As promised I said that I would put my thoughts down about the niche grinder. I have had it on the bench for a few weeks now (DFK very kindly sent me one of his down to put it through its paces) and have compared and contrasted it with a jazzer royal, ek43 and a eureka mythos.
Design and function
First thing to say it that it is very small, is put together well and has been well thought out by the designer. The burrs are my favourite conical burrs and I rate them as very well made. The retention is exactly as it is marketed, pretty much zero. Changing between beans and brew methodology is simple and repeatable. it does what it says on the tin in terms of function. It is well priced and is a better grinder than other commercials within its price range.
The shape and design really is not to my preference, but i can see why it would appeal to the masses, my wife said that it looked like something kenwood would make, she also said that there was no way that she would have it in our kitchen, just thinks it looks dreadful! I don't think it looks that bad but it is not something that I like.
I wanted to strip it completely apart (but as it is not my grinder I decided not to) to have a look at the gearing mechanism, whether they are metal, composite or plastic as this will determine the life expectancy of the grinder, however as the burrs are under very little load due to very little weight of beans, this should not be an issue.
I do not like the fact that it only has an on off function, I would prefer to see a power on and off button in addition to the motor run switch. I suppose you can just lift the lid which isolates the power but this is not that practical, I also suppose that you can switch it off at the plug but I just feel it should be able to be isolated on the grinder itself (time will tell on the longevity of the light which is permanently on when plugged in).
As most of you are aware it is pretty easy to adjust, clean and remove the burrs, and all can be done within 5 minutes. I really like this practicality as it makes it easy for the end user to look after the grinder.
It is fairly quite and does not take too long to grind a dose of coffee, no more time really than single dosing a commercial grinder, except the ek43. I certainly did not feel as though I was waiting too long, the only time I noticed this was when making 10 drinks for friends that came round. After a couple of shots I reverted to the mythos and smashed out shot after shot with ease.
Grind Quality
This is the contentious part for me as this grinder has a wide spread of particle size and as a result you HAVE to shake and stir the grinds in order to get a decent pour. I separated a few shots in a row, taking the first 5 g, middle and last of a 15g dose. There is a noticeable difference in the grind size between each of the divided 5g batches, This is because of the way the grinder grinds and is intended to be used. Its a single dose grinder and as such without weight of bean on the burrs, the particle size increases from the start to the finish of each dose.
For me this is an issue as you have the whole routine of shaking the grinds and stirring in order to get a great pour. The results are much different when you load as many means as possible into the little hopper and then grind. The spread is much narrower and the ease of a quality pour much simpler. Compared to the no nonsense grinding of the mythos it is a ball ache. However the shot preparation for the ek43 is not so far removed, the main difference being is that multiple drinks are quicker and tastier with the EK. (it is 4 times the price though and huge)
That said you can't switch between beans on the mythos or the royal, or easily switch between brew methodology like you can on the niche.
In the cup
As I said I compared this grinder with 3 other grinders, I used three different roast levels and tasted both the espresso shots and how they did in milk.
Make no bones about it the niche is capable of Tasty coffee. I found that it muted the brighter side of lighter roasts and was not to my preference compared to the ek and mythos, the shots from the niche seemed to lose some of the sweetness, although retained a good body and were entirely drinkable.
With a darker roast it was great as I have come to expect from conical grinders (this is in my experience) chocolate and nutty tones come pouring through the shots (I must add that darker roasts are really not what I like). I still preferred the large flat burr shots from the other grinders, but once in milk you could not tell a great difference.
Summary
I enjoyed having the little niche on the bench, I used the EK43 in preference to it with medium or lighter roasts, I used the mythos for multiple drinks and in preference on shot quality for medium and lighter roasts. I do not like the styling of the Niche, it just looks cheap, however it is such a compact grinder, very kitchen friendly, can be stored away in a cupboard (which hides its looks
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) is quiet and simple to use, is capable of tasty coffee and any brew methodology. The grind quality is questionable (I personally do not think that you should have to do as much prep as you are forced to do with the niche) but that comes with single dosing most grinders. You will save money in discarded coffee for sure. I have to purge a few grams out of the mythos each time I use it and this adds up over time. I don't really drink brewed coffee but this is where the niche comes into its own. You can switch between whichever brew method you like and go back to the previous brew method accurately, this alone makes it a good grinder for the home enthusiast wanting to explore all different coffees and methods.
Would I have one on my bench? NO not while I have an EK and I just prefer the push and go grinding of the royal or mythos for espresso everyday. But these are my thoughts based on my requirements and I am sure many readers will have different demands and different opinions.
I would however like to commend NICHE for bringing something new to the market and shaking up the competition
Design and function
First thing to say it that it is very small, is put together well and has been well thought out by the designer. The burrs are my favourite conical burrs and I rate them as very well made. The retention is exactly as it is marketed, pretty much zero. Changing between beans and brew methodology is simple and repeatable. it does what it says on the tin in terms of function. It is well priced and is a better grinder than other commercials within its price range.
The shape and design really is not to my preference, but i can see why it would appeal to the masses, my wife said that it looked like something kenwood would make, she also said that there was no way that she would have it in our kitchen, just thinks it looks dreadful! I don't think it looks that bad but it is not something that I like.
I wanted to strip it completely apart (but as it is not my grinder I decided not to) to have a look at the gearing mechanism, whether they are metal, composite or plastic as this will determine the life expectancy of the grinder, however as the burrs are under very little load due to very little weight of beans, this should not be an issue.
I do not like the fact that it only has an on off function, I would prefer to see a power on and off button in addition to the motor run switch. I suppose you can just lift the lid which isolates the power but this is not that practical, I also suppose that you can switch it off at the plug but I just feel it should be able to be isolated on the grinder itself (time will tell on the longevity of the light which is permanently on when plugged in).
As most of you are aware it is pretty easy to adjust, clean and remove the burrs, and all can be done within 5 minutes. I really like this practicality as it makes it easy for the end user to look after the grinder.
It is fairly quite and does not take too long to grind a dose of coffee, no more time really than single dosing a commercial grinder, except the ek43. I certainly did not feel as though I was waiting too long, the only time I noticed this was when making 10 drinks for friends that came round. After a couple of shots I reverted to the mythos and smashed out shot after shot with ease.
Grind Quality
This is the contentious part for me as this grinder has a wide spread of particle size and as a result you HAVE to shake and stir the grinds in order to get a decent pour. I separated a few shots in a row, taking the first 5 g, middle and last of a 15g dose. There is a noticeable difference in the grind size between each of the divided 5g batches, This is because of the way the grinder grinds and is intended to be used. Its a single dose grinder and as such without weight of bean on the burrs, the particle size increases from the start to the finish of each dose.
For me this is an issue as you have the whole routine of shaking the grinds and stirring in order to get a great pour. The results are much different when you load as many means as possible into the little hopper and then grind. The spread is much narrower and the ease of a quality pour much simpler. Compared to the no nonsense grinding of the mythos it is a ball ache. However the shot preparation for the ek43 is not so far removed, the main difference being is that multiple drinks are quicker and tastier with the EK. (it is 4 times the price though and huge)
That said you can't switch between beans on the mythos or the royal, or easily switch between brew methodology like you can on the niche.
In the cup
As I said I compared this grinder with 3 other grinders, I used three different roast levels and tasted both the espresso shots and how they did in milk.
Make no bones about it the niche is capable of Tasty coffee. I found that it muted the brighter side of lighter roasts and was not to my preference compared to the ek and mythos, the shots from the niche seemed to lose some of the sweetness, although retained a good body and were entirely drinkable.
With a darker roast it was great as I have come to expect from conical grinders (this is in my experience) chocolate and nutty tones come pouring through the shots (I must add that darker roasts are really not what I like). I still preferred the large flat burr shots from the other grinders, but once in milk you could not tell a great difference.
Summary
I enjoyed having the little niche on the bench, I used the EK43 in preference to it with medium or lighter roasts, I used the mythos for multiple drinks and in preference on shot quality for medium and lighter roasts. I do not like the styling of the Niche, it just looks cheap, however it is such a compact grinder, very kitchen friendly, can be stored away in a cupboard (which hides its looks
Would I have one on my bench? NO not while I have an EK and I just prefer the push and go grinding of the royal or mythos for espresso everyday. But these are my thoughts based on my requirements and I am sure many readers will have different demands and different opinions.
I would however like to commend NICHE for bringing something new to the market and shaking up the competition
