Instead of just influencers opinions, break it down into technology/facts first, which then sorts the myth from the magic when looking at opinions, from all, including new owner spectacles.. I took the liberty of highlighting facts which “may” be grind quality affecting
The facts are:
- Hewn from a solid block of unobtainium with a respected name - or aesthetics
- Burr manufacturer
- Burr size
- Rotational speed that can be varied (may or may not be, very unsure, the right speed is probably good enough)
- Burr alignment
- Workflow
- Longevity
- Reliability
- Price
- Support
- ROI
To me, the main differences for grind quality seem to be Burr size and burr speed. The manufacturer, alignment seem to be similar, certainly alignment is not worse in the Niche by any means.
Aesthetics - a personal choice
Workflow - arguably much better in the Niche
Longevity - Niche coming up to 4 years (for me 5 years+) no units falling apart, so proven. Weber Key, currently unproven, but expected to last
Reliability - Niche has a proven record of extreme reliability in comparison to the number of units sold. Weber Key as yet unknown and unproven
Price - Niche much cheaper and possibly easier to obtain than Weber key
Support - Niche have proven themselves outstanding, I assume Weber will be the same.
ROI - I know this is a funny one…but let’s do it just for fun. Based on someone who makes 20 coffees a week (one would hope people make more). If someone makes 20 coffees per week, conservatively they will/should purge 3g, or loose 3 on the average grinder each time. 60g per week based on coffee costing £28 per Kg means a Niche pays back after about 6 years in saved coffee. The weber key will pay back in around 24 years.
When I look at them, these are the things I consider before reading/watching reviews, especially like the one below. I just remembered i didn’t put the link in
Some 40 minutes of crap like this where you don’t see it grinding end to end, you don’t see the shots it can pull…just a load of gab….it’s heavy, it weighs 9Kg seemed to be the major geek out for her. It’s a grinder, let’s please see it in action, fully!