Hi All I am looking at moving my city grinder to the cottage. My cottage grinder (a Bartaza Sette 270) is too loud, which wakes my wife, such that I must use a manual LidoE if she is sleeping. Its also a good excuse to further upgrade my city setup, which includes a Eureka Mignon Specialita. Here’s my criterion: say upto 800 £ sterling ($1,200 Canadian). Possibly upto 1000 £ if I can buy one at a Black Friday or Boxing Day Sale (ie a 1000 £ machine for 800£). If I can achieve more for less £ $, then so much the better. Yet another 800£ on espresso equipment is stretching things. As compact as a Eureka Mignon (must fit under a standard kitchen cupboard); a compact footprint is also good, to save counter space. But height is the most critical dimension. As quiet as the Eureka Mignon. A “Titan class” grinder in a compact form. Single dose hopper preferred, so “Titan class” may not be possible. Looking for the best/most suitable burrs within my price point. Tends towards sweet chocolate and caramel notes. Grinder speed is not an issue. But I read that low RPM is good, as low heat is good. Allows me to further improve the taste of my shots. Ease of burr access for cleaning. Ease of burr removal, for cleaning and re-alignment if necessary. (I do need to read up on the whole burr alignment topic; have not checked this on my Mignon but read in passing that it’s important). Other suggested criteria? Is the above achievable? Suggestions? Reasons why? PS … I could just buy another Eureka if that is still the best option. Sorry to repeat an ongoing topic.

Grinder Upgrade Suggestions? (But need compact form)

Ernie1

Eureka Atom 75 with short hopper? Not exactly compact but not huge.

I’m going to say Super Jolly but I’m biased…

Not sure they’re really considered titan class but a couple of options to consider against the Niche recommendations that will follow.

MediumRoastSteam

JHCCoffee - Does it need to be hopper fed? Are you not keen on the Niche Zero?

JHCCoffee

MediumRoastSteam Does it need to be hopper fed? Are you not keen on the Niche Zero?

Thanks MediumRoastSteam. I actually prefer to single dose. So does not need to be hopper fed.

I have not yet looked closely at the Niche Zero, but should. How does it compare to the Eureka Mignon Specialta, especially in end result? I probably should search for review threads on the Niche.

JHCCoffee

Great point. Does not need to be hopper fed. I actually prefer to single dose. I will add that criteria.

MediumRoastSteam

JHCCoffee - I can’t tell you because I never had them side by side. What I can tell you however is that the Niche Zero ticks all the items in your list of requirements.

JHCCoffee

MediumRoastSteam can’t tell you because I never had them side by side. What I can tell you however is that the Niche Zero ticks all the items in your list of requirements.

Thanks! I take it that you have a Niche Zero. What do you like about it? What would you change? Would you buy it again? What did you have before, and how did it improve things for you? I’m especially interested in impacts on: a) taste, and b) taste consistency. Sorry for the several questions. I’d be delighted to hear your take on the Niche.

MediumRoastSteam

JHCCoffee -

I bought my Niche 3 years ago as a Super Early Bird supporter. What I like:
- Ease of cleaning: It’s incredibly simple to remove the burrs and clean it;
- Single dose: I can swap coffees around. But for me, it’s about not leaving coffee in the chute getting stale. No wastage!
- Ability to use for different methods, and consistently go back to where it was;
- Easy work flow, and not messy at all (unlike other grinders where grinds fall all over the show);

Before that I had, in descending order:

Kinu M68; (Messy as hell);
Profitec T-64 (retention monster);
Eureka Mignon;

I never had them side by side, apart from a few days. I never tasted them side by side. But I never regretted upgrading it either.

JHCCoffee

MediumRoastSteam

Just curious about 1 item. How easy is it to fine tune the Niche Zero grind in small increments. I know that it is stepless, but there does not seem to be much Niche Zero dial space allocated to espresso. However I have never used one.

For my Eureka, I bought a larger 3D printed dial that sits on top of/fastens to the very small dial that Eureka provides. I am thereby able to much more easily fine tune the espresso grind (go finer or coarser by a couple of marks) than before. This was previously difficult using the Eureka knob.

Given that I do not generally drink pour over, the ability to easily switch between pour over and espresso (in Moka Pot or on machine) is not a big issue for me.

But if the Niche will contribute to significant taste improvements by virtue of its burr design or size or lower RPM (and associated heat generation) or lack of grind retention (compared to the single dose hopper that I now use with the Eureka), I am interested. So I am curious about the taste impacts of its burr design.

FYI, I still do get 0.3 to 0.6g of retention with the Eureka. And the Eureka single dose hopper/bellows accessory leaks air at the slot used for its open/shut lever/gate, so I had to tape over the slot; poor design there. The bellows also too easily falls off the hopper.

Rob666

Like MediumRoastSteam I’ve had my niche for three years. I also have a Eureka 65E and a Pharos. Suffice to say I really must get around to selling the 65E. The Niche workflow is great and the ability to go from espresso to pour-over and back without losing settings is much appreciated. We drink mostly milky coffees on the dark side. My only reservation is that if light roasts are your thing you might be better off with a big burr flat.

dndrich

I’m also a happy Niche user. I have had mine a year. It ticks all of your boxes. The workflow is fantastic. No waste. It is just a pleasure to use. Should be really easy to service too if ever needed. I’ve heard customer support is great, but I have not needed it. I use mine for espresso shots and drip, and switch daily with ease.

DavecUK

At the Rimini Coffee expo, ACS stand, we used the Niche Zero for all the grinding on both single and 2 group commercial levers…We filled the £3000 Quamar grinder with coffee to look good, but never used it, because the Niche was just easier.

MWJB

JHCCoffee Just curious about 1 item. How easy is it to fine tune the Niche Zero grind in small increments. I know that it is stepless, but there does not seem to be much Niche Zero dial space allocated to espresso. However I have never used one.

You can make espresso up to the early 30’s on the dial, it’s filter that has the last dial space (you just add another marker at “0” when the orginal is at 50 to extend filter settings).

MWJB

JHCCoffee So I am curious about the taste impacts of its burr design.

If there was at least one study on this I’d like to see it too :-).

What are you specifically interested in in “taste impact”, if you can define what that means and which grinder does it, then buy that grinder.

Really, I would focus more on the coffee you buy and extracting it to your preference. Buying coffee from roaster and origins you do not have a preference for, means it won’t really matter which grinder you use.

MediumRoastSteam

JHCCoffee Just curious about 1 item. How easy is it to fine tune the Niche Zero grind in small increments.

It works for me. I find that, very roughly speaking, 1 “mark” on the dial is equivalent to about 8 seconds, in the sense that, if my grind setting is giving me 36s, I can go 1 mark finer and it will give me roughly speaking 28s. It’s easy enough to go half mark, or ¼ or ¾. IT works well for me, I never felt the need for the thread to be finer. It works well, for me at least.

I drink pretty much exclusively espresso. There’s the odd occasion that I make a French Press, but that’s maybe once or twice a year.

I many times got bored of the Niche, and thought I would by the DF64/Turin/Solo. Then I watch videos and I realise how well designed and easy to use the Niche is.

Ernie1

Worth pointing out that the Niche is a conical burr grinder (63mm) vs your Eureka flat.

You’ll taste a difference in the cup between a flat and conical and some people have preferences. Neither is necessarily ‘better’ but there’s a difference for sure.

I’d always read that flats are better for richer chocolatey flavours with conical better for forwarding the complexity of lighter, fruit notes and my palate would agree. However I see contradicting opinions literally the reverse of that so it might be personal preference.

dndrich

Yes, same experience. The stepless grind adjustment is perfect for espresso, which is what it is designed for. I too get about 8 seconds a full tick mark, and can adjust in between easily. Furthermore, no need to purge coffee through the grinder between shots, so very easy to dial in your brew without waste. Amazing.

hornbyben

Same experience here. It’s easy to dial in. I’ve never felt a need for smaller steps

tompoland

Late to the party here @JHCCoffee but NZ gets my vote as being super easy to use and clean as well as very consistent and predictable. Probably the best all round for medium to dark roasted beans. And if you like dark roasted with milk then it’s a clear winner, based on the 17 of so grinders I’ve had on my bench over the last 18 months.

Very good price too.

An absolute crack jack grinder is the new Olympia Moca SD but it’s more than twice the price of the NZ and around 3 times as noisy. I’m 80% of the way writing the review on it that I promised but based on your requirements I suspect the the noise level alone would knock it out of contention.

Still, if ever have to set up your espresso bench in white padded cell …

Amberale

tompoland

All of those grinders and you still haven’t had a Lagom P64 Tom.
Tsk tsk tsk. 🤣
Yes it is out of JHC’s price range but it sure hits the quiet stakes.

I know the Niche is a great grinder but I just don’t like the styling, if you can get past that then it is the best value for money, medium-dark roast, chocolate/caramel flavour profile grinder that I have heard of.

Personally, I don’t think I can taste the difference that much, especially after having had Covid.

dfk41

Must admit, I am not a big fan of these new super grinders. Why? Well, what’s do they do that the Niche does not whilst justifying the price hike? I bought a Versalab M3 many years ago…..it was terrible in my humble opinion. I think you reach a point where after that, you are simply splitting the atom.