Niche has landed.

JonC

Niche has turned up! Sits nicely beside my black Sage DB. Them being it matched black was an accident.

John_Yossarian

JonC It looks very nice indeed. What does the coffee taste like now?

gobucks

JonC Is this from the February batch? If so, which country are you in? Mine just shipped and the tracking says it’ll be a week before it arrives to the US, but I’m really hoping it gets here sooner.

LMSC

Very nice set up! Well done and enjoy!

DavecUK

Looking good.

JonC

Immediate advantage over my old Gaggia Classic (PID) and RR45 setup is that its quiet enough to use before going to work in the morning, no waking the wife or neighbours. Its also so easy to dial in compared to the RR45, and changing beans is possible without wasting loads. Taste wise it early days, but this pare do seem to giver a better shot, so fingers crossed. Really happy with the Sage DB as well, just picked that up and playing with pre infusion and brew temperatures, its much better than the Gaggia for milk.

JonC

gobucks Yes its one of the Feb ones. I am in the UK, Really happy with it.

limelight

gobucks mine just shipped as well and expected early next week. I am on the East Coast US

gobucks

limelight nice! My expected delivery date has shipped from next tuesday to wed to thurs so…. here’s hoping that’s a conservative estimate. I’m so friggin sick of being stuck between grinds on my Baratza Encore lol.

limelight

gobucks mine showed up today unexpectedly as it wasn’t scheduled to arrive until mid next week. Hopefully you will have similar luck. P.s as an Ohio native, I appreciate the username ;)

Pompeyexile

Well JonC mine was ordered a few weeks ago and is due in March (fingers, legs and eyes crossed). When it gets here I will have the same setup as you, a Sage DB and the Niche and like you it’s my step up from a Gaggia and RR55OD. Having the same machine I would be interested when you’ve had a play at what you are setting the DB up at.

drdre89

Once you go black, you never go back.

gobucks

limelight haha mine arrived today too! I was very surprised. Weirdly it was initially calibrated REALLY coarse, and I had trouble getting it fine enough for espresso, even after calibrating. After I removed the top burr, cleaned everything, and then screwed it back on, and calibrated again, it seemed ok. I’ve wasted quite a bit of coffee trying to dial in my shot, but I think I’ve mostly got it where I want it. Can’t wait to play around with it tomorrow.

Also, O-H!

limelight

gobucks thanks for the heads up. I used mine for the first time today. It didn’t look like it needed much calibration. I picked up a bag of Intelligencia Black Cat from the grocery store that was two months old thinking it would take me some time to dial in. That being said, I started at 17 and it was way too fine so I just went to 20 on my next run and it was bang on.

i think I have read a lot of people start around 20 when they first get them and they drift closer to 10 over time.

dndrich

limelight That is what mine has done. I started around 22, and now after a few months I am solid at around 14-15 with my coffee consistently. Beautiful extractions with the naked portafilter and delicious too. I am thrilled. I also use mine for morning drip coffee with my Breville Precision Brewer, so switching back and forth is a breeze. Love it.

limelight

dndrich That is good to know. I am thrilled with the workflow and just how much quieter it is compared to my Sette 270. I do notice a bit more static/clumping with the Niche requiring WDT, but I was doing that anyway.

I would love to get some darker wood pieces for it like the ones at trunkandstem.com but they have been sold out.

Looks like we have the same set up! I am here as well in the US (outside Washington DC).

DavecUK

limelight If you use a dark stain beeswax type polish it will darken the wood nicely.

pete10uk

limelight I do notice a bit more static/clumping with the Niche requiring WDT,

My Niche also turned up this week here in the uk. Fantastic upgrade from a Mignon.

I’ve noticed the static a bit but not a clump in sight.

dndrich

Yes we do! The Elizabeth is superb. Frankly I don’t see what more money gets the home barista. I use RDT on my course grind for drip from static, but find no need for RDT or WDT for espresso. Once yours breaks in a bit I bet your clumping will go down.

Enea_

I’ve got a question: how fine is the grinding adjustment on the Niche?

I have been using a Kinu handgrinder for a few years now and the thing that annoys me the most is that all espresso grind is within a fairly narrow range, which means even a teeny-tiny adjustment already impacts the taste.

Have been saving up for a new grinder for awhile, the Niche seems the best of the bunch quality/price wise, but would like to know how many steps I’ll have for different coffees (I almost only drink single origins, as I’m trying to learn what I like best)

dndrich

Enea_ I only have a few weeks experience with it, but the adjustment range is terrific. The single space markings are easy to find and repeatable. I find ½ space per marking makes 2-4 seconds difference in shot times. Perfect. So, it is quite strong when it comes to easy adjustment and small differences. I use it for espresso and drip coffee, and it performs.