What’s on your coffee bench?

[pbarry]

Recently purchased a Bonavita coffee maker with the insulated carafe, after using a large Fagor stovetop moka pot for decades. Really impressed! More nuanced flavors, filter traps some of the oils, no burner to forget to shut off or wonder if the machine managed to do it.. I am using more beans now for the same volume output—Nothing seems to beat traditional espresso makers for cost per volume, or am I confused?

[echappist]

Originally Posted by pritchet74

WELL DONE!

That looks great! I had kinda given up on the latte art, but sometimes I get one to look kind of good - I think that yours looks great!

And with that, now I am motivated to try learning again.

Thanks!

thanks for the kind words

this stuff really seems to require a good 9-10 months of muscle memory to get right. at least you'll still be drinking something yummy, even if the design doesn't pan out

one tip that I thought useful was to tilt the cup and start pouring slowly from 3-4 inches above. when you see a good base (basically even caramel color all around), bring the pitcher down to half inch above the cup (while maintaining the same slow speed of the pour), and then pour the design

and just yesterday, I messed up the design (the rosetta leaves look really jagged). just keep on practicing

and do post a picture when you get a good one

[9tubes]

Originally Posted by simplemind

What equipment would you recommend if I want to get the minimum satisfying pull?

Originally Posted by crankles

kinda depends on budget of course and what you like to drink. I had a Rocky+Silvia setup at work. I added a PID and pulled great espresso shots with it. However, if co-workers lined up, it was not up to the task. Milk drinks were also non-starters.

The list of pro-sumer machines is long...as is the grinder list.

If money is tight, look used for a grinder, but stay new for a machine. Much easier to tell how badly a grinder has been abused than an espresso machine.
Plus decent grinders are easy to renovate than machines.

Tell us what you want and I'm sure this group can help.

for what it's worth, I recently bought a Niche Zero grinder and really like it. I still have my Mazzer SuperJolly, but it's been relegated to pour-over duty.

Agreed. I've been a espressonerd for a long time. I have had an Isomac Millennium (a really nice HX machine that isn't imported any more) for about 15 years and an Anfim grinder. If an HX machine isn't in the budget I think the Silvia is still the best deal around for price and quality. Take a look at the Baratza Sette grinder. I've heard complimentary things about it from a guy who designs commercial machines here in Seattle.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by 9tubes

Agreed. I've been a espressonerd for a long time. I have had an Isomac Millennium (a really nice HX machine that isn't imported any more) for about 15 years and an Anfim grinder. If an HX machine isn't in the budget I think the Silvia is still the best deal around for price and quality. Take a look at the Baratza Sette grinder. I've heard complimentary things about it from a guy who designs commercial machines here in Seattle.

I've been using a Niche Zero for about 4 months now. It's about twice the price of the Sette 270, but way more forgiving if one needs to switch grinds...like I do every morning between my shot and my wifes caf/decaf split shot ;-)

It's made almost stop wanting a Monolith Flat.

[Kirk007]

Sacrilege I know: My Vibiemme, after 12 years of day in day out use without a hiccup, is off to major repair. For the interim, and to later go to home office or somewhere, we bought a Francis Francis for Illy Cafe iperesspresso pods. I've always liked the Illy classic espresso roast and ehem, this plastic pod machine makes really good espresso. Not artista level but for something to get you going and fueled through the work day, the speed, convenience and taste is really good. And you send the used pods back to Illy for recycling so the environmental impact, while still high is not as awful as I first suspected.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by crankles

I've been using a Niche Zero for about 4 months now. It's about twice the price of the Sette 270, but way more forgiving if one needs to switch grinds...like I do every morning between my shot and my wifes caf/decaf split shot ;-)

It's made almost stop wanting a Monolith Flat.

Tell us more. What's the retention like? The 63 mm burrs are certainly impressive though. How does it compare to your Mazzer?

I have up to $750 for a new grinder, and this machine is actually within budget. My current one is really inconsistent with the dosing: sometimes retaining half a gram of grinds, while other times not retaining much. So I would put in dosages of 16.8x grams of beans and get anywhere from 16.2 to 17.5 grams.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by echappist

Tell us more. What's the retention like? The 63 mm burrs are certainly impressive though. How does it compare to your Mazzer?

I have up to $750 for a new grinder, and this machine is actually within budget. My current one is really inconsistent with the dosing: sometimes retaining half a gram of grinds, while other times not retaining much. So I would put in dosages of 16.8x grams of beans and get anywhere from 16.2 to 17.5 grams.

I basically single dose and keep beans in airscapes. The Mazzer only works well w.r.t to retention and grind if a few lbs of beans are in the hopper...even then, going between two grind setting...and we're not talking huge movement here, results in really inconsistent shot times given the same 18gm of coffee...which is what I use for a double.

The Niche, on the other hand, not only has really low retention once broken in...we are talking 0.1 to 0.2 gm, but I bounce between two settings every morning, one for 18g caf and another for 9gm caf/9gr decaf. and hit my 30 second 40ml pull +/- 2 seconds. I have a Linea AV so the volumes are precalibrated by me. If the shot pull deviates much from the 30 seconds, it's *mostly* due to the grind as I'm a decent tamper ;-)

I'll post some retention photos tomorrow if you like.

It's really been great for a single dose workflow like mine.

[echappist]

Thanks!

That's good to hear, as I also toggle between settings on most day (I do a caffeinated double, my partner drinks decaf latté, I then make a half-caf double in the afternoon)

[chromopromo]

I also have a Niche Zero and for the past 9 months and it has performed flawlessly. I used a rocky grinder for years but could never get fine enough adjustment to pull consistent shots with my Olympia Cremina and switching between grinds or coffee was impossible because of the retention issue.

With the Niche, I can switch between pour-over and espresso with no problems. You just need to weight your beans for each shot and dial it in. I also a big fan of design. Its cool looking and has a small format.

[flydhest]

Where did you guys buy the Niche?

I am intrigued as it is supposed to be quiet. I make at most 4 shots a day, but they are before everyone else in the Manhattan apartment are awake. I need a quieter grinder than my Mazzer Mini.

[jpritchet74]

now you guys have me interested in the Niche......

[chromopromo]

The company is a start-up and sells through Indiegogo. The Niche is definitely quiet compared to the Rocky or a screamer like the Baratza Sette grinder.

[echappist]

also, how does the voltage thing work? It's shipped from England, which normally means 220V.

iirc, the voltage converter would merely mess up the grind RPM

Do they have special ones made for 110V?

[9tubes]

They make a 110v version for America.

That Niche grinder looks like it works well. I'm interested and if they are reliable then I might pick one up. Two thoughts though:

Why use wood? Coffee oils will stain any porous materials. Does anyone know if this has been a problem?

Why not grind directly into the portafilter? That stainless steel cup will retain some grinds, which will go stale pretty quickly. Is the amount retained so small that it doesn't make any difference even to the coffeegeeks? Do people wash the cup if it's going to be a couple hours between uses?

[crankles]

Originally Posted by 9tubes

They make a 110v version for America.

That Niche grinder looks like it works well. I'm interested and if they are reliable then I might pick one up. Two thoughts though:

Why use wood? Coffee oils will stain any porous materials. Does anyone know if this has been a problem?

Cost maybe? Besides, someones 'stain' is another person's patina. A few on the home barista forum have oiled/sealed theirs. I personally just let it ride. I'm not running an operating room...

Originally Posted by 9tubes

Why not grind directly into the portafilter? That stainless steel cup will retain some grinds, which will go stale pretty quickly. Is the amount retained so small that it doesn't make any difference even to the coffeegeeks? Do people wash the cup if it's going to be a couple hours between uses?

The cup retains neglible amouts of coffee. I have not washed mine since buying the niche in Feb LOL.

I tried *not* using the cup and had a friend 3D print a portafilter stand that was published on HB. It was just so-so. The size constraints of the machine restrict one to a bottomless PF if the stand is used. The other issue is static. When using the stand+bottomless PF, I needed to use a dosing ring so that the distance from the shute to the PF was minimal.

in short. I went back to the cup. It's a pretty easy workflow to get use to.

here's a few retention shots for those interested.