HarveyMushman This is going to digress the intent of the thread, as I am going to call out the products. So, I am sorry I am diverting.
Evo: We all know it is a great machine, be it 1 or 2. I own the first iteration. We bought purely based on Alpha testing by Dave. That Alpha machine was purely made of older parts. What mattered to those bought was purely the cup and not imperfections. This is valid be it for 1 or 2. So, during the last years, folks did discuss those niggles. But, tbh, IIRC, it didn’t bother most of us. I couldn’t care less as long as it doesn’t affect the functioning of the machines. But, if someone’s complains re-those cosmetics, I can appreciate that as they put them off and I do not expect every one to react the same way as I do.
Any problems, the seller and the buyer will have to resolve that. A great example is @danielpugh’s Evo 1, which troubled him from the early days of ownership. It had to be sent back to Naples for a full construction. This guy didn’t have this machine for more than a year. He got his machine recently and I hope all is well with his’. Despite all the woes, he said if his ‘ packs, he will simply place an order for another. Why? For him, the Evo gives the best coffee . That’s him.
It’s up to the owners to decide what’s important to them. If a buyer wants perfections, convenience of a no-hassle return, return to local than DIY or any combination of these, they don’t have to buy overseas. It is as simple as that!
It is fair Jake moved on and so is Ando (I think I got the correct name!). I am glad the issues were discussed on the forum, although some of them became a non-stop rant, IMHO, these should help resolve / fix issues.
Niche: A lot has been discussed and debated about this. The fact is they changed the grinder market massively. No grinder at their price can beat the simplicity, workflow and convenience. I never owned a zero. But, I do think the criticism of the Zero that it s*** for light roast and filter are exaggerated as the comparisons with flat and expensive machines flew thick and fast. MWJB here showed it makes a great filter. Who is right? I believe MWJB! I think the Niche were the object of unfair criticisms. Please remember I did not buy their Zero.
The Duo - enough is already said with comments ranging from a machine costing 5 times the Duo making a great filter on espresso burrs than mazzer espresso burrs, why not offer an SSP (they are very good but make the Duo very expensive), an option to buy either espresso or filter burrs (valid complaint), third carrier (may be), voiding the warranty and so on. While some comments are fair, I can’t help thinking there were so much of finger pointing. Folks will have to learn to look at the price versus what’s on offer, decide if this is for them. If I want to swap the burrs on Niche or anything else, who is there is to stop me. Either I swap and void the warranty if the seller doesn’t agree or wait until the warranty is over or better go and get a machine that allows the buyer to do anything at will. For the record, I can’t be asked to swap the filter burrs to espresso burrs a few times a day. I have offered my comments as a user openly. It is not Niche fault. I am just lazy. I make filters during week days and espresso during week ends. The filter burrs make a great coffee.
The thing is on a forum like this, where there is no vested commercial interest, it is a luxury that we can air what we all like to express. We cannot avoid a mixed bag of opinions — critical, sympathetic, unbiased, neutral, biased and so on. I wouldn’t worry about it. Please take them in your stride. 😊
Edit:
I was drafting it externally and posted this. I can see you have deleted your comments. :-)
