As the title says, the time has come for me to downsize to a single dose grinder. I dont like having to leave beans in my Compak and have tried running it near empty with a quick purge each time but a) this is extremely wasteful, b) it is not designed to run that way and I get grind size inconsistency. My goldilocks scenario would be: * Primarily an espresso grinder roughly as capable as my current Compak F10 (taking a hit in build & longevity, but hopefully gaining **a lot** in bean freshness and grind consistency when single dosing) * Can quickly transition to a serviceable filter grind for 1-2 cups a week - adjustment akin to the niche, df64 etc would be awesome * Small form factor * Low mess & hassle * Aesthetic: important * Cant take a year to grind a single shot, I have become painfully accustomed to 3s grind times Given the sub £1k single doser market has exploded the past 5 years, I would love to hear thoughts and any answers to the following Qs from anyone who has done what I am planning: * What grinder did you switch to? * Are you happy with it? * What do you think is the best on offer right now (I guess with criteria above in mind)? * To the average palate, does flat vs conical *matter*? (I am craving a move back to flat for more clarity, despite the Niche…) * How much does the workflow of a flat burr single doser get old/tiring? * I have been dubious of conical burr alignment the past year or so (more planes for things to be marginally off), do you think the Niche suffers from this at all/does this matter in the grand scheme of things? * Have you been following the release of the Timemore Sculptor this month? **The 78S excites me but I fear it is a lot of good looking marketing (and a beautiful design) for what may be a bit of a dud with poor 3rd party burr options** **Loads of questions here obviously, and not expecting a reply to all, just really any thoughts that people have to weigh in with would be greatly appreciated!** Cheers!

Also interested in this, I hate clean up and coffee grinds from my moded Mazzer (even though it just takes me a few minutes), It's just not enjoyable! Another option is a hand grinder, however good ones are rather expensive (even second hand) and you have a forced 5 minute work-out every time you want a coffee.

NICHE fits the bill. I love mine but right now? I’d hang on for some proper evaluation of the Timemore or if I had a bit of extra cash I’d probably go with the DF83

If I’ve learned anything in the last few years it’s that if the question contains the word grinder, the answer contains the word Niche. It’s not for everyone (I find it ugly, loud and slow) but if looks/speed aren’t a factor then hard to argue it’s not the best sub £1k single doser out there.

@"Grahamsphillips"#p38127 appreciate the insights here. I had a good look at the df83 and for the price it felt like they have cut some unnecessary corners/not improved on issues from the 64. I definitely want to hold out and find out on the Timemore but also want to back it on release day and lock in a low price. Decisions decisions

@"Ernie1"#p38128 Someone should print that on a bar towel I am actually a real fan of how it looks fortunately. Speed I am on the fence with and loud, whilst not a dealbreaker, would be annoying. We had a Mythos for a few weeks at a roastery I worked in for a bit and my god grinding with that was a pleasure for the sound alone

The thing is with single dosing, by the time you’ve portioned out individual doses, probably taken some time over bean storage, the 20 or so seconds it takes to grind a dose on the Niche isn’t really much of an issue unless you’re making like 3 or 4 back to back coffees.

It's all preference. Speed, noise etc Some want fast others slow, unless you spend silly money you generally don't get all of that. New grinders are always coming out, but alot don't get real world testing or review so it's hard Given that the df83 is £800 odd

@"Ernie1"#p38132 yeah 20ish seconds really wouldnt be the be all and end all. I have probably been rubbed the wrong way by using a sage smart grinder pro whilst I had my Compak in pieces for painting, and listening to that thing scream its way through beans for 30s was rather painful

I just find it hard to not recommend the Niche. I have had mine for a year. Fabulous. Easy work flow. I find the sound it makes to be a very satisfying low sound, rather than the high pitch of some grinders. Easy to switch to a filter coffee. I do it everyday. Drip coffee in the morning, espresso in the afternoon. I like the look of the thing. I guess that is what makes horse racing. If you buy one and don't like it, it will hold value and can be sold. This flat versus conical thing is outside my taste buds. I am thrilled with the coffee I get.

@"dndrich"#p38137 this has been largely my thinking! I did just stumble onto this guy recently and have a lot of time for his approach and views: https://youtu.be/PBn223u7w2s It does make me wonder if i'll be trading the things i don't personally love about my current conical for another

Your advice downsizing to a single dose grinder?

tobyjrn6

tompoland Hahaha god sorry and now dont I look like a d*ck. It did feel like a bit of a random call out!

tompoland

tobyjrn6 all good. I know from personal experience how easy it is to get the wrong end of the stick with just the written word.

tobyjrn6

Cuprajake i guess despite all of the qualifiers and caveats he gives, if you have a video that goes against conventional wisdom and causes a stir, that is going to give you good exposure

Cuprajake

there was more to it, in my mind, but ill prob get grief for saying it so, cba with the fall out again,

DavecUK

tobyjrn6 I did just stumble onto this guy recently and have a lot of time for his approach and views:

I unsubscribed awhile ago, as I consistently found the opposite.

tobyjrn6

DavecUK that’s fair, I’m by no means fixed on this opinion, just from what I’ve seen so far, but this particular example does seem a bit out there. Particularly as I’m learning more of the back story

chlorox

tobyjrn6

Despite hedrick’s frosty relationship with this forum, I also still find his videos useful and entertaining and continue to look out for them as much as I do for Hoffman’s videos. You don’t have to feel conflicted about liking his videos on this forum…

chlorox

tobyjrn6

I also had compak - manual dosing k10 that I used as a single doser for a long time. When the df64 made big waves, I bought it with SSP burrs and found that it gave me much better flavour separation and nuances in the taste. I realised then that although the conical burrs on the k10 gave more body, they tended to just blend everything into an amorphous whole and I no longer enjoyed it as much after learning to prefer the flat burrs taste instead. The k10 has barely been used at all since I got the df64 as a result and when I have used it to see if I will like the taste, I found I missed the flat burr profile. So for me I would probably give the niche a miss.

Contrary to many people’s views, I find the df64 with SSP burrs combo to be an unbeatable value proposition for the quality of coffee it delivers. If your budget can stretch to the df83 if fitted with ssp burrs, I would expect that it would be worth checking out - I have no personal experience of that grinder though.

tobyjrn6

chlorox really appreciate your thoughts and perspective on this one. I have a feeling i am the same way in terms of flavour preferences. I personally enjoyed the coffee i used to get from my mazzer major than the compak. With both being reputable grinders, the differentiator feels like the burr set.

I am leaning more in the direction of the 83, it is just a real case of just because i can afford it, that doesn’t necessarily mean i should. The build as a whole looks and feels much more premium and with a better workflow from what i can gather but will it be any different in the cup - probably not perceptibly. At double the price, that’s a tough sell.

I think the big question for me is going to be whether the Sculptor 64 or 78 looks like it will be able to perform on the same level as these grinders. If so, that package is exactly what im after.

I did see recently that the burr sets aren’t going to be interchangeable with any third party burrs (at least from day 1) which is pretty self limiting

chlorox

tobyjrn6

It’s currently unknown how the sculptor will do for espresso as its not out yet. The inability to use ssp burrs is a big negative though for me as their own proprietary burr set is not released yet for espresso and so we have no idea how good it will be.

Cuprajake

I don’t think anything has to be drawn between lance and this forum, I don’t know why it has to keep getting brought up,

Hoffman’s latest vid was a waste of time, his vids seem to be going more off point for me, so I’ve in subscribed from him to, to the point I now no longer follow any coffee influencers.

It gets tiersome the constant plugging of products,

Like I always say take everything on the internet with a pinch of salt, esp where money involved.

Re burrs for me I’ve found bigger flats better than smaller ones I’ve tried and I’ve had all sorts of sizes.

The mazzer has been the best of the bunch, the SSP were good burrs for a specific type of coffee, but I find the OEM burrs better for a broader bean choice

Ernie1

Cuprajake

I get the impression Hoffman is transitioning his content to be less ‘just another YouTube guy with a decent camera and a bit of charisma reviewing coffee gear’ as it’s become a more crowded space than when he started.

With coffee equipment reviews you attract one audience, whereas by diversifying it opens up other audiences.

I agree though, not useful for the purpose of impartial gear reviews.

I think you hit the nail on the head, it’s becoming almost impossible to know who’s paying for or backing ‘reviews’ so it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not.

Forums like this seem to be one of the few remaining sources of accurate information. Even then you’ve got personal bias making it tricky to be objective but at least nobody is paying us to praise or slate a piece of equipment.

tobyjrn6

Cuprajake i must admit re JH i have been feeling the same. Ultimately in going to sit and watch every time because I enjoy his content and the way he presents, but the subject matter is drifting further from what i originally came for.

Appreciate those thoughts on flats and the major. I am half tempted to pick one up and single dose with it for a bit until the Sculptor vs DF83 situation settles out

dutchy101

Another very happy Solo / DF64 user here. I don’t have SSP burrs but upgraded to Mazzers back in May / June last year. The grinder was an upgrade from a Sage SGP which was my first ever grinder so don’t have the wealth of experience of trying lots of grinders, but I have no intentions on changing it. I’ve had it for just under 3 years now.

Someone on here has the DF83 and has posted a thread on it which might be worth a read

DavecUK

dutchy101 https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/1121-df83-first-impressions/79

chlorox

DavecUK

In line with what Cuprajake was suggesting about larger flat burrs being better, I am wondering if getting larger burrs if we can hold the quality of the burrs constant- which is naturally not a given - will always end up improving the quality of the cup where it concerns light roasts. That is the next experiment I will embarking on as I move beyond 64mm flat burrs.

tobyjrn6

DavecUK i had a read of this, it was very helpful

DavecUK

chlorox In line with what Cuprajake was suggesting about larger flat burrs being better, I am wondering if getting larger burrs if we can hold the quality of the burrs constant- which is naturally not a given - will always end up improving the quality of the cup where it concerns light roasts.

It’s a tricky thing to answer really, a grinder is made up of a number of “important” areas to the consumer:

Quality of grind (who do we trust, how can we know)
Aesthetics
Workflow
Size
Reliability
Noise
Price

The question is how do “you” personally rate each item in order to come to a decision….

e.g. I used an EG1 grinder, it was such a faff to use, loads of static, too much buggering about, I didn’t enjoy it….was it better in the cup than other grinders I pitted it against…unsure, but if it was, no where near enough for me to put up with the general ballache of the workflow and wait in line to shout “take my money” as I fork out 5K+.

chlorox

tobyjrn6

On opinions, my own take on this subject is that everybody has a vested interest in their opinions on gear - including us forum members. Be it the natural belief we have in our favourite gear or even if it is the egotism of the rightness of our own point of view. This effect is further skewed by our own specific coffee preferences or prejudices or by friendships some of us have with the manufacturers or retailers who make or distribute the gear or by forum dynamics.

The views of social influencers and bloggers are only different as a matter of degree from this since they either make a living from their posting of media or are trying to build their brand unlike almost all forum members. Therefore IMHO it would be a capital mistake to dismiss influencers out of hand while elevating forum views to a higher pedestal. We should listen to all but ne wary of all and make up our own minds……As always, “caveat lector” and “caveat auditor” - let the reader and listener beware…

Cuprajake

Just have to be aware than YouTubers etc have to stay relevant where a forum member doesnt

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