CoyoteOldMan The ONLY reason I am thinking about the Niche - I don’t want to get a machine that is capable of wonderful coffee, but is let down by the grinder (taste wise)? If that’s not the case, then I will leave everything else as is.

    You will see a step up, in grind.

    But

    I would play with the grinder you have for now, learn the machine, and then upgrade. Take your time

    It can do the job

    Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

    SPTK stays.

    Thanks guys.

    FedEx 1 day delivery, he wasn’t sure if I’ll get it tomorrow though, so perhaps Friday at the latest.

    Brilliant news can’t wait.

    Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

    I very much like the idea of grinding directly into the cup, then the cup fits straight onto the portafilter - what the Niche has become well known for.

    Is there a cup I can get that I can use with the SPTK that will fit the portafilter as neatly?

      DrForinor I have one of these, nothing fancy but does the job. Though i now find direct grind to PF fits my workflow better.

          DrForinor if you buy a niche you get a free cup with it 😜

          Do you have a funnel?

          I grind into cup, then use into the funnel,I’m 54mm so the cup doesn’t fit.

          Then I wdt and tamp

          Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

              Penance Nothing loaded up?

              Cuprajake Hehehe, yes I’ll have to wait for that free cup 😅 I do have a funnel right now and that’s what I do, but I’m just thinking of ways to streamline the process as much as possible - also minimise the number of things I have out. If I could grind into the cup and then directly into the PF, can et rid of the funnel.

                    I did have a look at that, just wasn’t sure how good it was based on a couple of the reviews. One shows a rust spot?

                    Be made of chinesium

                    Sure acaia sell one if you want to spend, Motta also make one im sure, eureka do one too as do normcore

                    Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

                      Had mine around 3 years with no rust or other issues, it is cheap s i guess you takes your chances.

                        Cuprajake A lot of them have a thick/wide rim/border, which I think won’t show it to fit directly underneath the SPTK, but this one has a section that is completely bare that will allow it to fit. Shame about the chinesium, but then it is cheap.

                          Penance Thank you, guess it’s worth a try for the price. Fits well into the PF?

                              Glad you took the plunge. The Elizabeth comes set at around 10 bar, which is around 9 bar at the group. The stock setting is just fine. Very easy to adjust though if needed. I would stick with your current grinder and learn the machine first. You may be perfectly happy and save some money. I went with the Niche first that I used with my Breville Barista Express, which helped quite a bit, but not enough. Then I upgraded to the Elizabeth. Wow. So good.

                                dndrich Thank you, I’m glad also. Yes I suppose that’s wise to learn the machine first and take it from there. In which way is the Elizabeth better than your Barista Express?

                                Got a text from FedEx, being delivered tomorrow 🙂

                                    DrForinor Oh so many ways. The Barista Express was a nice machine to learn on, but it uses a thermoblock and not a true boiler. The group just could not get the portafilter hot enough, so many of my shots were sour. Then the steam was anemic, and took a while to get going. The grinder was just adequate, and did not give consistent grind shot to shot. Despite all of that I did like the machine, and learned the basics of espresso with it. Breville did a nice job for the price. The Elizabeth has all the qualities of a full size machine in a coffee house, including great temperature control with PID, and lots of thermal mass to make sure the puck stays hot during the extraction. Add to that the pre infusion, fast recovery after a shot, amazing software, tons of dry steam for milk steaming simultaneously while pulling a shot…so many other features that are actually useful like the purge mode, cleaning mode…the list goes on. So much packed into a small footprint. And, the case is easy to open so that if I ever need to service it, it should be easy to do.

                                        dndrich It’s so strange that my cousin managed to make a really nice coffee, perhaps he just got lucky.

                                        That’s amazing to read all about the Elizabeth from you. Your enthusiasm for the machine is brilliant!!! 😁😁😁

                                            DrForinor My coffee from the Barista Express was just fine with milk drinks, and satisfied the wife for a year every day! She found the machine easy to use. Milk drinks hide lots of problems, since the whole milk is so sweet. So yes, I was satisfied with the Express, but wanted more, and went with the Niche and the Elizabeth. So glad I did.