Coffee. Grinder and Cafetiere or Pods in a machine

Coffee. Grinder and Cafetiere or Pods in a machine

Author
Discussion

Raymond Reddington

2,964 posts

109 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Any recommendations for a reasonable cheapie grinder while I get to grips with the new machine? I'll happily upgrade at some point but I've been a bit spendy recently... Read the Iberital MC2 is good for the money but currently not available till end of march. Could look at 2nd hand.

Would I be better off just doing it once and doing it right and waiting till I can spend a decent amount? Till then I could just have a go with some ground coffee from my local roasters.

Edited by Raymond Reddington on Tuesday 23 February 09:52

RobbieTheTruth

1,875 posts

118 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Raymond Reddington said:
Would I be better off just doing it once and doing it right and waiting till I can spend a decent amount? Till then I could just have a go with some ground coffee from my local roasters.

Edited by Raymond Reddington on Tuesday 23 February 09:52
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.

Flibble

6,470 posts

180 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Any tips for steaming small amounts of milk? I can get a decent microfoam if I put 200ml in the jug (350ml capacity) but for a single coffee I want about half that which is then difficult to get a decent foam with.
Do I just need to bin half the milk?

rudester

656 posts

151 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
RobbieTheTruth said:
Flibble said:
Tried Rave Fudge today. Wow, it's excellent, really drinkable. Also I have made a purchase, you lot are going to cost me a fortune. hehe

Congrats on the PID!

I've got Rave Fudge too. I find it ok for Espresso and exceptional in the Mokka pot!
What is your go to Espresso bean then?

ayedubya

225 posts

44 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
is the niche that good?

Raymond Reddington

2,964 posts

109 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
Good shout. However, I've ended up buying a Sage smart Pro from a colleague for buttons, so I'll give that a go and I'm sure I'll upgrade in due course! Can't wait to get started. Unsure if the Mrs will mind me keeping the massive B2C for when I'm in a hurry before work laugh

jodypress

1,927 posts

273 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Raymond Reddington said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
Good shout. However, I've ended up buying a Sage smart Pro from a colleague for buttons, so I'll give that a go and I'm sure I'll upgrade in due course! Can't wait to get started. Unsure if the Mrs will mind me keeping the massive B2C for when I'm in a hurry before work laugh
Well done, I've been using that grinder for a couple of years and it's pretty simple and works well. Much better than the Gaggia MDF grinder I had previously. I'd love a Niche and maybe one day but can't justify the spend atm.

seefarr

1,460 posts

185 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Flibble said:
Any tips for steaming small amounts of milk? I can get a decent microfoam if I put 200ml in the jug (350ml capacity) but for a single coffee I want about half that which is then difficult to get a decent foam with.
Do I just need to bin half the milk?
I had similar issues and I found that you could get different sized holes in the tip of the steam wand which made a difference.

Raymond Reddington

2,964 posts

109 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
jodypress said:
Well done, I've been using that grinder for a couple of years and it's pretty simple and works well. Much better than the Gaggia MDF grinder I had previously. I'd love a Niche and maybe one day but can't justify the spend atm.
That's good to hear, I'll let you know how I get on with it

RobbieTheTruth

1,875 posts

118 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
ayedubya said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
is the niche that good?
Yeah, for on or around that price range, you can't get anything like it really. You're looking at around £1300 for a definitive upgrade, which it's why it's been a real disrupter in the grinder market.

It's in demand and they cannot fulfill the orders quickly enough, despite it not even being available in normal retailers.

bigandclever

13,750 posts

237 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
RobbieTheTruth said:
ayedubya said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
is the niche that good?
Yeah, for on or around that price range, you can't get anything like it really. You're looking at around £1300 for a definitive upgrade, which it's why it's been a real disrupter in the grinder market.

It's in demand and they cannot fulfill the orders quickly enough, despite it not even being available in normal retailers.
Bit of a tangent, but I bet they could make more if they really wanted. The manufacture and assembly is out-sourced and they make at least 20,000 a year, it’s not really a small operation.

TX1

2,348 posts

182 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
bigandclever said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
ayedubya said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I think so.

You can likely get something for £150-£200, but a Niche is £500 so I'd rather spend £500 than £200 now £500 later.
is the niche that good?
Yeah, for on or around that price range, you can't get anything like it really. You're looking at around £1300 for a definitive upgrade, which it's why it's been a real disrupter in the grinder market.

It's in demand and they cannot fulfill the orders quickly enough, despite it not even being available in normal retailers.
Bit of a tangent, but I bet they could make more if they really wanted. The manufacture and assembly is out-sourced and they make at least 20,000 a year, it’s not really a small operation.
No doubt they can make more if they wanted, they are using a marketing ploy that works very well for them.





paralla

3,528 posts

134 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
TX1 said:
No doubt they can make more if they wanted, they are using a marketing ploy that works very well for them.
I managed to get an allocation for a 991.2 GT3.

A little bit of patience is all you need to secure a Niche Zero.

Turn7

23,500 posts

220 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
paralla said:
TX1 said:
No doubt they can make more if they wanted, they are using a marketing ploy that works very well for them.
I managed to get an allocation for a 991.2 GT3.

A little bit of patience is all you need to secure a Niche Zero.
And you dont need to buy 3 Sage pros to get a Niche allocation......... wink

devnull

3,745 posts

156 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
Don't piss about, get the niche if you can. Been using mine for 4-5 months now and it's a joy. Also very easy to clean and maintain.

Flibble

6,470 posts

180 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
If you can seems to be the issue - they've not done a new run in a while it seems like.

S6PNJ

5,157 posts

280 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
If you can't or won't wait for the Niche, how about the new G-lota or DF64 or Solo (all 3 are the same grinder). Still chinese made (like the Niche) but maybe available now (pretty much).

https://youtu.be/tyhVRfRO6c4






Oh, and only available (current batch) in carbon fibre wrap!! https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/the-solo-single-dos...

Raymond Reddington

2,964 posts

109 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
I got my sage grinder today and picked up my modified Gaggia Classic yesterday.

I'm expecting a delivery of beans from a local roasters (no. 13 coffee roasters if anyone would like to give them a go) but sadly they didn't arrive today.

Being impatient and keen to give the new set up a test run, I popped to sainsbury's to get some Taylors Lazy Sunday beans which are my go to when I run out of better stuff for my B2C. They didn't have any so I settled for Sainsburys own Colombian.

I weighed out and ground 18g of beans and pulled the quickest shot ever. I didn't grind for long enough and realised 18g went in but not 18 came out, so I weighed after grinding the next lot and set the time a bit longer. Slightly better but not around the 30s mark for 36g!

I adjusted the grind a bit and also realised I didn't tamp properly so a couple of quick YouTube tutorials and I had something fairly close, around 25s for 36g. I tasted the espressos I'd made and tasted flavours that wouldn't usually be there with my old machine. I steamed some milk and made myself what tasted like a flat white from my favourite coffee place in town. The upgraded Rancilio steam wand is excellent compared to my Delonghi B2C machine and produced lovely velvety textured milk. Interrupted by dinner and the fact it was nearly 8 o'clock and I don't want to be awake all night, I had to call it a day.

I'm staggered by the quality of the coffee I just made after a few duff rushed attempts considering I barely have a clue what I'm doing, and looking forward to having a play at the weekend when I have more time. I was slightly sceptical about all of this stuff and if it makes much difference, but if I can make a coffee that good with some pretty crappy supermarket beans then I'm fully on board.

Edited by Raymond Reddington on Wednesday 24th February 20:29

TX1

2,348 posts

182 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
Indeed, once you get hold of some proper freshly roasted beans its night and day, not just taste but also the amount of crema.

TX1

2,348 posts

182 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
That grinder looks interesting however at that price I doubt it will have much impact on the Niche unless one cannot be bothered to wait, also looks pretty cheaply made.
Three weeks into the Niche here and I have to say it is a joy to use, the dial is fantastic and no mess of grounds flying all over the place unlike my Mignon 2.