grinding discs, and the surrounding area, more or less coffee powder remains in the grinder. This ground coffee is pushed out of the grinder first when grinding more beans for the next shot. At the end of a grind, new powder remains behind again.

When checking for retention, we differentiate between places in the grinder where the coffee powder is not replaced every time and areas where the coffee powder is replaced with every grind. For example, coffee powder tends to get stuck in the openings of screw heads over time, which is then not replaced with every grind.

Plenty of room for old coffee powder.

The retention of the X54 is relatively high. A fair amount of coffee powder accumulates in the area of the carriers and in front of the flapper. In July 2021, we weighed a retention of 7.6 grams on our new grinder at an espresso grind setting. However, Mahlkönig has since made improvements and changed the resistance and size of the flapper. And even though we didn't want to believe it at first: the new flapper reduces the retention to 4.1 grams, which is significantly better.

The smaller flapper on the right in the image replaces the new flapper. The conversion can easily be carried out at home. Anyone who bought one of the first models should replace the flapper.

Why is this adjustment so important? Retention clogs up with old coffee. This is then used for the preparation of the next espresso. To put this in proportion to an espresso shot: a double espresso with 18g IN would consist of more than a third "old" ground coffee. Pulling a single espresso of 9 or 10 grams... well, that would mostly be made with old grounds.

Single Dosing and ways to fight retention

Also due to the high retention, the X54 is clearly not a grinder intended for single portions. Simply too much old coffee remains in the area around the grinding discs. It is a pity that Mahlkönig is not keeping up with the times more and has not taken these market impulses and worked on lower retention. Niche shows how it's done, and Eureka provides at least some approaches to dealing with retention with their "Blow Up System."

Retention is not a problem if the next espresso is pulled immediately. It becomes problematic when the espresso is not needed until the next morning. So, how do you deal with such a problem if the grinder otherwise performs well? A quick purge grind is the best motto.

Especially with the X54, 4 grind dosage settings can be programmed. Grind dosage 1 can be set so that when using the grinder, the retention is first emptied and refilled. Only then can the actual grind amount be pulled at, for example, grind setting 2.

In our detailed espresso grinder test, we tested the single-dosing capability of a grinder as follows: we ground the grinder empty. Then we removed the coffee beans from the bean hopper. Now 18 grams were weighed out and put in. It was then ground for 30 seconds. The test criterion was how reliably the corresponding grinder ejects the coffee powder completely in this time.

The clumping problem mentioned above showed up here again. While the grinder generally only held back small amounts of 0.2 grams, some outliers with up to 1.2 grams ruined the result. From our point of view, 0.2 grams would be a good result. However, 1.2 grams is a bad result. In any case, re-weighing is necessary with the X54.

How fast and loud is the Mahlkönig X54 grinder?

We arrived at a grinding time of 16.5 seconds to pull 18 grams of coffee powder for the preparation of our espresso from the APAS cooperative. The roast is on the darker side for our standards, so a medium roast overall. Lighter roasts will take longer, and darker roasts will be faster due to the brittleness of the coffee.

In 10 seconds, the grinder reached a grind output of 13.7 grams. This makes it one of the slower espresso grinders in the test field.

Home espresso grinders, in particular, are often not only loud but also sound "strained," jagged, and "unhealthy." In comparison, the 81.8-decibel hum of the Mahlkönig X54 is more of a purr. The grinder is thus in the better midfield of all test grinders.

Temperature and bean hopper

Among the positive results is the relatively low temperature of the grinding discs or the low temperature transferred to the coffee powder. Over six grinds, the grounds showed a heat of 31.1° Celsius and only increased by 1.2°C. In this temperature range, we do not expect any negative sensory influences on the grounds.

The bean hopper of the X54 is very easy to remove with a practical slider. It closes well, and the entire mount seems very high-quality. However, 20.8 grams of residual beans remain below the slider. That is an average value. So, quickly changing coffee varieties is possible but requires grinding the rest out or turning the grinder over.

Conclusion and your experiences

So much for our first test of the Mahlkönig X54. The grinder delivers a lot of good things and, above all, sets exclamation marks in terms of workmanship. The operability is also good, and overall, the grinder feels very high-quality. The improved retention is an important step. However, the espresso grinder has further difficulties in the grinding chamber beyond that. Too often, the coffee powder is not reliably ground out. Too often, the amount fluctuates, and upon opening, it becomes apparent that a lot of powder has clumped around the grinding discs. That clouds the good impression.

However, anyone who quickly re-weighs the grind amount and does not grind directly into the portafilter has a very good grinder in the X54 in terms of price-performance ratio. The accessories market is secured, and so is the repairability. This is where cheaper grinders, such as the grinders from Sage, particularly fall short.

Very good espresso can be prepared with the X54. That is the most important thing, and for that, we can definitely recommend the grinder despite some wishes for improvement.

If you want to learn more about preparing espresso, take a look at our course program in our coffee schools in Switzerland and in Germany, and if the trip to us is too far, then perhaps our online Home Barista course is an option for you.

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What are your experiences with the new grinder from Mahlkönig? Do you share our impression, or are you of a different opinion? What do you notice positively, and what bothers you? We are looking forward to your experiences.