I was going to start a thread about the best grinder for around £300 but all my prior research seems to point me towards a Niche. The issue is it’s out of my budget so perhaps someone is looking to sell after upgrading to a Duo (crosses fingers). Otherwise some recommendations for grinders around £300 would be good. Single dose and something that won’t stall with lighter roasted beans. Thanks

Dusk £300 is probably too low an offer for a used Niche?

MediumRoastSteam North Beds, but I’m often up near Derby as well

Dusk - thanks. I do have a Niche Zero and a Duo, and I’ll eventually sell the Zero as I’m finding the Duo better for my taste. It’s from the very first batch of grinders, made in England. I’ll keep you posted when I’m ready to sell it. I wouldn’t let it go for £300 though.

MediumRoastSteam collectors item that

MediumRoastSteam Thanks, let me know. And I did specifically say around £300, I’m open to haggling! I had thought the Varia VS3 would be a good option but they specifically state that it could stall with lighter beans which is a no go for me.

Niche Zero - Wanted (any colour)

FadedFrontiers

Df64 still probably your best bet for around £300 mark, you won’t have any issues with light roasts and you can probably even find one used with various quality of life mods.

ST30B

The DF64 GEN 2 looks promising (potentiallly addressing the Gen 1 shortfalls) Bella Barista won’t be stocking it for a couple of months. No price yet but I’m guessing around £450 if the DF64V is £600. (Just an educated guess)

I’m in a similar position but hesitating between flat v conicals. Still deciding so reading as much on the forum as possible and saving up!

Dusk

ST30B

Should also add that if the V2 df64 is £450 then it’s getting too close to a brand new Niche Zero for me

Dusk

There’s a lot to choose from but they all seem to come up short in one way or another, quite a few seem to have stalling issues which is an absolute no go for me and then most others have retention issues and require bellows or rdt.

I always drink milk drinks so I’m not sure I’ll notice the differences between cones and flats, I was prioritising workflow and reliability in my search.

Below was my original list of candidates, the df64 was probably the best bet but I don’t like the fact it needs modding to rectify some seemingly blatant and easily fixed issues, I didn’t really want to get involved in shimming burrs to sort misalignment either.

Varia Vs3

Turin SD40

Niche Zero

Df64

Timemore sculptor 064s

Lagom mini

FadedFrontiers

Dusk I always drink milk drinks so I’m not sure I’ll notice the differences between cones and flats, I was prioritising workflow and reliability in my search.

I didn’t really want to get involved in shimming burrs to sort misalignment either.

Agree it sounds like a flat is not the best choice for you.

Have you considered the Fellow Opus or new Baratza Encore ESP, they’re both around £200. If you don’t think you’ll notice the taste difference between cones and flats then I doubt you’ll notice the difference between these and Niche Zero!

ST30B

Dusk The £450 is purely an educated punt. £400 would certainly generate more interest (those are the DF prices in USD) but BB will have there own price with additional warranty. The gen 2 looks to dispel the gen 1 issues with the ionizer potentially making the bellows simply an option.
I definitely prefer the Niche workflow and noise in particular the pitch attracts me to either Niche. Just budget holding me back.

Dusk

I was wondering whether it would be worth ordering a DF64 direct, I don’t know what value they state it is and thus what tax/import duty would be due.

Loonster

Dusk

UK is one of the countries that requires the use of a reseller. BB is the authorized reseller. There are some other resellers, but you may wind up with problems. (I’ve heard stories of the grinder not being properly disclosed for customs and people winding up paying surprise custom fees.)

Dusk

FadedFrontiers

I’ve seen reports of stalling, retention and not being able to grind fine enough. The NZ seems to be one of the few grinders where the only criticism I’ve seen (and only by a few questionable sources) is the taste but it will be an upgrade for me so it seems like an end game grinder for my circumstances.

simonc

Dusk if you are open to waiting my black NZ will probably be up for sale when my Kopi Deva arrives sometime Q4 and it would be rude to pass on for more than @DavecUK let me have it for so would be in your budget. It does have some staining on the wood base (and Dave no I haven’t stained it yet)

Dusk

simonc

Thanks, that would be great, I’ve got a hand grinder to keep me going for the time being. I’m not bothered about a bit of staining, in fact it’s almost nice to remove the worry about inflicting the first damage on something brand new!

Cuprajake

problem buying direct from outside the uk is the warranty goes out the window.

i would however say save up and dont settle for something cheaper just because its cheaper

Dusk

Cuprajake

This is something I definitely do more these days, buy cheap, buy twice is often true. The issue I have is that my partner would kill me if I bought a NZ brand new! I have other hobbies where I can hide my purchases but the grinder can’t hide in the garage unfortunately!

simonc

Dusk Its dependent on me being happy to replace the NZ with the Kopi Deva.
I am keen to try a flat burr and as long as the workflow and taste aren’t a step backward, I am looking forward to the cordless option so can’t see why I wouldn’t be parting with the NZ which has been great so far.
Keeping both is not an option, because as you say, my wife would notice 2 grinders, whereas I can hide multiple tools in the shed!
Still no idea when Kopi will deliver, so might still be a wait.

simonc

Dusk Its been 3 months but the Kopi Deva has finally arrived. I will do some side by side comparisons, but can’t keep both for long. Are you still interested before I offer elsewhere?

FadedFrontiers

Dusk fair enough, I’d heard good things about both and can’t see anything about stalling or grind issues, but undoubtedly the NZ is a more solidly built machine than they are.

I think the NZ is great but I’ve certainly seen more criticism of it than just complaints about taste. It’s all down to personal opinion and up to you what’s important but coffee has changed a lot since the NZ originally came out and helped make single dosing so popular.

dfk41

FadedFrontiers FF, can taste be a criticism? To some yes but in case you were not aware, when the Zero launched there was an orchestrated campaign by folks well know to us to diss it. Yet several years later and with many thousands of grinders sold, the amount of truthful problems are few and far between. For anyone to say the coffee tastes poor is suggesting that the Mazzer Kony burrs are at fault! Work it out yourself. The Zero costs £530 (I think) and the burrs if you or I were to buy them cost around £150 to £200

How much do you think the burrs on the DF range cost? I have no idea but I can take an educated guess and say not 37% of the cost of the grinder (if you accept the Kony burr price I quoted)

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 The Zero costs £530 (I think) and the burrs if you or I were to buy them cost around £150 to £200

Well… I’m not sure that’s a good indication. I suggest you go through the same rationale but use the Niche Duo instead. The burrs are a lot cheaper :-)

Looks like from the same site:

So, I’ll spell it out:

Zero: Burrs £198, grinder: £539. Difference: £341
Duo with espresso burrs only: £81, grinder: £659. Difference: £587

Does the Duo cost an extra £237 to make? I doubt it.

Moral of the story: It’s not about the individual components. It’s about the whole package and what people are prepared to pay for.

(note the price quoted for the burrs are EX VAT, but the grinder price were incl. VAT).

FadedFrontiers

dfk41 FF, can taste be a criticism?

I was quoting @Dusk who said the only criticism they’ve seen has been about the NZ’s taste - and as I responded, there has been other criticism too but it’s all down to personal opinion at the end of the day.

And if cost was the sole determinant for how good a burr tasted then I’d expect to see more love for SSP and Gorilla Gear on here!

Cuprajake

https://espresso-solutions.co.uk/mazzer-grinding-blades-mazzer-major-riv-titanio-rif-151b/

thats the correct burr for the duo, price is £181+vat

MediumRoastSteam

Cuprajake - no they are not. Those are titanium coated ones.

Edit: OK. The Burrs on the Duo are 151B, but not titanium coated. I linked to the “151A” as they don’t seem to stock the “151B” version.

A quick search on the internet tells me they are priced very similarly.

Edit 2: Well they do stock them, but it’s out of stock:

https://espresso-solutions.co.uk/mazzer-three-phase-flat-grinder-burr-set-original-83mm/

(literally the same price as the 151A, around £81)

Cuprajake

That doesnt mean you cant find them for less. just make sure they are genuine,