Niche duo - 83mm flat

HarveyMushman

Ah I see. Oversight on my part 😅

Yeah the Ode has the’ Gen 2′ burrs (64mm) which are filter only. It’s a great grinder, in fact I couldn’t really fault either of my grinders I was just hoping to replace them with a single grinder.

Igm45

If you’re after the filter burrs I’m prepared to sell mine separately from the Niche. Just let me know.

HarveyMushman

Just been chatting with James at Niche who seems like a great guy. I’m going to return the Duo and just hang on to the Ode 2 and Mahlkönig.

I really can’t fault the Duo, it was great to try and it’s clearly a very well designed, well made product. As mentioned a few times I’m just looking for a unicorn of a grinder that I can easily jump between espresso and filter with multiple times a day with just an adjustment back and forth. I don’t think such a grinder will ever exist and unreasonable to expect any grinder to do it well.

It is possible, and obviously better with both burr sets but I think for me the compromise of having two dedicated grinders outweighs keeping the Niche. I think I also prefer on-demand dosing for espresso too.

Again, glad I tried it and if I was only drinking espresso I’d have kept it because as a no/low-retention espresso grinder I was really impressed.

MediumRoastSteam

HarveyMushman I’m going to return the Duo and just hang on to the Ode 2 and Mahlkönig.

Looks like the date with the Duo didn’t last long! 🤣

Question: What about the matching handle you ordered? Will you return that one too?

Igm45

This was what I was looking for too, I don’t think a grinder will give the perfection of both worlds. That said I’ve been hugely impressed with the flat max’s ability to do both (with the LM burrs).
It makes amazing espresso and very good filter, still early days but I’m hoping I can move from very good filter to amazing.
Super easy to swap between the two (just twist the dial 180 degrees). As with a lot of our gear, it doesn’t come cheap mind you.

MattH

Wow that was a quick dabble !

HarveyMushman

MattH

Yeah, I did use it quite a bit over the weekend. Probably 15 or so espressos and a number of filter brews. I had family over yesterday so made a fair few coffees. I wanted to speak to Niche early as I felt bad sending back a grinder that would’ve been used for too much longer.

If you go for the Philos I’ll be interested to hear how you get on as a fellow on-demand grinder. Coming back to the Mahlkönig just now, I’m definitely still an on-demand advocate.

Again though, couldn’t fault the Niche and the service/communication from them is excellent.

HarveyMushman

Yeah I think we’re fighting the laws of physics a bit here. Without some kind of brushing/cleaning/burr swapping between methods I can’t see it ever being done. Even with RDT, grinding at filter coarseness is almost always going to leave some grinds/chaff somewhere in the grind path.

I’m also not sure there’s enough people who drink both enthusiastically enough to warrant the R&D to attempt it.

dfk41

I must admit I am scratching my head slightly (no criticism intended) why you would buy a Duo with just the one burr set? It has always been stated that the espresso burrs produce acceptable filter coffee, but the filter burrs produce exceptional filter coffee. Swapping them over could not be any the easier!

HarveyMushman

dfk41

It’s just the swapping that put me off. They’ve obviously made it as easy as it could possibly be and I know it can be done in under a minute, it really just comes down to my laziness.

MattH

I am just waiting for mazzer to open orders then I will consider whether I go for it

dfk41

HarveyMushman I get that completely. Luckily, my brew making skills rank alongside my taste buds……but, why not have a word with James again and get a set of filter burrs, keep the Duo for filter and your Mahlkonig for espresso

Loonster

I would have more of a problem of remembering my espresso grind setting. I can’t imagine swapping out daily.

ST30B

Loonster
I use a small jotter pad 😀 to keep track of the grind settings as I have a number of different beans on the go at the same time. Essential for me now.

HarveyMushman

The best option would be two Niche Duos! Sadly that’s not going to fly with the boss.

The Ode 2 is a really great filter grinder and despite apparently being the only one on the planet who thinks this I really rate the x54 for espresso, this all serves me right for trying to upgrade from things I’m already happy with.

HarveyMushman

MediumRoastSteam

I’ll keep that, it’s really nice quality, I think I prefer it to the La Marzocco one I’ve got in walnut.

LMSC

dfk41 I don’t brew filter on espresso burrs. It’s the filter burrs, which I use. It makes a great filter, the espresso is just over the weekend only.

Dave says the difference is obvious between the filter from espresso versus filter burrs.

I am going to sift some coffee to find a sweet spot on the espresso burrs.

HarveyMushman

Just finalised the return with James and wanted to say again how brilliant he and the service from Niche is.

I’ve even struggled in the past to return genuinely faulty grinders to retailers yet James didn’t once question a return based on it just not being quite the right fit for me. For 99.9% of people I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the company/product.

Adrianmsmith

HarveyMushman that really is what you call the personal touch .

Top marks to James and Niche in general.

I was going to jump in earlier and see if you wanted to try the filter burrs . mine will never be used again, probably!!

DavecUK

Adrianmsmith I was going to jump in earlier and see if you wanted to try the filter burrs . mine will never be used again, probably!!

I wouldn’t say that too soon. I have a WW Key and I don’t use it, I much prefer the duo! In fact the the Key is one of my last choices to use….pretty much on a par with the DF64 and Eureka Mignon(as a grinder I want to use…not taste wise). It’s a really fiddly thing to use, loads of static so has to have WDT and at lower speeds can stall. to I’m running it at 80+ rpm minimum, usually a bit higher.

Adrianmsmith

DavecUK

Was more of a comment on my taste buds.

Ive decided I’m 100 percent espresso based milk only!!

I prefer the hg1 prime to the duo but my wife prefers the duo, for Americano and currently decaf Americano.

Some of my preference is down to using the grinder but I have in a few blind tests always picked it. That is in no way saying it’s a big difference and other than the difference in settings from decaf to my stuff I would happily use the Duo. It’s just too easy to forget to change it and it s about 3 full “clicks” from mine to hers. AND that’s befor you suggested I’m dosing far too much as well. Some calibration to do next week!!

I’m not saying I won’t try pour over again but every time I do, it just doesn’t seem like coffee!!

I’d gladly loan the filter burrs for comparison to the guy with espresso only burrs and may consider letting them go. As it is I do like to keep kit complete as it was delivered though.

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