Niche Zero adjustability

wilburpan

For the Niche Zero users out there — let’s suppose that you have your Niche Zero set up the way you like it for espresso, and that you just made a really good shot (it doesn’t have to be perfect). If you move the setting on the Niche Zero by a whole dot, and then pull another shot keeping everything else the same, how much does the extraction time change by?

hornbyben

Depends on the coffee, but around 4s

Del_UK

It’s all dependant on coffee as hornbyben said. I had a bean that was completely out of the usual 10-12 range recently, requiring a grind at about 18-19 to achieve the same results I’d normally expect.

wilburpan

Del_UK I’ve had that experience as well, although with a different grinder. That’s why I was asking about what happens when you change the grinder setting, not where the grinder setting was, other than I was assuming that you were close to or right at where you wanted to be.

Rob1

Depends on how fine you’re grinding initially. Very fine and a whole dot finer could stop the flow completely, and a dot coarser may not have too much of an affect….but then another dot and it might gush.

Generally, the Niche is very easy to adjust and dial in without struggling with an adjustment that’s too sensitive but some beans are just a pita. My shots are almost always dialled in by the second or third shot. Some very finicky lighter roasts might require some finer dose and grind adjustments but it’s pretty easy to see what effect your adjustment has had and know what game you’re in.

Knluk

Rob1 👋, what is your take on brew ratio for medium dark roast?

Rob1

Knluk not possible to say. Terms like medium and dark roast are poorly defined but even if you could refer to a specific colour like agtron number it still wouldn’t mean much. Some origins can be bitter or ashy to the darker end of medium dark and a lower ratio might be a better idea for those…but then it still depends on how fine you’re grinding. I use 1:2.5 as a minimum generally, go up as far as 1:3 or 1:4 and try to avoid below a 1:2. For a darker roast 1:2 would probably be my starting point.

SteveBRS

And adding to this discussion a probable shift in grind setting due to gradual grind build up below the burr. I had to gradually change my grindsetting (after cleaning and unchanged calibration point) for espresso from about 10 to as fine as 4. Same coffee over about 10 to 12 days. Time for another clean, total grind weight brushed out ca. 1.6 gr. New grind setting back again at 10. Anyone else with this experience? See photos of build up.

MediumRoastSteam

That’s an almighty build up SteveBRS!

How long ago was your last clean? I take it wasn’t the 10 to 12 days you mentioned?

Do you moisten the beans or is the environment humid?

He only time I’ve noticed shifts like this is sometimes due to the weather. For instance, during the heatwave we had in the UK, I noticed I had to grind finer, and the same was true for other grinders I had in the past. Otherwise the little Zero is very consistent.

SteveBRS

MediumRoastSteam

dndrich

Thanks for your inputs : No moisture added, last clean about 4 weeks ago (my usual routine). Yes - I clean it of course prior recalibration - that’s not an issue; the setting does got back to the red point within 1 or 2 stops. But I’ve experienced a gradual shift to needing to grind finer, (same coffee/dose) , and so far the only thing I can think causes it is the grind build up below the burr. Sure, there might be issues like weather changes coming into it, but then I’d except more variation over a week or 2.
Generally I find the Zero great to use, and it fits my workflow very well, and it’s quick to dial in as well (initially).

dndrich

My Zero is equally consistent. Very consistent. And that is switching between drip and espresso every day. Yes, I have grinds on the burr carrier as in the photo when I clean. That should not affect the grind, only the calibration. That is why you have to clean it before checking calibration. Because the bean residue on the carrier prevents the ring from going all the way to the calibration mark, so if you try to calibrate without cleaning it first, your calibration will change. Now that makes little difference if you simply dial in to the new numbers, but I always check calibration when clean, and when I do that the numbers are very consistent. My unit is good with most of the beans I use at around 13 for espresso, give or take a number or two.