Grind setting conversion
Breville Barista Touch Impress (built-in) vs Mahlkönig EK43
Conical against flat — the Barista Touch Impress (built-in)'s scale curves where the other runs straight. The Barista Touch Impress (built-in) is numbered 1–30; the EK43 is numbered 0–16.
| Barista Touch Impress (built-in) | EK43 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Breville | Mahlkönig |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 30 | 0 – 16 |
| Burrs | Conical | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 12 numbers | 7 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 10.2 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 13.4 on the Barista Touch Impress (built-in) 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.
| Barista Touch Impress (built-in) | EK43 |
|---|---|
| 4.4 | 2 |
| 7.3 | 4.8 |
| 10 | 7.1 |
| 12.5 | 7.8 |
| 14.8 | 8.5 |
| 16.8 | 9.3 |
| 18.3 | 10.7 |
| 19.7 | 12.1 |
| 21 | 13.4 |
| 22.4 | 14.3 |
| 23.8 | 14.9 |
| 25.2 | 15.4 |
| 26.6 | 16 |
| EK43 | Barista Touch Impress (built-in) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4.4 |
| 4.8 | 7.3 |
| 7.1 | 10 |
| 7.8 | 12.5 |
| 8.5 | 14.8 |
| 9.3 | 16.8 |
| 10.7 | 18.3 |
| 12.1 | 19.7 |
| 13.4 | 21 |
| 14.3 | 22.4 |
| 14.9 | 23.8 |
| 15.4 | 25.2 |
| 16 | 26.6 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Barista Touch Impress (built-in) | EK43 |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 6.1 | 3.7 |
| Moka pot | 9.5 | 7 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 12.5 | 7.8 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 15.9 | 8.8 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 17.4 | 9.8 |
| Drip / batch brew | 18.3 | 10.7 |
| Chemex | 19.6 | 12 |
| French press | 21.8 | 14.1 |
| Cold brew | 24.6 | 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.
Breville Barista Touch Impress (built-in)
Mahlkönig EK43
Dialing in the Barista Touch Impress (built-in)
Built into an espresso machine and tuned for it, with the grind range weighted heavily toward the fine end. Perfectly capable within espresso; if you also brew filter you will find the coarse end short.
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.
Own a different grinder?
Convert between any two of 78 models
The converter runs the same maths for any pair in the catalog.
Open the grind converter →Send me both charts
Every setting for the Breville Barista Touch Impress (built-in) and the Mahlkönig EK43, side by side in your inbox.
One email with both charts. Nothing else unless you ask.
Switching grinders mid-bag?
Log a brew, say how it tasted, and BrewMark tells you which way to move — in whichever grinder’s numbers you are actually using. Free on iOS.
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