(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

[Jude Raphael]

Just a quick review on the 064S if anyone is keen on changing/buying the grinder too. The retention is minimal and easily removed from the grinder by a few turns of the knocker.

There was this “popcorn” issue, but probably that was because I chose to release the beans gradually into the grinding chamber and not closing the lid completely.

There were some stray grounds but then again, that was probably caused by using a stainless steel dosing cup instead of the original one provided.

The first impression that I had was, the ground was really fine, like table salt. I managed to pull a 1:1.5 shot in 23 seconds, with 8 bars pressure.

I’ll probably grind the beans a little finer on my second attempt and improve on my tamping.

Overall, I’m happy with the taste of the coffee but I think that it has room for improvement.

 

[Billyboo]

Just a quick review on the 064S if anyone is keen on changing/buying the grinder too. The retention is minimal and easily removed from the grinder by a few turns of the knocker.

There was this “popcorn” issue, but probably that was because I chose to release the beans gradually into the grinding chamber and not closing the lid completely.

There were some stray grounds but then again, that was probably caused by using a stainless steel dosing cup instead of the original one provided.

The first impression that I had was, the ground was really fine, like table salt. I managed to pull a 1:1.5 shot in 23 seconds, with 8 bars pressure.

I’ll probably grind the beans a little finer on my second attempt and improve on my tamping.

Overall, I’m happy with the taste of the coffee but I think that it has room for improvement.

Did you have to season the grinder prior? Read some reviews of the 78S where people are going through some 7-10kg of beans to season

 

[Jude Raphael]

Did you have to season the grinder prior? Read some reviews of the 78S where people are going through some 7-10kg of beans to season

Hmm, well, I am not intending to season the grinder per se by using a few kg of beans. Daily grinding is a form of seasoning too, I guess?

One little nitty gritty "issue" about the 064S though, is the occasional jamming of the grinder. I watched the review by Lance Hedrick on the Timemore Sculptors and he mentioned the same issue. But this is not that a big issue to me yet. I guess that it could be the way I poured the beans into the chamber. I have tried to moisten the beans but the beans tend to stick in the chamber before sliding down.

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

Been using the Timemore Sculptor 078S for quite some time now.

Conclusion:

-Solid grinder with impeccable workflow
-able to handle light roasted beans with no issue
-pourover grinds are definitely better than from Niche's / DF64 (i've compared the tasting notes thanks to my friends who are also coffee nerds)
-Don't believe in those BS needing few KG of beans to "season" the burrs, 99% of them cant even taste the difference - don't ask me how i know because we had some fun blind tasting and results proves so.
-If you are lucky enough to get this grinder at the kickstarter pricing, its definitely one of the best valued grinder you can get for this price, i would say on par or slightly below zernos etc, but workflow is definitely better.
-build quality is solid

 

[Billyboo]

Been using the Timemore Sculptor 078S for quite some time now.

Conclusion:

-Solid grinder with impeccable workflow
-able to handle light roasted beans with no issue
-pourover grinds are definitely better than from Niche's / DF64 (i've compared the tasting notes thanks to my friends who are also coffee nerds)
-Don't believe in those BS needing few KG of beans to "season" the burrs, 99% of them cant even taste the difference - don't ask me how i know because we had some fun blind tasting and results proves so.
-If you are lucky enough to get this grinder at the kickstarter pricing, its definitely one of the best valued grinder you can get for this price, i would say on par or slightly below zernos etc, but workflow is definitely better.
-build quality is solid

Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately didn’t catch the kickstarter price thinking of getting the 064S since it’s more affordable than the 078S only intending to use for espresso hope the 064S would suffice!

 

[potato13]

Been using the Timemore Sculptor 078S for quite some time now.

Conclusion:

-Solid grinder with impeccable workflow
-able to handle light roasted beans with no issue
-pourover grinds are definitely better than from Niche's / DF64 (i've compared the tasting notes thanks to my friends who are also coffee nerds)
-Don't believe in those BS needing few KG of beans to "season" the burrs, 99% of them cant even taste the difference - don't ask me how i know because we had some fun blind tasting and results proves so.
-If you are lucky enough to get this grinder at the kickstarter pricing, its definitely one of the best valued grinder you can get for this price, i would say on par or slightly below zernos etc, but workflow is definitely better.
-build quality is solid

Nice, if its not too troublesome, can help some review comparing 078S vs niche zero for espresso.
seldom do pour over.. only once awhile for evening drinks. my bread and butter is always espresso / latte in the morning.

Taste note:
workflow:
ease of maintenance:
Cleaning:
etc?

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

Nice, if its not too troublesome, can help some review comparing 078S vs niche zero for espresso.
seldom do pour over.. only once awhile for evening drinks. my bread and butter is always espresso / latte in the morning.

Taste note:
workflow:
ease of maintenance:
Cleaning:
etc?

Taste Note: Niche is by no means a "bad grinder". its solid and does what it's suppose to do well, which is traditional tasting espresso.
however sculptor is able to bring out more clarity and fruitness, if that's what you are looking for in your coffee / beans.

Operational noise: Sculptor win hands down. Niche is just too loud for me, heck even DF64's noise sounds less "atas" even when its pretty "quiet"

Workflow: Niche will have some retention and its annoying having to "knock" on the grinder or pump the third-party add-on bellow, causes a mess and just doesn't sit right for me.
The knocker on Sculptor on the other hand is just classy. Spin-Spin-Tick-Tack and its done, not to mention the knocking sound is rather pleasing.

Ease of Maintenance: Niche or DF tends to get left over retention around the chute area especially and also on the blade, even if you do RDT (spraying your beans before grinding), so you would have to open it up frequently to clear out the chute.
For Sculptor, you will get the RDT retention on the blade only if u spray alot of water on the beans - although i can say that the Sculptor needs no RDT and performs excellent without any additional step, which is a big plus for me personally.

Cleaning: No comments for Sculptor as i've not done any cleaning yet, still working perfectly. Although i've opened it up to check the burrs for retention etc and can say that its relatively easy, just need the hex key.
Niche, easy to remove and clean so not much of an issue too.

Build Quality: Sculptor win hands down. Niche has this plasticky feel cos it is made of plastic.
Whereas if you actually manage to hold the sculptor, the housing just feels so solid and heavy. I dare say that you won't believe its actually below $1.5k if no one told you about the price - feels like those grinder which can be sold around 2-3k price range IMHO.

However side note that the above only holds true for 078S. There has been reviews that the 064/064S doesnt feel as "premium", build quality or material wise, and its much lighter thus doesn't feel as "premium".
Also, 064S will have stalling issues when you grind lighter beans at the lower RPM range so take note of this and go for the 078S if you plan to do light roast. However!! if you turn up the RPM, 064S is still able to handle light roasted beans.

Hope this helps!

P.S. iirc i saw that Cheerful Goat does some roadshows around shopping malls and some of the larger roadshows, they do actually display the Sculptor grinders for you to have some hands-on. not sure if there are still doing these roadshows but you can talk to them to find out i guess?
They are the official Timemore distributor in SG, and my kickstarter's Sculptor is delivered by them.

 

[potato13]

Taste Note: Niche is by no means a "bad grinder". its solid and does what it's suppose to do well, which is traditional tasting espresso.
however sculptor is able to bring out more clarity and fruitness, if that's what you are looking for in your coffee / beans.

Operational noise: Sculptor win hands down. Niche is just too loud for me, heck even DF64's noise sounds less "atas" even when its pretty "quiet"

Workflow: Niche will have some retention and its annoying having to "knock" on the grinder or pump the third-party add-on bellow, causes a mess and just doesn't sit right for me.
The knocker on Sculptor on the other hand is just classy. Spin-Spin-Tick-Tack and its done, not to mention the knocking sound is rather pleasing.

Ease of Maintenance: Niche or DF tends to get left over retention around the chute area especially and also on the blade, even if you do RDT (spraying your beans before grinding), so you would have to open it up frequently to clear out the chute.
For Sculptor, you will get the RDT retention on the blade only if u spray alot of water on the beans - although i can say that the Sculptor needs no RDT and performs excellent without any additional step, which is a big plus for me personally.

Cleaning: No comments for Sculptor as i've not done any cleaning yet, still working perfectly. Although i've opened it up to check the burrs for retention etc and can say that its relatively easy, just need the hex key.
Niche, easy to remove and clean so not much of an issue too.

Build Quality: Sculptor win hands down. Niche has this plasticky feel cos it is made of plastic.
Whereas if you actually manage to hold the sculptor, the housing just feels so solid and heavy. I dare say that you won't believe its actually below $1.5k if no one told you about the price - feels like those grinder which can be sold around 2-3k price range IMHO.

However side note that the above only holds true for 078S. There has been reviews that the 064/064S doesnt feel as "premium", build quality or material wise, and its much lighter thus doesn't feel as "premium".
Also, 064S will have stalling issues when you grind lighter beans at the lower RPM range so take note of this and go for the 078S if you plan to do light roast. However!! if you turn up the RPM, 064S is still able to handle light roasted beans.

Hope this helps!

P.S. iirc i saw that Cheerful Goat does some roadshows around shopping malls and some of the larger roadshows, they do actually display the Sculptor grinders for you to have some hands-on. not sure if there are still doing these roadshows but you can talk to them to find out i guess?
They are the official Timemore distributor in SG, and my kickstarter's Sculptor is delivered by them.

Great thanks for the details review..
haha.. now start feeling itchy..

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

Great thanks for the details review..
haha.. now start feeling itchy..

Buy first think later -Not sure if there is ready stock in SG too anyway even if you want to get them now.

Anyway timemore seems to have started selling the ghost burrs/espresso burr seperately now, and there is the SSP Multi purpose burr for 64mm, if that helps with your decision (Although its only in the EU store for now but i believe you should be able to get the burrs anyway)
https://de.timemore.com/en/products/sculptor-burrs-en?variant=44741684166903

 

[potato13]

Buy first think later -Not sure if there is ready stock in SG too anyway even if you want to get them now.

Anyway timemore seems to have started selling the ghost burrs/espresso burr seperately now, and there is the SSP Multi purpose burr for 64mm, if that helps with your decision (Although its only in the EU store for now but i believe you should be able to get the burrs anyway)
https://de.timemore.com/en/products/sculptor-burrs-en?variant=44741684166903

I also like to buy 1st think later.. hahaha..

The Main Problem is.. my Wife.
We already has a Niche Zero with no complain.
How do i justify to her that i wanna add 1 more grinder.. Wahahahhahha..

much i like to YoLO, but happy wife happy life has always been in the blood..
Cant be everyday go home kana NAG head to toe.. lol.

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

I also like to buy 1st think later.. hahaha..

The Main Problem is.. my Wife.
We already has a Niche Zero with no complain.
How do i justify to her that i wanna add 1 more grinder.. Wahahahhahha..

much i like to YoLO, but happy wife happy life has always been in the blood..
Cant be everyday go home kana NAG head to toe.. lol.

If you already have the Niche, don't think its worth buying the Sculptor unless you are planning to sell the Niche away la.

$1k for those upgrades, i think i can live with those slight "disadvantage" on the niche.

 

[DriftKing]

Ok where can I get the timemore sculpture here locally? Or anywhere that ships reasonably?

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

Ok where can I get the timemore sculpture here locally? Or anywhere that ships reasonably?

You can try pm-ing the official distributor and see if they have stock.

i'm in nowhere affiliated to them or whatever so, just saw them displaying the grinder at their roadshow before so sharing it.

https://www.facebook.com/CheerfulGoatSG

 

[Jude Raphael]

Been using the Timemore Sculptor 078S for quite some time now.

Conclusion:

-Solid grinder with impeccable workflow
-able to handle light roasted beans with no issue
-pourover grinds are definitely better than from Niche's / DF64 (i've compared the tasting notes thanks to my friends who are also coffee nerds)
-Don't believe in those BS needing few KG of beans to "season" the burrs, 99% of them cant even taste the difference - don't ask me how i know because we had some fun blind tasting and results proves so.
-If you are lucky enough to get this grinder at the kickstarter pricing, its definitely one of the best valued grinder you can get for this price, i would say on par or slightly below zernos etc, but workflow is definitely better.
-build quality is solid

Hi hi, I saw the Timemore 078S when I was at the showroom of Cheerful Goat. But alas, the price was a big factor in choosing the 064S. Congrats on getting the 078S from Kickstarter! The price was indeed EYES POPPING as compared to the current selling price.

The stalling issue occurred when I was grinding a lighter roast of beans. I have been using another batch of beans that seems darker than the last batch and *touchwood* there has been no such issue..for now. RPM wise, I have kept it to 1200rpm since Day 1.

Other than Cheerful Goat, seems like there is another website Semiblack to check out too.

 

[Jude Raphael]

I also like to buy 1st think later.. hahaha..

The Main Problem is.. my Wife.
We already has a Niche Zero with no complain.
How do i justify to her that i wanna add 1 more grinder.. Wahahahhahha..

much i like to YoLO, but happy wife happy life has always been in the blood..
Cant be everyday go home kana NAG head to toe.. lol.

Haha! What about...buying first and talk later?

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

Hi hi, I saw the Timemore 078S when I was at the showroom of Cheerful Goat. But alas, the price was a big factor in choosing the 064S. Congrats on getting the 078S from Kickstarter! The price was indeed EYES POPPING as compared to the current selling price.

The stalling issue occurred when I was grinding a lighter roast of beans. I have been using another batch of beans that seems darker than the last batch and *touchwood* there has been no such issue..for now. RPM wise, I have kept it to 1200rpm since Day 1.

Other than Cheerful Goat, seems like there is another website Semiblack to check out too.

I believe if u turn the RPM higher on the 64S, it should still grind through light roasted beans.

My only regret was not backing for the 078 + 078S combo set at the kickstarter price.

 

[Jude Raphael]

I believe if u turn the RPM higher on the 64S, it should still grind through light roasted beans.

My only regret was not backing for the 078 + 078S combo set at the kickstarter price.

No ley, I have already hit max RPM. The 078S has a higher RPM and a motor with a higher power rating as compared to the 064S..

• Power - the 064S has a lower power rating of 150W-180W while the 078S has a higher power rating of 400W.
• Maximum RPM - the 064S has a max RPM of 1200 while the 078S has a maximum RPM of 1400. Both sculptors start at a minimum of 800 RPM.

Anyway, the price difference for the 2 Sculptors is about 50%. I cannot complain too much lo. At least, you managed to get the item at the Kickstarter price!

The only issue that I have with the grinder so far, is reading the grind settings on the step-less dial while matching with the red indicator. It is not ideal for people with 老花眼。HAHA!

BUT, the step-less dial is really great to use when making really fine adjustments to the grind size.

 

[BuZhiDaoLeh]

No ley, I have already hit max RPM. The 078S has a higher RPM and a motor with a higher power rating as compared to the 064S..

• Power - the 064S has a lower power rating of 150W-180W while the 078S has a higher power rating of 400W.
• Maximum RPM - the 064S has a max RPM of 1200 while the 078S has a maximum RPM of 1400. Both sculptors start at a minimum of 800 RPM.

Anyway, the price difference for the 2 Sculptors is about 50%. I cannot complain too much lo. At least, you managed to get the item at the Kickstarter price!

The only issue that I have with the grinder so far, is reading the grind settings on the step-less dial while matching with the red indicator. It is not ideal for people with 老花眼。HAHA!

BUT, the step-less dial is really great to use when making really fine adjustments to the grind size.

awww thats sad to hear about the light roasted bean part for 064S, pity.

Agree about the grind setting part, luckily my eyesight is still good enough for it - considering those third-party 3-d Printed magnetic grind setting indicator but feels the price is out to chop carrot so didnt purchase yet.

talking about the grind setting reading reminds me of another nit-picking aspect, which is the RPM setting, have to always tilt the grinder side ways to adjust the RPM - quite annoying sometimes

 

[potato13]

Ok where can I get the timemore sculpture here locally? Or anywhere that ships reasonably?

i just went carousell and did a search.. found some ready stock. You can try.

 

[potato13]

Haha! What about...buying first and talk later?

I did that on quite a number of gadget.. Wahahahaha..
Cant always use this.. need keep for priority..

Wahhahahha..