I have never had success brewing nice filter coffee with the Niche, but one tip that I have found mitigates fines a bit is to grind 1g more than you need, then handling the grounds container very carefully. Don't tap or knock it and pour the grounds out gently so that a larger proportion of the fines in the container stay in there stuck to the walls and bottom. This seems to reduce the amount of fines in the brew a lot, improving the drawdown times and cup clarity.
I put a white mark on black collar at 0 point when the original dial is at 50, by this way I can track the number like 50+15=65. I'm mostly in between 60-70 on the dial, I grind a little finer than you do generally. So your setting for "the april recipe" should be around 75, for those who are using
The large production of fines makes a lot of sense, when I used it. I never had a really clear crisp brew, with light roasted coffee. Looking forward to the other videos!
On my Niche I’m generally grinding in the area +\- 10 above 50. I’ve done as others have and marked the opposite side above the zero with a piece of tape. The way I refer to these grind settings is 50 + [number]. All that being said, I’ve had my Niche for well over a year and as I’ve progressed in my coffee journey I have enjoyed the filter cups less and less. The espresso is still tasty in my opinion, albeit not as high in clarity.
Bit late to the party but just found your channel after hearing about the April brewer. This makes a lot of sense to me, I use a hand grinder at work with an aeropress and have dialled in nice clarity of flavour and a body I like. At home where I thought things should be better due to having a kettle vs urn and better water it was alway worse, muddy flavour and a much heavier body. As soon as you mentioned times causing body things clicked. Also knowing that 50 is still very fine helps, I shall experiment some more and probably get a hand grinder. The Niche has been great for espresso over the last 2 years though.
I know some users of the Niche calibrate grinder for pour over. So the burrs are locked not on position “Calibrate”, but on mark 30 on the adjustment scale. Then your grinder scale is adjusted for pour over and from the 1 position it is on large grind setting then use to be.
Just place a mark on the black band at 0 when the dial is set to 50 and you can carry on the measure from the 2nd marker. You can place up to extra 2 markers on the black band.
Thank you for watching. We have an Home Brewing Video - Espresso edition - where we us the grinder again launching tomorrow. Do you use the Niche Grinder yourself?
Used to grind across different brew style and with the mazzer burrs its probably best with espresso and mostly blends more specific to something geared for milk. It does ok with SOE’s and larger pourovers (something like 30 grams for 500ml brews) I have since bought the k plus to run SOE’s and pourovers. Niche mostly for for espresso blends or when I’m late in the morning and need espresso to go 😁
It's really all about the compromise. I used Baratza Encore and V60 when I was single, then when I moved in with my partner we switched to a Chemex in the morning. I added an Olympia Cremina (speaking of compromise, pressure/temperature is on the higher end for light SOE, which means the steaming wand is quite difficult to achieve tight microfoam) and a Kinu M47, and that worked for awhile until it didn't. Needed to move the Encore to our camp and didn't seem fair to ask my partner to handgrinding 40g in the morning on thr Kinu (that is difficult to switch between brew and espresso). She wasn't really onboard for two grinders taking up counterspace so here we are. If we ever move maybe then I can have a grinder for each method.
The Niche has only served as my espresso grinder and i think thats where it shines. It's basically a chocolate factory in that it typically accentuates the chocolate notes of whatever coffee I grind through it for espresso, which makes it especially tasty for milk based drinks. But for filter, i stick to my fellow ode with ssp multi-purpose burrs for better clarity. I'm fortunate to be able to have multiple grinders but i can understand wanting one grinder that can do it all. It seems an unfortunate reality of the physics/engineering of grinding that we may never have a grinder that can truly "do it all" and compromises will have to be made in one way or another depending on what your cup profile preferences are. Also, 2:13 - i've definitely made that mistake more times than i care to admit 😂 good editing to cover it up tho! Thanks for making great coffee videos!
I do exactly as you do but also have the fellow sieve to get the micron needed to get rid of some of the fines. I do get frustrated as I tend to use this now mainly for filter as I moved away from espresso daily. I may look to sell mine and get a Ode with SSP burrs.
@@coffeewithapril I hope the Arco compares well, I ordered one for the discount but I've always loved the way the niche looks. Haven't heard great things about the filter coffee quality but I think it looks great on any coffee bar.
I don’t own it but I know the burrs, these are Mazzer Kony so what you find resemble what I found using said grinder and for the times I gotten coffee from the Zero, and I never found it that much different from many other larger conicals, it produces a lot of fines no matter grind setting I don’t particularly like it for brewed as it always has this lingering bitterness too it and the body is also ill suited to many filter coffees of the lighter roasted type.
Might be that your Niche was not calibrated properly. 740 microns should be in the range of 25-30 on the dialling ring. I use Kruve Brewler on a regular basis to maintain that calibration across different grinders. That being said, Niche is indeed producing a lot of fines. As a result, getting a uniform micron size distribution is very challenging. In the end, it's probably the best low retention, single dose, affordable all-arounder on the market if you drink both espresso and filter.
Niche is alright for filter but it’s not the best. The filter coffee it makes are always a bit muddy and lacking clarity. I’m more than happy with mine using it for Clever dripper and Flair espresso maker, I do want to try either a large flat or a high quality hand grinder for filter though.
I agree with you on the clarity. I've found that if I add maybe an extra 0.5g to my grind and gently sift the coffee using a cheap coffee sieve, I can get rid of a lot of the fines and get much better flavor clarity when brewing on the hario switch/V60.
Isn’t it just because you’re using light roasts? It’s my impression it works better with darker roasts (I know some still call them light, but there exists lighter roasts than that). That’s why I ruled the grinder out from the start despise the positive reviews (often made by people using darker roasts than I do, yes Square Mile is darker than what I use).
I have never had success brewing nice filter coffee with the Niche, but one tip that I have found mitigates fines a bit is to grind 1g more than you need, then handling the grounds container very carefully. Don't tap or knock it and pour the grounds out gently so that a larger proportion of the fines in the container stay in there stuck to the walls and bottom. This seems to reduce the amount of fines in the brew a lot, improving the drawdown times and cup clarity.
so no spritzing the beans?
I put a white mark on black collar at 0 point when the original dial is at 50, by this way I can track the number like 50+15=65. I'm mostly in between 60-70 on the dial, I grind a little finer than you do generally. So your setting for "the april recipe" should be around 75, for those who are using
The large production of fines makes a lot of sense, when I used it. I never had a really clear crisp brew, with light roasted coffee.
Looking forward to the other videos!
On my Niche I’m generally grinding in the area +\- 10 above 50. I’ve done as others have and marked the opposite side above the zero with a piece of tape.
The way I refer to these grind settings is 50 + [number].
All that being said, I’ve had my Niche for well over a year and as I’ve progressed in my coffee journey I have enjoyed the filter cups less and less.
The espresso is still tasty in my opinion, albeit not as high in clarity.
Bit late to the party but just found your channel after hearing about the April brewer. This makes a lot of sense to me, I use a hand grinder at work with an aeropress and have dialled in nice clarity of flavour and a body I like. At home where I thought things should be better due to having a kettle vs urn and better water it was alway worse, muddy flavour and a much heavier body. As soon as you mentioned times causing body things clicked. Also knowing that 50 is still very fine helps, I shall experiment some more and probably get a hand grinder. The Niche has been great for espresso over the last 2 years though.
I know some users of the Niche calibrate grinder for pour over. So the burrs are locked not on position “Calibrate”, but on mark 30 on the adjustment scale. Then your grinder scale is adjusted for pour over and from the 1 position it is on large grind setting then use to be.
Just place a mark on the black band at 0 when the dial is set to 50 and you can carry on the measure from the 2nd marker. You can place up to extra 2 markers on the black band.
best video on niche ever!! found you on google near the top of the list that brought me to your page
Thank you for watching. We have an Home Brewing Video - Espresso edition - where we us the grinder again launching tomorrow.
Do you use the Niche Grinder yourself?
Regardless of whether were grinding for filter or espresso, this may be where a Fellow Shimmy may be a real asset to us Niche Zero owners.
what's that?
Used to grind across different brew style and with the mazzer burrs its probably best with espresso and mostly blends more specific to something geared for milk. It does ok with SOE’s and larger pourovers (something like 30 grams for 500ml brews) I have since bought the k plus to run SOE’s and pourovers. Niche mostly for for espresso blends or when I’m late in the morning and need espresso to go 😁
It's really all about the compromise. I used Baratza Encore and V60 when I was single, then when I moved in with my partner we switched to a Chemex in the morning. I added an Olympia Cremina (speaking of compromise, pressure/temperature is on the higher end for light SOE, which means the steaming wand is quite difficult to achieve tight microfoam) and a Kinu M47, and that worked for awhile until it didn't. Needed to move the Encore to our camp and didn't seem fair to ask my partner to handgrinding 40g in the morning on thr Kinu (that is difficult to switch between brew and espresso). She wasn't really onboard for two grinders taking up counterspace so here we are.
If we ever move maybe then I can have a grinder for each method.
The Niche has only served as my espresso grinder and i think thats where it shines. It's basically a chocolate factory in that it typically accentuates the chocolate notes of whatever coffee I grind through it for espresso, which makes it especially tasty for milk based drinks. But for filter, i stick to my fellow ode with ssp multi-purpose burrs for better clarity. I'm fortunate to be able to have multiple grinders but i can understand wanting one grinder that can do it all. It seems an unfortunate reality of the physics/engineering of grinding that we may never have a grinder that can truly "do it all" and compromises will have to be made in one way or another depending on what your cup profile preferences are.
Also, 2:13 - i've definitely made that mistake more times than i care to admit 😂 good editing to cover it up tho! Thanks for making great coffee videos!
Thank you for watching. We have an Espresso video with the Niche coming up this week.
I do exactly as you do but also have the fellow sieve to get the micron needed to get rid of some of the fines. I do get frustrated as I tend to use this now mainly for filter as I moved away from espresso daily.
I may look to sell mine and get a Ode with SSP burrs.
niche is the best house espresso machine
I use my niche for espresso and for my Clever Dripper.
For v60 I use my Commandante.
Why better for immersion for me? 🤔
How does the niche compare in terms of taste to the Arco 2 in 1 grinder that you recently reviewed? Is either better or worse?
I'd like to know this too
Grinder comparison coming up.
@@coffeewithapril I hope the Arco compares well, I ordered one for the discount but I've always loved the way the niche looks. Haven't heard great things about the filter coffee quality but I think it looks great on any coffee bar.
Sounds like you need to calibrate the grinder? I do Espresso at 10-13 and Pourover between 30-40.
Have you measured what micron size 30-40 gives you?
@@coffeewithapril I write comments on youtube - so you know that I have not 😂
@@coffeewithapril but for real I had espresso at like -20 before I calibrated so just a observation in no way critique :)
I don’t own it but I know the burrs, these are Mazzer Kony so what you find resemble what I found using said grinder and for the times I gotten coffee from the Zero, and I never found it that much different from many other larger conicals, it produces a lot of fines no matter grind setting I don’t particularly like it for brewed as it always has this lingering bitterness too it and the body is also ill suited to many filter coffees of the lighter roasted type.
True, Mazzer is famous for their fines. It's something they choose to have.
Might be that your Niche was not calibrated properly. 740 microns should be in the range of 25-30 on the dialling ring. I use Kruve Brewler on a regular basis to maintain that calibration across different grinders.
That being said, Niche is indeed producing a lot of fines. As a result, getting a uniform micron size distribution is very challenging.
In the end, it's probably the best low retention, single dose, affordable all-arounder on the market if you drink both espresso and filter.
Kruve Brewler is not an accurate tool to use for microns.
@@coffeewithapril What would you recommend to use instead?
@@washedgeisha At least a laser-tool. Those are not the best either. But a lightells is a good start.
Niche is alright for filter but it’s not the best. The filter coffee it makes are always a bit muddy and lacking clarity. I’m more than happy with mine using it for Clever dripper and Flair espresso maker, I do want to try either a large flat or a high quality hand grinder for filter though.
I agree with you on the clarity. I've found that if I add maybe an extra 0.5g to my grind and gently sift the coffee using a cheap coffee sieve, I can get rid of a lot of the fines and get much better flavor clarity when brewing on the hario switch/V60.
Isn’t it just because you’re using light roasts? It’s my impression it works better with darker roasts (I know some still call them light, but there exists lighter roasts than that). That’s why I ruled the grinder out from the start despise the positive reviews (often made by people using darker roasts than I do, yes Square Mile is darker than what I use).
Roast degree always has an impact on grind quality.
Rpm 1500?!
Yeah, thats not right ahaha ;) Think its around 350