Mahlkönig marks three broad zones on the 0 to 12 dial, for espresso, filter and coarse. French press and cold brew share the coarse zone.
Settings by brew method
| Method | Setting (dial) | As the source puts it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 0 to 2 | 0 to 2 for espresso | mahlkoenig.us Maker |
| Pour-over / V60 | 2 to 7 | from 2 to 7 for filter | mahlkoenig.us Maker |
| French press | 7 to 12 | 7 to 12 for coarse settings | mahlkoenig.us Maker |
These are starting points. Beans, roast, water and your own taste all move them, so start in the middle of the range and adjust one step at a time.
Notchbook is a free app that remembers the setting that worked on your Mahlkönig X64 SD for each coffee and brew method, and keeps a journal of every brew. Get it free on Google Play. The iPhone app is coming soon. More about Notchbook.
About the Mahlkönig X64 SD
- Type
- Electric grinder
- Burrs
- Flat, 64 mm
- Adjustment
- Stepless (geared dial)
Dialling in from here
- Sour, thin or fast? Grind finer. Why coffee tastes sour
- Bitter, dry or slow? Grind coarser. Why coffee tastes bitter
- Espresso: how to dial in. Filter: pour-over grind size.
Compare with other grinders in the grind size chart.
What reviewers found
A single-dose 64 mm flat-burr grinder from Mahlkönig. Lance Hedrick found it solidly built with decent espresso, but the filter was mediocre and the dial touchy 0:00.
Specs
| Dial | 0 to 12 on a geared mechanism that barely moves the number per turn. To recalibrate, pull a ring and turn to the chirp. On Lance Hedrick's grinder, zero wasn't exactly at the chirp 0:00 |
| Motor | 200 W at 1950 rpm 0:00 11:43 |
Starting settings
These are the settings each creator gave, measured from their own grinder's zero. Use them as a starting point.
| Method | Setting | Context | Confidence | By | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pour-over | 8 | 15 g to 250 g of a light coffee. Still about a 2:20 drawdown, with many fines | stated | Hedrick | 28:06 |
| Espresso | 1.4 | Dark roast, 18 g. The first shot took 49 s and a repeat ran about 17 s, so the dial is volatile | stated | Hedrick | 35:20 |
| Espresso | 0.4 | Ultra-light honey Geisha, just off burr touch. 9 bar and 1:2 in about 30 s, much less sour than at 1 | stated | Hedrick | 40:02 |
| Espresso | 2 | Dark roast, 18 g. Too coarse, at 12 s for about 50 g | stated | Hedrick | 33:39 |
| Espresso | 1 | Ultra-light white honey Geisha at a 1:3 ratio. It gushed 55 g in 14.5 s and tasted sour | stated | Hedrick | 38:29 |
Cup profile
- Espresso is fine, with malted chocolate and toasted marshmallow on a dark roast, though a bit rough and light-bodied 0:00.
- Filter is strongly bimodal, with boulders and fines, a slow drawdown and bitterness on lighter coffees 0:00 26:04.
Strengths
- Small footprint, metal build and easy calibration. It didn't stall from a cold start 0:00.
Weaknesses
- Near-horizontal burrs and a ridge trap grounds that swap into the next dose 5:37.
- If the upper burr chamber isn't seated exactly, espresso won't build pressure 32:07.
- Mahlkönig suggests about 4 for filter, which Lance Hedrick found was espresso-fine 0:00.
Verdict
In 2025 Lance Hedrick found it fine but unremarkable. He would pick a Timemore 078 or 064S 0:00.
European Coffee Trip's take
- In 2025 they found it a compact single doser, 25 cm tall and under 5 kg, that covers espresso to cold brew at a fixed 1,950 rpm. Zero it by turning until the burrs just sound. The push bellows hopper gets espresso retention close to zero. It runs at about 90 dB and you have to remove several screws to clean it. Good value at €499 0:00.
Sources
- Lance Hedrick: Does Mahlkönig Deliver? Ultimate X64 SD Review (Super In-Depth) (2025-07-25)
- European Coffee Trip: Mahlkönig X64SD: The Right Single Dose Grinder For Our Studio? (2025-12-08)
Summarised in our own words from the creators' videos, with every point linked to the moment it comes from. Notchbook isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any of these creators, so please watch the originals for full context. Sources