(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

wahjohreno

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My white Niche Zero finally arrived. Delivered at 10:30pm at night :s11:

Before anything, for those wanting to buy one of these, DO NOT buy from Aliexpress. DO buy from the HK supplier (Urban Coffee Roaster).

Reasons being:

1) More expensive by about SGD50, but that's not all

2) I have to pay GST + a handling fee of SGD70.77 on top of that

3) Arrived one week later than my black one that was purchased from Urban despite ordering it a day EARLIER

4) Has Chinese markings on it, although I know it's the same product



Ok, on to the unboxing.

Package
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Box within a box within a box
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Exact same contents as my black non-China version
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Beside the grinder it will replace, much smaller (good thing for me)
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Just for fun, beside the black one which I use for pour over
8FNZcqc.jpg




Final resting place
5DxoMgv.jpg

w9JVfFJ.jpg
 

wahjohreno

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China vs non-China

xeVom02.jpg

eP5IKHw.jpg




For people who are curious about this grinder, the best way I can describe it is:

imagine a Mazzer Kony (same burr set), but

much cheaper,

much smaller,

much quieter,

grinds at 330rpm! (vs Kony’s 500rpm)

much less "pro" looking (looks like a kitchen appliance),

retains almost zero grinds,

has no hopper (single dosing only),

has no built-in "aircon",

comes with a 58mm dosing grind cup that's perfect for 58mm portafilters,

and

the build quality is the same as my Compak K3 (no bad but also not high end).
 
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DriftKing

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Any noticeable difference from the shots? Very tempting to 'replace' the Eureka zenith 65.. if only I hadn't commited to a SSP burr set.... still need alignment to make it right
 

wahjohreno

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Any noticeable difference from the shots? Very tempting to 'replace' the Eureka zenith 65.. if only I hadn't commited to a SSP burr set.... still need alignment to make it right

Very discernible difference in espresso shots. I feel it's sweeter has more clarity.

Very weird. The white one seems to not retain any grinds at all! I tested 6 shots this morning, excluding 2 x break in.

Break in 1: 3g in 2.9g out (virgin grind)

Break in 2: 3g in 3g out

Shot 1: 20g in 20g out

Shot 2: 20g in 20g out

Shot 3: 20g in 20g out

Shot 4: 20g in 19.9g out

Shot 5: 20g in 20g out

Shot 6: 20g in 19.9g out

Another thing is, it's sooooooo quiet! Maybe it's the position, but it seems quieter than my black one.

All in all, I'm happy. It has tidied up my workflow so much.

Don't have to weigh twice anymore since it consistently outputs what I put in. Saves time.

No more spanking the grinder hard to get the last 2g out. Saves time.

Grind cup fits portafilter exactly, no mess. Saves time.

So quiet.

They all add up to a much more pleasant coffee making experience.
 
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wook2000

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Haha... another Niche lover! There is a big difference in a grinder being built up from ground zero as a Single Doser compared to modding grinders for single dosing. Its just so much more pleasant to use and saves coffee too from dialing in.
 

DriftKing

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I just realised, Urban Coffee had stopped international shipping for the Niche Zero.... Seems like there's distributorship rights going on, and maybe Singapore is getting their own distro
 

wahjohreno

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I just realised, Urban Coffee had stopped international shipping for the Niche Zero.... Seems like there's distributorship rights going on, and maybe Singapore is getting their own distro

Oh no. I guess I got lucky then. I bought the last piece that shipped internationally.

Maybe you can write them directly and enquire about it.

The guy whom I corresponded with is Howard: howard.iu@ucr.hk
 

purpleberry

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The materials for both white and black versions are the same? Black seems to retain slightly a bit more than white which looks very clean.

Maybe time to upgrade my BB005
 

wahjohreno

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The materials for both white and black versions are the same? Black seems to retain slightly a bit more than white which looks very clean.

Maybe time to upgrade my BB005

Exactly the same. No difference whatsoever.

When I took the picture of the white one, it was still unused.
 

unclepodger

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Just throwing out another option for getting the Niche Zero - I actually ordered direct from the Indiegogo page for delivery within UK (free iirc) then had a freight forwarder send it from UK to SG. I used Shop & Ship and it was I think 50 or 60 sgd.
 

purpleberry

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wahjoh, how do you usually drink your espresso shots? Straight or with milk? I usually drink with a bit of milk (50-50) so not sure if I should upgrade to niche zero or not.
 

wahjohreno

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wahjoh, how do you usually drink your espresso shots? Straight or with milk? I usually drink with a bit of milk (50-50) so not sure if I should upgrade to niche zero or not.

I don’t drink milk at all. In life, haha.

My opinion is, if you have your coffee with milk, don’t bother unless you’re seeking a workflow improvement.
 

kenthliu

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You can't buy directly from Indiegogo. They will not ship to SG. They have an asian distributor.

You can buy from Aliexpress or Urban Coffee Roaster (HK), and they will ship it to you. Will not be Indiegogo price. It's + or - $1k shipped to you.

Read this post:

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/122150208-post5545.html

Yes, you can buy the Niche Zero Grinder directly from Indiegogo and they do ship to Singapore. Email them at hello@nichecoffee.co.uk, they will send u a link to a secret perk that ship to Singapore
 
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need help from bros

my Silvia frothing has low pressure..when frothing... ( a bit flat not so frothy but still can use la )
shots are definitely ok,
didn't really descale...

what can I do? Thanks
 

chikyblink

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need help from bros

my Silvia frothing has low pressure..when frothing... ( a bit flat not so frothy but still can use la )
shots are definitely ok,
didn't really descale...

what can I do? Thanks
High chance there's scale built up. My heat exchanger also has low steam pressure and weird bar readings when I didn't descale. Once I descale it, everything back to normal.

Sent from HUAWEI CLT-L29 using GAGT
 
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High chance there's scale built up. My heat exchanger also has low steam pressure and weird bar readings when I didn't descale. Once I descale it, everything back to normal.

Sent from HUAWEI CLT-L29 using GAGT


Untitled832.jpg

can use this? or need to buy another type?
 
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