Hi All, Hoping for a little advice on the grinder front, have been thinking of buying a niche for a good while now, as I like the thought of single dosing and changing beans when fancy something different, however as they’re not available (in white) currently in the UK, and I only want to use it for espresso I have also been looking at other grinders in the Eureka Atom range 65e or possibly 75e if it’s a big improvement over the former? I know there is a lot of discussion around flat vs conical and I’m not looking to open that can of worms (currently I only have the sage smart grinder pro) so have no experience of flat burrs anyway. just wonder what peoples thoughts are on these and whether I should just wait patiently for the niche?

Mik3 just wonder what peoples thoughts are on these and whether I should just wait patiently for the niche? The 75E is a great grinder, but not so much for single dosing, it’s designed to have a weight of beans in the hopper. Also not great to switch from Espresso to filter and back again. Niche is good of course…but what machine do you currently have?

Well I believe I have a Vesuvius V2 on the way shortly😁 I’m not worried about the switching between filter as it’s only for espresso, and whilst I like the idea of single dosing I’m not set only on that, could equally happily fill a hopper as I’m used too now, just want to be sure the grinder is more than capable of pairing well with the new machine and I have heard good things on the atom range for a reasonably sized good quality flat burr but I like to get advice from the people with more knowledge first

Mik3 whilst I like the idea of single dosing I’m not set only on that, could equally happily fill a hopper as I’m used too now, just want to be sure the grinder is more than capable of pairing well with the new machine Nice Ceado E37S in the classifieds, 83mm Burrs, fairly compact, should pair well with the Evo.

I’m keen to hear thoughts on this as I’m now expecting a Vesuvius too. I am parting with my lelit elizabeth and the eureka specialita that I bought with it. I also purchased a niche zero late last year and had thought I preferred the eureka for medium to light beans but have finally decided I’ll keep the niche over the eureka for now, due to its versatility and I do like the looks! I’ve noticed some people have a niche with their machines in the Vesuvius kind of range but really keen to hear more on this

DavecUK thanks Dave will give that a look, was reading a few mentions of them earlier in the forums too

Not sure how helpful my view is as I’ve not used a Niche, BUT I found myself in exactly the same position as you recently - trying to decide between a Niche and an Atom 75E. I chose the Atom. My reasons for doing so were: -Price: I managed to get a 2nd hand 75E in extremely good condition at £400, which I thought was a bit of a bargain. -Looks: I’m one of the few who doesn’t like the look of the Niche. -Quality/sturdiness: I expect both to have a very good grind but the 75E is reassuringly heavy at 9.5kg, made very solidly with lots of metal, and from a manufacturer that’s been around for a while. The big burrs cut through 18g in 2.55 seconds for me at the mo! Availability wasn’t a problem for me as Niche had very quick availability at the time. Since buying the Atom I’ve found what for me is a very minor niggle, that I need to adjust the grind size ever so slightly as the hopper depletes, but I expect to do that as the beans age anyway. I purge about 4g once per day which I’m fine with - those are the only two negatives to it really and I’ve been extremely happy with it. I’m not getting bored with the insane grinding speed anytime soon, and the grinds have an excellent consistency, no clumping, and produce a very good shot with no WDT (although WDT does improve it a little). I can’t profess to saying the 75E is better than the Niche, or that the 75E is the best in it’s price range for a big flat burr, but I can tell you I’m very happy with my 75E. Hope that helps.

Grinder recommendation Niche / Atom

Mik3

mission701 thanks mission, that’s a very helpful opinion and glad to hear the 75e is working well for you, that is an excellent deal and I think I would of gone that way too faced with that lol.

A friend of mine has one too and rated it very highly with the speed of grinding etc which is why it made the list, wasn’t sure if the 65e is too far off it despite the obvious difference in burr size.

all good food for thought, thanks!

Mik3

DavecUK had a look at this and it does look like a good grinder choice, though it’s pretty similar to another that sold recently for considerably less, and also it’s a loooong way from here, certainly keep my eyes open to that model though

Mik3

Well after a lot of researching and looking into what’s available new and used I decided to go ahead with ordering the Niche, I couldn’t see any reports of a huge improvement from the extra expense of the Atom, and I think I will be happy with the process of the niche. Also found a lot of examples of people running Vesuvius with one with no complaints and DaveC videos using the same setup. Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

on this note as the machine will arrive before the grinder, do you think the Sage Grinder Pro will be capable of grinding at a good enough level for me to use whilst I await the Niche turning up? Or would I be better served with a good quality manual hand grinder for the interim?

Dusk

Seems silly to get something in the interim, the Sage can grind for espresso and you can then have a good comparison when you get the Niche.

dutchy101

Dusk

Would agree with this. I’m sure the Sage will do a good enough job until the new grinder arrives

Mik3

thanks both, was just looking for confirmation it would be capable enough for the Vesuvius till the niche arrives, I have only been using it with an old ambiano espresso machine till now as it was a long search to decide which machine I wanted to invest in, was just conscious it is already set pretty low (replaced the pressurised basket with a none pressurised one) in the current setup

dutchy101

When are you expecting the Vesuvius and when are you expecting the Niche? I had the Sage SGP as my first grinder paired with the Sage Bambino Plus, which was my first machine. I am not sure I would recommend buying a SGP to pair with a Vesuvius as a permanent fixture, but I would suggest just seeing how you go with the SGP with the Vesuvius first before considering ordering another grinder as an interim measure. Even if it doesn’t work out great for you, it might get you through the / some of the learning curve with the new Vesuvius

Mik3

dutchy101 the Vesuvius I’m expecting next week, the niche is apparently shipping in May so potentially as much as 2 months between the two, I already have the SGP so aslong as it’s capable I’m happy to run with it till the niche arrives, just conscious there isn’t a massive amount of adjustment from where it is and how much finer the Vesuvius would require the grind

Dusk

I’m have a SGP with a modified Gaggia Classic Pro, it goes plenty fine enough to choke the machine. I’m running a 9 bar OPV spring and an IMS competition basket. I’m sure the Sage grinder will work ok until the Niche arrives.

Mik3

Dusk good to know thank you, was worried the little ambiano wasn’t actually pushing anything close to 9 bar, also with it having a small sized portafilter figured it wouldn’t be the same as the wider basket and the grinder is already set around the 11-13 mark

dutchy101

I think it will be fine in terms of being able to grind fine enough, for the sake of 2 months I think I’d just go with it.

Mik3

dutchy101 cheers think I will do just that, sounds like it works fine with other 9bar espresso machines aswell so it’s good to hear I can start using the machine straight away and see what difference I get with the Niche when it comes