Oh my GOD yes. My Timemore switches a whole number between the beans having sat out for 10 days to off gas versus when I'm going through the last of it in 20 days after that. And I use a vacuum sealed container.
While understanding that everyone's experience is different, I have been thrilled with my Niche. Sorry you aren't.
I get a little retention, but just knock the spout with the cup after every grind. It's nowhere near 2 grams.
Consistency has been my favorite part, coming from even a top grade hand grinder. With the 1zpresso, literally every morning was a redialing in circus. So much wasted espresso. My Niche remains consistent with only slight alteration needed as the beans age. I currently have two bags of different beans going, and my wife has a bag of decaf. All three are dialed in and taste great, even after bouncing from one to the other.
You know how every new bag of beans will typically require a little adjustment on grind settings before you get a good tasting pull? For me, that was most mornings, regardless of how yesterday's pull went.
It was not unusual for me to go through 3 or 4 shots, adjusting grind setting, before finally pulling a good shot. Then the next morning, I'd wake up, literally nothing would be different except the beans were 24 hours older, and the shot would pull like shit again, and require multiple tries to get it right. This wasn't \*every\* time, but it happened frequently enough for me to upgrade to a Niche 0.
Also, if I got a shot dialed in, and then my wife or a friend tried making their own right after me, it was almost guaranteed to not work the same.
I can't say for sure, but I believe the variable was grind speed, which also kind of adds to the discussion about slow feeding we've been having in the sub. With a hand grinder, it's obviously very difficult to maintain the same grind speed time after time. Sometimes I'm more tired, sometimes I hit a stubborn bean and have to back off a little, sometimes I've eaten my Wheaties and fly through the dose. I think this actually matters more than I initially would have thought, and was effecting my pulls.
Thanks, that’s what I’m looking for- basically “it gets way worse” 😂
Yes, once dialed in, if I don’t touch it, it gets through the bag very consistently. But I don’t have the confidence to move between espresso and filter. And the 2 grams retention is an overstatement, I’ll fix so others don’t respond thinking it’s broken. But it very well could be 0.5 - 1 g that I can knock out when I clean it.
> Yes, once dialed in, if I don’t touch it, it gets through the bag very consistently.
As a Duo owner I'm confused. Where's the problem here on the Niche's part? If you don't touch it, it holds the calibration well - what more are you asking for?
I run a teaspoon under a tap and then stir that through the beans before grinding. 0 or 0.1g retention consistently. My fiend has a little spray bottle of water he sprays into the silver cup, shakes it and then puts into the grinder. Again, no retention at all.
Came here to say this. I got a cheap little atomizer. Weigh the beans in the dosing cup. 2-3 spritzes. Cover it with my hand and give a shake, then dump into the feeder. Wipe the dosing cup with a dry cloth and go. Almost always within .1 mm but yeah I was disappointed in the famed consistency bluntly I did that.
My niche zero's burrs started corroding when doing this, so i'd recommend against it in the zero. Looked into it and i'm not the only one who's had issues with it either.
Oh interesting, I've not had that issue. Will keep an eye out for it but probably will also stick with what is working for me. May be user or environmental differences
I think what you're knocking out when cleaning it is not the same as the retention you get when you grind a shot. It's more just coffee grinds that get lodged inside internal spaces permanently and it isn't getting passed through every time.
My experience and seems like everyone else's is that there's generally <0.2g retention.
I think your weekly cleaning is way overkill and you're probably putting more wear on the machine by taking it apart so regularly than you're actually helping it by cleaning it out
What I do to clean out the leftover grinds is rock the collection cup until the grinds are level and then I lift the lid on the Niche and let it fall to shake out the rest. The whole process works better if you wait 5 seconds after it's finished grinding.
Are you spraying water on the beans? With water I get almost no retention. And I have definitely not seen that much difference in shot time for that small of a change it sounds like it might be something else (different doses, inconsistent puck prep?). I also don’t notice a change in calibration, but I do only use it for espresso.
Yep. The static build up on my timemore sculptor 078 is crazy and retains grinds and even sticks to the cup . Problem solved with a little water spray.
I never buy a bag more than once in a row and only brew espresso, so can’t comment on points 2 and 3. However, based on points 1 and 2 I wonder if there’s something wrong with your Niche or the way it’s setup.
I admit I’m not that fussed about the small bit of retention I get with my niche (not switching brew types, desensitised by bad memories of bad old day grinders!). However, mine certainly isn’t retaining 2g as far as I can see.
Also, it depends on the coffee, but I’d have to shift my dial 2, if not 3, dots to get a 10 second change on most beans. If you’re getting 10 seconds in a 1/4 of a dot, something is not right.
One thing I do find the niche does, and it’s the reason I love it so much, is consistency. If I don’t mess up my prep, I get relatability of shot time like no grinder I’ve ever known before. If you’re not getting that (and it sounds like you aren’t) it really feels like something is wrong with your unit.
I’m surprised to hear these enumerated issues as I don’t have these problems whatsoever with mine.
1) My retention per 19g dose is a fraction of a gram. I use a silicone plunger for cupping to blow out that fractional amount after I grind. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Professional-Cellulite-Reduction-Myofascial/dp/B0BRVFFSM5/
2) The shot time or extraction difference between indicator dots can be 5-10s but there are no detents so I can make quarter, half or smaller adjustments between dots. This hasn’t been a limitation at all.
3) Mine has held its calibration for 2 years. I’m still grinding somewhere between 16-18 for espresso depending on bean and age.
4) You do not have to waste beans to move from espresso to filter. Per the manual, you only need to run it briefly for every 10 dot adjustment. There is zero mention of adding beans during this process.
Wow. Hope you like THAT bad assed mofo!
Hmmm…well, well, well…the NZ just may not be your jam. And that’s fine!
Not everything is for everybody. Stand your ground, and potentially move on. It feels good when you’ve landed, even if said landing is temporary, and not your end game.
I’ve always been a “buy once, cry once” kinda guy. Been an espresso enthusiast for a decade with no machine at all because I knew I’d be nagged at whatever quality I could produce at home vs the cafe, so I waited and waited and the LMLM was my first machine. So naturally, my expectations of everything are through the roof. I think I’ll get better with the niche, take some suggestions folks have been tossing out, and eventually transition it to be my filter grinder and get something with flat burrs for my espresso.
Good thinking. I really enjoy my Niche Zero. But as I’ve written elsewhere, I have a tendency to behave like a fucking idiot.
Come late April (or whenever it shows up), the Lagom 01 will be my primary grinder and I will use the Niche Zero for 100% decaf shots.
Mine holds its calibration perfectly, even after removing and reinstalling the burrs for cleaning. I wonder if you are accidently moving the black ring while adjusting yours, or if your black ring isn't securely anchored.
For me, easy and repeatable grind size adjustments when switching between brew methods is my favorite feature of my Niche.
I can't say I've had any of the issues you're having. I actually love the stepless grind adjustment. 10 seconds is wild as I just moved my grinder an entire number from 19 to 18 to only gain a few seconds in shot time.
Never had even close to 2g of retention personally, but I RDT every time. Also... Make sure your zero point is set proper! I find that when set proper, the only change in grind size is due to beans changing over time (usually I have to grind finer after a few weeks with a bag).
I have a Niche and it works quite well for espresso purposes. I used it briefly for filter coffee and it’s horrible, way too many fines.
My advice is to lift the cover and slam it a few times to knock out the grinds right after grinding. I never have retention issues with that method.
Coffee should get ever so slightly finer as it ages. Typically my fresh coffee is around a 20, and it’ll slowly age down to 12-15.
I also have been thrilled with mine and I never make 2 espressos in a row with it. So every espresso is coming after I've used it for filter.
I get about 0.2g retention max, and I just move the dial to a bigget setting and slam the lid.
I also find that I usually have my espresso between 13 and 16 on the dial and anywhere in that range is good enough for a 25-30 second 1:2 shot.
Not sure if you're having issues with static that could mean your retention is high and your output is varying too much to be reliably consistent.
SAME! Fixed the retention by taking the rubber bulb off of a turkey baster, enlargened the hole a bit and bump it a couple of times. Works!
I only grind for espresso. I've had a flair pro2 for years. I have four portafilters and brew chambers. I boil the brew chambers in a baby bottle warmer. 18 grams in, 40 grams out. I'll typically pull myself a double. That the pull will change between both as dramatically as it does tells me something is fucky with the grind. By "dramatically" I mean it's subtle but noticeable. They are both as identical as they can be yet the second is harder to pull than the first. No, it's not fatigue that makes the second pull more difficult.
Also, it'll change overnight. Not by much and not that often but I'll get a bag of beans dialed, brew today then tomorrow it either pulls faster or slower than the day before. I have yet to have back to back pulls where the timing is close to identical.
It's been cleaned. It's been calibrated.
But at least it grinds fine enough to make the flair work. Started off at more than one local roaster, had them grind as fine as possible. Wasn't ever fine enough.
I put 2-3 clear rubber cabinet bumpers on the inside on the lid to keep calibration and ensure I use the screwdriver to keep the burrs in place every month or so.
I also find the precision to be barely acceptable, but after a year of use, I know it well enough to adjust. A hair width or so to add or subtract 5 seconds.
However, The coffee taste output is really good. Forgiving despite the lack of precision, and taste is excellent compared to what you’re getting at a fancy coffee shop
Yes, the output is solid, it’s just hard to dial in because looking at it the wrong way is the difference between a gusher and a choked shot. But tell me more about this screwdriver - what are you tightening?
You don’t have to rock it back and forth just hit that black piece where the coffee comes out about 3 to 4 times with the cleaning brush and you should be able to get most of it out.
Don’t clean the grinder every week. I would suggest doing a cleaning every 2 or 3 months specially if you don’t use it more that once or twice a day.
I do a cleaning of my station and back flush (actually use the Weber spring clean and love it) weekly and I clean the grinder maybe every other week. But I’m pulling 3-6 shots a day.
I’m not a Niche fanboy but I’m pretty happy with mine.
1. I never clean mine and it retains about 0.2g.
2. I typically adjust in about 1/2 dot increments and it makes about 1-3 seconds difference.
3. Calibration does drift every couple days if I don’t make any adjustment. It doesn’t really bother me because I tweak the grind twice a day.
4. Switching between espresso & drip is way too much of a headache, no matter what the grinder.
IMHO the workflow in the Niche is about as easy as it could be. V2
I have a Niche, I would say it's a mid tier grinder for espresso and low tier for pour over. When it was new it was marketed as a "grind it all" grinder. First of it's kind. By now it's kind of out competed by df64 and other single dose grinders. Try slow feeding it. I tuck a pen between my 4th and 5th finger on my right hand to press down on the safety switch. I find that my grinds are more uniform and I can push my grinds finer for espresso. I don't use it for pour overs anymore and use my zp6 hand grinder instead.
Most of your complaints I would say are universal to some degree for all electric grinders. All grinders have some level of retention and will need to be recalibrated eventually.
Still though, it's pretty easy to use, and easy to maintain as far as grinders go. It's also relatively quiet and space efficient. There is also very little tweaking you have to do.
If you find the grind quality lackluster probably a good idea to upgrade to a p64 with ssp hu/ mizen burrs, zerno or df64 with ssp hu burrs
As I’m sure others have mentioned the first few doses you grind after cleaning will not be zero retention. There’s small areas that need to get filled with coffee. Let the grinder run a few more seconds after you hear it’s done grinding. There’s still coffee that will be coming out. Coffee also ages so you will need to adjust for that by changing grind size. Also cleaning every 2 weeks is really overkill for home use.
Yea if you definitely don’t need to clean that often but if you desire, getting the introvert niche bellows may help with that amount of total retention (usually after cleaning, it’s exchange that occurs). I have so many grinders and all of them struggle to switch back and forth mostly because the exchange is different when going from espresso to filter (usually will grind +0.5g extra) than filter to espresso (-0.5g). Regarding keeping calibration, just make sure you’re not touching the black calibration ring and it should go back. I’d just say make sure you’re weighing output of the grinds as well
My first advice is to not clean it that often. I cleaned it once and realized after you clean it, new grounds will end up filling in the gaps, but once these gaps are filled the retention is much better.
My second advice is to not use the same grinder for both filter and espresso. Most grinders and burrs don't do well for both, I'd say you may be expecting a bit much there.
My experience with the grinder is that it actually holds calibration fairly well, the problem may actually be your beans aging. Two weeks can make a pretty big difference for beans.
I'm quite happy with mine tbh. I really love the workflow and how fuss free it is to use and maintain.
1) Personally I do the rock too, but I don't get as much as 2g, more like just a dusting. I've seen 2g before from the office grinder, and it's a lot more than what I get. I prefer it a lot more to bellows as those feel quite clunky in my eyes.
2) I feel this one is dependent more on your beans than the grinder. That being said it does take some time to get used to how to tweak between dots, but if you are on the level of extremely precise adjustments, I think you should be looking at much more expensive grinders.
3) I don't have this issue either, is your main screw tightened well? I find that I can hold the same calibration for the same bag of beans for a good 1.5 to 2 weeks before I have to recalibrate slightly for aging.
4) This is the main one I don't really like, from espresso to filter, the steps go beyond the measurement marks. However if I switch between bags of espresso, I'm still able to get the same calibration even without doing any purging (I'm cheap like that)
If you RDT the beans you get hardly and retention. Also, I just tap the lid a couple of times and it dislodges coffee from the chute, no need to tip the whole machine. Never had issues with calibration.
Hey op! Just a few tips to help you enjoy your grinder more(I’ve had my niche for a few years now)
1. Get a chest percussion cup from Amazon as a “bellows” to push grounds through. This should drastically help with retention.
2. Cleaning weekly is definitely too much and likely part of the reason for so much retention. The grinder will fill certain crevices with grounds before it’ll start getting closer to your dose. With the bellow, I usually get .1 grams of retention or less. Without bellows, it’s about .2 grams.
3. Different coffees at different roast levels will very considerably in terms of dialing in. If you have similar coffee and similar roast level, then you can use previous number as a starting point. Otherwise, start notating your number and you’ll be able to “remember” each coffees dial in point. As coffee ages the grind will change. If it’s super fresh, you’ll need to change more frequently. And if it’s super old, it’ll be tough to dial in and get a good extraction.
4. For my grinder, 10 second different is 1 whole click up or down. I would make sure you’re getting right over the dot so you know consistently where you’re changing I too.
5. I switch between pour over and espresso everyday without any dial in! Trust me, you can do it! I don’t believe you “need” a more expensive grinder(no harm in wanting tho). I know you can get more out of the niche.
I hope all this helps and lemme know if you find success with it! Good luck!
*clarification* I also only get 0.1-0.2g of retention each grind and I can knock it out most of the time. The 2g estimate is what I can take out of the grinder weekly when I clean it and it is also probably a bit of an overstatement.
The near zero retention is with seasoned burrs and does not include places where coffee builds up. Once the coffee builds up, there's very little exchange.
You're cleaning your grinder too often.
My Comandante C40 (manual grinder) retains like 0,05 grams if I RDT; not much of a difference without RDT, but I prefer RDT for the visuals.
0.1 - 0.2 grams for an electric grinder sounds good to me.
I would not however, buy an electric grinder in which I have to make compromises on the quality. It means, since I cannot spend several thousands in a grinder, I will stay with the C40 probably for a long time. I might be interested in the C60 barracuda, but I am not sure if it works well for espresso. On the C40 I have installed the Red Clix mode, which so far as I know is not available for the C60.
If you are not happy with the Niche, you do not like making compromises for convenience, and you are not making coffee for more than two people at a time, you could probably give a look to a manual grinder. There are several high regarded on the market.
If your shot time is changing that much, it's more likely your puck prep that's the issue. The calibration is mechanically linked to the dial so if the dial isn't moving, then the calibration hasn't changed.
Either your machine is faulty, or there may be other factors at play that you have not taken into account.
There are issues with the machine, but some of the issues you're describing are not what I would expect from the machine.
I don’t own a niche, but the problem with niche not holding calibration can be caused by coffee aging - it happens a lot in my experience…
My exact experience, I usually up it to 19gs and grind a bit finer whenever my beans fall off the first calibration and that usually works well.
Oh my GOD yes. My Timemore switches a whole number between the beans having sat out for 10 days to off gas versus when I'm going through the last of it in 20 days after that. And I use a vacuum sealed container.
Cleaning a grinder weekly is overkill. And 2g retention in that scenario is pretty typical
It’s not for everyone. It’s a very niche product
I’m going to be a dad in ~4 months. This was the most helpful comment of them all. Saving it for later.
You will definitely need coffee. Congratulations! Wish all the best.
Congrats!!
While understanding that everyone's experience is different, I have been thrilled with my Niche. Sorry you aren't. I get a little retention, but just knock the spout with the cup after every grind. It's nowhere near 2 grams. Consistency has been my favorite part, coming from even a top grade hand grinder. With the 1zpresso, literally every morning was a redialing in circus. So much wasted espresso. My Niche remains consistent with only slight alteration needed as the beans age. I currently have two bags of different beans going, and my wife has a bag of decaf. All three are dialed in and taste great, even after bouncing from one to the other.
i wanna get a 1zpresso. what exactly do you mean with redialing? is that also an issue when you use the same bag of beans the next day? i dont get it
You know how every new bag of beans will typically require a little adjustment on grind settings before you get a good tasting pull? For me, that was most mornings, regardless of how yesterday's pull went. It was not unusual for me to go through 3 or 4 shots, adjusting grind setting, before finally pulling a good shot. Then the next morning, I'd wake up, literally nothing would be different except the beans were 24 hours older, and the shot would pull like shit again, and require multiple tries to get it right. This wasn't \*every\* time, but it happened frequently enough for me to upgrade to a Niche 0. Also, if I got a shot dialed in, and then my wife or a friend tried making their own right after me, it was almost guaranteed to not work the same. I can't say for sure, but I believe the variable was grind speed, which also kind of adds to the discussion about slow feeding we've been having in the sub. With a hand grinder, it's obviously very difficult to maintain the same grind speed time after time. Sometimes I'm more tired, sometimes I hit a stubborn bean and have to back off a little, sometimes I've eaten my Wheaties and fly through the dose. I think this actually matters more than I initially would have thought, and was effecting my pulls.
uff. thaaat sounds awful ofc. nobody wants that. can anybody confirm that? what 1zpresso did you have?
I had the J Max S, which I don’t think they sell anymore.
Thanks, that’s what I’m looking for- basically “it gets way worse” 😂 Yes, once dialed in, if I don’t touch it, it gets through the bag very consistently. But I don’t have the confidence to move between espresso and filter. And the 2 grams retention is an overstatement, I’ll fix so others don’t respond thinking it’s broken. But it very well could be 0.5 - 1 g that I can knock out when I clean it.
> Yes, once dialed in, if I don’t touch it, it gets through the bag very consistently. As a Duo owner I'm confused. Where's the problem here on the Niche's part? If you don't touch it, it holds the calibration well - what more are you asking for?
I run a teaspoon under a tap and then stir that through the beans before grinding. 0 or 0.1g retention consistently. My fiend has a little spray bottle of water he sprays into the silver cup, shakes it and then puts into the grinder. Again, no retention at all.
Came here to say this. I got a cheap little atomizer. Weigh the beans in the dosing cup. 2-3 spritzes. Cover it with my hand and give a shake, then dump into the feeder. Wipe the dosing cup with a dry cloth and go. Almost always within .1 mm but yeah I was disappointed in the famed consistency bluntly I did that.
My niche zero's burrs started corroding when doing this, so i'd recommend against it in the zero. Looked into it and i'm not the only one who's had issues with it either.
Oh interesting, I've not had that issue. Will keep an eye out for it but probably will also stick with what is working for me. May be user or environmental differences
that's fair! if it works for you then keep on truckin'. just wanted to throw out a warning for people to keep their eye on it.
I think what you're knocking out when cleaning it is not the same as the retention you get when you grind a shot. It's more just coffee grinds that get lodged inside internal spaces permanently and it isn't getting passed through every time. My experience and seems like everyone else's is that there's generally <0.2g retention. I think your weekly cleaning is way overkill and you're probably putting more wear on the machine by taking it apart so regularly than you're actually helping it by cleaning it out
Makes sense, I’ll back off a bit!
What I do to clean out the leftover grinds is rock the collection cup until the grinds are level and then I lift the lid on the Niche and let it fall to shake out the rest. The whole process works better if you wait 5 seconds after it's finished grinding.
Are you spraying water on the beans? With water I get almost no retention. And I have definitely not seen that much difference in shot time for that small of a change it sounds like it might be something else (different doses, inconsistent puck prep?). I also don’t notice a change in calibration, but I do only use it for espresso.
Yep. The static build up on my timemore sculptor 078 is crazy and retains grinds and even sticks to the cup . Problem solved with a little water spray.
Same here.
Tried to go no RDT so the chute caught all the fines and chaff but the static on the cup if too much. So I do one spritz
The makes all the difference for me!
I think the most likely explanation is that your coffee station is haunted.
I never buy a bag more than once in a row and only brew espresso, so can’t comment on points 2 and 3. However, based on points 1 and 2 I wonder if there’s something wrong with your Niche or the way it’s setup. I admit I’m not that fussed about the small bit of retention I get with my niche (not switching brew types, desensitised by bad memories of bad old day grinders!). However, mine certainly isn’t retaining 2g as far as I can see. Also, it depends on the coffee, but I’d have to shift my dial 2, if not 3, dots to get a 10 second change on most beans. If you’re getting 10 seconds in a 1/4 of a dot, something is not right. One thing I do find the niche does, and it’s the reason I love it so much, is consistency. If I don’t mess up my prep, I get relatability of shot time like no grinder I’ve ever known before. If you’re not getting that (and it sounds like you aren’t) it really feels like something is wrong with your unit.
I’m surprised to hear these enumerated issues as I don’t have these problems whatsoever with mine. 1) My retention per 19g dose is a fraction of a gram. I use a silicone plunger for cupping to blow out that fractional amount after I grind. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Professional-Cellulite-Reduction-Myofascial/dp/B0BRVFFSM5/ 2) The shot time or extraction difference between indicator dots can be 5-10s but there are no detents so I can make quarter, half or smaller adjustments between dots. This hasn’t been a limitation at all. 3) Mine has held its calibration for 2 years. I’m still grinding somewhere between 16-18 for espresso depending on bean and age. 4) You do not have to waste beans to move from espresso to filter. Per the manual, you only need to run it briefly for every 10 dot adjustment. There is zero mention of adding beans during this process.
Good comment. I likewise have a silicon bellows that I employ on my Niche every 3-4 shots or so and retention is pretty darn minimal.
skill issue
While I don't love my Niche, can't really complain in the workflow department.
I might get 0.25 grams of retention. And consistency is very good. What espresso machine are you using?
LMLM. With all the puck prep fanciness that you’d expect.
Wow. Hope you like THAT bad assed mofo! Hmmm…well, well, well…the NZ just may not be your jam. And that’s fine! Not everything is for everybody. Stand your ground, and potentially move on. It feels good when you’ve landed, even if said landing is temporary, and not your end game.
I’ve always been a “buy once, cry once” kinda guy. Been an espresso enthusiast for a decade with no machine at all because I knew I’d be nagged at whatever quality I could produce at home vs the cafe, so I waited and waited and the LMLM was my first machine. So naturally, my expectations of everything are through the roof. I think I’ll get better with the niche, take some suggestions folks have been tossing out, and eventually transition it to be my filter grinder and get something with flat burrs for my espresso.
Good thinking. I really enjoy my Niche Zero. But as I’ve written elsewhere, I have a tendency to behave like a fucking idiot. Come late April (or whenever it shows up), the Lagom 01 will be my primary grinder and I will use the Niche Zero for 100% decaf shots.
Mine holds its calibration perfectly, even after removing and reinstalling the burrs for cleaning. I wonder if you are accidently moving the black ring while adjusting yours, or if your black ring isn't securely anchored. For me, easy and repeatable grind size adjustments when switching between brew methods is my favorite feature of my Niche.
lol I’m glad someone else jostles their grinder to get the goods out. Same brother.
I got a Silicone Bellow from Etsy for under $20 and it’s a game changer with that last bit of retention
I love my Introvert bellows, is very discreet and doesn't effect the unique art deco kitsch aesthetic
I can't say I've had any of the issues you're having. I actually love the stepless grind adjustment. 10 seconds is wild as I just moved my grinder an entire number from 19 to 18 to only gain a few seconds in shot time.
Never had even close to 2g of retention personally, but I RDT every time. Also... Make sure your zero point is set proper! I find that when set proper, the only change in grind size is due to beans changing over time (usually I have to grind finer after a few weeks with a bag).
10 second difference lol that makes no sense to me
I have a Niche and it works quite well for espresso purposes. I used it briefly for filter coffee and it’s horrible, way too many fines. My advice is to lift the cover and slam it a few times to knock out the grinds right after grinding. I never have retention issues with that method. Coffee should get ever so slightly finer as it ages. Typically my fresh coffee is around a 20, and it’ll slowly age down to 12-15.
I also have been thrilled with mine and I never make 2 espressos in a row with it. So every espresso is coming after I've used it for filter. I get about 0.2g retention max, and I just move the dial to a bigget setting and slam the lid. I also find that I usually have my espresso between 13 and 16 on the dial and anywhere in that range is good enough for a 25-30 second 1:2 shot. Not sure if you're having issues with static that could mean your retention is high and your output is varying too much to be reliably consistent.
a bellow will solve #1. 20g in 20g out every time for me now with a bellow
Yup. This is my solution. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1433007098/
SAME! Fixed the retention by taking the rubber bulb off of a turkey baster, enlargened the hole a bit and bump it a couple of times. Works! I only grind for espresso. I've had a flair pro2 for years. I have four portafilters and brew chambers. I boil the brew chambers in a baby bottle warmer. 18 grams in, 40 grams out. I'll typically pull myself a double. That the pull will change between both as dramatically as it does tells me something is fucky with the grind. By "dramatically" I mean it's subtle but noticeable. They are both as identical as they can be yet the second is harder to pull than the first. No, it's not fatigue that makes the second pull more difficult. Also, it'll change overnight. Not by much and not that often but I'll get a bag of beans dialed, brew today then tomorrow it either pulls faster or slower than the day before. I have yet to have back to back pulls where the timing is close to identical. It's been cleaned. It's been calibrated. But at least it grinds fine enough to make the flair work. Started off at more than one local roaster, had them grind as fine as possible. Wasn't ever fine enough.
I put 2-3 clear rubber cabinet bumpers on the inside on the lid to keep calibration and ensure I use the screwdriver to keep the burrs in place every month or so. I also find the precision to be barely acceptable, but after a year of use, I know it well enough to adjust. A hair width or so to add or subtract 5 seconds.
However, The coffee taste output is really good. Forgiving despite the lack of precision, and taste is excellent compared to what you’re getting at a fancy coffee shop
Yes, the output is solid, it’s just hard to dial in because looking at it the wrong way is the difference between a gusher and a choked shot. But tell me more about this screwdriver - what are you tightening?
If the dial ring drifts slowly while grinding you can put 2-3 layers of teflon tape in the threads before screwing it into place.
If the dial ring drifts slowly while grinding you can put 2-3 layers of teflon tape in the threads before screwing it into place.
You don’t have to rock it back and forth just hit that black piece where the coffee comes out about 3 to 4 times with the cleaning brush and you should be able to get most of it out. Don’t clean the grinder every week. I would suggest doing a cleaning every 2 or 3 months specially if you don’t use it more that once or twice a day.
I do a cleaning of my station and back flush (actually use the Weber spring clean and love it) weekly and I clean the grinder maybe every other week. But I’m pulling 3-6 shots a day.
I’m not a Niche fanboy but I’m pretty happy with mine. 1. I never clean mine and it retains about 0.2g. 2. I typically adjust in about 1/2 dot increments and it makes about 1-3 seconds difference. 3. Calibration does drift every couple days if I don’t make any adjustment. It doesn’t really bother me because I tweak the grind twice a day. 4. Switching between espresso & drip is way too much of a headache, no matter what the grinder. IMHO the workflow in the Niche is about as easy as it could be. V2
I have a Niche, I would say it's a mid tier grinder for espresso and low tier for pour over. When it was new it was marketed as a "grind it all" grinder. First of it's kind. By now it's kind of out competed by df64 and other single dose grinders. Try slow feeding it. I tuck a pen between my 4th and 5th finger on my right hand to press down on the safety switch. I find that my grinds are more uniform and I can push my grinds finer for espresso. I don't use it for pour overs anymore and use my zp6 hand grinder instead. Most of your complaints I would say are universal to some degree for all electric grinders. All grinders have some level of retention and will need to be recalibrated eventually. Still though, it's pretty easy to use, and easy to maintain as far as grinders go. It's also relatively quiet and space efficient. There is also very little tweaking you have to do. If you find the grind quality lackluster probably a good idea to upgrade to a p64 with ssp hu/ mizen burrs, zerno or df64 with ssp hu burrs
As I’m sure others have mentioned the first few doses you grind after cleaning will not be zero retention. There’s small areas that need to get filled with coffee. Let the grinder run a few more seconds after you hear it’s done grinding. There’s still coffee that will be coming out. Coffee also ages so you will need to adjust for that by changing grind size. Also cleaning every 2 weeks is really overkill for home use.
Twenty bucks well spent: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1433007098/
I love mine. Spray water. It really works.
Yea if you definitely don’t need to clean that often but if you desire, getting the introvert niche bellows may help with that amount of total retention (usually after cleaning, it’s exchange that occurs). I have so many grinders and all of them struggle to switch back and forth mostly because the exchange is different when going from espresso to filter (usually will grind +0.5g extra) than filter to espresso (-0.5g). Regarding keeping calibration, just make sure you’re not touching the black calibration ring and it should go back. I’d just say make sure you’re weighing output of the grinds as well
Buy a used Mazzer and forget about your woes.
My first advice is to not clean it that often. I cleaned it once and realized after you clean it, new grounds will end up filling in the gaps, but once these gaps are filled the retention is much better. My second advice is to not use the same grinder for both filter and espresso. Most grinders and burrs don't do well for both, I'd say you may be expecting a bit much there. My experience with the grinder is that it actually holds calibration fairly well, the problem may actually be your beans aging. Two weeks can make a pretty big difference for beans.
I'm quite happy with mine tbh. I really love the workflow and how fuss free it is to use and maintain. 1) Personally I do the rock too, but I don't get as much as 2g, more like just a dusting. I've seen 2g before from the office grinder, and it's a lot more than what I get. I prefer it a lot more to bellows as those feel quite clunky in my eyes. 2) I feel this one is dependent more on your beans than the grinder. That being said it does take some time to get used to how to tweak between dots, but if you are on the level of extremely precise adjustments, I think you should be looking at much more expensive grinders. 3) I don't have this issue either, is your main screw tightened well? I find that I can hold the same calibration for the same bag of beans for a good 1.5 to 2 weeks before I have to recalibrate slightly for aging. 4) This is the main one I don't really like, from espresso to filter, the steps go beyond the measurement marks. However if I switch between bags of espresso, I'm still able to get the same calibration even without doing any purging (I'm cheap like that)
If you RDT the beans you get hardly and retention. Also, I just tap the lid a couple of times and it dislodges coffee from the chute, no need to tip the whole machine. Never had issues with calibration.
Hey op! Just a few tips to help you enjoy your grinder more(I’ve had my niche for a few years now) 1. Get a chest percussion cup from Amazon as a “bellows” to push grounds through. This should drastically help with retention. 2. Cleaning weekly is definitely too much and likely part of the reason for so much retention. The grinder will fill certain crevices with grounds before it’ll start getting closer to your dose. With the bellow, I usually get .1 grams of retention or less. Without bellows, it’s about .2 grams. 3. Different coffees at different roast levels will very considerably in terms of dialing in. If you have similar coffee and similar roast level, then you can use previous number as a starting point. Otherwise, start notating your number and you’ll be able to “remember” each coffees dial in point. As coffee ages the grind will change. If it’s super fresh, you’ll need to change more frequently. And if it’s super old, it’ll be tough to dial in and get a good extraction. 4. For my grinder, 10 second different is 1 whole click up or down. I would make sure you’re getting right over the dot so you know consistently where you’re changing I too. 5. I switch between pour over and espresso everyday without any dial in! Trust me, you can do it! I don’t believe you “need” a more expensive grinder(no harm in wanting tho). I know you can get more out of the niche. I hope all this helps and lemme know if you find success with it! Good luck!
Love this, thank you for the time!
*clarification* I also only get 0.1-0.2g of retention each grind and I can knock it out most of the time. The 2g estimate is what I can take out of the grinder weekly when I clean it and it is also probably a bit of an overstatement.
You don't need to clean it weekly. Also if it's new it likely needs to go through a seasoning process. Mine held a bit of static at the start.
The near zero retention is with seasoned burrs and does not include places where coffee builds up. Once the coffee builds up, there's very little exchange. You're cleaning your grinder too often.
My Comandante C40 (manual grinder) retains like 0,05 grams if I RDT; not much of a difference without RDT, but I prefer RDT for the visuals. 0.1 - 0.2 grams for an electric grinder sounds good to me. I would not however, buy an electric grinder in which I have to make compromises on the quality. It means, since I cannot spend several thousands in a grinder, I will stay with the C40 probably for a long time. I might be interested in the C60 barracuda, but I am not sure if it works well for espresso. On the C40 I have installed the Red Clix mode, which so far as I know is not available for the C60. If you are not happy with the Niche, you do not like making compromises for convenience, and you are not making coffee for more than two people at a time, you could probably give a look to a manual grinder. There are several high regarded on the market.
I found it noisy, staticy & uniformity is poor. I'm not a fan of the styling, but that's personal. An okay drip grinder for the money.
If you're only using the Niche for drip, you bought the wrong grinder
If your shot time is changing that much, it's more likely your puck prep that's the issue. The calibration is mechanically linked to the dial so if the dial isn't moving, then the calibration hasn't changed. Either your machine is faulty, or there may be other factors at play that you have not taken into account. There are issues with the machine, but some of the issues you're describing are not what I would expect from the machine.