The Niche Duo is the second espresso grinder from Niche. With the Niche Zero, Niche practically developed the home single-dosing espresso grinder market on its own. Now follows the Niche DUO with 83mm burrs. Can the British company top its previous success with this one?
Instead of a conical burr set, it now features flat burrs. Instead of one set, there are two: one for filter coffee and one for espresso. This is intended to provide the home barista with flexibility and quality, building on the proven Niche performance. We test whether it succeeds.
We compared 10 single-dosing grinders in the price range of 500 to 1000 euros. Read more about this in our article on the topic.
A first impression
The Niche Duo is "a penguin with an appetite," according to coffee expert Michel Indelicato, who, together with Benjamin Hohlmann, took a close look at the Niche Duo. A charming description for the robust appearance of the grinder, which has grown by a few cm compared to the Zero. It now weighs 5 kg and stands 35cm tall, 23cm deep, and 18cm wide.
This is not significantly more than the smaller Zero, but it is noticeable. Otherwise, Niche remains true to its own style. Good build quality, glossy black or white metal, and an elegant curve that vaguely reminds one of kitchen appliances. In a past life, the Niche could have been a juicer or a blender. We search in vain for sharp edges, and the wood finish contributes to the Niche looking distinctive—like a penguin—yet elegantly gleaming next to the espresso machine.
The only weak point of the grinder, even with the DUO, seems to be the plastic lid with its hinge. It doesn't inspire much confidence, although we must say that none have broken on us yet.
Otherwise, we stick with the proven design. The grinder has no buttons, no display, and functions only with an on/off switch or starts when the lid is closed. And the grinder works consistently in a vertical position, which manifests in a low retention.
Performance and handling
The Duo hums at a volume of 77.6 dB, which is quite acceptable for its size and heavy construction. While its little sister, the Zero, is quieter at only 72.9 decibels, that was the absolute peak value of our previous grinder tests. At 77.6 dB, the Duo performs well.
With a retention of only 1.6g, the grinder ranks among the best, which is remarkable, especially relative to the size of the burrs. Here, too, we measure less with the little sister at 1.1 grams, although by nature, there is less space within the smaller burr diameter. It is important to note that we measured the absolute retention, which plays a smaller role in single-dosing grinders.
To measure this, the grinding is interrupted, the remaining beans are removed, and we check how much coffee remains in the grinder. More important for single-dosing grinders is the single-dosing retention. In this test, the Niche Duo achieves 0.16 grams. We grind for 30 seconds and check how much residue remains in the grinder—that is, how many grams of the input coffee amount do not find their way out. 0.16 grams is a very good value.
In terms of speed, the Duo requires some patience: at 10.8g per 10 seconds, it is one of the slower espresso grinders. This is primarily due to the relatively slow rotation speed of the burrs.
A temperature increase of only 1.5°C during the grinding process over 6 consecutive grinds shows that the Duo was designed with heat development in mind. Despite the enclosed design, we remain constant in the average range of 30.4 degrees, which is also due to the large diameter of the burrs and the low RPM.
Consistency and grind size reproducibility
The consistency in the grind result, with a standard deviation of 0.16g, is good, although we see the little sister slightly in the lead here (0.11 grams). The grind size repeatability was also excellent after adjusting the grinder. It is easily possible to set different recipes, switch between them, and return to the previous grind size.
This makes the Niche Duo a grinder that brings joy to everyone who likes to switch coffees and try out different recipes and methods.
Price structure and additional costs
The Niche Duo is offered at a price of 549 British pounds with one burr set or for 649 British pounds with both burr sets, plus import, shipping, and VAT. Consequently, one must expect total costs that are significantly higher than the base price. We ended up paying almost 900 Swiss francs for the package with both burr sets.
Speaking of purchasing grinders: as always, we bought the Niche DUO ourselves and paid the full price. If that were ever different for a test, we would disclose it for you.
Particle distribution and flavor profile
Our espressos with the Niche Duo tasted good. They were relatively nuanced in distinguishing the various aspects of the coffee but exhibited a slightly less pronounced body than we are used to from the Niche Zero.
However, the higher clarity was not so pronounced that we would upgrade from the Niche Zero to the Niche Duo for that reason alone.
We also brewed delicious filter coffees with the filter burrs, which showed plenty of clarity and transparency. However, our brews lacked a bit of sweetness. This can, however, be addressed by varying the brewing process.
We were surprised that the Niche Duo showed a relatively high proportion of fines and also a rather broad main peak. In terms of flavor, we would have expected the opposite.
Cleaning and burr testing
Cleaning the Duo and changing the burrs is very simple. It is intuitive and can be done in less than a minute. Even after the change, thanks to markers and calibration, we could easily return to the base recipe.
Conclusion on the Niche Duo
The Niche Duo is a very good grinder that is convincing in almost all aspects. It can only be classified as slow in terms of speed; otherwise, it scores "good" to "very good" in all categories.
Nevertheless, the Niche Duo leaves us somewhat perplexed, because it is not really clear for whom the Duo is the right grinder. Anyone who owns the Zero will not experience a real upgrade with the Duo. The ability to switch from espresso to filter burrs is nice. But in everyday life, despite the simple handling, it doesn't seem very practical. It remains an effort, and in that time, filter coffee can already be ground with a good hand grinder that costs as much as the filter burrs.
For those looking primarily for transparent, clear, and complex coffees, the Duo's flavor profile might be more appealing. Otherwise, the Niche Zero still seems like a good choice for both espresso and filter, and opting for the Duo is a nice option that is by no means essential. However, you can't go wrong with it either.
