gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
had mine a month....Great grinder, hideous aesthetic IMO
Coffee machines
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had mine a month....Great grinder, hideous aesthetic IMO
tonerei
pfm Member
It is one of those type of products alright.
clivem2
pfm Member
I’ve had mine over a year, for normal domestic use it’s great. I grind for La Pavoni and Mokapots, it’s ideal for these types and the quantities needed and of course there are other benefits in terms of grind and low retention. In terms of aesthetics...I find it better than a lot of plasticy low-end grinders as well as over-technical high-end commercially suitable grinders. The Niche fits into domestic kitchens well providing you chose the colour that blends with your kitchen.
JTC
PFM Villager...
We got one of those last December in a promotion, when they briefly came down to about £350 I think it was. Ours is the fully chrome version. It has been absolutely great, and is pretty easy to use. It's also fairly compact, and produces superb coffee. It's not a bean-to-cup, but everything you need is included other than the beansHave done a Barista course if I was buying a coffee machine this would be top of my list. My daughter bought one who is also barista trained its a great peace of kit.Sage Barista Express.
My only slight criticism is that it's quite slow to use, as it only has a single pump and so on the few occasions I have to do more than a couple of cups (say, for guests - remember those?) it can take a few minutes.
The other thing we did was get a better tamper; the one it comes with is fine but I went a bit geeky with a nice wooden handled, more solid one. Doesn't really make much of a difference but it is a lovely thing.
Highly recommended.
clivem2
pfm Member
2 choices doesn’t mean it’s easy! I nearly selected black which would have been a bad choice in my case.
JTC
PFM Villager...
In terms of what coffee we're buying, we tried locally roasted beans but although definitely slightly better, they were damned expensive - £7+ per 250g bag - so we've settled on Lavazza Crema e Aroma I think it's called, which can normally be found for about £10-12/kg bag. It is good enough to keep us happy without getting too coffee-nerdy or expensive...
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
It’s not an organised buy, two or three of us buy a couple of sacks directly from a wholesaler once or twice a year and split them. If you’re in Surrey might viable for you to join in next time, probably early next year. The group buy club was tried by Dave many years ago on his old forum but to be honest people did what people do and did not make the effort, they happily yummed up the beans but fed back little and it just withered and it doesn’t work like that. So these days for good prices we buy good beans which as you probable know are 60kg or 70kg sacks, we pay up front, are prepared to split the sacks so yes a lot of beans each and muck in with collection etc. from whomever the pallet is delivered to.
matthewr
spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoɔǝɹ ɹnoʎ sʎɐld
I just got a Wilfa Uniform! It's also great (usual caveats about filter only and no espresso experience apply).
A marked improvement over my Baratza (which in fairness is in bad need of a deep clean and probably a disassembly/service/reassembly). Can push my extractions considerably further -- indeed am getting nice cups out of what looks like a way too fine a grind being almost to a silky texture rather than a coarse table salt.
Also quite a bit quieter than the Baratza and I enjoy the auto-shut off with a child like glee. Looks good in a utilitarian way although it's quite big; very much a function of the flat burrs I guess.
tonerei
pfm Member
Me in Ireland but have a few friends who like coffee whether enough to get in at the 60-70KG level!
. I haven't really had the time to explore that but with the Niche now it is easier to maintain the freshness of beans and to try mixing some beans I might follow the threads and try and start experimenting. All good safe fun!
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
Sure, I understand. Coffee ceased to be a hobby for me across the years and just part of daily life. I only find I talk about it when someone new visits and stands mesmerised at it all, as we all once did.
When I roast 1kg I put it into 2 strong foil bags with 1-way valves then when I start drinking one of them after a handful of days minimum (larger roasters mean longer resting IME compared with various small roasters I have had across the years) I then put one of my Airscape containers into use.
I still happily use cafetière or Moka pot too and the Niche caters for it all. If I were hosting and was making shot after shot back to back I’d put the E37s in the mix as it’s not what the Niche was designed for.
When I roast 1kg I put it into 2 strong foil bags with 1-way valves then when I start drinking one of them after a handful of days minimum (larger roasters mean longer resting IME compared with various small roasters I have had across the years) I then put one of my Airscape containers into use.
I still happily use cafetière or Moka pot too and the Niche caters for it all. If I were hosting and was making shot after shot back to back I’d put the E37s in the mix as it’s not what the Niche was designed for.
tonerei
pfm Member
Yes I get that. Certainly not as experienced as you are but for me it is a daily fortnightly routine. With the Genecafe the roasting is a bit more time consuming but it is a sensible unit for my current needs. Same logic applies for me with the Major when doing shot after shot.
I suppose the hobby is a bit like Hifi. Chopping and changing to find out exactly what level you want to get to. Mistakes made because of either lack of funds or no knowledge. Once you get things right most of the time is spent listening to music. Though I do think with Hifi there is always an itch to try something else.
I suppose the hobby is a bit like Hifi. Chopping and changing to find out exactly what level you want to get to. Mistakes made because of either lack of funds or no knowledge. Once you get things right most of the time is spent listening to music. Though I do think with Hifi there is always an itch to try something else.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
I keep waiting for my Gene Cafe to self destruct, so I can think about stopping roasting. There are so many good roasters out there these days. Admittedly buying green is cheaper.
I am pondering an Ikawa sample roaster so roasting is more controlled and simple.
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
I’ve still got my old gene cafe in its box these days, must be 13 years old. I moved from that to a Quest M3 that I imported directly and if I hadn’t had the chance to move to the Dalian about 4 years ago would probably still be using it. If I wanted a small roaster now I would probably look at the Sandbox Dave is trying, I know he’s posted something on YouTube.
For those on a budget, having limited space, happy with good rather than great or just not wanting the big toys (a Vesuvius weighs about 36kg and a Dalian about 60kg and the latter is definitely a workshop item) pavoni, cafetière moka or pour over, niche and a small roaster is a great way to go. Don’t underestimate the water either, I moved from under sink plumbed in RO to the Osmio Zero a year or two ago and it’s so convenient and hygienic plus the varying temp facility, I only take the kettle out the cupboard when I’m cooking and want a large batch of hot water.
I Milton tablet clean all containers once a month by the way, fridge door, kitchen jug, osmio tank and Vesuvius tank. It all starts with the water.
For those on a budget, having limited space, happy with good rather than great or just not wanting the big toys (a Vesuvius weighs about 36kg and a Dalian about 60kg and the latter is definitely a workshop item) pavoni, cafetière moka or pour over, niche and a small roaster is a great way to go. Don’t underestimate the water either, I moved from under sink plumbed in RO to the Osmio Zero a year or two ago and it’s so convenient and hygienic plus the varying temp facility, I only take the kettle out the cupboard when I’m cooking and want a large batch of hot water.
I Milton tablet clean all containers once a month by the way, fridge door, kitchen jug, osmio tank and Vesuvius tank. It all starts with the water.
tonerei
pfm Member
Great to know they run forever. My wife will be delighted as no need for upgrade.Will check out the Ikawa. If I had a workshop the Cormorant looks tasty. Dalian if cost not a prob. If the Ikawa just does 100g for £1000 it would want to be fantastic on the quality side. Will check it out. Covid gives plenty of time for reflection on 'must have' purchases
tonerei
pfm Member
I think you are DaveC's twin! Hadn't a clue what Osmio was when you originally mentioned it. I am using an under counter filter attached to incoming water supply. We have good soft water in Dublin but no doubt your advice is probably spot on. I like the notion of Michelin star coffee but not sure I can go the full marathon to get there.
stormyuklondon1
pfm Member
Does anyone use a Moka pot with induction? Any recommendations? I quite fancy trying it out with our new hob, but don’t want to risk destroying our fancy new tech..
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
Ha, I agree. It’s only a cup of coffee at the end of the day * and if I hadn’t been able to take these steps through the year I would rather have fresh coffee, RO water and cafetière than buying roasted beans, mediocre grinder and fancy machine.
I remember how good the water was in Ireland when I was there 30 years ago, not so in a lot of the uk so here in Surrey I have a softener plumbed in. But the Osmio or any other RO takes other things out too of course. Is it essential for safe water? No. But it’s more pleasant.
I was in Colombia 8 years ago and treated to a choice of going to the coffee zone or the Caribbean, wow no contest, they couldn’t understand I chose the Caribbean (North coast of Colombia) until I said it was a lifelong dream and... it’s only a cup of coffee. I got to go there 3 years ago on a separate trip.