Mahlkönig's latest grinding machine is changing the market with easy-to-use advanced grinding machine technology that will expand its influence in Australia and Southeast Asia.

When the Hemro Group, the strategic umbrella organization of four grinding machine brands, first joined forces 15 years ago, they did so in a spirit of innovation. It is this principle combined with nearly 100 years of experience that has witnessed the continued success of the grinding manufacturer Mahlkönig.

This year, Mahlkönig (meaning "King of Grinding Machines") perfected its grinding expertise by introducing the X54 universal household grinder to the domestic market.

X54 offers commercial-grade quality in household appliances and can produce optimal grind sizes for all common brewing methods such as espresso, AeroPress, v60, Chemex and French filter press.

According to Mahlkönig, the X54 has a very long life before any burrs need to be replaced, approximately 25,000 grinding cycles. In order to maintain the grinding quality, X54 relies on its German-made flat burr technology, which is the unique selling point of the Mahlkönig brand.

“We only produce flat burrs instead of more economical tapered burrs, because [flat burrs] can improve the accuracy of particle size and thus the quality of coffee extraction,” said Ziya Boro, Chief Sales Officer of Hemro Group.

"We have also invested heavily in state-of-the-art robotics in our factories to ensure that our high-quality glitches are perfectly suitable for any individual parameter set."

The geometry of each burr is measured after production to improve quality and reliability. In addition, all Mahlkönig assembly lines include a coffee powder particle measuring machine to ensure that each batch of grinder produces a specific particle size, adding another level of assurance in terms of grinding consistency and accuracy.

X54 has 54 mm burrs and is made of alloy and undisclosed "special steel".

"In addition to the burr quality, the X54 is also characterized by its ability to move the dial between preselected grinding settings to better control the grinding size," said Ross Quail, Sales Director of Hemro Group South Asia.

"Even with four pre-grind settings that are suitable for most brewing methods, it is important for us to give home baristas this freedom. This is the first time they have everything they need without compromise."

As another innovative feature, the area under the X54 grinder can be exchanged between a mobile filter holder or a stainless steel Mahlkönig cup to collect coffee grounds and increase the flexibility of the grinder.

Most importantly, X54 is made of aluminum to absorb higher frequencies and reduce the overall noise emitted to below 70 decibels.

With these features, the home coffee grinding process is as convenient as possible, and Quill expects that the domestic market will continue to grow.

"Especially in South Asia and Australia, we see fast maturing markets in which coffee is as important at home as it is in cafes," he said.

In addition to launching the X54 household grinder, Mahlkönig has also set new standards for professional grinders in recent years. The latest highlights include the weight-based E65S GbW and the high-performance espresso grinder E80 Supreme, both of which were launched in 2019.

"Until the last few years, the grinding dose was mainly based on time, so changing the parameters would cause the dose to be inconsistent with the dose and uneven extraction," Boro said. "We saw this pain point, and in the spirit of innovation, we designed the E65S GbW espresso grinder to identify a set of handles by weight and dispense a predetermined formula."

Ultimately, Boro said this feature can save baristas' time because they no longer need to manually weigh the required volume of coffee.

"Baristas can spend more time steaming milk or provide better customer service, which is a huge trend in Australia," Boluo said. "For the chain store, this innovation means reducing the time required to prepare a cup of coffee, thereby bringing opportunities to save costs."

In addition to the manual grinding function, the advanced user interface of the E65S GbW can also save time. This function allows the user to select up to six recipes through an easy-to-use knob.

"There may be six identical filters in front of the barista, but in reality, they differ by about 2 to 10 grams. The grinder can be weighed in a few seconds and knows what recipe is needed," Quill said.

"Mahlkönig is introducing new technologies that allow accurate measurement, but the brand also offers another aspect that allows customized recipes, bringing so much convenience to people."

The menu of the E65S GbW allows access to critical and time-sensitive information, such as the temperature of the grinder, the particle size and the set weight of the distribution.

The push button further allows the barista to fine-tune the dose distribution, check the dose counter, and access the service log. E65S GbW uses 65 mm stainless steel burrs, is 58 cm high, and can hold approximately 1.2 kg of espresso beans.

“The German quality of Mahlkönig extends to hoppers made of special polymer materials. They are almost indestructible,” Quill says. "The grinder runs at 1,700 revolutions per minute, which means it can produce about 4.7 grams per second, meeting the needs of any commercial barista."

Another new technology is Disc Distance Detection (DDD), which can be found in Mahlkönig's E65S GbW and the brand's fastest grinder E80 Supreme.

"Due to its excellent motor, 80mm large'special steel' burr and intelligent dual ventilation system, the E80 Supreme is the fastest grinder in its class, capable of 6 double shots per minute," said Boro. "This allows large-capacity cafes to provide good grinding quality even during peak hours."

A successful Australian coffee shop consumes 80 to 90 kilograms of coffee per week, and Mahlkönig is aware of the pressure of the grinder.

"The more coffee is ground, the higher the temperature in the grinding chamber, which affects the molecular shape of the coffee particles and ultimately the quality in the cup," Boro said.

In addition to increasing the volume, the DDD inside the E80 Supreme also improves the grinding accuracy, allowing the barista to set the distance between the burrs to within three decimal places.

"It allows the company to say,'Well, even if I am in Melbourne and you are in Sydney, if we all have E80 Supreme and the same coffee, then go to this setting and use this recipe and so many grams, and it will produce the same coffee ," Quill said.

He said that it is this ability to re-create coffee using data that is particularly helpful in maintaining product consistency across chains and enterprises.

These data are easily presented in the 88.3mm large display interface of the E80 Supreme, providing simple and easy-to-understand information for the barista and also helpful in troubleshooting the machine.

With the global launch of these new grinding machines in the past three years, Mahlkönig has set its sights on Australia and its neighboring Southeast Asian and Chinese markets.

"All our grinders are designed to operate in the high temperatures and extreme environments common in these markets, thanks to our burr quality, heat-dissipating aluminum material, and advanced motors and ventilation systems," said Ziya Boro.

"These markets have high requirements for the quality of their products and are increasingly willing to invest in high-quality equipment. The Hemro Group is ready to meet these."

For Rosquier, what he is most excited about is the rapid spread that he predicts in the Asia-Pacific region.

"In six to eight months, once these new Mahlkönig products are further promoted in our key regions (such as Australia), we [expect] to see a large number of adoption in neighboring countries (such as Asia), which will make our brand Get closer to people on the ground," he said. "It is an honor to work with such passionate professionals, and we love to see people all over the world enjoy coffee."

For more information, please visit www.mahlkoenig.de or www.hemrogroup.com.

This article was first published in the November/December 2021 edition of the Global Coffee Report. Read more here.

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