Which to buy · Every setting
Baratza Forté BG vs Mahlkönig EK43
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The Forté BG is numbered 1–260; the EK43 is numbered 0–16.
Which to buy
Choose the
Forté BG if you…
- want to dose by weight — a built-in scale to 0.1 g, with three presets
- want macro and micro levers, with 26 micro steps to each macro setting
- want a 300 g hopper with a shut-off for swapping coffees
Choose the
EK43 if you…
- grind in volume — about 19–21 g a second from a 1,200 g hopper
- want 98 mm cast steel flat burrs, stepless from Turkish fine to coarse filter
- grind straight into retail bags — it has a bag clamp
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Sources: Baratza — Forté BG · Baratza — Forté AP/BG manual · Mahlkönig — EK43 · Mahlkönig USA — EK43
| Forté BG | EK43 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Baratza | Mahlkönig |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 260 | 0 – 16 |
| Burrs | Flat | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 116.1 numbers | 7 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 117.3 numbers | 7 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 9 sits at grind index 0 on the Forté BG but 40 on the EK43 — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| Forté BG | EK43 |
|---|---|
| 1Z | 2 |
| 2R | 4.8 |
| 3M | 7.1 |
| 4N | 7.8 |
| 5P | 8.5 |
| 6R | 9.3 |
| 7S | 10.7 |
| 8T | 12.1 |
| 9U | 13.4 |
| 10I | 14.3 |
| 10N | 14.9 |
| 10T | 15.4 |
| 10Z | 16 |
| EK43 | Forté BG |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1Z |
| 4.8 | 2R |
| 7.1 | 3M |
| 7.8 | 4N |
| 8.5 | 5P |
| 9.3 | 6R |
| 10.7 | 7S |
| 12.1 | 8T |
| 13.4 | 9U |
| 14.3 | 10I |
| 14.9 | 10N |
| 15.4 | 10T |
| 16 | 10Z |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Forté BG | EK43 |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 2K | 3.7 |
| Moka pot | 3G | 7 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 4M | 7.8 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 6M | 8.8 |
| Siphon | 6S | 9.3 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 7B | 9.8 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 7L | 10.3 |
| Drip / batch brew | 7M | 10.7 |
| Cupping | 7Y | 11 |
| Chemex | 8M | 12 |
| French press | 10M | 14.1 |
| Cold brew | 10R | 15.2 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Baratza Forté BG
Mahlkönig EK43
Dialing in the Forté BG
A commercial-grade burr set in a domestic body, geared toward brew rather than espresso as the BG designation implies. Very consistent across the filter range; the fine end is present but not where this grinder earns its keep.
Dialing in the EK43
The grinder that changed what filter coffee was supposed to taste like, and still the reference for high-clarity brewing. Its very large flat burrs produce an unusually narrow particle distribution, which is why coffee ground on an EK often tastes cleaner at the same nominal setting than it does elsewhere. Stepless, so treat the numbers as targets.