Eureka Mignon Specialita – An In-Depth Review
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is a leading name if you’re after a dedicated espresso grinder. The Eureka Mignon is a well-known burr grinder that has a small footprint while packing a punch.
It ticks every box for a prosumer espresso grinder with 55mm flat burrs, step-less adjustments, and low grind retention. In this review, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder to assist you in working out whether it’s the right option for you.
About Eureka
Eureka is a well-known brand in the coffee industry. They were established over a hundred years ago and are famous for producing quality coffee and accessories and espresso grinders. All of their grinders are made in Italy and hand-assembled to make sure of fine craftsmanship.
The brand prides itself on its faultless service as well as innovative designs. The Eureka Mignon Specialita was released many years ago and was one of the 1st in its class to bridge the gap among domestic and commercial coffee grinders – a prosumer coffee grinder.
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is a dedicated grinder, while it’s capable of grinding for other brew ways it has been made for espresso.
Design and build of the Eureka Mignon Specialita
The Eureka Mignon Specialita has a thoughtful and well-executed design. As we mentioned, the Specialita provides some of the hallmark traits of a commercial coffee grinder. This includes fine grind consistency, precise grind settings, and each pavilion your benchtop.
The machine is comparable in size to the Breville Smart Grinder. It has a unique and advanced design, with a square body and hopper. It’s available in several colours to match your espresso machine. It's one of the top-selling coffee machines.
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder has a fine build quality, weighing a substantial 12 pounds. It’s homed in a steel casing and is very solid, standing up to heavy-duty use. The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is packed full of features, including an LED touch screen, step-less grind adjustment, and programmable timed dosing.
One of the other important features of the machine is that it’s a super quiet grinder. It has carefully cased the motor in noise insulation to reduce the vibration and noise caused by the motor. The single complaint some users have had are about the plastic build hopper and portafilter holder.
Though, we’d consider this relatively minor. Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder has spent the money where it counts on a top-quality burr and motor.
Grinding and burrs speed
The grinder is loaded with 55mm hundred steel flat burrs. So let’s unpack that slightly. The hardened steel means the burrs are solid and resistant to chipping-these babies are going to last a while!
Steel burrs are also super-sharp, offering a uniform grind size and clarity of taste. It pays to note that steel-made burrs often need to be seasoned or broken in before programming at their best. The burr size on the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is a step from some of the other variants in the Mignon lineup.
Though, it’s still not on part with several commercial espresso grinders. The 55mm burrs little boost the speed, with the grinder able to grind a basket or 18g of beans in around 10 seconds.
Adjustment and consistency system
The grinder produces fine grind consistency, especially at the good settings. The ground coffee comes out of the fluffy and the chute light with clumping.
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder has what they’ve termed an ACE system – an anti-clumping and electronic system.
And we’ve to say it does a pretty impressive task. If you watch a video of grinding, you’ll see the ground coffee fall eventually out of the chute straight into the portafilter. It was so confident in their system that they did not even need a grind catcher below.
While the grinder excels at espresso, the quality of the grind does diminish at the coarser settings, with less consistency and super fines.
In saying this, the Eureka Mignon Specialita is technically able of grinding for French Press or Drip coffee – we just would not recommend it. And the main reason for this adjustment unit. The ground measurement is adjusted by turning a small knob on top. The knob does not directly move the burrs but instead moves a shaft inside the motor which in turn raises or lowers the below burr.
This grind adjustment system lets for the incredibly precise grind changes that are required in grinders. The downside of this system is that if you want to switch between espresso and filter settings, you’ve to rotate the knob many turns, and then it’s hard to find your way back to that sweet spot.
Single dosing and grind retention
Single dosing and grind retention are trending topics at the moment, especially, since the release of the niche zero. It’s common knowledge that beans shouldn’t be stored in a hopper where they’ll be exposed to light and oxygen. Yet, the majority of espresso grinders available do have big hoppers.
While this makes sense in a commercial setting, single-dosing grinders are way more sensible for the home barista. This also lets you switch between brewing ways and coffee beans easily.
One of the key selling points of the grinder is that it has a very low grind retention of around 1.3g. This means that it can efficiently be used as a single-dose grinder, where your coffee beans out and grind the right amount you need.
There’s so little coffee stuck in the chute, you do not need to purge when changing the setting or between coffee beans. Some enthusiasts have even made single dosing modes for the Eureka Mignon Specialita.
Time-Based Dosing
The other way of using the Eureka Mignon Specialita machine is with the time-based dosing it was made for. The LED screen on the front lets you program the grinder to grind for a set of time and therefore achieve a precise dose every time.
A + or – button on the display increase or reduces the grinding time by intervals of 0.1 seconds. Once you’ve found your ideal grinding time, you can program both a one or 2 dose time and jump among them smoothly.
It pays to note that if you’re using the machine this way when you adjust the grind size, you’ll also need to change the grinding time to achieve a consistent dose.
Aside from it, there’s also the option to manually grind without using the timer, or to grind continuously if you need to grind via a bag of coffee beans.
It pays to note that if you’re using the coffee grinder this way when you adjust the grind size, you’ll also need to change the grind time to achieve a consistent dose. Aside from this, there’s also the feature to manually grind without using a timer or to grind continuously if you want to grind via a bag of coffee beans.
How to maintain the Eureka Mignon Specialita
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is a relatively compact grinder to use. There’s minimal static and mess when it comes to using it. Maintaining it’s also uncomplicated. The machine has a unique adjustment system, with a lower burr adjust. This means that when you open the steel burrs to provide them with a deep clean, you would not lose your grind settings.
When it comes to cleaning out the steel burrs, the hopper has a hopper stopper that allows you to eliminate the hopper even when it’s full of beans. You then unscrew the screw keeping the hopper in a single place and the screws fixing the upper burr holder in place. Once this is done, you can eliminate the top burr and brush and vacuum out the burrs.
Who’s the Eureka Mignon Specialita for
Retailing at around 700 bucks, the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder price is a significant investment. Though, we’d say that given the quality and build of the machine, it’s a great investment. It simply is a stunning machine that’ll pair perfectly with your prized espresso machine.
It’s made to be an espresso grinder so provides fine grind consistency, step-less adjustments, and precise dosing. All-in-all a solid espresso grinder for those who invested in specialty coffee and looking to step up to the prosumer level. Eureka Mignon is a burr grinder that would not disappoint.
Eureka Mignon Specialita Alternatives
There’re few alternatives to the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder.
Baratza Sette 270 The Sette 270 is a solid option if you’re looking for an espresso grinder. It has a 40mm steel burrs and a stepped grind adjustment system.
The grinder is simple to use, fast to grind, and also has time-based doing options. Overall a fine alternative, though not as visually appealing as the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder.
Niche Zero
The niche zero grinder is a superb single-dosing grinder that’s beautiful and elegantly crafted. It boasts an excellent set of 63mm steel conical burrs and wonderful grind quality for both espresso and filter brew. This is a wonderful coffee grinder that we can’t rate highly enough.
Bottom line
The Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder is a fine machine offering unparalleled construction and quality. It has melded commercial grade with domestic features.
The machine boasts consistent grind size, accurate dosing, and low grind retention. In addition, it simply is a wonderful grinding worthy of pairing with your favourite grinders. You would not be disappointed if you decide to invest in the Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder.
See our Coffee Machines range. Get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you.
If you are looking for something beyond espresso, take a look at our faema coffee machine range.
Interested in Coffee machine repairs? Talk to our friendly team through our Contact Page.
