Which to buy · Every setting
Mahlkönig EK43 vs Rocket Faustino
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The EK43 is numbered 0–16; the Faustino is numbered 0–18.
Which to buy
Choose the
EK43 if you…
- brew filter as well as espresso — stepless from Turkish fine to coarse filter
- grind in volume — about 19–21 g a second from a 1,200 g hopper
- grind straight into retail bags — it has a bag clamp
Choose the
Faustino if you…
- pull espresso at home — Rocket builds the Faustino as a home espresso grinder
- want three programmable doses on a touch interface
- want a compact grinder, as Rocket calls it — 388 mm tall, 6.9 kg
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Sources: Mahlkönig — EK43 · Mahlkönig USA — EK43 · Rocket Espresso — Faustino · Rocket Espresso — Faustino brochure (PDF)
| EK43 | Faustino | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Mahlkönig | Rocket |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 0 – 16 | 0 – 18 |
| Burrs | Flat | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 7 numbers | 8 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 7 numbers | 6 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 8 sits at grind index 27.5 on the EK43 but 30 on the Faustino — close, but worth checking.
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.
| EK43 | Faustino |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 4.8 | 3.7 |
| 7.1 | 5.3 |
| 7.8 | 7 |
| 8.5 | 8.7 |
| 9.3 | 10.2 |
| 10.7 | 11 |
| 12.1 | 11.8 |
| 13.4 | 12.7 |
| 14.3 | 13.5 |
| 14.9 | 14.3 |
| 15.4 | 15.2 |
| 16 | 16 |
| Faustino | EK43 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3.7 | 4.8 |
| 5.3 | 7.1 |
| 7 | 7.8 |
| 8.7 | 8.5 |
| 10.2 | 9.3 |
| 11 | 10.7 |
| 11.8 | 12.1 |
| 12.7 | 13.4 |
| 13.5 | 14.3 |
| 14.3 | 14.9 |
| 15.2 | 15.4 |
| 16 | 16 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | EK43 | Faustino |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 3.7 | 3 |
| Moka pot | 7 | 5 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 7.8 | 7 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 8.8 | 9.6 |
| Siphon | 9.3 | 10.2 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 9.8 | 10.5 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 10.3 | 10.8 |
| Drip / batch brew | 10.7 | 11 |
| Cupping | 11 | 11.2 |
| Chemex | 12 | 11.8 |
| French press | 14.1 | 13.2 |
| Cold brew | 15.2 | 14.8 |
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.
Mahlkönig EK43
Rocket Faustino
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.
Dialing in the Faustino
Rocket's grinder, built to sit alongside their espresso machines and tuned accordingly. Stepless, espresso-first, and best judged on how finely it lets you creep toward a target shot time rather than on its coarse range.