Best grinder for occasional pourover

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
gobucks
Posts: 239
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by gobucks »

Hello, I am primarily an espresso drinker, but have been getting the itch to make more filter (v60) and, as we are in the midst of a heat wave, cold brew. The problem is, my grinder, the Niche, stinks at this task. The amount of fines is ridiculous, and I often end up with a muddy cup and a hint of bitterness. I have actually taken to using a tea infuser which happens to fit my Niche dosing cup, and shaking out the fines, and although this does improve the end result, it's a PITA. I reserved a Kopi Deva from the indiegogo campaign, and long term I hope to be able to use that with SSP MP or cast burrs for filter purposes, but I think it's going to be awhile since they just hit further production delays.

I was thinking of grabbing a used ode and slapping some MP/cast burrs in there as a placeholder until I get my Deva, I assume it'd be fairly easy to resell. However, I've started to wonder if maybe I should consider a high end hand grinder instead. I had always written them off bc of the conical burrs (since the Niche is so bad at filter), but it seems that maybe conicals in a low RPM manual context are a totally different ballgame? Would, say, a 1Zpresso K-max be able to perform as well for pourover as an ode with MP/cast burrs? A hand grinder wouldn't really help my cold brew game (unless it's really fast at that coarseness), but it would have the advantage of being portable for when I go visit my parents (I currently have to bring pre-ground coffee).

baristainzmking
Supporter ♡
Posts: 1105
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by baristainzmking »

I love the Comandante hand grinder for pour overs. If you are looking for 1Z presso, check out this link, it discusses which grinders are good for pour over, which for espresso and both.

https://1zpresso.coffee/faq/
Julia

thirdcrackfourthwave
Posts: 571
Joined: 5 years ago

#3: Post by thirdcrackfourthwave »

I have a Niche and a K-Max, alas no Ode nor have I ever used/drunk the product from one. I can relate to your Niche pour over comments which is why I bought the K-Max.

The K-Max does a nice job with the pour over and markedly less fines than the Niche. A 15 gram v 60. . . without racing, I can crank out in about 20 seconds.

ShotClock
Supporter ♡
Posts: 426
Joined: 3 years ago

#4: Post by ShotClock »

If you'd like to just drink brewed coffee, then I'd recommend against pour over. It's a method that's very sensitive to fines, channeling, choking etc.

Immersion brews are much less sensitive in my experience. I've had fairly good success with the aeropress with the Niche, particularly when using the prismo attachment and a pair filter combined. I've no experience with the clever dripper or switch, but imagine that they must be far better than a v60 or similar with the Niche. Far cheaper to try these than any half decent grinder.

I bought an ode and sent it back due to excessive fines. Seems i was unlucky, only a few seem to have significant issues. Eventually, i bought a monolith, which is fantastically built and feels like it will last forever. Certainly can't make an argument that it's good value, but I like it...

gobucks (original poster)
Posts: 239
Joined: 2 years ago

#5: Post by gobucks (original poster) »

@ShotClock, have you had any experience with zero-bypass brewers like tricolate or nextlevel? I'm wondering if that might be something that would yield better results with the niche.

ShotClock
Supporter ♡
Posts: 426
Joined: 3 years ago

#6: Post by ShotClock replying to gobucks »

I've never used a zero bypass brewer, but would speculate that they would be particularly prone to choking due to the reduced filter surface area.

The only immersion brewers that I've used any amount are French press, siphon and aeropress. French press gives rather muddy cups, siphon can be nice and clean, less chance of choking than a v60 if you're dialed in, but generally a huge pain. The aeropress in stock form works pretty well, but can be messy, and you can sometimes bypass the filter and get grounds in the cup. The prismo attachment makes the aeropress far better in my experience, and combined with a paper filter gives clean brews without mess, in a very consistent and simple manner. It's a method that is not sensitive to the grinder anywhere near that of a percolation brew. Even with a high end grinder, i find that this method is much more consistent than a percolation brew - normally I'm using the origami with cafec filters for this. I'm my opinion, is a no brainer to try - only $70 or so in hardware, and it may well be useful when you get a better grinder. There is a good video on YouTube from Michael Fabian on this method that i got a lot of good info from.