EdipisReks1

We just got done with dinner. I have gained some weight over the holidays: the waistcoat wasn’t so tight when I tried it on before the trip!

Thanks everyone! I might have to get that Dunkin’ drink! Watching UC give Alabama a hard time with a beer in hand.

Hah! Thanks guys! I had my coffee for the day, but there is a cafe in Raleigh-Durham, where I’m spending the weekend, that I plan on hitting tomorrow or the 2nd (depending on hours). Cheers, and happy new year!

I’m just seeing this. What a punch in the gut. Steve was a great guy.

Coffee is a pain. Wouldn’t be fun if it weren’t.

I wonder how much they change to the niche is from the burrs “seasoning?” I’m not totally convinced it’s actually a thing, but you never know!

Yes, it will produce powder with the ssp burrs. I have mine set just to where they don’t chirp, but I’m looking for adjustment range for filter and espresso (less of the latter, more of the former), so setting yours further coarser makes sense to me.

Well, the OG doesn’t drift, but it’s sort of… special. Would also be the only grinder I owned it I could only have one.

Everything that isn’t stepped drifts. Anything that isn’t does too. It’s easy to calibrate this one, and I’m not too worried about it, as it’s stepless and is easy to adjust in use all of a sudden.

1 or 2. closer to 1 normally. I’m at about 7 post SSP. Make sure you follow the specific instructions for calibrating the SSP. Make sure you have the machine absolutely spotless before you install the new burrs. It’s very straightforward; the difference is basically where you have to have the front plate knob set. To turn it stepless, just remove the screw that attaches the stepper knob and remove said knob (the metal one you rotate when you calibrate). The stepper system is just a tube and a spring, and it comes right out with no effort. I really like the Ode with SSP.

Definitely calibrate it. It’s easy. I would also suggest getting the SSP burrs and making it stepless as well. These are both easy too, but you need to spend money to get the burrs.

I pulled a few decent shots with the Flair Pro2 and used the Bellman to make cappuccinos. A quick blast of full steam into the milk makes a perfect dry foam on top of the textured milk. This shot was actually pulled on a standard Flair brewhead, not the Pro, but still turned out pretty. 15.5 in 32 out in about 45 seconds, peaking at 6 bar.

Reviews of early production Eureka Mignon Oro single dose are trickling in. I had been interested in this grinder. I am very happy with the decision to jump on the Niche when they were available.

Flair 58 is even more wonderful, and it is a permanent device. And you can use all of your 58mm stuff with it.

The Flair Pro 2 is great for travel.

The coffee I bought today was from a grocery store and was roasted on December 12th, but it was not a regular grocery store… If k cups are what works it’s what works. But I really would look into Cometeer. People I trust say it’s very good for what it is, though it has the same sort of waste issues that a Keurig does.

Ode converted to stepless. Super easy.

I have wanted to try Cometeer, but I don’t really have a use case for even very good instant coffee here at home.

Chemex is sort of special for me and Heather, so Esteban Garcia it is before I go see her for the first time in a month. 16:1. I do the chopstick trick with Chemex. Bloom, draw, then fill to desired water weight. This is some active coffee! Ground off frozen on the SSP. I seem to have finally gotten a good grind size with Chemex though: usually it’s either slow or fast. I don’t time Chemex. It’s also a fucking good cup of coffee. Lemon and cream and chocolate for miles. Super clean (Chemex, after all). Chocolate (again). No bitterness. The lemon brightness is not acidic at all. Soft on the palate. Sweet. I’ll miss this coffee when it’s gone. SSP burrs a little coarser than I do V60.

Hah! I saw drift immediately, Sam. Every grinder is going to need calibrating sometimes. The process is super duper simple, but I was having to do it every time I used the grinder. The Niche is great, and very well designed. I think this was just an issue of rushing to get product out. Anyway, It’s just not going to replace flat burrs for me for filter. I’m weird and actually prefer conical for espresso, but I like that flat burr distribution for filter (I grind pretty fine for filter, but I want a different fine, if that makes sense).

Packing up to see my woman and Boy. Two week trip. Car is mostly full of gifts. But I’m not going to not make at least one meal and two coffees, when I pack all this shit. And I made that lacquered Milky Way knife saya (well I lacquered it anyway) and I will not make another, so don’t ask.

Re: Niche. I like it a lot. After I took it to pieces and fixed the assembly issue that was causing calibration to drift. I’m sure this is a QA issue due to trying to get units out, but I also doubt the average buyer could have fixed it (I’m hardly the average buyer, fortunately). It is nice to use and fun and happy looking and will never be the limiting factor to any espresso I make (it ain’t replacing the Ode with SSP for filter, but would be fine if I didn’t have that). It is certainly inferior to the OE OG and, to a lesser degree, the Option-O Remi, but these are not surprises. I’m glad I bought it, and I grant a mulligan to the assembly issues. Basically no bearing surface was tightened enough, and I replaced two washers that were undersized in the drive shaft: being undersized the torque of grinding beans caused the assembly to move, as the washers didn’t do their job of preventing motion (certainly prevented friction!). Ode had the same issues, more or less. Sticks now, after use.

It didn’t channel, per se (in the way most people use the term), but you can see where pressure was higher due to the grind being too fine. I have a very careful puck prep. I think this would have totally failed otherwise.

It worked out okay, but one thing I can say with surety is that my Breville and my Flair 58 do not take the same grind size. Also I’ve gotten used to the huge amount of power the Bellman has for steaming. Having said that, this is a delicious latte. It’s ugly, but I got a very good mouthfeel from the oat milk, and there is no bitterness in the shot despite is stalling out HARD. Let’s call that a long pre-infusion. I had to do some mitigation, in process, temp surfing etc., but I hate wasting coffee or milk if I don’t have to. With a lid on a paper cup I would have left any cafe I know happy. But it’s boy ugly.

Did a cup very different from normal. AeroPress decaf Colombian (meeting a friend for coffee later, and these are great sugar process and the darkest I have), sort of a half-assed version of the Hoffman, recipe. Not bad.