EdipisReks1

Black Cat is my “house” espresso. It’s good stuff. Breville can’t be fixed. The steam boiler has a failed weld. Looks like it was bad from the factory. You can’t get the part, unfortunately. Now I need to decide what I replace it with. I’ve been happy with the Flair 58 for espresso, but I miss milk steaming. I could just get another Breville Dual Boiler, but build quality leaves me a bit shy to the idea. I really liked the machine, though. I’m guessing either a Mara X or the Argos Odyssey, probably. I guess it depends on whether I want a cup warmer or not.

With the new pricing I think I’ll be getting the single burr Duo and the SSP MP burr. Also I should have my espresso machine back in a couple weeks!

My opinion is that “burr break in” is basically just nooks and crannies getting filled with coffee oil/debris. That’s a pretty substantial physical change; I can see it making a difference, even if I haven’t noticed it particularly with my own gear. How are you liking the grinder in general? Have you been doing pour over only? This grinder is probably more than I want to spend, but it’s on my list of considerations for if I upgrade.

40 grams in a hand grinder would be rough!

Have you tried a a hand grinder for pour over, Sam? Depending on batch size it might not be the best choice, but I would use one of my hand grinders for pour over instead of the Niche, if I didn’t have the Ode/SSP. The more I see about the Duo the more I think I’ll get it, but I’ll immediately put in SSP multi purpose burrs, which makes it a fairly expensive grinder, but an awfully good price for the workflow and that burrset. I’m not in a hurry, though: I still need to get my espresso machine fixed.

Hey Sam, I really appreciate the offer, but that’s okay: I’m too afraid of it getting lost in transit (I’ve now had things lost by all three major carriers this year). Hopefully when I get the watch in however many months it’ll work out for me. Shouldn’t be too hard to sell if I don’t end up liking it!

Interesting. I’m not a gigantic fan of sharp edges on watches. Too bad I can’t try the thing on. 😕

You have a Bianca, you don’t need to add anything!

I almost went and bought a Black Bay 54 when they hit stores right after W and W, but I hesitated. Just put my name on a waiting list (along with a Perpetual 1908, but I’m unlikely to actually buy it).

The milk frother they also have coming out looks clever.

After seeing a bunch of reviews, I think the Niche Duo doesn’t offer me anything over keeping the Zero for espresso and the Ode/SSP for filter, unless I also spend the extra $350 for SSP burrs. Which I would probably do, if I got a Duo. But I’m super happy with my grinders, I just would prefer to have one: swapping back and forth on the Duo isn’t as handy as just having separate grinders.

After a day, I can declare the Ultra on a proper bracelet to be the definitive experience, and I really like the Alpine Loop.

I don’t love pin and collar in 2023, and there is no micro adjust (I’m lucky with the fit), but I’m otherwise very happy with the Sandmarc titanium bracelet for Apple Watch Ultra. I would call it similar to quality to a Seiko Prospex bracelet. It’s nice enough, and works great. It can pull down straight from the lugs, so it doesn’t increase the size of the watch at all compared to the Alpine strap

I’ve seen a couple more videos of the Duo grinding green coffee beans with absolutely no issues. Also the espresso burrs seem to have plenty of range for pour over unless you need quite coarse grinding. If I replace my Niche Zero I also want to replace my Ode; if I have to change burrs to go from filter to espresso it’s a worse workflow than what I have, which is a non starter. I grind pretty fine for pour over, and rarely grind coarse, but I’ll be keenly watching reviews as they trickle in. Hopefully Niche has fulfillment figured out and it doesn’t take buyers forever to get one.

I noticed that too. I’m kind of surprised there isn’t an anti popcorn disc, as it works great on the NZ. Seems like a no-brainer. There must be a reason.

It definitely has a different pitch.

There is a video of the Duo grinding a dose of green beans without any apparent issue.

Niche Duo with 83mm flat burrs has hit, apparently. I think my plan to get a Lagom P64 has been terminated. I don’t think I need to “upgrade” from the Zero, but I am sure I’ll end up with the Duo before long. I should probably get my espresso machine fixed first!

Just for shits and giggles, I did something suggested in case of air bubbles (this can cause the same symptoms as what I have): turn it upside down and shake the shit out of it. That got me one shot before the loud buzzing and lack of water flow returned. I think that’s pretty definitive that the pump is shot.

Hah! Fortunately I found a reasonably local (in Louisville, a city I like, and I’ll visit Prima while I’m there) espresso machine shop that does Brevilles. They think it’s the pump, and I’ll have the o rings replaced and the boilers descaled while it’s open. Should bring the machine back to basically new for a few hundred bucks. A lot cheaper than buying another one (I really like the machine; I would replace with the newer version, almost certainly), I just need to figure out when I want to drive to Louisville.

Breville no longer services my model, so let’s hope it’s the tank.

I had forgotten how good the espresso from the Flair 58 is. I just wish the NanoFoamer did a better job on milk; I am just using a French press with hot milk, instead, and it’s fine, I guess. Hopefully the tank fixes the issue. If it *does* it shows a dumb weakness in the design of the machine. Espresso machines have enough weaknesses, already, they don’t need a little o-ring in a part specifically made to be removed and reinstalled often to be a machine killer.

I did number one, but didn’t go so far as number two. I don’t necessarily trust my shaky hands with getting an o-ring on.

I‘m sure I can get the o-ring out, but I don’t know how I would get a replacement on.

The valve no longer seals on the removable water tank. There isn’t an obvious way to replace it or the o-rings, so I bought a new complete tank from Breville. Machine doesn’t brew (or steam) and the tank valve is faulty; surely these are related things.