Both are conical burr grinders, but the Niche I have read is geared towards espresso but also does an adequate job with drip. Is there any reason to suspect the Virtuoso, being geared towards coarser, may actually be better for drip/immersion than the Niche?

Also - if I want to maximize drip coffee on the Niche, will the Niche w/its conical burrs handle immersion brews such as Clever & AeroPress better than it will pour over methods (such as Kalita/v60/chemex)?

Wow, Virtuoso better than the Niche for drip! I'd be very curious to hear you report back.

I don't know if the Niche Zero is 4-5x better than Virtuoso. I rather have Fellow Ode if you are going to do drip.

Yeah, I suppose what I am after is understanding what people mean when they say the niche isn't ideal for drip. Are they comparing it to a Logam P64 or better? Are they comparing it to flat burr vs conical?

Or, are there equally and lower priced grinders available - even conical burr grinders - that out perform the niche specifically for drip? Would a baratza virtuoso, or fellow ode, or something else, be worth having for drip coffee next to the niche (with niche just dedicated to espresso)? If I'm willing to have two grinders, but don't want to spend more than $1000 on a second grinder, is there anything worth setting next to it for pour over days?

Or does the niche outperform all these $200-$500 grinders for drip, and the whole "niche isn't great for drip" thing in comparison only to even higher end swag?

AND - separate but related questions - if I opted to only brew hybrid immersion + percolation brews (ie clever, hario switch, aeropress) would the niche's shortcomings even matter at all? Is it only on pour over (v60, Kalita, etc) that a different drip focused grinder would noticeably excel?

dsc106 wrote:are there equally and lower priced grinders available - even conical burr grinders - that out perform the niche specifically for drip?

Yes. I'd rather use for example a significantly cheaper Timemore G1 for drip. I don't think the Niche is horrible for drip, but there are other alternatives that do better. It will be interesting to hear back from Gary about the Virtuoso which I have no experience with.

dsc106 wrote:if I opted to only brew hybrid immersion + percolation brews (ie clever, hario switch, aeropress) would the niche's shortcomings even matter at all?

A bit less, but I still think so, yes. But I think it's best for you to make up your own mind about these things, some people are happy with the Niche for everything. If your mind is set on getting a Niche for espresso, then do it and try it out. The workflow is great. If you're not satisfied with your drip/immersion brews get a second grinder - affordable but good examples: Comandante C40, Fellow Ode and Baratza Vario BG.

Edit: oh -perhaps you already have a Niche?

Baratza Virtuoso really punches above its weight class for pourover or drip imo. I have a Preciso (Virtuoso with more adjustability) and I always thought it made better brews than my Pharos (large conical hand grinder). Pharos on other hand is better for espresso.

Would be interesting to see how the Key stacks up as well. I was always a big fan of the HG-1 for drip coffee, though admittedly I drank mostly medium and medium-dark since it was so difficult to crank the light roasts.