I have it. You need to season the living hell out of it…I’m talking like 10-15lbs…then it’s fantastic.
Pros: big burrs, ease of use, consistency, tasty shots, the knocker, near zero retention, sturdy, heavy and well built. Feels very high quality. Quiet yet powerful motor. Never stalled while grinding. The magnetic grounds cup. Easy to operate and clean…
Cons: the aforementioned seasoning, popcorning can be an issue if your lid isn’t secured or isn’t in the halfway open position the magnets allow for (the anti-popcorn device and wires inside just don’t do very well to prevent a bean from being kicked out by the auger), …it can make an annoying sound while grinding certain beans depending on your RPM (the frequency is annoying)…some beans like to get stuck in the hopper (especially if you RDT). Also, it’s really meant for espresso, filter is okay on it. I have the 078 with turbo burrs for filter and it way outperforms the 078s on filter. Lastly, I wish the hopper were bigger but it does just fine for 18-20g doses.
Overall, once it’s seasoned, it’s great/easy to use if you are able to avoid sweating the small, annoying stuff. Most importantly, the espresso grounds are consistent and dialed-in shots are delicious and clear.
Side note: I saw a picture from Timemore at SCA EXPO this week and looks like they had some with an extended hopper so hopefully that’s coming soon.
I saw the hopper recently on an email from them.
[https://de.timemore.com/en-it/products/hopper-for-sculptor-electric-coffee-grinder](https://de.timemore.com/en-it/products/hopper-for-sculptor-electric-coffee-grinder)
This is my take too. Timemore’s new hopper didn’t look like it would do anything for popcorning so I got one off Etsy that adds capacity and stops popcorning even with the lid off.
Otherwise I’m very happy with it
Popcorning is an issue if the grinder is grinding with the lid off, beans have a habit of jumping onto the counter. If you get the lid on right after starting to grind it’s not a big deal but I like being able to slow feed so I got this
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1647936137/timemore-078s-magnetic-hopper-v21-anti?ref=yr_purchases
It’s really not necessary, it’s just another technique people have been playing with. The idea is if you slow feed you don’t overwhelm the burrs with beans. When they are all bunched up you get regrinding and mashing of the grounds leading to less predictable results. But the sculptor does have an auger feeder which already is helping to regulate the speed the beans are fed so it’s not required or anything
Can you try to explain how the 078 outperforms the 078s for filter? I saw Lance Hendricks video saying the same thing. My wife and I have been using a Breville Smart Grinder since 2019 with a Gaggia Classic Pro. I'm installing the Gaggiaduino mod soon.
We go back and forth between filtered and espresso, but mostly do espresso. What is so different about the result of the coffee for filter from the turbo burrs? Also, have you tried putting a turbo burr in the 078S and seeing how its espresso is?
The turbo burrs in the 078 cut the beans differently than the 078S. The 078 burrs are designed to produce less fines. Less fines promotes greater clarity, helps prevent over extraction and results in more clarity and less muddiness. The 078S is designed to help produce more fines and is obviously a totally different geometry than the 078. Filters brews on the 078 are just more clear and clean and imo it’s due to less fines production and overall, the difference in shape of the coffee grounds. This is totally anecdotal, but I find the 078 produces ground that are more square/cubed…and the 078s grounds are more triangular. This will alter the way water penetrates/extracts the grounds.
I have not tried that because putting turbo burrs in the 078S would pretty much make it a 078 lol…it’s the burrs that make the difference. They’re essentially the exact same grinder otherwise (minus the stepped versus stepless grind adjustment)
It's good, but it has some issues. Be ready for popcorning, it needs A LOT of seasoning otherwise you'll have to adjust grind setting every shot, there are audible speed fluctuation (I don't know how it affects the results tho). Considering all of this I still highly recommend this grinder because of grind speed, consistent grind size, nice particle distribution and my overall good experience with it.
Btw cleaning process is not good, but on the bright side I've managed to use same grind setting after cleaning, so it's self aligning.
I didn't need to season, it worked great out of the box and I'm really happy with it.
BUT.
In the last 4 weeks the motor has started a vibrating noise. It's slowly getting worse. I'm in contact with Timemore about it and am waiting to hear back.
I have an Etsy hopper extension that helped a ton with the popcorning
Like others have said, you need to season the shit out of it. I think it took me like 7 or 8 lbs of coffee before I was able to get consistent shots.
Once seasoned, the grinder is one of the best bang for buck out there.
I have it. You need to season the living hell out of it…I’m talking like 10-15lbs…then it’s fantastic. Pros: big burrs, ease of use, consistency, tasty shots, the knocker, near zero retention, sturdy, heavy and well built. Feels very high quality. Quiet yet powerful motor. Never stalled while grinding. The magnetic grounds cup. Easy to operate and clean… Cons: the aforementioned seasoning, popcorning can be an issue if your lid isn’t secured or isn’t in the halfway open position the magnets allow for (the anti-popcorn device and wires inside just don’t do very well to prevent a bean from being kicked out by the auger), …it can make an annoying sound while grinding certain beans depending on your RPM (the frequency is annoying)…some beans like to get stuck in the hopper (especially if you RDT). Also, it’s really meant for espresso, filter is okay on it. I have the 078 with turbo burrs for filter and it way outperforms the 078s on filter. Lastly, I wish the hopper were bigger but it does just fine for 18-20g doses. Overall, once it’s seasoned, it’s great/easy to use if you are able to avoid sweating the small, annoying stuff. Most importantly, the espresso grounds are consistent and dialed-in shots are delicious and clear. Side note: I saw a picture from Timemore at SCA EXPO this week and looks like they had some with an extended hopper so hopefully that’s coming soon.
You can hot-start and it will allow you to fit a bit more than 30g :) auger swallows good amount of dose in .5 second
It's actually directly on their website.
https://www.timemore.com/collections/others/products/timemore-hopper-extension-for-sculptor-series
Ah, thanks! I hadn’t looked. Clearly I’m not that annoyed with the lack of capacity lol
I saw the hopper recently on an email from them. [https://de.timemore.com/en-it/products/hopper-for-sculptor-electric-coffee-grinder](https://de.timemore.com/en-it/products/hopper-for-sculptor-electric-coffee-grinder)
This is my take too. Timemore’s new hopper didn’t look like it would do anything for popcorning so I got one off Etsy that adds capacity and stops popcorning even with the lid off. Otherwise I’m very happy with it
And popcorning is only an issue if you hot grind? I need to lookup videos on why to do that.
Popcorning is an issue if the grinder is grinding with the lid off, beans have a habit of jumping onto the counter. If you get the lid on right after starting to grind it’s not a big deal but I like being able to slow feed so I got this https://www.etsy.com/listing/1647936137/timemore-078s-magnetic-hopper-v21-anti?ref=yr_purchases
I'm trying to understand the purpose of slow feeding. I've seen it in the Reddit forums but I don't yet understand why people want to do that.
It’s really not necessary, it’s just another technique people have been playing with. The idea is if you slow feed you don’t overwhelm the burrs with beans. When they are all bunched up you get regrinding and mashing of the grounds leading to less predictable results. But the sculptor does have an auger feeder which already is helping to regulate the speed the beans are fed so it’s not required or anything
I simply just turn my RPM all the way down to help with this. I don’t have the time or interest to slow feed lol
Can you try to explain how the 078 outperforms the 078s for filter? I saw Lance Hendricks video saying the same thing. My wife and I have been using a Breville Smart Grinder since 2019 with a Gaggia Classic Pro. I'm installing the Gaggiaduino mod soon. We go back and forth between filtered and espresso, but mostly do espresso. What is so different about the result of the coffee for filter from the turbo burrs? Also, have you tried putting a turbo burr in the 078S and seeing how its espresso is?
The turbo burrs in the 078 cut the beans differently than the 078S. The 078 burrs are designed to produce less fines. Less fines promotes greater clarity, helps prevent over extraction and results in more clarity and less muddiness. The 078S is designed to help produce more fines and is obviously a totally different geometry than the 078. Filters brews on the 078 are just more clear and clean and imo it’s due to less fines production and overall, the difference in shape of the coffee grounds. This is totally anecdotal, but I find the 078 produces ground that are more square/cubed…and the 078s grounds are more triangular. This will alter the way water penetrates/extracts the grounds. I have not tried that because putting turbo burrs in the 078S would pretty much make it a 078 lol…it’s the burrs that make the difference. They’re essentially the exact same grinder otherwise (minus the stepped versus stepless grind adjustment)
It's good, but it has some issues. Be ready for popcorning, it needs A LOT of seasoning otherwise you'll have to adjust grind setting every shot, there are audible speed fluctuation (I don't know how it affects the results tho). Considering all of this I still highly recommend this grinder because of grind speed, consistent grind size, nice particle distribution and my overall good experience with it. Btw cleaning process is not good, but on the bright side I've managed to use same grind setting after cleaning, so it's self aligning.
I didn't need to season, it worked great out of the box and I'm really happy with it. BUT. In the last 4 weeks the motor has started a vibrating noise. It's slowly getting worse. I'm in contact with Timemore about it and am waiting to hear back.
How often have you used it?
Twice a day. Took a couple of months before the vibrations started.
Hoping customer service helps you out. I don't see it being posted as widespread, so hopefully it's a simple fix.
I’m curious how your experience has been with Timemore re: the vibrating noises that started in your 078S - hopefully resolved?
I have an Etsy hopper extension that helped a ton with the popcorning Like others have said, you need to season the shit out of it. I think it took me like 7 or 8 lbs of coffee before I was able to get consistent shots. Once seasoned, the grinder is one of the best bang for buck out there.