Niche Zero Espresso Grinder Review – In the Fast Lane

The first Niche Zero espresso grinder found its way into our academy accompanied by a coffee enthusiast. John Buckmann, the founder of the Decent Espresso Machine, brought the grinder as a counterpart to his portable Decent. Weighing just 4.1 kg, the grinder is particularly lightweight and travel-friendly compared to professional espresso grinders – but it certainly aims to grind at a high level.

We bought a white Niche Zero in March 2020 for an initial test. At that time, the espresso grinder, financed via crowdfunding, came to us via Indiegogo for 617 CHF/580 €. We were very optimistic back then, and our first test video reflected that.

As part of our major espresso grinder comparison, the Niche Zero, this time in black, once again made its way to our table. And again, the grinder performed very well, outperforming the ECM S64, the Mazzer Mini Electronic A, and the Eureka Mignon XL in its price group in a direct comparison.

This test report, originally published in 2020, has been supplemented with findings from our comparative test of 24 home espresso grinders.

NEW: Our test report on the Niche DUO, the Niche Zero's big sister, is now online.

We compared 10 single-dosing grinders in the price range of 500 to 1000 euros. Read more about it in our article on the topic.

Niche Zero Grinder – The Single-Dosing Grinder at a Glance

The Niche Zero is a multi-talented grinder. It grinds for espresso. That's primarily what it was designed for. In fact, we've also brewed very good filter coffees with coffee ground by the Niche Zero.

The grinder is lightweight, measuring around 12 cm wide, 31 cm high, and 21 cm deep. The control consists of a single lever button and one grind setting: single dosing and "off." Conical burrs with a diameter of 63mm made of hardened steel form the grinding mechanism of the Niche Zero. The body of the grinder is made of aluminum.

The Niche Zero is designed for single-dose grinding. The bean hopper itself holds hardly 30 grams of beans. The concept of single-dose grinding is primarily known from professional catering grinders like the EK43. While in a catering context, individual grinding or pre-dosing slows down the workflow, this is less of an issue in everyday home use.

The advantages are obvious. Only as much coffee is put into the bean hopper as is immediately used. Coffee exposed to light and oxygen ages quickly and loses its flavor complexity. The coffee oils begin to oxidize – not good! This problem doesn't exist with the Niche Zero.

Coffee is weighed, put into the grinder, and the lid is closed. In single-dosing mode, grinding automatically starts when the lid is closed. A clever safety feature!

A big question is: how many beans come out if I put in, for example, 18 grams of coffee?

The "Zero" of the Niche Zero – Retention Measurement

Retention is the amount of coffee that remains in the coffee grinder after the desired portion of coffee has been ground. Essentially, every coffee grinder has retention. In screw openings, between the burrs, and in the gaps, there are smaller or larger spaces that collect coffee. This residue remains when grinding stops.

If another coffee is ground immediately afterward, this is less problematic. The "retention coffee" is then exchanged, and the aging processes do not start. However, it is more problematic if no coffee is ground for a longer period, or even a day.

In its ground state, coffee loses a large part of its volatile aroma components within minutes. This is because the surface area of the coffee has been greatly increased by grinding. Imagine an apple cut in half. While previously only the outer skin was exposed to air and sun, these now act on the two inner halves. This is similar, but multiplied many times over, with coffee.

Such aged coffee has two consequences. First, it tastes different, and often not good, but quickly rancid. It also clogs the grinder more. Second, it extracts differently, which can lead to a different extraction behavior when brewing espresso.

How strong this effect is depends on how much coffee remains in the grinder's retention and is thus only involved in the next shot. With many grinders, this is a few grams. With the Graef CM800, we measured a comfortable 4-5 grams, and even higher peaks.

This means that a single espresso prepared with 8 – 10 grams will be brewed half with retention coffee (old coffee). For a double espresso of 16 – 20 grams, we still get a quarter of the coffee amount.

View into the opened grinding mechanism without the outer burr.

We disassembled the Niche Zero, removed the burrs, and scraped out the grinds. When measuring retained coffee, a distinction is made between coffee that permanently sticks in a grinder and coffee that is exchanged with each grind. Only the exchangeable grinds are truly problematic. In total, using a precision scale, we measured a maximum of 0.82 grams of coffee from the retention. Approximately 0.35 of this does not exchange.

So, according to our measurement, the retention is 0.47 grams. That is really, really little! If you know a grinder with less retention, please let me know.

We are therefore happy to keep the "Zero" in Niche for a 0-point-something number.

In our second test of the Niche Zero, we determined the retention differently compared to conventional grinders. Grinders not designed as single-dosing grinders constantly have coffee in their bean hoppers. So they don't grind empty. We also tried this with the Niche Zero and found that 1.1 grams of ground coffee remain around the burrs when the grinder stops. However, following the concept of the grinder, this is ground out if it grinds long enough. With "classic espresso grinders," this is not possible because beans are constantly fed in.

Grinding and Workflow with the Niche Zero

When working with the Niche Zero, I quickly established a workflow. Anyone who works professionally with an EK43 will love the workflow with the Niche. I myself am not an EK43 devotee and even preferred working with a "classic espresso grinder" like a Mahlkönig K30 at barista championships. But I quickly warmed up to the Niche.

1. The coffee quantity is weighed in the supplied metal cup of the Niche Zero.
2. The lid of the grinder is open. I put the coffee into the bean inlet, which looks more like a funnel than a bean hopper.
3. I place the metal cup under the spout and close the lid.
4. As soon as the lid closes, the grinding process and coffee dispensing begin.
5. The metal cup can then be placed directly onto a 58mm portafilter to dispense the coffee grounds.
6. By "shaking" and carefully removing the cup, the powder distributes well in the portafilter.

The Niche Zero is powerful, yet slow. The slow speed is certainly one reason why the grinder is relatively quiet. For 18 grams, the grinder takes a good 16 seconds.

Niche Zero from front and side.

The grind size is continuously adjustable. Very fine grind size adjustments can be made easily. The grinder can be adjusted from espresso-fine to particle sizes suitable for filter coffee. The burrs of the grinder are explicitly not suitable for Turkish coffee – so don't overdo it with fine settings.

The grind adjustment from espresso to filter coffee is rarely found even in professional grinders. Usually, a grinder has to be calibrated for one beverage category.

The design of the Niche Zero is such that you can turn the grind adjustment beyond the endpoint of the coarse marking. It is then only important to remember how many turns you have opened the grinder.

In our case, we had very good espresso results in the grind size range of 25 to 15, which corresponds approximately to the 6 – 7 o'clock position on a clock face. For filter coffee, I ground in the grind size spectrum of 11 – 1 o'clock, where there are no more grind size markings.

How does the espresso taste and how consistent is the Niche Zero?

We brewed very good espressos with the Niche, and above all, remarkably consistently. Even over many shots, we had many good-tasting shots. Over 10 espressos, we had maximum coffee grind fluctuations of 0.2 grams per shot. The powder comes out of the grinder without clumps.

In terms of particle comparison, the Niche Zero's coarse peak lies between grinders with flat burrs (M2D, Eureka Mignon) and the two grinders with conical burrs (Graef, Sette). The curve resembles the particle distribution of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro. The extraction analysis was not as high as with the Sage Smart Grinder Pro, but it was significantly more regular over many shots.

Particle distribution of the Niche Zero.

The following table shows our espresso shots with different grinders. The grinders were each set to extract approximately 50 grams of espresso in 24.5 to 25.5 seconds. The concentration of dissolved coffee particles (TDS % measured) and the extraction were calculated for each. For the test, we used our Brazilian Espresso Henrique.

For the Niche Zero, we measured a strength of 7.14 %. The coffee was very balanced and above all sweet. The Graef CM800 and the Sette 270 wi performed less well in terms of taste. Interestingly, these two grinders also had a lower extraction evaluation.

Comparison of particle distribution of 6 espresso grinders under €600.

Precision of Forward and Backward Adjustment of the Niche Zero

Especially with single-dosing grinders, an important question is how well they can be adjusted from one grind setting to another and back again. With the Niche Zero, this should even be possible from filter to espresso, as the grinder is designed for both.

In our test, the Niche Zero performed very well here, especially compared to the other three test grinders in its price category (ECM S64, MAZZER Mini Electronic A, EUREKA Mignon XL).

The curves show that with measurement T4, we set the Niche Zero to an espresso grind. After that, a Ristretto was brewed with T5 in yellow, followed by a Café crème with T6 in blue. Afterwards, we reset the grinder to the initial grind size, based only on the previously marked position on the grind size indicator. As can be seen, the curve in the main peak is almost identical.

Removing the Burrs and Cleaning

Thorough cleaning of an espresso grinder should be done more often than not. However, we understand that this is not a popular task. It's usually complicated. With the Niche Zero, the outer burr can be removed without tools, allowing for a significant portion of the grinding mechanism to be cleaned. The grinder's grind setting is opened towards coarse until the grind adjustment can be removed. Subsequently, the outer burrs can be removed with two fingers.

With a fine brush, coffee residues can now be easily removed. If you also want to remove the inner burr, you only need a wrench or a ratchet. Important: especially when reassembling, do not overtighten the central screw.

After cleaning, the bean hopper can be screwed back on. We twisted it all the way and then opened it halfway again. This put it back in the grinder's initial position, and we could use the previously used grind settings.

Conclusion on the Niche Zero

The Niche Zero is my current favorite grinder. It simply does so many things well and in an easy way. The single dosing is very practical for me at home. Little stale coffee and I can quickly switch coffees. In everyday life, I brew the espresso I like for myself, decaffeinated coffee for those sensitive to caffeine, and "Café Natur" for my father – with three different beans and grind sizes.

The grind adjustment is intuitively precise. After a few tries, you develop a feel for how much finer the Niche Zero grinds when, for example, you grind two markings finer. This makes switching different coffees enjoyable and strongly resembles the EK43.

The grinder is so compact that I can quickly put it away or even take it with me on my next trip. I like that the grinder delivers so much performance despite its small size, just like many larger grinders.

I have little to complain about with the Niche Zero. Some visitors to the coffee academy didn't like the design. I find it functional, and it doesn't bother me that some think it looks like a kitchen appliance.

For me, the Niche Zero fits perfectly next to a professional home espresso machine like the La Marzocco GS3, as well as next to a Rocket Appartamento or a DeLonghi Dedica EC 685.

Improvement Suggestions for the Niche Zero

• Grind size marking around the entire circle.
• Counter for how many turns the grind adjustment ring has been opened.
• Cup options for different portafilter sizes, not just 58mm.
• When using hard beans, the last few sometimes jump around above the grinder for a long time.
• On our model, the central screw visibly wobbled upon delivery. This did not negatively affect the grind, but it was annoying.

With positive test reports, questions often arise, such as:

"Are there economic ties between the author or the Kaffeemacher and Niche?" Clear answer: No! We do not sell the Niche; we bought it ourselves under normal conditions. This test report reflects my personal impression.

Additional Images and Measurements for the Niche Zero