Niche Zero in the espresso grinder test – a harmonious package

The Niche Zero aims to be a small, compact machine that competes at a high level. In March 2020 we bought the machine for 617 CHF/580 € via crowdfunding and compared it with 24 espresso grinders in our large test.

The technical data of the Niche Zero:

• Grinding discs: Conical grinding discs, 63 mm diameter made of hardened steel
• Width: 120mm
• Height: 310mm
• Depth: 210mm
• Bean container: 30 gram capacity, plastic

The Niche Zero is designed to grind single doses. The advantage here is that you only take as much coffee out of the packaging as you will use. The coffee stays fresh and does not store in the bean container for long. The grinding process begins as soon as the lid is closed. This is a clever security concept.

Grinding is done as follows: Weigh the beans (on our scales ) in the stainless steel cup provided. Pour in beans. Close the lid and hold the stainless steel cup under the spout. The cup fits on a 58mm portafilter, so that the ground flour can be easily transferred.

The “zero” of Niche Zero – dead space measurement

The term “dead space” refers to areas of the grinder in which coffee powder still remains after the grinding process. This is ejected during the next grinding process, but if the next coffee is not made for hours or even the next day, the ground coffee will be in the air for a long time. Ground coffee loses its aroma and taste within minutes, it extracts differently, and it tastes rancid. In short: the smaller the dead space, the fresher the coffee.

And here comes the big advantage of the Niche Zero: According to our complex measurement (complete disassembly of the grinder, weighing every coffee grain, etc.), the dead space is only 0.47 grams. That is extremely low and almost lives up to the name “Zero”.

Handling the Niche Zero

As described above, the workflow is smooth and quick. The grinding level can be infinitely adjusted. Both very good espresso results and tastier filter coffees can be achieved. This is also a big advantage of the Niche Zero. You often need several grinders for different coffee drinks. During the grinding process it works pleasantly quietly, but a little slowly. It takes a good 16 seconds for 18 grams.

Consistency and precision when advancing and resetting the Niche Zero

The mill works extremely consistently and we were able to enjoy many delicious espressos. For every 10 espressos, there were only fluctuations of around 0.2g in the amount of ground coffee ejected. The particle distribution of the mill has its coarse peak between the mills with flat grinding disks (M2D, Eureka Mignon) and the two mills with conical grinding disks (Graef, Sette). The curve is similar to the particle distribution of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro except that it is more regular across the covers. In terms of taste, this meant a balanced and, above all, sweet taste experience.

Since it is particularly important to reach the last setting of your favorite drink with single-dose machines, we also measured the accuracy of the forward and backward adjustment. In our test, this works very well and reliably, even in comparison to similarly expensive machines.

We were able to drink a perfect espresso, then adjust the grinding level for a ristretto, reset it and enjoy a perfect espresso again. Class.

Removing the grinding disks and cleaning

A coffee grinder also needs to be cleaned regularly to maintain its taste and lifespan. On the Niche Zero, the outer grinding discs can be removed without tools. Coffee residue can be easily removed with a fine brush. Although a wrench is required for the inner grinding disc, overall cleaning is straightforward. We use Clean Grind for regular cleaning of our Niche mills and all other mills in our academies.

Conclusion on Niche Zero

The Niche Zero has the potential to become our absolute favorite. It grinds constantly, is easy to adjust and you can switch between beans and drinks as you like and always achieve a great result. So if you want to enjoy an espresso in the morning, a filter coffee in the afternoon and a decaffeinated drink of perfect quality in the evening, this is the right place for you. Only the design of the mill might take some getting used to. In addition, the mill is not the fastest.

By the way, we don't sell the Niche Zero ourselves. We therefore have no economic ties to this mill. Our conclusion is so good because we simply think the mill is very good!

You can find further background information in a detailed blog article here on our Swiss site.