I though that the the body of the Niche was made of aluminum not plastic.

I have a Profitec Pro 600, and my new Specialita is getting delivered tomorrow. I don't have any real experience to draw from like so many of the people here, but I'll be happy to share my impressions of the grinder and it's use with the 600 once I get it. I really like the Niche Zero. I really like the single dose capability of the NZ. I'm not as crazy about the dose cup, and I also like having a decent size hopper like on the Specialita. Supposedly you can single dose off the Specialita, and I plan on testing that capability, as it was one the vendor was touting as one of it's best features.

I think I would have been happy either way, but the NZ wasn't going to be here until Mid May, if I ordered last week. The Specialita will be here tomorrow, and if I don't like it, there's a 30 day return policy.

Moka 1 Cup: You are probably right. I am only guessing from pictures online.

Technobuyer: I'd love to hear what you think. I've heard you can single dose with the Specialita but haven't been able to get any reviews of that besides from what dealers say.

Just ran about a dozen shots through the Specialita. I can only compare to my Breville Smart Grinder Pro(BSGP).

It's definitely a nicer weightier grinder. Much heavier, more solid feeling. Exception is the hopper, which feels a little chintzy. I'm still trying to dial in the grinder. It didn't come as well dialed as I had hoped, but it's giving me the *opportunity* to get acquainted with the grinder.

From a single dose standpoint, so far it seems to hold on to .05 to .15 gram. If I put in 18g, plus a bean, it comes out really super close to 18. Like 17.95g to 18.1g. It seems to be pretty repeatable, and much better than my Breville in this regard.

Getting the grind right is not super easy. That adjustment knob is really sensitive once you get it kind of in the zone.

I got alot of static cling the first few uses. It seems to have died down.

It's alot more quiet than the BSGP. And there is less clumping in the grind output, but it throws the grind more, and so far it's more messy than the BSGP. It actually has a smaller footprint than the BSGP, which is nice.

The portafilter holder seems a little chintzy. I don't know how much I'll use it tbh. My funnel won't work with it, so I'm back to using a dosing cup like with a NZ.

In the taste department, the few drinkable shots so far have only been ok. Not light years ahead of the BGSP, that's for sure. I almost hate to type that. I wanted to be blown away, and perhaps I need to give it more time, and get better at using it. In a blind test, I don't know if I'd be able to taste the difference.

I paid about $100 for my refurbed BSGP. The Specialita was about $670.

Do I think I got $570 worth of improvement? Honestly, not so far. But, I'm going to give it a week or so and see how I feel about it after that.

For size perspective here's a pic of them side by side:

Some great open box deals at SCC right now on Eureka grinders. For what it's worth I have an Atom 65 and it's a drastic improvement over the Sette volume wise.

I've had my specialita for 2 or 3 weeks and love it! It is quiet, seriously. The eureka's have rubber mounts to cut noise and market themselves as "silent technology". A big factor for me and the mrs. It is about half as loud as my Baratza Virtuoso which wakes one another up but so far not the eureka.

I noticed much fuller extractions, more crema, body, and savory and less brightness. More like what I was used to from high end coffee shops. Probably equal parts refined control, consistency, and flat burr grind differences. I keep it between 2-1.5 on the dial.

The timed dosing with pause feature and portafilter holder make for a much simpler workflow than weighing out beans. I was comparing to NZ too and since you say you aren't worried about 0.1 grams here or there, I think you'll be satisfied.


Check out espressocoffeeshop.com for a great 110V price. I received mine in less than a week!

Technobuyer: Thank you for the honest opinion. I know it's hard when you buy a new, "better", grinder and haven't seen the reward yet. I'm not familiar with BSGP but I assume when you get everything dialed in you will be happy. I do like the size a lot. It seems to fit the P Pro 600 very well. Are you grinding into a cup instead of the portafilter because the grinds go everywhere?

Rhiine'Spro: What was your experience with espressocoffeeshop.com? Did you buy the 110v or the 110v (US Customers)? I can't figure out the difference or why the US version is so much more expensive. I can't imagine it is being shipped from Europe if you received it in less than a week. I've read others say they got theirs in just two or three days. I'm just getting the "it's to good to be true" vibe from that site.

Update: I emailed espressocoffeeshop.com inquiring about the 110v vs. 110v (US) and got several quick replies so I went ahead and purchased my Specialita from them. I paid using PayPal for added security but I'm thinking enough people on this forum have had positive experiences with them that everything will be fine.

Sebastiano from espressocoffeeshop.com said the 110v and 110v (US) are the same machines. The 110v (US) is just to represent the US buying option.

Below is the email I received:
"Dear Michael,
There is no difference between the two, only the price changes cause its meant to match the prices of the American distributors, however, you don' have to select the 110 volt US Customer option, you can proceed with the order with the normal 110 volt.

If you have any other questions please let me know.

best regards,

Sebastiano Perini
Espresso Coffee Shop"

gmdoubleg wrote:Technobuyer: Thank you for the honest opinion. I know it's hard when you buy a new, "better", grinder and haven't seen the reward yet. I'm not familiar with BSGP but I assume when you get everything dialed in you will be happy. I do like the size a lot. It seems to fit the P Pro 600 very well. Are you grinding into a cup instead of the portafilter because the grinds go everywhere?

Still dialing in my workflow, but this morning for my two flat whites and the wife's latte I simply measured "18 + a bean", so about 18.1x, and dumped in the hopper. I removed the portafilter holder, and put the machine in manual. Then used my funnel on the portafilter and bumped the button, holding it there it there until seemed like all the beans were ground, probably 12-15secs. It's actually over much quicker than that, like say 10-11 secs, but I want to make sure I'm getting every crumb... Then you bump it again to shut it off. It's pretty smooth really.

It's interesting how much fluffier the grind is than with the BSGP. 18g is really mounded up in the basket, whereas it was much more dense out of the Breville. That's gotta mean it's better right?

I'm still messing with the grind a little, so once that's tightened up, I'll probably play with the timed option and just fill the hopper. I felt like I was chasing too many variables trying to do the timed thing, and grind setting at the same time. Just adding 18g, allows enough control over the output, where the only variable in play is the grind setting. Baby steps.

Congrats on the purchase!

gmdoubleg wrote:Update: I emailed espressocoffeeshop.com inquiring about the 110v vs. 110v (US) and got several quick replies so I went ahead and purchased my Specialita from them. I paid using PayPal for added security but I'm thinking enough people on this forum have had positive experiences with them that everything will be fine

Congrats! They are legit and I hope you're pleased with your Specialità. You won't get many shipping details from ups for 2-3 days then as soon as you can track it through Europe it shows up!