Eureka Single dose, Niche, Solo

LMSC

If James Hoffman uses it as his go to grinder, there has got to be a reason, right ? 😊

Cuprajake

Its not his go to. Thats an eg1 £3000 grinder

He uses the niche as its an affordable bench mark for most

I tried a niche, wasnt a fan

I prefer my big flat. Although the Bianca is cracking

Took me a while to settle on both having had 5 or 6 machines and grinders

LMSC

Cuprajake uses the niche as its an affordable bench mark for most

That’s I meant. Commoner go to !

LMSC

Cuprajake I prefer my big flat

You have been tempting me for a while! 😂

HVL87

Cuprajake Its not his go to. Thats an eg1 £3000 grinder

He uses the niche as its an affordable bench mark for most

I tried a niche, wasnt a fan

I think the “higher tier” grinders were a more recent purchase for a video. Of course he has a roastery with lots of high end equipment; grinders and otherwise.

I believe it has been his “go to grinder” in the sense that it’s good value, small, a single doser, easy to dial in and easy to travel with.

Did you really give the Niche a chance? I remember your complaint being that it has a lot of chaff in the grind? What didn’t you like about it otherwise.

Frothbewithyou Just being devil’s advocate. Do you think confirmation bias, sense of being part of community, Niche being an ‘underdog’ versus <insert big corp> and following on from the community comment, tribalism fuels the Niche or nothing mentality.

I think there will always be bias, especially when people give opinions on machines they own or have been involved with.

At the same time if I was to sit down again and look at the best value for money home grinders (for espresso) or espresso machines, I believe I would reach the same conclusion. Grinders: Specialita, Niche, maybe Solo….yes you can get a second hand mazzer but they are huge. What’s the next step up..a Lagom P64? The Niche is not perfect but the workflow is excellent. On the espresso machine front how many viable dual boiler machines are there under £2.5k? An ECM/Profitec machine would be great but is it worth the significant premium for the same functionality?

Frothbewithyou Also now production has moved to China, I wonder if the DF Solo, Lagon Mini, Fellow ode, X54 etc can shave some market share off them. Sometimes being the first to a design philosophy is good but it’s hard to hold onto that dominance with iteration so prevalent. 😁

I wouldn’t buy a Niche if I didn’t make espresso. Although I also use it for Aeropress and V60. The Lagom mini is not viable for multiple espressos and stalls on medium/light roasts. The Fellow Ode is filter focussed and the X54 is very expensive for what it is. So we inevitably come back to the same options for espresso unfortunately…there is still a gap in the market especially for a flat burr grinder which has a similar workflow to the Niche…

Frothbewithyou

Oh I recognise completely and actually think the positives spoken about the Niche and it’s success are undeniable and I can see why it is a benchmark for espresso coffee.

I think it’s interesting discussion because maybe the larger corporations had become stagnant on the innovation front and catering to the commercial market, this allowed Niche to become the household name it has become for single dosing.

I just think considerations on desires, needs, budgets, preferred brews and design factors all play a part in the home grinder choice and while I agree it’s a benchmark alot aspire to be (especially for espresso). Some other brands and designs definitely tick alot of boxes for some consumers, for instance it personally didn’t fit for myself at this current time (no espresso machine, variety brewer).

Also now production has moved to China, I wonder if the DF Solo, Lagon Mini, Fellow ode, X54 etc can shave some market share off them. Sometimes being the first to a design philosophy is good but it’s hard to hold onto that dominance with iteration so prevalent. 😁

LMSC

Frothbewithyou why it is a benchmark for espresso coffee.

I would probably say in that price bracket plus or minus, given the features, work flow, ….

Cuprajake

£500 for a geinder is still alot of money.

But in grinder terms its not,

Frothbewithyou

Oh yeah Mazzer Super Jollys are big favourites as well. It’s an interesting point. I do agree with this thread that Eureka models and design philosophy have been a big no no. They do seem to be of the ilk ‘here is a new dial, we will name this Eureak Silenzio Dialio and charge £40 more’
I think and hope to see the design space grow and I’m looking forward to it.
I’m also hoping for some of these very niche (haha excuse the pun) brew methods to become more global. I am tempted to try that nitrogen freeze dried coffee capsules.

Either way it’s a very interesting topic for sure and I find myself reading about them even though I am very happy with my current setup

I do love the members of this community for intelligent debate 💪💪👌

MediumRoastSteam

@Frothbewithyou - how dare you not say the Niche isn’t the best and only grinder that someone should ever buy? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I agree with you. You make very interesting points. For me, there were a few factors on why I bought the Niche back in 2018:

single dose;
Affordable;
Consistent;
Easy to use;
It was demonstrated snd scrutinised before it’s launch.

Fast forward almost 4 years, and in my opinion there aren’t many grinders which tick those boxes. The Solo came close, and it’s a very good price. If I was to buy a flat burr grinder, I would actually pick the Solo over the Eureka Oro single dose.

Unfortunately, the £500-£900 single dosing grinder market hasn’t been explored yet. I do hope they start soon, but not with some crazy nonsense of a modified Ex-commercial and then claim it’s been designed from the ground up. For me, innovation is key. Eureka has failed miserably on that aspect.

Before the Niche, I had a Kinu M68. Single dose manual grinder. Totally innovative design. Very easy to take apart and clean. But to me, static was a very big issue.

Frothbewithyou

MediumRoastSteam I think it’s always good to have perspective and it’s hard because most people will only have the luxury of owning one premium grinder.

I can see growth in this area in particular in the last 2 years when I took it up a notch to being something I’d class as my ‘hobby’.

Love the Kinu and I also like the design (emphasis on that) of the Chestnut X. I think between £300-£800 there is definitely space for a few more competitors.

I have a question for all Niche owners if you could take one feature from another grinder what would it be and why? Would you for instance want anything fro the Oro or Solo? (Trying to not derail too much). Or maybe another grinder, if you could release a Niche Zero 2nd Edition what would you change?

PortafilterProcrastinator

Frothbewithyou

I’ve had my Niche about a year and the two things I’d change: Not having to lift the lid the adjust the grind and … ‘designed’ bellows.

The second one will probably elicit all sorts of reactions, but I think they’d help. The niche is great for switching grind size. I go from c.83 for pourover to c.35 for Moka Pot (or vice versa) very regularly. It works, it works really really well. But I’d like to be more thorough. To force more out.

MediumRoastSteam

Frothbewithyou if you could release a Niche Zero 2nd Edition what would you change?

I think most of Niche owners, who experienced the grinder for a while, would like to see a flat burr option. As for changes in the current model, I’m not sure. It works for me very well. If I were to suggest something, maybe a portafilter holder option. I don’t use the cup at all.

Beverast

Frothbewithyou Two things I would change on the Niche Zero. First, I would have a separate power switch to turn it on/off. Secondly, an easier way to pull out the main cable. Since I got my Niche I still have not managed to fully pull out the main cable. I’m somewhat heavy handed, and knowing my luck would probably break or mess something up 😁

Other than that, I’m really happy with the performance of the Niche. Said it before but I would not change it for anything else at this stage.

Cuprajake

No i probably didnt give it a fair chance tbh,

Yeah there was a hell of a lot of chaff, and for me inconsistency as twice i got beans stuck under the nfc disc thing. Something ive never seen mentioned

And without the disc it popcorned like crazy. Wether that made a difference ill never know.

Just wasnt for me in the end.

Agree though if you want to single dose your limited to only a couple of options.

-Mac

MediumRoastSteam

Surely 2 future Niches, one with 83mm flat burr and one with 83mm conical burr, sub-£1000 would just own the sub 3K market?

CafeNoir

100% agree, a Niche Flat would be worth a serious look if it measured up.
Bellows….hmm…missing the whole point of the Niche unless it’s just your OCD getting out of hand, IMHO

MediumRoastSteam

Beverast Secondly, an easier way to pull out the main cable

Just pull it until it doesn’t come out any longer, gently. It’s simply stored inside the base, without any fancy mechanisms. In fact, if you remove the single screw which holds the wooden lid to the base (underneath the cup tray) you’ll see it there, together with two spare springs. 😊

LMSC

Three things :

A beefy and more elegant finish
Flat and conical versions sporting >= 83 mm
Swap flat for conical and vice-versa

I wonder how a combo would work though !

Beverast

MediumRoastSteam Fiddled about with it this morning and managed to pull it out 😁

Frothbewithyou

All great responses so far everyone, its nice to see such a large consumer base be struggling to find ‘improvements’ :D

Nightrider_1uk

I would echo the separate on off switch and the ability to w=swap between the conical and flat burrs

PortafilterProcrastinator

Nightrider_1uk That would be holy grail wouldn’t it? One grinder that could be conical OR flat?? (I hesitate to say one grinder to rule them all, but I can’t help myself)

Would this be possible, given how different conical and flat burrs are?

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