New (flat burr?) grinder for Cafelat Robot (budget <$1500)

#1: Post by **GregoryJ** » January 19th, 2020, 7:12 pm

Quick Summary: Should I get the cheap-ish Eureka Mignon, or upgrade the Niche Zero at home and take it to work to use with the Robot?
I'm leaning towards the Eureka Mignon because it's supposed to be quiet and low retention.

Hi all,
I'm looking for a new electric grinder and just wanted to see what some of you have done or would do. At work I've been using the Cafelat Robot with an Apollo manual grinder. The Apollo works great, but take a bit more time and effort than I'd like. I also just ordered a 2nd basket for the robot to share more coffee with colleagues, so I'd like something a little faster. Single dosing is not imperative, but most days I will average 2 shots (and 0 on the weekends), so leaving coffee in the hopper is not ideal.

At home I have been using the Niche Zero for over a year. For the most part I've loved it. (I just posted yesterday about some trouble but that seems to have been with the beans).

Part of me believes in the old adage of "if it's not broken, why fix it?" and I could get another Niche Zero. But, I've also heard that flat vs conical burrs comes down to preference. I've never tried a flat burr grinder so maybe that would be a good complement? It will be used mostly with medium dark coffees on the Robot.

Budget is pretty wide from $400-$1500. I don't need the best of the best, but I would like to explore my options. If I get something much nicer than the Niche, I'd likely keep that at home and bring the Niche to work.

What I've considered so far:

Eureka Mignon Specialita - $400
Vario - $480
Niche Zero - $700
Eureka Zenith 65E - $750
Eureka Atom 75 Blowup - $1060

#2: Post by **pcrussell50** » January 19th, 2020, 7:49 pm

Whichever ones from that list are flat burr grinders, take some time to find out what efforts the manufacturers have put into achieving planar alignment, OR how difficult it is to do it yourself. Here at least you know it's possible: Baratza Vario Super Alignment owner experience To get world class alignment. Then it's down to the burrs and whether they make espresso you like. But at least at that point one can't blame the alignment.

For my fancy flow profiling machine I usually like light roasts, flat burrs and great alignment. BUT for my simple direct levers (Pavoni not Robot), I use less challenging coffees and a big fat slow turning conical, (HG-1 with a digitally controlled motor kit).

-Peter

January 19th, 2020, 8:11 pm

Thanks Peter, I'll add the Vario (and Sette 30) to my list as well.

January 19th, 2020, 9:34 pm

Sette is a conical burr grinder. Vario..and the Forte (a cafe rated version of the Vario) are flat burr. The have nearly zero retention...maybe .5-.7 grams and can be single dosed..especial the Forte. They do have hoppers. If your coffee is 2-3 days from roast, leaving some i the hopper shouldn't be an issue for 3-4 days. The lid was a decent fit, but I added a little plumbers tape wrap to make virtually air tight. Baratza customer servicer is terrific.

January 19th, 2020, 10:00 pm

Thanks Robert, I have bought several Baratza products before. I owned the Sette for a while and it was super loud, so probably not something i want in the office. I'm kind of leaning towards a flat burr grinder since I've never even tried one before. I don't want to go overboard since the Robot is pretty forgiving, but if someone said the 75mm Atom is a nice upgrade over the Niche then I'd be open to investigating

January 19th, 2020, 10:52 pm

I think Niche is a fantastic grinder to pair with your Robot at work. I would instead upgrade the grinder that you use with your Breville dual boiler and get a flat grinder. That way you can really experiment with lighter roasts and longer preinfusion.

If you are using the medium and medium/dark roasts with your Robot, that's where your conical Niche is going to shine. Have you considered the new Lagndom P64 from option O?

#7: Post by **LObin** » January 19th, 2020, 11:34 pm

Gregory, seems you have yourself a dilemma!

The Eureka mignon specialita gets lots of praises. For $400 it would give you a lot for your money. Some users have reported single dosing with the Specialita.

The Vario I'm not a fan personally because of all the plastic parts so I would go straight to the Forte. With the burrs aligned and a few simple mods, it seems you can make it a wonderful single dosing grinder.

The Atom specialty 75 is quite an attractive grinder. With it's low DB, apparently low retention (someone recently reported otherwise) and optional red speed burrs, it would give your NZ a solid contest. The Zenith 65E has to much retention vs the Atom line imo. The Atom 65 is better option for home (office in your case) usage.

Like Julia previously suggested, what about adding a couple hundreds to your budget and ordering a Lagom64...

You could then choose to bring the NZ at work and have a real single dosing flat at home. That is, of course, after having posted a lengthy and thoroughly Lagom64 vs NZ comparaison post on HB!

Cheers!

January 20th, 2020, 1:54 am

The Lagom P64 looks great, but is a little expensive and I don't think I can even get on the wait list right now. I'd like something a little more readily available.

I've been seeing some videos from Clive and the Zenith does have pretty high retention. The Atom was a bit better but the Mignon was even lower.

January 26th, 2020, 6:00 pm

double post - deleted

January 26th, 2020, 6:01 pm

After reading through threads like this one: Better tasting espresso with flat than conical burrs?
it seems like the difference between flat and conical burrs is not a life changing thing. I am leaning towards getting another Niche... maybe this time I'll go outside of my comfort zone and get a white one

The ~$400 price of the Mignon is still very tempting, but I really like what Niche are doing for the grinder world so I don't mind the extra $300 to support them (and get an awesome product). The Atom looks like a fantastic grinder, but the blow-up system seems like kind of a flop after watching DaveC's review... Still sleeping on it a little more while I wait for my new credit card with no foreign currency exchange fee.