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Mahlkönig · Dial-in chart

Mahlkönig EK43 grind settings

Where to set the Mahlkönig EK43 for every common brew method — worked out from this grinder’s own dial curve rather than a one-size-fits-all chart.

Dial range0 – 16
ScaleNumbered dial
BurrsFlat
Filter reference9

The shape of this dial

The top line is the universal grind index every BrewMark recipe uses. The bottom line is the EK43’s own dial. The connectors show how one maps onto the other.

FINECOARSEGRIND INDEX 0–100016MAHLKÖNIG EK43 DIALEspressoV60French pressCold brew
Where the lines bunch, the dial is compressed — small moves count for more

Settings by brew method

Start at the recommended setting, brew, then move within the range by taste. Sour or weak means go finer; bitter or harsh means go coarser.

Mahlkönig EK43 grind settings for espresso, moka pot, AeroPress, pour over, drip, Chemex, French press and cold brew
MethodSettingRange
EspressoFine. Aim for a 25–30s shot and adjust from there.3.72 – 6
Moka potFiner than filter, coarser than espresso. No tamping.76 – 7.4
AeroPress (short steep)For 1–2 minute recipes. Go coarser for longer steeps.7.87.4 – 8.4
Pour over — V60 / coneThe reference point for most published pour-over recipes.8.88.4 – 9.8
Pour over — flat bottomKalita, Orea and similar. Slightly coarser than a cone.9.89 – 11
Drip / batch brewAutomatic brewers. Coarser to suit the longer contact time.10.79.8 – 12
ChemexThe thick filter needs a coarser grind to avoid stalling.1211 – 13.3
French pressCoarse. Too fine here is the usual cause of a muddy cup.14.113.2 – 14.7
Cold brewCoarsest setting you have. 12–18 hours of contact.15.214.7 – 16

How much room you have to adjust

Espresso → filter7numbers of adjustment across the fine half of the dial
Filter → coarse7numbers covering filter through to cold brew
Curvelinearflat burrs, interpolated linearly

That is the resolution you actually have to work with on the EK43. Where the number is small, a single step moves the cup more than you would expect — so change one at a time and taste before moving again.

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.

Coming from another grinder?

Convert a grind setting to the EK43

If a recipe quotes a setting for a different grinder, this maps it onto the EK43’s dial using the same curve the chart above is built from.

Converting between two grinders that are not this one? Open the full converter.

How these numbers were worked out

Every grinder gets mapped onto a shared 0–100 grind index, where 0 is espresso-fine and 100 is the coarsest useful setting. Five reference points on the EK43 are placed on that scale — espresso, moka, filter, French press and coarse — and the settings in between are interpolated.

The EK43’s five reference points have been checked against the manufacturer’s published grind chart and cross-checked against an independent source, and that check is written down in the repository. It is one of 46 models, out of 78, where that is true.

The EK43’s dial is interpolated linearly between those reference points, which is the right model for its burr geometry.

The result is that “medium-fine” resolves to a real number on this grinder rather than a vague instruction. It is a starting point, not a guarantee — burr wear, bean density and roast level all move the target, which is why every row above gives a range as well as a number.

Free wall chart

Put the EK43 numbers next to the grinder

Every method on one sheet, laid out on the EK43’s own dial so you can see where the settings bunch up. Print it, pin it, stop reaching for your phone with wet hands.

Open the wall chart →No sign-up · Prints to one page
Take it with you

Or have the EK43 chart emailed

The same settings, sent once, for when you are standing at the grinder and nowhere near a printer.

One email with the chart. Nothing else unless you ask.

Make these numbers yours

This chart is the same for every EK43 in the world. Log what you actually brewed and it stops being — the app remembers the setting that worked for your beans and shifts the starting point toward it. Free on iOS.

Get the iOS app

Compare the EK43

Side-by-side dial charts and a conversion table, so a recipe written for one grinder becomes a real number on the other.

Grinders that dial in like this one

Similar burrs, scale or dial range — which means settings translate between them more predictably than across the whole catalog.

← All grinder charts