Baratza Forte vs Mahlkonig EK43: Which is Better?

#1: Post by **Almico** » January 6th, 2019, 12:25 pm

Per Scott Rao:

https://www.scottrao.com/blog/2019/1/5/ ... -is-better

January 6th, 2019, 1:23 pm

Sold my Forté BG + ceramic AP burrs when I got my EK.

If I had to ditch my EK & Versalab, I'd buy a Forté.

Have I ever once thought my drip coffee was better with my Forté?

Nope.

Is it easier to choke your grouphead with either Forté burrset vs EK?

Yes, absolutely easier

AMA.

#3: Post by **Capac** » January 6th, 2019, 2:34 pm

I doubt average out of box forte beats average out of box EK... it's just more practical for a small kitchen.

January 6th, 2019, 3:00 pm

Scott appears to think so. He says very specifically that he gets higher extractions with his out of the box forte than with the last 100 EK43s he has come across.

#5: Post by **Capac** » January 6th, 2019, 3:15 pm

The decent machine he is using now could be responsible for the extraction...

#6: Post by **guydebord** » January 6th, 2019, 3:19 pm

He appears to be using the steel burrs for creating ultra-fine espresso... I thought the steel burrs were for brew...

#7: Post by **lucasd** » January 6th, 2019, 3:49 pm

And the crux is Scott Rao doesn't drink espresso, at best he drinks americano...

#8: Post by **namelessone** » January 6th, 2019, 3:57 pm

I usually have a lot of respect for what he says but can't help to feel that Scott has lost the plot here a bit. It doesn't seem to be based on some side by side methodical comparison, and without any facts or data to back it up. For example who's not to say that Forte also has huge variation in alignment and he just happens to have one that's perfectly aligned?

#9: Post by **JayBeck** » January 6th, 2019, 4:01 pm

guydebord wrote:He appears to be using the steel burrs for creating ultra-fine espresso... I thought the steel burrs were for brew...

The Steel Burr was designed for Brew. The difference is it produces less fines. What makes this interesting is that is the EXACT purpose of SSP burrs that are all the rage right now: They are designed to produce fewer fines so that you can grind finer. The Steel burr plus the beefier steel burr carrier on the Forte, the more robust lever system, and larger motor of the Forte seem to allow it to grind in the espresso range even though it was designed as a brew grinder.

It sounds like the Forte BG is designed for the modern espresso world and doubles as an incredible brew grinder. In fact, it sounds a lot like my Monolith Flat with SSP burrs (unimodal grind, can brew espresso to press pot, good alignment, etc). I'd like to try them side by side, now.

#10: Post by **JayBeck** » January 6th, 2019, 4:06 pm

namelessone wrote:I usually have a lot of respect for what he says but can't help to feel that Scott has lost the plot here a bit. It doesn't seem to be based on some side by side methodical comparison, and without any facts or data to back it up. For example who's not to say that Forte also has huge variation in alignment and he just happens to have one that's perfectly aligned?

Perhaps you should read the blog post because based on this comment it sounds like you haven't.

Rao says specifically that he may be lucky with a perfectly aligned Forte. But everyone knows EK43s are poorly designed 'out of the box' and need a user to spend a lot of time and energy making it good.

What is interesting is that if both are well aligned they are similar. What he is saying is something few have done based on my research: He's using the Ditting brew burr Forte to grind for espresso and is making the best espresso he's ever had. He's not using the standard ceramic burr that most Vario/Fortes are using for espresso.