Which to buy · Every setting
Mahlkönig EK43 vs Timemore Sculptor 078
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The Sculptor 078 is numbered 0–18; the EK43 is numbered 0–16.
Which to buy
Choose the
EK43 if you…
- grind in volume — Mahlkönig positions it for high-volume batch brew, with a 1,200 g hopper
- want stepless adjustment from Turkish fine to coarse filter
- grind straight into retail bags with the built-in bag clamp
Choose the
Sculptor 078 if you…
- brew pour over only — Timemore sells the 078 for it, and the 078S for espresso
- want low retention without bellows — Timemore credits its gravity-fed auger
- want a stepped dial with 36 settings
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: Timemore — Sculptor series · Mahlkönig — EK43 · Mahlkönig USA — EK43
| EK43 | Sculptor 078 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Mahlkönig | Timemore |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 0 – 16 | 0 – 18 |
| Burrs | Flat | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 7 numbers | 4 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 7 numbers | 14 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 55 on the Sculptor 078 — 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.
| EK43 | Sculptor 078 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 0 |
| 4.8 | 1.5 |
| 7.1 | 2.5 |
| 7.8 | 3 |
| 8.5 | 3.5 |
| 9.3 | 4.5 |
| 10.7 | 6.5 |
| 12.1 | 9 |
| 13.4 | 11 |
| 14.3 | 13 |
| 14.9 | 14.5 |
| 15.4 | 16.5 |
| 16 | 18 |
| Sculptor 078 | EK43 |
|---|---|
| 0 | 2 |
| 1.5 | 4.8 |
| 2.5 | 7.1 |
| 3 | 7.8 |
| 3.5 | 8.5 |
| 4.5 | 9.3 |
| 6.5 | 10.7 |
| 9 | 12.1 |
| 11 | 13.4 |
| 13 | 14.3 |
| 14.5 | 14.9 |
| 16.5 | 15.4 |
| 18 | 16 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | EK43 | Sculptor 078 |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 3.7 | 1 |
| Moka pot | 7 | 2.5 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 7.8 | 3 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 8.8 | 4 |
| Siphon | 9.3 | 4.5 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 9.8 | 5.5 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 10.3 | 6 |
| Drip / batch brew | 10.7 | 6.5 |
| Cupping | 11 | 7 |
| Chemex | 12 | 9 |
| French press | 14.1 | 12.5 |
| Cold brew | 15.2 | 15.5 |
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
Timemore Sculptor 078
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 Sculptor 078
The larger-burr Sculptor, and the one with a caveat worth knowing before you buy. The plain 078 ships Timemore's Turbo — “ghost” — burrs: pyramid-cut, aimed at a unimodal grind with few fines and little heat, and built for pour over. Owners consistently report it will not go fine enough for espresso, and its adjustment is stepped where the 078S is stepless. If espresso matters, the 078S is the model with the flat burrs and the fine control; this one is a filter grinder that happens to be excellent at it. Seventeen numbers cover espresso through filter here, so the brew range has real resolution. Retention is genuinely low once the rotary knocker has cleared the chute.