Espresso nerds in the house?

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Dakota Day Trader said:
I just saw this thread from the daily email - Talk about great timing!

I’m looking to get a new grinder. Any suggestions, or favorites to look at?

This is strictly a home setup with my Breville machine.

Thanks!
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Pro tip too....you can get them cheaper in Europe. This is where I got mine EUREKA MIGNON SPECIALITA' COFFEE GRINDER

make sure you get the 110v variant. Also they will email you with a coupon code to get it for even less, there is a link in the description to ask for one, I assume so they can sell it for less than manufacturer recommended without putting it out there to begin with
 
Dakota Day Trader said:
I just saw this thread from the daily email - Talk about great timing!

I’m looking to get a new grinder. Any suggestions, or favorites to look at?

This is strictly a home setup with my Breville machine.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
budget? I'd put 60-80% of total budget into a grinder cuz it really makes a difference 🍻
 
jedy617 said:
Breville Dual Boiler and Mignon Specialita. Started out with a Silvia that ended up dying on me. Having dual boilers and a built in PID is just nice haha
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There's a lot of cool stuff you can do with the Breville Dual Boiler. Do a search on the home-barista forums if you haven't already.

Dakota Day Trader said:
I just saw this thread from the daily email - Talk about great timing!

I’m looking to get a new grinder. Any suggestions, or favorites to look at?

This is strictly a home setup with my Breville machine.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
My advice, don't fall for the DF64 hype unless you really want to fiddle and mod it. I like my Sette 270 and it's hard to beat the price if you get it refurb, but there are a lot of much better grinders out there also.
 
ehhh said:
There's a lot of cool stuff you can do with the Breville Dual Boiler. Do a search on the home-barista forums if you haven't already.


My advice, don't fall for the DF64 hype unless you really want to fiddle and mod it. I like my Sette 270 and it's hard to beat the price if you get it refurb, but there are a lot of much better grinders out there also.
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Yep part of the reason I got it was for all the mod support...I don't think I am ready for that yet though, I am loving it stock.
 
What are everyone's go to beans for espresso, and for what type of drink?

I used to mostly get Intelligentsia Black Cat blends, but lately I really enjoy Coava's S.O. Blend. Consistent, easy to pull, a good middle ground that's good straight and still stands up to milk. I mostly make 6oz cappuccinos or 4.5oz cortados.

For milk heavy drinks, I actually like Blue Bottle's 17ft Ceiling which has robusta in it. They just keep getting more and more expensive.
 
Diablo from voyager and roasting myself, but yeah beans price are getting crazier especially for those well branded stuff. gotta pay the commercials, eh?
 
My stash varies a lot, I usually keep 4 different greens in stock, currently a Burundi, an Ethiopian funk bomb, some Guatamala and some Colombian, all well over 80 points. I roast like 3 400g batches of two types separately, like every other week, and blend when I feel like and how I feel like or drink the straight.

double ristrestto's and morning cappa's, and loads of 'em
 
When I was in the US I ordered mostly from Klatch. The House Blend and WBC blends were always good. For commercial Italian imported beans I really liked Danesi Gold. I tend to make milk drinks so robust, chocolate/nutty blends work best for me. If I'm feeling flush then Caffe Lusso is pretty good, GMC or Lionshare were my goto's.

Redbird has a good selection of blends and single farm offerings at a reasonable price

https://redbirdcoffee.com/
 
dragjp said:
budget? I'd put 60-80% of total budget into a grinder cuz it really makes a difference 🍻
Click to expand...

I would say $800 - $1,000, but I would love to be around half that number, so if there are some *REALLY* good models in that $300-$600 range I would love to hear about them!

So far it looks like the Sette 270 is a front runner with a few of you using that model. 😉👍
 
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Dakota Day Trader said:
I would say $800 - $1,000, but I would love to be around half that number, so if there are some *REALLY* good models in that $300-$600 range I would love to hear about them!

So far it looks like the Sette 270 is a front runner with a few of you using that model. 😉👍
Click to expand...
take into account used models, most cafe grade grinders last forever at home after some TLC (new burr set and cleaning) and some modding...
 
ehhh said:
What are everyone's go to beans for espresso, and for what type of drink?

I used to mostly get Intelligentsia Black Cat blends, but lately I really enjoy Coava's S.O. Blend. Consistent, easy to pull, a good middle ground that's good straight and still stands up to milk. I mostly make 6oz cappuccinos or 4.5oz cortados.

For milk heavy drinks, I actually like Blue Bottle's 17ft Ceiling which has robusta in it. They just keep getting more and more expensive.
Click to expand...
Happy Mug for best value daily drinkers, they always have amazing specialty stuff in their specialty mug section. Other favorites are Perla Negra from Dorado, stuff from verve , pretty sure I like the sermon, JBC....Gran Miscelo Carmo from Caffe Lusso would be a big upgrade to black cat IMO, try that out.
 
Been loving Black & White Roasters recently - their current Future blend, Tiki, is my all time favorite funky espresso. I also really like Malabar Au buy Josuma for milk drinks and overall old school chocolaty crema bombs.
 
ehhh said:
My advice, don't fall for the DF64 hype unless you really want to fiddle and mod it. I like my Sette 270 and it's hard to beat the price if you get it refurb, but there are a lot of much better grinders out there also.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that the DF64 is terribly overhyped. The early iterations were always seen as having some issues (for the most part correctable with tinkering), though I hear that the current model (v5?) has addressed most, if not all, major concerns.

FWIW, my move from a Mazzer Mini to the DF64 (v3, maybe? I don't recall) was a huge improvement in the cup and I never did any tinkering whatsoever. For the price (~$400 USD shipped), I've been entirely satisfied.

Were I looking for a grinder now, the Timemore 064S/078S would be high on the list, along with a Niche Duo (espresso burrs only) and DF83.
 
Dakota Day Trader said:
I would say $800 - $1,000, but I would love to be around half that number, so if there are some *REALLY* good models in that $300-$600 range I would love to hear about them!

So far it looks like the Sette 270 is a front runner with a few of you using that model. 😉👍
Click to expand...
yep, that's a solid option to kick off the journey(or down the rabbit hole 🤣).
 
There are so many great roasters, I usually try to get a bag of something new every time I need more beans.

Some roasters I keep going back to though:
George Howell
Little Wolf
Abracadabra
 
jedy617 said:
Happy Mug for best value daily drinkers, they always have amazing specialty stuff in their specialty mug section.
Click to expand...

Shut up, you! I don't need more people buying from the secret stash :p

I've had three varieties of natural Ethiopian from them recently. All were good (one was really good) and excellent values.
 
dragjp said:
yep, that's a solid option to kick off the journey(or down the rabbit hole 🤣).
Click to expand...

I'm familiar with rabbit holes!

I never thought the grinder was that big a deal, but after reading this thread it sounds like 70%-80% of the battle! While I don't mind paying up for something that's better quality, or has features I will actually use, I just want to make sure I'm not buying features I don't need. It sounds like there is a big difference between NOT having a set grinder and having one, but is there a smaller difference between having a ~$400-ish grinder and a $1K+ one?

I'm just wondering if there is a big difference between what the Sette 270 (or similar) models produce in terms of actual product, vs. a more expensive model for a guy that's looking to do a double shot espresso, hot or cold, nearly every day?
 
I was a Counter Culture fan for years but they got pricing long before others. After going with a very local roaster for a couple years I switched to Ceremony Roasters in Annapolis, MD. Still relatively local, but I can't take a 10 minute drive a pick up a 5 lb bag of beans like I could at the really local place. Ceremony has two espresso roasts that are a lot different from each other, but both are good. Their beans are harder to work with then all others I have tried. A few friends bought from Ceremony for a while and gave up due to difficulties in getting it dialed in
 
Dakota Day Trader said:
I'm familiar with rabbit holes!

I never thought the grinder was that big a deal, but after reading this thread it sounds like 70%-80% of the battle! While I don't mind paying up for something that's better quality, or has features I will actually use, I just want to make sure I'm not buying features I don't need. It sounds like there is a big difference between NOT having a set grinder and having one, but is there a smaller difference between having a ~$400-ish grinder and a $1K+ one?

I'm just wondering if there is a big difference between what the Sette 270 (or similar) models produce in terms of actual product, vs. a more expensive model for a guy that's looking to do a double shot espresso, hot or cold, nearly every day?
Click to expand...

Well I think the first question to ask is: what type of espresso do you like to consume. Are you after traditional dark roast chocolaty, dense, viscous shots of espresso, or are you looking for something that highlights light roasts, acidity, fruitiness, a less heavy feel on the palate? If it's the former you should be looking at conical burr grinders, if it's the latter you should be focusing on flat burr grinders.
 
ethompson said:
Been loving Black & White Roasters recently - their current Future blend, Tiki, is my all time favorite funky espresso. I also really like Malabar Au buy Josuma for milk drinks and overall old school chocolaty crema bombs.
Click to expand...
I went to one of Black & White's cafes recently on a trip to NC, it was one of the best drinks I've had at an east coast cafe so far.

WPerry said:
I wouldn't say that the DF64 is terribly overhyped. The early iterations were always seen as having some issues (for the most part correctable with tinkering), though I hear that the current model (v5?) has addressed most, if not all, major concerns.

FWIW, my move from a Mazzer Mini to the DF64 (v3, maybe? I don't recall) was a huge improvement in the cup and I never did any tinkering whatsoever. For the price (~$400 USD shipped), I've been entirely satisfied.

Were I looking for a grinder now, the Timemore 064S/078S would be high on the list, along with a Niche Duo (espresso burrs only) and DF83.
Click to expand...
Totally fair, I don't know how the current ones stack up. I think I have the first version and I personally find it very fiddly, a huge mess even with RDT, retained nearly 2-3g with a clean burr chamber, had very poor consistency, and even worse grind issues before I got an anti-popcorning device. Fines everywhere, especially if you use the bellows (because the bellows push down on the upper burr carrier...).

My shot consistency was horrible using the same grind setting, dose & tamp, with shot times varying up to 10 seconds. My shot times with the Sette 270 are consistent, within a couple seconds. One of these days I'll muster up the effort to check/align the burrs and mod the clump crusher and give it another shot. Also interesting to see it's actually dropped in price since I bought it.
 
Dakota Day Trader said:
I'm familiar with rabbit holes!

I never thought the grinder was that big a deal, but after reading this thread it sounds like 70%-80% of the battle! While I don't mind paying up for something that's better quality, or has features I will actually use, I just want to make sure I'm not buying features I don't need. It sounds like there is a big difference between NOT having a set grinder and having one, but is there a smaller difference between having a ~$400-ish grinder and a $1K+ one?

I'm just wondering if there is a big difference between what the Sette 270 (or similar) models produce in terms of actual product, vs. a more expensive model for a guy that's looking to do a double shot espresso, hot or cold, nearly every day?
Click to expand...
the 'short' answer is it dpends. But more importantly - what are you usually drinking and looking for the grinder to do better, and do you single-dose? My experience is that light roast beans usually need a decent flat grinder, while darker roasts are more forgiven. Some benefits from higher priced grinder- precision, low retention, consistancy and able to bring out more character of the beans, but a good grinder can achieve those at some level as well. And tasting is kinda a subjective thing, gotta try and decide ;).
 
WPerry said:
Shut up, you! I don't need more people buying from the secret stash :p

I've had three varieties of natural Ethiopian from them recently. All were good (one was really good) and excellent values.
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you guys gotta be kidding me, 12 bucks for a bag of Guji? Even it's bad roasted which surely is not, I'm in! 🤣
 
IMO if you're drinking straight espresso shots, the grinder becomes even more important in the whole equation. The Sette 270 is a great entry level option, but probably leaves some cup quality on the table for lighter, more complex coffees.
 
dragjp said:
you guys gotta be kidding me, 12 bucks for a bag of Guji? Even it's bad roasted which surely is not, I'm in! 🤣
Click to expand...

I just started on my 2lb bag of Guji yesterday. So far, so good, but It's only 6 or 7 days out of roast, so I'm interested to see how it peaks.
 
Another thing I love about Happy Mug is reasonable shipping charges. Sometimes I like to only buy 1-2 bags at a time since it takes me a bit longer going through it, and it kills me paying $8 on shipping for 1-2 bags. Pretty much why I stopped buying places like JBC or Durango, I don't want to spend 50% of the coffee order just on shipping. Happy mug is $3 and they ship priority, might be free actually over 35 or 40 too
 
Corradobrit1 said:
In a home setting, single dosing has some clear advantages. I prefer different roasts at different times of the day and single dosing lets you scratch those itches.
If you think conical is the direction you want to go take a look at the Niche Zero.
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My wife like burnt s*** and I favor fruity, light/medium -- medium roasts. Moving to single dosing was huge for me.

The new Niche Duo looks interesting to me - I'm glad that there was enough push-back that they decided to offer it with only one burr set and to revise their pricing practices.
 
jedy617 said:
Another thing I love about Happy Mug is reasonable shipping charges. Sometimes I like to only buy 1-2 bags at a time since it takes me a bit longer going through it, and it kills me paying $8 on shipping for 1-2 bags. Pretty much why I stopped buying places like JBC or Durango, I don't want to spend 50% of the coffee order just on shipping. Happy mug is $3 and they ship priority, might be free actually over 35 or 40 too
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Same. I've put so many bags of coffee in to my online carts, only to close the window when I see the shipping charges. Happy's $3 shipping for a 2lb bag is more than reasonable. I'd be interested in finding others with reasonable shipping, because Happy is really the only place that I mail-order from; it's all local roasters, otherwise.
 
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