Option-O Lagom P64 review

Uniform, fluffy grounds from 64mm burrs, with a character the burr set decides10.0/10

Grind quality is the reason to buy the P64, and it is praised almost without exception. The grounds come out strikingly even and fluffy, enough that Silver Foil Surfer found small single-dose baskets practical. The Real Sprometheus credits it with "some of the cleanest and most unique cups of coffee I've had in my career".1

As an espresso grinder it holds up under a critical palate too. James Hoffmann describes his shot as "tasty complex balanced textured".2 Silver Foil Surfer, coming from an older 64mm grinder, calls the P64 far superior.

The caveat is that the flavor depends on which burrs you order. One set leans hard toward clarity and brightness and gives up some texture and balance.3 Another is built for espresso and maximizes texture, which is the style Hoffmann prefers. Decide whether you drink mostly espresso or mostly filter before choosing, because the burr options pull in different directions.

The variable speed is part of the tuning. Alternative Brewing settled on the upper part of the range for espresso, though that is one preference, not a rule.

Quiet enough for a sleeping household, with a faint chirp on record10.0/10

The P64 is one of the quietest home grinders on record, and that too is praised almost without exception. James Hoffmann calls it "shockingly quiet".4 Alternative Brewing and Kyle Rowsell both rank the motor among the quietest they have come across, and Hoon's Coffee found it quieter in a side-by-side comparison.

The caveat is small. Kyle Rowsell's unit makes a slight chirping sound while it runs, which he describes as very common on this grinder.5 Nobody treats it as a fault.

Machined aluminum that keeps its alignment, with a soft finish and some fussy fit8.3/10

The build is widely liked, and the body is beyond dispute. It is CNC machined, anodized aluminum with no plastic where it matters, and Alternative Brewing says it "screams premium materials and craftsmanship".6 Hoffmann finds it heavy enough to feel well made without being a chore to move.

The alignment is fixed at the factory and stays put. You unscrew the top of the chamber to reach the burrs, clean them and reassemble without losing it. Kyle Rowsell's arrived so close to perfect that he left it alone, and The Real Sprometheus reports the motor still powering through light and dark beans alike after long use.

The complaints are about details. Aluminum is soft, and Rowsell's wedding ring has already scratched the speed dial.7 The Real Sprometheus found the fit of some parts ranged from a minor annoyance to a real nuisance, and needed "about 60 shims" beneath the burrs to lift them up.8

The portafilter holder is the other soft spot. Coffee Parts found it does not hold every portafilter securely.

A buttery stepless grind dial beside a speed knob numbered in code5.0/10

Adjustment divides opinion, because the P64 has two controls and only one of them is well liked. The grind dial is stepless, smooth and capable of very small changes, which helps most at espresso settings. It is tilted and marked so that you can read it from any angle.

The speed knob is the problem. It covers 200 to 1400 rpm, but it is labeled with plain numbers and no rpm figures, so you have to work out what each mark means. The Real Sprometheus calls choosing a speed accurately "more or less a guessing game".9 Alternative Brewing and Coffee Parts make the same complaint about the labeling.

The grind scale has its own quirk, which James Hoffmann could not make sense of.

“it's a nice mechanism it's stepless all of those things are good” but “i simply don't understand why going to a larger number would make it a finer ground setting”

There is also one report of drift. On The Real Sprometheus's long-term unit, the espresso setting has crept coarser on the scale over a year.10 That is a single grinder, but if yours does the same, expect to re-find your setting from time to time.

Very little left in the burr chamber, with static unless you spritz

Retention gets less attention than the grind or the noise, and what there is reads well. Kyle Rowsell took the burr chamber apart and found only a trace of coffee inside. Coffee Parts measured a fraction of a gram held back even without wetting the beans, and judged that very low.11

Static is the catch. Rowsell found the grinder fairly staticky unless the beans get a spritz from a spray bottle first.12 Build that step into the routine from the first day.

A few workflow snags come up. Beans can perch on the anti-popcorning disc and need a nudge with a finger. Rowsell found the dosing cup sits only shallowly in the portafilter, so it can slip when you flip it; Coffee Parts notes the cup and funnel now carry magnets that seat them neatly. Hoffmann rates the distribution of grounds into the portafilter as good.

Expensive and hard to get, and still hard to beat among single-dose flats5.0/10

Value divides opinion: the P64 is a lot of money, and it mostly earns it. Kyle Rowsell grants that dearer and perhaps better grinders exist, and still says it is "hard to beat the value".13 Hoffmann calls it expensive, then adds that for the money no single-dose flat burr grinder has a better workflow.

The case against comes from the rivals. The Real Sprometheus warns that the cost and the wait can push buyers toward "less expensive options with similar features".14 Coffee Parts makes it concrete: 64mm burrs now feel small at this level, and newer competitors cost a fraction as much.15

Buying one takes patience. Production is limited and demand is high, and Hoffmann was annoyed that the figure shown up front is a deposit, not the full price. Upgraded burrs cost extra. A distribution tool comes in the box, though Alternative Brewing wanted finer needles on it.

The long view favors it. After living with his, The Real Sprometheus still calls it "the last grinder I'll ever buy hopefully".16

Our verdict

Buy the Lagom P64 if espresso is a daily habit, you single dose, and you want a quiet, all-metal grinder to keep for the long run. Skip it if the budget is tight or you are not prepared to wait for one, because cheaper grinders with similar features are easier to find. Before ordering, choose the burr set to match what you drink, and check the full price, not only the deposit. Once it arrives, note your own speed settings and keep a spray bottle next to it.