Review by Lance Hedrick, if any one is interested in. https://youtu.be/PBn223u7w2s

I agree with what he says, and that's what I find too. I prefer my mazzer, the niche works well for the Mrs milk drinks

@"Cuprajake"#p18736 Yeah! I saw your comment on his channel Jake! I can’t jusge as I am still a manual guy. Have been resisting to grab a Niche for > 1 year as it is another conical, though 64 mm. I am not sure it will make a huge difference to the cup compared what we have at home, except it is a massive convenience and a great workflow. I like medium to light roast and don’t mind medium dark for milk based. Brewing is very important for me. I would like an electrical flat; I still like my JX as it produces great shots, although it is a little boring to grind these days 🤣

Thanks for heads up.. A really well balanced review for sure. No big surprises perhaps, at least not for me. I had a Niche last year and sold it after a few months but was a little regretful. When a near new one came up for sale ast month, I pounced. It is such a charmer of a grinder. Small footprint, low height compared to everything else on my espresso island, easy and simple and certainly low retention. And in the cup, thickish and tasty for medium to dark espresso. Once I have the 83mm conical burr Livi seasoned I'll do a back to back comparison with the Niches 63mm conicals but with my indelicate taste buds I doubt that I'll be able to taste the difference.

That seems to be a reasonable review for his taste profile. I've only pulled maybe 25 shots with the Niche at work and 10 or so with grounds transported home from work. It is easy to dial in and make a tasty shot. In a perfect world I'd have a Niche and something with big flat burrs. I'm a sucker for berry / fruit flavor.. 98% of drinks are straight shots. Wifey drinks iced lattes.

Quite fair review. It’s funny how careful he speaks to not upset the Niche fanboyz.

He could have used any coffee in the world to pull his shot on, and he chooses a lightly roasted bean.......god, he woffles on and on! I emailed him a couple of times and he really tried to stress that he had no financial arrangement with any coffee equipment manufacturer........yea right

I do think he gave a balanced opinion, did not come out offending any one, appreciated the other coffee gurus really like them and so on. He didn’t say anything new, IMO. I thought he said it doesn’t work for him. Though he said it’s not conical vs flat, it is indeed that as he wanted clarity. As far as a light roast is concerned, I guess he used it to drive home his point as he seems to prefer light stuffs.

Not watched it all yet, but at the beginning he says the price has gone up and up - has it? I thought it had always been the same?

Price hasn't changed it will be exchange rates and import It's just a fancy way of saying he likes a different flavour profile, but and a big but thes a content creator and so far I have seen threads on 2 forums discussing his vid. Shock horror. It's spromethues all over again. There's nothing new to what he says, he's basically just describing the niche. 🤷🤷🤷

@"Cuprajake"#p18757 I take all this on board about impartiality, but if that is the case, why was there so much factually incorrect stuff? He is a poor Youtube influencer, claiming independence, heavily promoting Sage gear. In fact he went to OZ recently to review something for Sage.....wonder who paid for that trip? I wonder if his YT channel is monetised? If not, how does he make a living?

Niche Zero - One Year in Review

dfk41

One thing is for sure. He does not like anyone who disagrees with him! I read through a dozen or so comments and came across this one, ’Just when my heart was broken from hearing you’re moving across the world (harder for us to be friends) you go and totally redeem yourself!!!!". Could that mean he is going to Australia and if so, I wonder why. I asked him why as an influencer, he had decided to use light roasted beans to review a shot on a conical, and this was his reply
Say what? I think you’re… a little off base. Did you watch the review? I was tip toeing the whole time because of, well, people like you. What good would it have done if I just completely crapped on the shot? I gave my opinion. I wanted to see the good in the shot. You are arm chair psychoanalyzing (poorly) a situation you seem to have created in your head.

If you notice, there have been loads of buyers remorse in the comments, but they were thankful at how I approached it.

What good would a gnarly face and some words of disgust do to those that drink light and bought a niche based on hype?

Come on. Do better.

So, I did……..Lance, I am not your average idiot so please do not try to treat me like one! I said, that you decide the content of your own videos. Mazzer conicals have been around for years. Being a coffee professional, you would know this. If you were working in a coffee shop as a barista and the owner said, lance, I want to buy a conical grinder suitable for grinding light beans, one that really gets the best out of the bean. Are you SERIOUSLY telling me you would recommend a grinder with 64mm Mazzer conical burrs? Grow up!

LMSC

dfk41 Could that mean he is going to Australia and if so, I wonder why.

I read some where he is moving to Portugal!

FadedFrontiers

dfk41 how very thin skinned of him, resorts to a classic ad hominem attack against you rather than addressing your specific point.

I wonder if he holds all the Baratza/Sage gear he pushes really hard on his channel to the same high standards? I would guess not..!

Ernie1

Cuprajake

How dare you prefer the Mazzer!!! Are you crazy?!

😉

DavecUK

FadedFrontiers how very thin skinned of him, resorts to a classic ad hominem attack against you rather than addressing your specific point.

David is a master in the art of enraging people….🤣

tompoland

Doram well … speaking as an idiot who enjoys medium to dark espresso 😜 … and as someone who has had nine grinders on his bench in the last 15 months including two Niche Zeroes … and who has had two brewing machines, a drip and a syphon, a cold brew machine and more than a few espresso machines … yep, I think he was on the money honey.

If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. NZ is a fabulous machine for sure but it has a sweet spot and outside of that there are grinders more fit to purpose.

More power to you for disagreeing. But maybe refrain from the put downs. Having a different preference doesn’t make someone an idiot. Personally there are a long list of things other than my espresso preference that qualify me far more credibly (including my first paragraph above).

Go well.

Doram

tompoland More power to you for disagreeing. But maybe refrain from the put downs. Having a different preference doesn’t make someone an idiot. Personally there are a long list of things other than my espresso preference that qualify me far more credibly (including my first paragraph above).

I must have used the wrong words as I absolutely didn’t mean to disagree or put down anyone! What I meant is that the video seemed to me that LH very clearly doesn’t think the Niche is a good grinder. I thought that when people said it was balanced, they thought that his verdict is mixed, and for me it came across as a clear cut against. That is all.

I also didn’t say anything against this conclusion as I understood it. Unlike you, the Niche is by far the most expensive grinder I ever had, and I doubt that I will ever have anything more expensive. I’m therefore in no position to compare it to better grinders, which I am sure exist.

Berryterry

In short, and I am not in favour of anyone here. First, YouTube has different revenue models such as using Pateron only content as a way to minimise bias. Second, lets be honest any social facing platform will have-even if not felt or intended- a mix of subjective and objective opinion. Third, what he mentioned was on point and nothing new nor surprising.

Importantly, an equipment is something we use to help us make coffee and enjoy the process. Everyone will have a preference and no one should feel insulted. I might hate something that someone else loves… should i say that the other person is an idiot? Hell no… lets not forget coffee is about the beverage and people not about equipment.

Finally, working, having a family and creating/growing good content on YouTube or other social platform is not a simple job and it comes with a hefty price not just physically but mentally. So lets not forget about that and just blow the guy off. FYI, I don’t agree with him on everything nor i am defending him but he put a lot of effort to just rubbish him for a simple comment.

Lets not forget that we are on thread with two developers of the own machine we use.

Beverast

Watched his review…I disagree with his opinion on Tim Wendelboe’s beans. I have had the beans he used for the tasting and have had several others from him - I cannot say that I get bitterness in the cup with using the Niche on Wendelboe’s beans. Sure, if I overpull on the shot (over 30 seconds generally) the bitterness will come out…but I generally aim for 28-30 seconds which 9 times out of 10 gives me a nice balanced cup without the bitterness. Must have had at least 10 different bags of beans from Wendelboe and have never found bitterness to be an issue, unless it’s my own error with “bad” shot timings.

Beverast

Lol - he replied to a comment I made on his video but he must be doing some sort of jedi mind-trick because it looks like he is completely ignoring what I said. I told him from my experience I don’t detect bitterness when using the Niche on Wendelboe’s beans - his response, “This isn’t an issue with his beans. It is an issue with the niche. I love Tim’s beans. Perhaps you enjoy bitterness a bit more than I, which is completely fine. I prefer pulling his coffee on other grinders.” I don’t detect any bitterness translates to I detect bitterness. 😅

CoyoteOldMan

Beverast he must be doing some sort of jedi mind-trick

“These are not the comments I was looking for”?

dfk41

Beverast He made the same mistake with me matey. He comes across as someone who has a big mouth and would rather let it flap than say anything meaningful. Does he really think that 5 years post launch, the coffee industry is really waiting with baited breath for his review? There are folks like @MWJB whose opinion I really value and he does successful pour overs with a Niche. A lot of ths issue is his choice of beans, which leads us to thr whole point of his review. As opposed to being late at the table to sing its praises he took the other route in the hope of scoring more views…….very cynical! He completely ignored the good aspects. Niche have held the price over 5 years. They have set the bar for standards making other manufacturers raise their game. Their reliability is second to none and more importantly, he could not (apart from the endless Sage plugs, a company that he claims to have absolutely no affiliation with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) he failed to name any serious competitor at or around that price point.
Other than that, it was an excellent review…….>LOL

Cuprajake

I dunno, those who choose to promote donso at their own will,

After seeing the Hoffman behind the scenes video where he shows probably in excess of £50k worth of gear, it’s more than just a love of coffee it’s an income.

The main problem with most coffee is it’s subjective and goes off ones own taste buds and the ability to use hundreds of pieces of gear.

His video’s done it’s job though and created enough talk around his channel. I’m presuming in his next few vids we will see something ‘big’ drop.

I know he’s been bugging up the Weber pf,

LMSC

Cuprajake Weber pf,

I didn’t see anything other than a one-minute video

CYP1A2

His comment on the Niche producing excessive fines seems to contradict what Spromethesus found with sifting the niche output.
Obviously sifting isn’t laser death star defractionation but still.

If the Niche produces excessive fines then why do people use it for brew too? V60s are killed by excessive fines. In espresso I think fines are not only ‘not bad’ but they contribute to a fuller flavour profile.
In trying to decide if I wanted a Niche (which I didn’t end up getting) I wanted to know what it could do with a V60 and the reviews always seemed positive.

Maybe, his Niche isn’t performing well?

If people like James, Spro and others were saying the same things then maybe, but they are not.

Cuprajake

That’s what was on Instagram too, on the Weber page from memory..

LMSC

Lol. Some dead spots on his shots using weber pf. Assume there was no pun intended! 😁

Cuprajake

Oh no it’s ok for that to happen now apparently.

The coffee industry seems to be going backwards,

Obs channels in the pf, declining temp profiles 🤷 can’t win

CafeNoir

Cuprajake I believe it’s probably more to do with getting a better “outcome” with the YouTube algorithm’s than presenting a balanced, properly researched review.

It’s why for me most YouTube stuff is infotainment, it’s not common to find much coffee stuff like DaveC’s work which I find far more interesting

CafeNoir

audiomacgyver ñ Funny you should say that…….lol! It’s precisely what I’ve pretty much settled on. Mind you my taste buds aren’t much to go on

DavecUK

There is a lot more that goes on in the industry that people will be blissfully unaware off. I have had a lot of industry connections over the last 18 years, and many things I have found out have surprised, shocked and sometimes annoyed me. It extends from the biggest corporate down to the smallest wide boy. Ending in the plankton of the consumer.

The SCAA have done a marvellous job of actually having the consumer look to them as a source of authority and truth…incredible considering who they actually represent..

The industry is like a big iceberg and most people only ever see the tip.

Gagaryn

I think you guys are taking this video too seriously. My take is this is just a professional YouTuber doing what YouTubers need to do to maintain their income. Controversy leads to engagement (comments, sharing etc) and engagement leads to the video being recommended in more users feeds by the mysterious YT algorithm.

He may or may not believe what he says but he could have said what he had to say in a quarter of the time. I think he is just making content for views.

Worth a watch -

LMSC

Gagaryn We know he has a revenue model and doing what he must do to keep the $ ticking. His video hasn’t said anything new. He knows he will whip passions if he touches products like Niche!

DavecUK

Gagaryn He may or may not believe what he says but he could have said what he had to say in a quarter of the time. I think he is just making content for views.

When he reviewed the La..gome Mini, I watched for 25 minutes expecting to see the grinder in action, grinding from beginning to end and then watch a shot made from it….He had one job to do in that review as far as I was concerned and my expectations were not met….

In that video, the only time I actually saw the Lagom grind beans (not the brief inset of it stalled), was when he picked up a bout 5 beans and tossed them in to show how quiet it was. 23m 12 seconds in. For the entire 25m he just woffled on and showed nothing of the grinder grinding.

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