Competition season is back again! By now you will be developing a concept, choosing your special coffee and securing equipment. This process can be very intensive to ensure you put your best foot forward. Unlike barista competitions, the Brewers Cup and Aeropress Championship don’t require you to use the sponsored grinder to compete, giving the competitor full control here.
Given all the grinder choices on the market, why is the Comandante so popular? This comparison study will pair off between the Comandante C40 Nitro Blade and the Mahlkonig EK43.
We performed simulated brewers cup run throughs with current World Brewers Cup Championship certified and regional judges being present. The simulations had the below restrictions.
- Coffee all made to same recipe (15g/250g)
- Coffee only served between 1.35-1.40 tds
- Follow the WBrC protocols for temperature
We tested 10 coffee samples with both grinders and results are below:
The Comandante achieved similar scores across the scoresheet. The range of scores was wider for the Comandante compared to the EK43. The intensity scores were always higher for the Comandante, but the quality of body was not as good as the EK43.
This can be attributed to its conical burr set producing more fines. Ways around this would be to use a fine sieve, such as the Kruve. Overall when coffee was made to the same specification it scored quite closely to the EK43.
This Comandante performed well under these conditions, and given its other benefits e.g. price, you can see why there are so many of these grinders backstage at competition.
