Here is a nice review of several hand grinders by Kyle Roswell. He talks about likely best use for each grinder and also provides an estimate of grind distribution in the comments for easy comparison. The data allows conclusions about the type of cup that can be expected from each grinder. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6awoNQXHU

Sandyr10 wrote:I do tend to like coffee to be sweeter and more rounded vs brighter so maybe the kinu would suit me

My ideal cup is sweet and full. That's not what I get with my M47. I'm quite intrigued when I see for example Aergrind and M47 used in competitions and winning - but my guess it's due to other factors.

I will say that I prefer the M47 slightly over Niche for espresso - just not enough to excuse the extra effort.

Ok so I typically don't like brighter coffees in general. So I stay away from Ethiopian coffees and prefer Colombian. Maybe I would be more suited to the kinu in that case?

How would you describe the cups you get from the kinu? I prefer Colombian coffee to Ethiopian, as I don't like the brighter citrusy flavors in a coffee

For pour over how does c40 do over the niche zero ? Currently have c40 which I like a lot but getting lazy at times and thinking of getting niche for pour over and Moka pot .. thanks

Sandyr10 wrote:How would you describe the cups you get from the kinu? I prefer Colombian coffee to Ethiopian, as I don't like the brighter citrusy flavors in a coffee

Sorry for the late reply. Just in case you're still wondering - I made four brews (2 cupping + 2 kalita wave, april brewer recipe) using a washed Colombian from Nariño that I roasted myself. A Nordic roast, so perhaps not ideal given your taste preferences, but bear with me:

One pair was ground with a Fellow Ode with SSP brew v1 burrs. I don't have a C40 but they are somewhat similar in style according to previous experience. When I last compared the two the SSP burrs leaned towards citric acid while C40 brews presented a more malic flavor. If you don't like these notes you can simply use darker roasts or beans with less acidity.

Big hit of citrus in both SSP brews. Cupping presented more red apple and caramel, while the pour over had a very sweet kind of tickling sensation that I think is often described as cane sugar by roasteries. No astringency or bitterness, very clean but low body.

Muted acidity in the M47 brews. In cupping I'd say there's more overall flavor and body, I could still taste red apple and caramel - but also a bit muddy and harsh. For the pour over there was sweetness, but with that harshness and some unpleasant bitterness. A 2 minute brew, so not muddy, but instead tasting like stale coffee

Just one example and different brew parameters and beans will influence the results.. but I'll say with dark roasts the downsides of using something like an M47 or Niche Zero for pour over is more pronounced in my experience - while a clear burr can clean up excessive bitter and muddy notes.

I do enjoy both M47 and Niche for espresso, as long as I stay away from extremes (both ultra light and near charcoal )

Jonk wrote:Muted acidity in the M47 brews. In cupping I'd say there's more overall flavor and body, I could still taste red apple and caramel - but also a bit muddy and harsh. For the pour over there was sweetness, but with that harshness and some unpleasant bitterness. A 2 minute brew, so not muddy, but instead tasting like stale coffee

This is interesting. Makes me think there's some variance in manufacturing because this is absolutely not my experience. Or it's my lacking taste buds. I know (or, well, suppose) there are more fines with the Kinu, especially with the original burr, than with Comandante but still I think there's an issue with your burrs or their alignment. All I've had is "hollow" taste with the original burr but that has usually been addressable by just lowering the temperature, something that I do not do with the brew burr. But no bitterness with light-medium to nordic light. Darker roasts are different beast altogether..

I have bought two brew burrs now and the first one is clearly misaligned because of what I think is a manufacturing defect. It's like the center hole of the burr is not center enough and I can hear it rub at very fine settings. This leads to boulders and excessive fines, which screws up the extraction. The second one instead is pretty much spot on and I can achieve very good brews.

Just had a real nice espresso now, with very bright strawberry notes (this months La Cabra subscription), using the original burr The same coffee with both burrs provides a sweet and bright pour over cup, always with strawberry notes.

Not saying Kinu would be on par with certain other grinders, just saying I'm enjoying it a lot and haven't felt I've been missing something. Even comparing to some very high-end shops (in Copenhagen and Helsinki). Just wondering about the manufacturing tolerances..

I used the original Kinu M47 with regular burrs and then Phoenix with "black fusion treatment". Alignment seemed very good on both, in fact I could use the same settings (just multiplied by 1.5 for the Phoenix that uses the fine thread pitch). Couldn't detect any difference in flavor across these two at least.

ojt wrote:Not saying Kinu would be on par with certain other grinders, just saying I'm enjoying it a lot and haven't felt I've been missing something.

This was how I felt about both M47 and Niche before buying those SSP brew v1 burrs. For my tastes both conicals performed better with light roasts than traditional flats like 64/83mm Mazzer. I usually had to resort to all kinds of tricks to get the kind of flavor I was looking for, whereas now I don't feel the need for specific profiles or filters to get shots like those in better cafés (not very many qualify - I guess I'm picky).

I have never been happy with pour overs from either M47. Haven't had the chance to try the pour over burr though and it's great to hear some of you like it!

Jonk wrote:I guess I'm picky

Sure thing, and I would be too after getting something better Anyway, me not tasting harshness can quite easily be just my taste buds and lack of enough references to compare to. In fact I only have various coffee shops to compare to.