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The Niche Zero user experience

344K views 3K replies 311 participants last post by  Eiffel 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Lets start something that's not about, when is my grinder coming, interesting as it might be. How is everyone who has received their Niche Zero finding the grinder. Have you compared it against your existing grinder if you have one, has it helped the coffee making process, do we have some videos of your Niche in action and the shots it's producing. How are you finding the weight consistency out vs in etc..
 
#4 ·
I like it. Had a mignon before and it is making tastier shots already. The only thing I need to get better at is distribution of the grinds after transferring from cup to portafilter. Need to experiment a little as hit and miss at the moment. Much quieter than the mignon and I think looks nicer too.
 
#5 ·
Just posted on the other thread so copied below -

Looks much nicer and neater in reality than previous photos and video also arrived incredibly well packed.

Three 18g lots through initially as per suggestions and used these to dial in ending up at 11 for Chatswood 10s pre at 2bar and slowish ramp to 9 to get 2.5:1 after 40 sec o/all. First drinking shot as good as any from E92 to date.

Very impressed and many thanks to all involved especially DaveC who has guided so many on this forum with his very objective reviews and ever helpful advice.
 
#6 ·
It's tiny! Even in comparison with a 65e. And very pretty. It's also slow. I had to back the grind setting off to 25 to get 35g out from 18g in in 30 seconds with my current bean. It's more staticy than my 65e but the grind is excellent, even on brand new burrs, very even and VERY fluffy. The catch cup is all very well but I'm finding that the grinds are so fluffy it's difficult to trnsfer to the basket without making an unholy mess. Worth it in the cup though, I'm definitely getting more complex flavours even in milk. I'd still rather have a Mythos but I'll persist with this for a while before deciding whether the 65e or the Niche goes.
 
#8 ·
matharon said:
Just posted on the other thread so copied below -

Looks much nicer and neater in reality than previous photos and video also arrived incredibly well packed.

Three 18g lots through initially as per suggestions and used these to dial in ending up at 11 for Chatswood 10s pre at 2bar and slowish ramp to 9 to get 2.5:1 after 40 sec o/all. First drinking shot as good as any from E92 to date.

Very impressed and many thanks to all involved especially DaveC who has guided so many on this forum with his very objective reviews and ever helpful advice.
That is good to hear. I'm also pitching it against the E92. It's the zero retention that will clinch it if it's on par taste-wise.
 
#10 ·
How do I find it compared to the 'Franked' Versalab M3? Lot less faff.. Sure the M3 grinds directly into the pf but then you have to distribute the coffee, and the little volcano mound can make a bit of mess with removing the pf from the forks. The Niche however is just easy to use. Put beans in and switch on. The tumbler fits the pf very nicely. Turn it over, give it a shake, remove and a spin with an OCD thingy before tamping is all that you need.

Probably takes around the same time to grind as well (but you've got to gradually feed beans into the M3.) As for taste difference, I've not actually done a comparison yet as I'm still playing
:whistle:
Also as Dfk says, although the M3 is a hybrid, the conicals are pre-breakers but still uses flats to finish. Forget the EK, they are a law unto themselves
:rolleyes:


In fact I don't think I'm actually interested in doing a comparison to see which one gives better results in the cup as they are all different and the results will only be subjective of preferred taste and how light/dark the roast is. I'm just really happy that I've now got a large conical in a compact body that doesn't take up much room without the worry of wasting a ton of coffee single dosing.

Plus when I go on holiday anywhere, I can pack the Niche and take a V60/Moka pot with me. Whereas the M3 weighs a ton, and the EK has its own postcode..
 
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#11 ·
322 said:
The only thing I need to get better at is distribution of the grinds after transferring from cup to portafilter. Need to experiment a little as hit and miss at the moment.
@DavecUK What do you use Dave? I saw a wee plastic thingy ma bob on your PF when you did the demo's Niche?
 
#16 ·
Well, unboxed the white one as the black is for my son. As others have said, well thought through and packed nicely. A quick skim of the leaflet. I started on 19 with Mystery 9 and the Nota choked. Backed off 2 notches, same thing. Backed off another notch and the pour was spot on but pre infusion took about 20 seconds which aint a problem. have backed off another notch but going out. I only tasted one and straight sway, you get that conical burr earthiness to the flavour that is unmistakable. Expectations are really high for me now, having got it in my hands! Slight amount of static with the cup but hey ho!
 
#17 ·
Still dialing it in but so far I am very impressed. Its small but solid and quite heavy compared to my old Sage SGP. I really like the look of it and the colours, red led, switch etc really suit it.

So far I have already pulled a better shot than I ever managed with the SGP and I will probably start drinking more espresso now that it has a chance of coming out nicely! I'm not getting the bitterness or sourness that I couldn't seem to shake before so I am super impressed so far.

Last thing is that its super quiet vs the SGP. That thing was noisy even without beans in it. This is nice and quiet and I like the fact I just stick the 20g of beans in, turn it on and forget about it until its done.

The only concern I have is that when you watch the bottom burr rotate it appears to be travelling laterally quite a lot. I'm hoping that is nothing to do with burr alignment.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
mctrials23 said:
Still dialing it in but so far I am very impressed. Its small but solid and quite heavy compared to my old Sage SGP. I really like the look of it and the colours, red led, switch etc really suit it.

So far I have already pulled a better shot than I ever managed with the SGP and I will probably start drinking more espresso now that it has a chance of coming out nicely! I'm not getting the bitterness or sourness that I couldn't seem to shake before so I am super impressed so far.

Last thing is that its super quiet vs the SGP. That thing was noisy even without beans in it. This is nice and quiet and I like the fact I just stick the 20g of beans in, turn it on and forget about it until its done.

The only concern I have is that when you watch the bottom burr rotate it appears to be travelling laterally quite a lot. I'm hoping that is nothing to do with burr alignment.
Forget about watching the retaining bolt and retainer underneath. Watch the edge of the burr itself and you will find no lateral movement when rotating.
 
#19 ·
Its kind of hard to tell because of the branding on the lid and the distraction of the retaining bolt and washer but I kind of assumed it will have been designed to be aligned properly by design rather than due to the retaining bolt in any way.

The grinds are also super fluffy which is nice.
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
mctrials23 said:
Its kind of hard to tell because of the branding on the lid and the distraction of the retaining bolt and washer but I kind of assumed it will have been designed to be aligned properly by design rather than due to the retaining bolt in any way.

The grinds are also super fluffy which is nice.
it is the burrs slip down a machined shaft and are aligned. The actual bolt on top with the key-way that engages the burr at the top and the black part that presses down on the burr are simply to hold it down on the shaft, apply pressure to the sweep arms and lock the burr to the shaft. If plays no part in centering the burr....that's already taken care of when the burr is slipped onto the shaft. The retaining mechanism has some float, because if it didn't then it would be hard to engage. Anyone who has taken the top burr off will know and understand exactly what I mean. This has the advantage of making it impossible for a user to misalign the burrs after removal and replacement, because that top "hold down" key-way system can in no way affect alignment..

Also when replacing the burrs, I really don't tighten them too much at all, just hold the burr with my fingers and lightly nip up that nut using a 10mm (or is is 8mm) bit in a screwdriver handle....not a spanner.



 
#21 ·
Finally got home to mine. Only pulled one shot so far on a guess following 18g through it and thrown away and already that was a tasty one, despite a bit of inconsistency showing under the naked pf and a bit of a slow pour. I just tipped into the pf with a jiggle, levelled and tramped. No doubt there's work to be done there but the work flow is so clean and easy.

"Finger tight" it seems to me could give a range of at least 5 units depending on one's interpretation of it. Looks like my interpretation will take me to low teens for an espresso grind on these beans (Foundry Rio Magdalena Columbian). I could've tightened it less on calibrating and still called it finger tight.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Glad to hear that the retaining nut bears no relation to alignment but it'll drive me mad so I'll have to try & centre it.

First grind I got 1g retention. If, over a few test grinds the total in doesn't equal the total out I'll open it up and look for the retained grinds.

Next I'll make some coffee!
 
#24 ·
Repost from the madness thread...

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Really excited. 4th shot this night was awesome. First two choked DTP at 12 and 16, then backed off at 22 and then back to 21. Nice!

It's so quiet I thought it had some rocks or metals stuck when it stopped grinding.

It certainly looks miles better than in the photos. It's really geeky and satisfactory to see the burrs spinning as well.

I was planning to sink the shot, but it's so tasty!

... is anyone after a Ceado E37s? [emoji15]
 
#25 ·
Ok so I've found the missing grinds by giving the chute a tap.
:)


I've gone from the delivered setting of 20 down to 15 to get back to my usual 45sec shot (8sec 2bar then up to 9 and a slow descent).

Still getting sour shots but I'm wired now so am stopping for now. FWIW I prefer sour to bitter but it's going to take me a bit longer to dial in.

Loving my Black coffee corner but now I need more cupboard space to store all the gubbins previously left on the Mazzer's big tray!

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#26 ·
Used mine this morning for my breakfast routine. It's nice to switch it on and let it do its thing while I made my breakfast. Made an Americano for breakfast and a larger one for my travel mug for when I got to work. Can't really fault it tbh, it does what it does.

Does anyone find they don't have to distribute after emptying the cup into the portafilter basket? I've stopped using my Londinium tool and just level the surface with my spinnny thing, then tamp. The bottom of the basket shows a nice even spread of coffee when saturated.
 
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