dandu wrote:I remember I've naturally dropped down dose and started grind finer on Niche. I've had Niche for almost a year now and tried a lot of different workflows. Now I am stayed only with shaking the grind in the cup side to side few times and pour it in to basket. Shake the portafilter a bit to level and if level is good tamp directly. If not I give a spin of leveling tool then tamp. Almost no issues now with channeling. Only time to time some mist spray but more often just after getting back from much coarser grind. New burrs may tend more to have uneven extraction. Give it a bit of play with dose. I guess that situation gets better and it will keep getting better as burrs brake in.

I'm sure part of the issue is the Silvia which is notoriously picky, but my niche is a year old now, used daily, and for me I need to stir the grinds in the basket for at least 10 seconds with a paper clip or I get very uneven extractions. I generally pull 17g in 38 out in 35s in an 18g Pullman basket.

It's interesting to read that some others have had this experience. I picked up a medium roasted Guatemalan 5 days off roast last night. I got a couple good shots (didn't taste) in a row. I've had good results with my robot. Which is so forgiving with the pre infusion and pressure ramp up. I really need this to work with my Silvia too. I'll keep playing around.

DaveC wrote:It's why my low quality videos go up with no edits or cuts where necessary, in case people think I'm cheating.

However, yes it pretty much always works like that and I only ever used a chopstick to wipe around the edges of the cup so the grinds came out easy, usually I can't even be bothered to do that.

I always use a chop stick to stir up. Even when there is not much static I have found it gives me more consistent shot times, I think it must help homogenize the grinds, which might not be an issue once I get the disc they are working on.

DaveC wrote:I do also roast my own coffee, so I know exactly when/how it was roasted and packed. That said I have tried other peoples coffee and although it doesn't taste as good as mine, the pours are usually fine. Interestingly though my coffee does not seem to age as fast as others but I have not used 1 way valves for 4 or 5 years now and pack (heat seal) in foodgrade mylar without valves.

I've also used multiple different Niches on the machines. Prototype, Pre Production, USA Long term test and Japanese Pre Production models. In doing this I found the burrs definitely need around 5kg to get good, 10kg to get a little better and after 15kg they are perfect.

I do tend to roast on the darker side, just a little into 2nd crack usually. Maybe that gives the grinds more tendency to clump. I have put at least 20kg through I think, so everything should be broken in.

dandu wrote:I remember I've naturally dropped down dose and started grind finer on Niche.

I usually stick around 18g dose because I like the volume of espresso produced. But I have heard in a James Hoffmann video that lower doses are easier to extract (though I don't remember why). What dose are you around?

It depends on which machine and which coffee. 17 or 18g. Some coffees are denser and sit lower in the portafilter than others

Same as DaveC. I use 17.5 lowest to 18.5. It depends. Lm 17g basket wich can handle even 20grams with medium roast.

Interesting factoid for Niche users and others, I was at Espresso Vivace yesterday here in Seattle and I noticed they were using to Niche grinders in addition to their custom-modded regular grinders. I asked the barista and he said that they just started experimenting with them. They use the Niche for decaf currently (only decaf because of the lower volume of decaf shots -- Vivace does a couple of hundred times the throughput of a household).

For those on the thread who aren't pro baristas, Vivace owner David Schomer literally wrote the book on being a barista and is credited with popularizing latte art in America, inventing the PID, experimenting special water formulations, helping design the first Synesso, and a few other innovations. His latest research has been into the effects of grind retention on shot quality. Having a couple of Niche grinders appear in the shop gives a clue about what may be coming next. I wouldn't be surprised to see him design something similar for cafe volumes.

The barista said they have been very impressed with the shots they're getting from the Niche Zero. Schomer wrote in his blog "The shots the Niche Zero makes are as flavorful and thick as any I have ever seen and tasted." High praise from a guy not prone to high praise.

http://espressovivace.com/education/news/
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2019/08/30/ ... id-schomer

FWIW, David Schomer did not invent the PID! He may have introduced or helped introduce it into the world of coffee, but didn't invent it. This La Marzocco actually indicates that Andy Schecter is actually the one who came up with the idea. Not to discount the fact that Schomer was a significant influence, but let's not turn him into a god.

https://home.lamarzoccousa.com/history-of-the-pid/

Ira

Had some cleaning inspiration yesterday so disassembled by NZ and gave it a good wipe down. Put everything back together in preparation for this morning's coffee. I was previously at the 12 mark but after cleaning I found my shots were running way too fast and I had to step down to below 10.

I messed around further this morning, unscrewing and re-tightening to what I believed was finger tight for me. In the end, I settled with having the calibration mark a few steps to the left of the actual calibration point, which set me in to the 12-13 range.

I understand that this should only be a reference but is there anything I'm doing wrong here?

pexel wrote:Had some cleaning inspiration yesterday so disassembled by NZ and gave it a good wipe down.

I found you have to get all the brown crud out (probably need something like a toothbrush) otherwise the "finger tight" point is likely to be different than when originally calibrated.