Eureka Zenith 65E: Setup Guide Video

Congratulations on your new Eureka Zenith 65E Espresso Grinder. Dialing in your coffee grinder isn't always easy. We discuss the steps to fine-tune your burr grinder for the best possible extraction.

Join Victoria as she demonstrates how to set up and dial-in the Eureka Zenith 65E Espresso Grinder.

Step 1: Unboxing Your Grinder

Make sure your grinder is stable on a level surface.
Install the hopper and turn the grinder on using the on/off switch.

Step 2: Feeling the Coffee

If the coffee looks and feels very coarse like cornmeal, you’ll have to adjust the grind finer.
If the coffee looks and feels overly fine like powdered sugar, you’ll have to adjust the grind coarser.
Fill the hopper with a 12oz bag of coffee.
Grind a small amount of coffee by holding the portafilter against the grind button. If no coffee comes out, gradually adjust your grinder to be more coarse until a steady flow of coffee is coming from the grinder.
Important note: most grinders are shipped at a setting that is much more fine or coarse than you will need to make espresso. This means it may require several large adjustments before you near the ideal grind size and texture.
Get your hands dirty–feel the ground coffee. Ideally, we’re looking for a texture that falls between table salt and flour.

Step 3: Nailing the dose

The goal is to get a full dose of ground coffee in 5-6 seconds. We recommend 18 grams for a spouted portafilter with a double basket and 20 grams for a bottomless portafilter with a triple basket.
Set the timer on the Two Cup setting to 5.5 seconds.
Place your portafilter on a scale and hit tare. Tap the grind button with your portafilter. Place the portafilter with ground coffee back on the scale and check the dose.
If there is much more than your target weight, adjust your grind setting a little finer. If there is much less, adjust your grind setting a little coarser.

Step 4: Checking the drop time

If the shots start dripping before 6 seconds, the final espresso will likely taste sour and watery. Adjust your grind setting finer.
If the shots start dripping after 10 seconds, the final espresso will likely taste overly strong and bitter. Adjust your grind setting coarser until the first drops fall in a 6-10 second window.
Your first few shots will likely need a fair amount of adjusting.
Grind a fresh, full dose of coffee into your basket. Compress the coffee with your tamper, taking care to make sure the tamp is level and you are applying even pressure.
Insert your portafilter and start your machine. We are going to be watching for the time of the first drips of espresso. We recommend either setting a timer or watching the display on your espresso machine.
We’re looking for the first few drops of espresso to drop between 6-10 seconds. If they fall outside of the window, we’ll have to adjust the grind setting.

Step 5: Adjusting for total shot time

If the shots take less than 25 seconds, the espresso will likely taste sour or thin. Adjust the grinder finer.
If the shot takes more than 30 seconds, the espresso will likely taste bitter or overly strong. Adjust your grind setting coarser.
Prepare your shot – grind a fresh, full dose and tamp.
Insert your portafilter and start your shot. This time, we are going to be watching for the full shot time.
Ideally this will take between 25-30 seconds to produce a 30 gram or 1.5oz espresso. If your shot falls outside of this window, you’ll have to adjust your grind setting.
Once your shots are within the target range of 18-20 grams of ground coffee to 30 grams or 1.5 ounces of liquid espresso in 25-30 seconds, your grinder is set and ready to go.

Once you've dialed in your grind, it's time to start pulling shots! Check out our Espresso 101 section to learn about steaming milk, latte art, our suggested starter espresso recipe and much more!