PIXIllate wrote:How does the Niche fair against the flat burrs you own?

I had a Niche prior to the Max. It was an excellent espresso grinder, but poor for pour overs. It behaved like much like a typical conical like a robur or Kony, just smaller and much easier to use for single dosing. I found flavours to be more melded and less distinct, but nicely combined and sweet. I had fully planned on keeping the niche along with my Max, with the intent of using it for medium and darker coffees, as my previous 64mm flat grinder would separate the harshness and bitterness from these coffees, so I expected the Max to do the same. However the Max doesn't seem to behave that way and does such a good job with medium and darker coffees that I just ended up selling my niche, is it is too good of a grinder to only be used once in a couple months.

I did do some comparison shots between the Max and the Niche, and there was a distinct difference. Not that one was better than the other necessarily - that would be a matter of preference.

I got the wgu2 motor for mine which should be here sometime in November. Honestly I don't mind grinding by hand but the motor is definitely more convenient. I don't know if there's a break in period but I really like the results a lot.

foam2 wrote: I don't know if there's a break in period but I really like the results a lot.

When mine was new I put 1 kg of minute rice (parboiled, not raw) on a fairly coarse setting. It cut the number of required cranks for a given dose in half. Definitely made a difference.

Then I had two lbs of rice cereal for my little girls for brekkie for a while.

-Peter

I used parboiled rice with my new steel burrs. Ran through maybe 2 or 3 kg in short runs working my way from very coarse to a respectable flour :p YMMV of course, but it seemed to work better than coffee for me, and was easier to source and cheap.

I'm liking the results - may keep taking my time with coffee lol.

Cant blame you there :p

PIXIllate wrote:I think this is what I'm coming to understand and one of the reasons I'm thinking more along the lines of buying a Monolith Flat as an extremely high end version of a "normal" grinder for people who do not enjoy the world of light roast beans and who prefer medium roast espresso with more traditional flavours.

I was thinking along the same lines, but there have been a bunch of medium roasts that are stellar on the MAX. Although I am usually getting lighter beans, I've been getting so many different beans since March that I've been able to experiment a lot and have now had a dozen or so medium roasts to taste test. Before my daughter went back to college, I was pulling on the MAX, Niche, and Versalab and comparing. And we had a Forte BG in the mix for taste tests before I got the MAX (also an EG-1 that is now sold). But it's taken several months to get used to the short preinfusion and fast flow of the MAX. I was missing the mark the first month I owned the MAX. It's almost like relearning pulling shots.

PIXIllate wrote:How does the Niche fair against the flat burrs you own?

Easier than my flats to dial in. Usually more balanced. Less accentuated flavors in general, but there have been exceptions. Too many fines for V60 (compared to Forte and MAX). Having said that, it's an awesome grinder for the price, easy to use, and a delight overall.

According to Weber (quoted below from their web site) the burrs have been already partially seasoned which is perhaps why the flavors coming off are better than expected.

"The HG-1 is built around the massive 83mm conical burr set used in the Mazzer Robur. We source our burrs exclusively from Mazzer, but apply our own unique secondary processes to partially season and make them suitable for hand-grinding, and then seal in the edge with a life-prolonging and completely food safe TiN coating. This will last both you and your children's family a lifetime of coffee grinding."

PIXIllate wrote:I think this is what I'm coming to understand and one of the reasons I'm thinking more along the lines of buying a Monolith Flat as an extremely high end version of a "normal" grinder for people who do not enjoy the world of light roast beans and who prefer medium roast espresso with more traditional flavours.

I agree with the jist of your assesment, that the standard mono flat is a better choice than the max for those who want a "normal" grinder for medium roast espresso. As an early adopter mono flat owner though, I do feel compelled to point out that the mono flat can do high extractions on light roast espresso as well. The max is meant to be "better" for that application, but that doesn't mean the original isn't capable. Mono flat is a fine pourover grinder as well. The only thing its not great at is a very coarse grind for French press (but many actually press with a finer grind, negating even that concern). Its a great all around grinder if you can afford it, and for many people its the last grinder they will ever need. I am in no hurry to upgrade mine after multiple years.

How does the Niche fair against the flat burrs you own?

I briefly had a Kafatek Flat and a Niche side by side. I compared several coffees (medium to medium/dark roasts) side by side and had very nice shots from both grinders. There was no clear winner for me -- I liked the Niche better on some coffees and the Flat better on the others. They were different in the taste, but they were all good. If I hadn't had both grinders side-by-side, I would have liked whichever I was using just fine.