Philos

https://preview.redd.it/zluuo9jgilcg1.jpeg?width=2557&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=716bf8b4e32d89a5007ef48310a5322a096a5801 I sold the Key. Good grinder but rdt is mandatory otherwise static is an absolute nightmare . Philos does not require RDT Philos does not require WDT It just gets an OMG, great grinder!!

https://youtu.be/9rF3cO-s54Y?si=xZwmFl_ukFroCqsY You made the right choice with mc6 But, i would have gone for the Philos .....

Generally id suggest a high quality hand grinder for pour over (as youre already doing) but youre tired of that and wanting to electrify...seems like an 078 or philos would be the middle of the road option (between ode2 and zerno)...but if you really want to spend the money on something cool, a z1 is pretty cool. I own one and love it but i ONLY use it for espresso. I would not own it otherwise, as cool as it is. Id say grab a 078 on sale ($640ish) and spend the rest on nice coffee.

Niche is not a good filter grinder. For light roasts there are plenty grinders that will do better for job than the Niche, even conicals (Lagon Casa). Going from a Specialita which is flat burr but more optimized for traditional espresso medium dark to dark roasts (Similar to Niche) to a Philos was a massive improvement for light roasts for me. In that price point there are options like the Philos, P80, Zerno Z1, etc. You could get the Lagom Casa for light roast and pour over duties and keep the Niche for Darker roasts and Milk drinks.

That's hard to say. A lot of the Decent DE1 profiles were designed for the Niche to eke out better exctractions for its grind. So depending on the shots you are pulling a large flat initially will be a huge learning curve. Large flats optimized for light roasts don't build pressure like the Niche due to more narrower PSD and lower amount of fines. So you will find that shot flow much faster even at fine grind settings. So it all depends on how you dial your espressos in. I have never used a Niche but from everything I have heard about it, from people I respect, tells me that it tends to blend flavors and highlights chocolate notes more and kind of kills nuance in the coffee. So it is excellent for traditional espresso but there really better grinders for light roast and clarity. Conical vs Flat is not as black and white these days. There are very high clarity conicals like the burrs in hand grinders like the ZP6 etc that are excellent for clarity. The Mizen 65CL conical burr in the Casa is optimized for light roast and will have a very different particle size distribution than the 68mm burrs in the Niche. Hell even 71 mm mazzer conical burrs have completely different characteristics than the 83 mm Mazzer conicals. The P80 with the Mizen burrs should be a good all round burr set for pour over and light roast espresso. So you can keep the Niche for dark roast espresso and milk drinks (even light roast). If later you find the P80 does everything well enough you can just keep that as the only grinder.

What matters more than anything is burr set and burr alignment. Burr set will set taste profile. Alignment will define consistency. Everything else is diminishing returns. For most, Mazzer Philos and Zerno Z1 (and the upcoming Z2) will be pretty peak for premium home grinding. You can get similar for cheaper if you want to invest time to align the burrs manually. You can spend a ton more but won’t make your coffee much better.

Mazzer Philos. Bought it second hand with two sets of burrs for $1300 CAD.

That's right! That grinder is truly amazing.

I haven't tried the I200D burrs yet. I got the machine with the 189 burr set installed, and haven't changed them since. I'm driking medium roasts most of the time, and the 189 have been really good so far, but I'm tempted to switch to the 200 set over the weekend to give them a try.