Coffee Grinders - Niche Zero?

[AgilisMerlin]

i've got a 25+ year old krup's grinder, white stained brown - sorry for intruding, back to my hole •

[LJohnny]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Just watched a video on the Hario......looks like a similar brew/extraction method as you'd get with an Aeropress, which also makes great coffee....

It is very different actually, this method places the grounds and water in a cone receptacle, the brewing is basically a free incubation (immersion) of the grounds with the water, usually 2 mins, (i do ~3 for medium/light roasts) , then just activate the drain by placing in it on a cup (Clever brewer) or by activating the switch (Hario Immersion “switch” ). There is no pressing at all in this method like the aeropress.
Hario V60 Immersion Dripper 02 https://a.co/d/09mA4qC

[jpritchet74]

I have 2 of the Niche Zero grinders - one at home and one at the office. Absolutely love them!

[merlinmurph]

Last week, I met NHAero for the first time to show him a ride in my area. As we gabbed away getting to know each other, he made a comment about Paceline that went like this:

Paceline has showed me a lot of things to spend my money on that I never knew existed!

He was talking about bike stuff at the time, but after seeing some pictures of the coffee setup you guys have, I could say the same thing about coffee gear.

[hammerdocnomo]

I have had one for at least 2-3 years. Bought it pretty much when it was first released. It is everything I need as a single dose almost exclusively espresso grinder. Easy to clean and maintain. Conical burrs are great with little retained grinds. Attractive. I use it 2-3 times per day. I highly recommend it. Price is still well below the 1K threshold and retails around $650 US. Oh, remarkably quiet compared to other grinders.

Originally Posted by Ozz

Looking to get a grinder....heard good things about the Niche Zero.

Anyone with real-world experience love/hate these?

Any other options I should consider?

Many thanks....

[9tubes]

I've had a Niche for nearly three years. It's worked perfectly and makes great espresso.

I recall several blind taste tests where industry pros couldn't pick a winner between the Niche and the grinder used in the World Barista Championships. The Niche grinder uses the same conical burrs from a Mazzer Kony grinder so that would track.

One of the top cafes in the country is Cafe Vivace here in Seattle. I was amused that they switched to Niche grinders a couple of years ago. Before Vivace used custom-modded $2500 grinders.

Vivace says the Niche have been reliable. The owner of that cafe wrote the bible on espresso, and co-designed two of the most important espresso machines of the last 25 years (the first Synesso and the new Nuova Simonelli). Quite an endorsement of the Niche.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by AgilisMerlin

i've got a 25+ year old krup's grinder, white stained brown - sorry for intruding, back to my hole •

None of my ordinary burr grinders ever could provide a fine enough grind for doing espresso in my old, simple, 32-year-old, pump-driven Krups machine. That is until I found a relatively noisy and heavy Cuisinart grinder at the thrift store for I think $9.

Now I have complete control of the flow rate (via the adjustment of grind) for any given beans that I buy, producing perfect, 28-second, dry-puck pulls with a nice froth.

For me, keeping the process simple (narrowed down to bean selection, grind selection and tamp) is the key to consistently-good espresso.

The two machines take up counter space, but less space than my Keurig, my mini drip maker and my regular (excellent and quieter) Capresso grinder.
That's a lot of coffee machinery for a modest kitchen, so I wouldn't want any larger equipment!

[kingpin75s]

Originally Posted by dddd

None of my ordinary burr grinders ever could provide a fine enough grind for doing espresso in my old, simple, 32-year-old, pump-driven Krups machine.

Wow. That is the Krups model that got me through college in the mid 90s. Hammer out 4 double shots in the morning. Add some froth milk, load in a Nissan Stainless bullet and I was ready to roll for classes. Amazed to see one running after all this time. Awesome.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by kingpin75s

Wow. That is the Krups model that got me through college in the mid 90s. Hammer out 4 double shots in the morning. Add some froth milk, load in a Nissan Stainless bullet and I was ready to roll for classes. Amazed to see one running after all this time. Awesome.

It seems amazing to me how long that modern kitchen appliances can last, and why I prefer to go with used ones.

Christmas Eve 2013, walking home to my new residence late at night, I spotted the Keurig machine curbside in front of my neighbor's house, along with a paper shopping bag full of what looked like Tupperware discards.
Took it home to research it's failure, found only that the silicone filtering screen under the water reservoir had clogged with dust (apparently from the cover being set down too many times on a dusty countertop?). Been working fine ever since!

And my 6-slice DeLonghi toaster oven, purchased at Fleetwod Mac's Encino Hills garage sale after it had fallen off of their countertop (cracking the door handle) during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Yep, still working!

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by kingpin75s

Wow. That is the Krups model that got me through college in the mid 90s. Hammer out 4 double shots in the morning. Add some froth milk, load in a Nissan Stainless bullet and I was ready to roll for classes. Amazed to see one running after all this time. Awesome.

geez....I had the same Krups, and the Nissan 16 oz thermos.....popular setup I guess back then

[classtimesailer]

Dude! Replace your Espresso machine first. Then get a Niche Zero. Ours is going on 2 years of heavy use.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

Dude! Replace your Espresso machine first. Then get a Niche Zero. Ours is going on 2 years of heavy use.

if directed at me.....my Krups died 20+ years ago!

New machine is in the works works too.....

[dddd]

Suddenly occurred to me that the fancy espresso machines remind me of, wait for it, ...a big Harley.

Any of you espresso aficionados also own an American Big Twin?

A Ducati looks so different, but might be the more common pairing here(?).

[CyclingOnTheMind]

Another +1 for the Baratza Encore. No experience with the niche but I almost went with it a while back

The static retention and messiness someone else mentioned can get a bit annoying, but it's a great start and does everything fairly well.

The grind range is enormous, it'll do espresso (maybe even Turkish?) To the fattest cold brew grind you'd want. On the 0-40 scale I only really use 12-18

[msriddle]

Bought it years ago, worth every penny.