My end game kit is a Mythos grinder and either a Slayer, a KVDW, or a Vostok. The grinder will be a lot easier to achieve… ;)

That said, I’m very happy with the niche Zero so the next upgrade should be the machine.

    dfk41 Is the first one newer version? I might get a good deal on that

        delta76 Originally, the Mythos was just that. The main differentiator is the spin speed. I thy the One is the original fast spin and the 2 or Clima Control spins a lot lower. It also has an annoying fan that cools the motor down but in a home environment is useless! The originals are pretty robust and often appear on Ebay for circa £350

        https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

              Cuprajake i see. I was looking for nouva simonelli. Essential same machine but the eureka is probably older?

                  delta76 They are all basically the same thing. There is a version 3 out now which is expensive and has speed control. The choices are Clima Pro which I think is mainly VA but may be wrong, or One which is the original. The link Jake posted is the original version whether Eureka, Simonelli or Victoria Arduino. Obviously the older the machine the cheaper they will be. The Clima Pro or 2 is probably 750 to 1000. A lot of machines are dumped by Matthew Algie or M & S. M & S coffee shops rent 3 at a time. 2 for use and one for spares. I have had several of these spare ones with 100 shots on the counter. A lot of the ones on Ebay are from folks who buy job lots of things and have no idea what they have. The one Jake posted, I asked him to confirm the shot count and he had no idea what I was talking about. For me, the original is the best one. I had a brand new Clima Pro that I could not wait to get rid of but different ships, different captains

                  https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

                    dfk41 All the same thing. Eureka made the original, then Simonelli and VA re-badge them and sell them

                    Well to be precise Nuova Simonelli own Eureka and VA. Have done for a very long time.

                    Contact me

                      delta76 As dfk41 says, all fundamentally the same. I’d go for a Eureka just because it’s the original but i wouldn’t say no to any of them. A Clima would be nice but not really necessary for home use.

                        JonWoo187 I will gladly say that once a decent level of equipment is setup it’s far more about the skill involved using it as well as the coffee and water. Those chasing the equipment upgrade pipe dream year after year should realize the most important variable is changing by the hour, focus more on the coffee itself and the rest will fall into place.

                        Another way of saying this is that some look at spending as a shortcut (or alternative) to gaining skill. It usually doesn’t work.

                          It’s the same problems as hi-fi. It’s hard to get decent results with the entry level kit. It also takes time to learn the difference between so-so and good. Above a certain threshold there are two paths. That threshold is decent repeatable coffee/sound easily achieved with some learned skills. Once you go beyond that, in hi-fi terms a lot of people stop really listening to the music and only really listen to the equipment. In coffee, much the same applies. Unless you are genuinely a super taster, and there are precious few of those, it’s down to aesthetics. I.e there are a few people chasing the ultimate taste but in most cases it’s more about the gear.

                            BrendaninBrooklyn
                            I don’t have any experience or knowledge of what chefs in top restaurants but a few articles show that what kind of knives leading chefs use really depends on the chef concerned. On one hand there are those happy to use 25 gbp ones while others prefer 300 gbp top of the line factory knives while yet others even use knives made by hand forgers like the Middleton brand.

                            https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/knife-used-in-michelin-starred-chefs-kitchens
                            Py8vp8gdrink/dining/gallery/best-chef-knives-recommended-by-chefs-2900494/nancy-silverton-friedr-bread-knife/

                            So in a way chefs seem to reflect how home based amateur baristas are like - many prefer budget but quality gear that deliver a certain minimum ywt high standard while others prefer more esoteric and high end gear made to more exacting tolerances. Both believe their gear help them achieve their results.

                            To me, the lesson of that is - use whatever gear u want to use and if u find great results wirh it, then keep using it with joy.

                              Rob666 this is I can agree with.

                              My uncle fixes electronics for a living. Usually hi-fi equipment.

                              He ended up at a Russian’s house. 100% an oligarch. The issue was a £400,000 turntable that wasn’t working properly. My uncle looked at it and fixed the issue. The customer was very happy.

                              My uncle then asked the question about whether the guy thought the music he was hearing in his (incredibly expensive) set up was worth what he paid for it. The response was simply ‘For the price I paid… it better be!’

                              My uncle still believes to this day that the guy wasted huge swaths of money on the setup and a significantly cheaper but well balanced one would have sounded the same.

                                  Verion a significantly cheaper but well balanced one would have sounded the same.

                                  Or better!

                                    My endgame kit will be a Vostok 1 with a DF83V2 grinder…. it will also be my first. Buy once, cry once. Or at least to attempt to.

                                    If HIFI ever taught me anything, I will need to log off after it arrives. No more YouTube videos about coffee. Never to look at or listen taste the results of another machine…

                                    Yeah it’s a fool’s errand. I’m already looking at roasters.

                                    edit: “Endgame kit” is already changing. Decided to cancel my DF order and get a Duo. Well that lasted about 4 hours, but technically its still a “Buy Once, Cry Once” because I should get a full refund…. yeah, we will go with that.

                                    If I look at my end game, i think it’s a 64 flat burr to replace my Niche as I drink more light and medium roasts to go with my Minima.

                                    I really like my Niche, but there’s something very interesting about the Lagom that I can’t put my finger on. Perhaps it’s the plethora of burrs that you can’t get with a conical burr grinder on a single dose slanted hunk of metal… maybe it’s just upgraditis…

                                    Verion No doubt the mind is a powerful thing and the placebo effect is seriously misplaced at times. Some in life clearly have more $ than common/practical sense. If a turntable such as that was in front of me I could laugh and smash it with a baseball bat and not think twice. Having lost all hearing permanently 5 yrs ago HiFi means absolutely nothing, bwahaha… Would be priceless to see others cry over doing that sort of thing though!