TIMEMORE - Sculptor 078

Definitely 078. I got mine recently and the experience with drinking naturals and more processed coffees is excellent. Incredibly juicy 

Timemore 078 is an absolute unit compared to the Ode Gen 2. The tolerances alone are worth the upgrade. That plus bigger burrs, burr geometry and lower rpm make it a noticeable improvement. 

I was deciding between the Fellow Ode Gen 2 and Timemore 078. Ended up going with the 078 due to the favourable comments on consistency.

The "s" is for espresso. It would just be the 064. I have the 078 myself.

I have a K-ultra and sculptor 078 and i use the k ultra for dark roast most of the time. That being said, when I first got in to coffee I was using 1:12 or 13 ratio, but I kinda realized I was using those ratios because I wanted “real coffee!” And almost as a brag more than for any functional reason. When I went to 1:15, I realized that at 1:12, I was just making shittier coffee so I could be “that guy”. So definitely try 1:15, because you may find you enjoy it much more.

I have a timemore 078 and it is very quiet to grind. However, the fines knocker might be loud as it has a ratchet-like mechanism which clicks against metal on metal. You technically don't have to use the fines knocker in your brew though.

My 078 has never woken up my family as opposed to my much louder ode 2 with ssp burrs. Have you heard one in person?

If you can, stretch to timemore 078 (maybe get it used on coffeeswap). Otherwise ode 2 is nice

yep. Go big or go home. 078 is the way.

Weber eg1 with the burrs lance likes probably. For the rest of mortals, timemore 078 on electric, pietro with pro burrs or zp6 on manual

Sadly, its very hard to keep high body but increase clarity. Some say the timemore 078 pulls that off. In the meantime, zp6 might be your best option. It'll give you what you want flavor wise, but not high body. Everything else will be there though Maybe you can get the zp6 and very thin filters or do cloth filtering, but even then it will be lower body.

Recently switched from a P64 with SSP Cast v2 burrs to a Timemore 078 for drip. The 078 is definitely superior and is outrageously good for fermented coffees

Turbo burrs. I haven’t had any issues other than some mild popcorning.

I have the 078 and really like it.

Under 1k I think it is hard to beat. I think the next stop would be a Zerno Z1 with some blind burrs, but that would put you above 1k. Also the 078 should give a somewhat similar profile to the ZP6.

No, I have the 078.

Yeah. Been using mine for the past 9 months with no problems so far. I also have a C40 and K-Max for a few years and I quite enjoy the 078 brews.

The 078 would give the most similar profile to the zp6, but at double the price of the Ode 2 I think is not worth it.

Not enough time to say anything about longevity, but no complaints here. Also, can’t remember anyone here having problems with it. There is also some communities on FB and Discord with lots of sculptor owners and I have seen only one guy having a small issue with his electric board I think. Timemore sent him a replacement part. About the bean fragments, it’s true, but it is a small annoyance. A small bean fragment sometimes gets stuck somewhere on the chamber and you can hear it - changing the rpm or grind setting back and forth usually solves this, or simply letting the grinder run for extra seconds also works.

If you want to use the grinder for espresso, the 078 is a no go. It’s not only because of the stepped adjustment, but mainly because the burrs can’t grind fine enough for espresso. They have a very unique geometry, a hybrid between ghost and traditional flats. People seem to like the filter from the 078s. It won’t give a super clear cup like a SSP MP or the burrs on the 078, but it will be decent.

i got my 078 at the early bird kickstarter price and i am very happy with it. if id have to pay the full price- idk, i might’ve stuck to a manual grinder and just buy more of great coffee. the workflow is perfect, i use it daily for my pourovers as well as for my small business. so its going through a bit more coffee than your regular home consumption and i had absolutely no issues. furthermore, i had a stone stuck in between the housing and the feeding spiral, it did not get to the burrs. the grinder stopped, made a beeping noise and i was able to take it apart and take the grinder out. that said- i tested the kill switch function and i know that the motor won’t try to chew through a stone and kill itself. the cups are great, are they almost $1k great? not sure. if your budget allows this purchase and you want a workflow of the electric grinder- you will be hard pressed to find a better option. but, if you can put some more money into the purchase- just get the zerno. i haven’t tried it- but i absolutely love the look and don’t care how much it costs, but i can’t afford it right now.

I own one and can wholeheartedly recommend it.

I have both. If you’re only doing PO get the 078. The benefit of z1 is mostly ability to do espresso and switch styles w different burrs, portability and build quality.

Facts! The 078 makes it easier to drink darker roast, because it takes the edge off (bitterness)

100% keep the Timemore 078. You wont find a better grinder for the money you paid for it (assuming kickstarter prices). However, if you absolutely need the money, then get a fellow ode gen 2 and pocket the difference.

My current setup is DF64 Gen2 for espresso and Timemore 078 for filter coffee. Sorry to hear about your negative experience using the DF64 Gen2. I guess I was fortunate enough in that my experience is nowhere near yours. Grinder came reasonably well aligned out of the box, and retention is generally minimal with easy cleanups. Anyways, I know you’re now considering going for the 078s. If you really want to minimize the number of grinders you own, then the 078s will be a really good option. But just to reiterate as another person has indicated though, due to its unconventional geometry, even if you get the turbo burrs later you wont be able to use the turbo burrs to grind for espresso. I personally still prefer using a standalone grinder for espresso and pourover so that I dont have to mess around with recalibrating my grind settings everytime I bounce back between pourovers and espresso. Since my household drinks both pourovers and espressso-based drinks almost equally.

Yeah, so on that note, getting the 078 as a standalone pourover grinder is amazing. I can vouch for that. Good luck with your search for the espresso-focused grinder!

update Aug 7: i've decided to keep the 078..i've had some tough times lately so am going to treat myself....is smaller in reality than it shows in many pics/videos... I did my first 20g dosage today: had no popcorning issue as I just partly covered the semi opened hopper with my hand and slow feed it...no issues at all (light-med roast) usting the blower (as suggested in manual) after i use it too. ------------------------ Hi gang: I'm a newbie and I'm trying to find a good true all rounder grinder (manual or electric)..not necessary for espresso as for now I'm not into that. had: ZP6 but just sold it as i'm not just into light roasts.....instead I want something good across the board (light, med and even for the occasional med-dark) regardless of how they're processed as honey, natural, anerobic or washed. ..for the last 9 mo have gotten into upgrading my grinder (from breville smart grinder) to a ZP6...then just sold it recently as I'm not necessarily just into lightly roasted coffees...I also like light to medium roasted and medium (even on occasion med to dark) even with cream and a touch of sweetner on occasion....plus as a newbie it's hard going black and trying to pull out all those flavour notes you read on the packages of light roasts ...I still don't truly understand the taste profile differences between natural, washed, honey and anerobic etc ...I also have an unopened 078 Sculptor and am trying to sell (need money for moving) as I read that while it's great for lighter roasts (natural and anerobic) not so much for other processed coffees or medium roasts (see his notes here medium.https://coffeechronicler.com/timemore-sculptor-078-review/) so in short .yes I am lost down the rabbithole. So for manual grinders i'm looking at the 1zpresso K Ultra, Timemore S3, Kingrinder K6...for an electric the Turin DF83V for now...any addiitional feedback is appreciated.

thank you! I am keeping it....tried it for the first time today...smaller in real life than in the pics/videos (initally thought it was the 064) many people say the same thing as you btw: just get better at technique with those other elements: agitation, time, grind size, brewing method/tools, water (I do use third wave water treatment) this one guy did a comparison of the ode2, 078 and df84v: sure there were differences but not night and day...in the end Aron suggested as you do: if you already have a good grinder keep what you have and master the other elements [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtKZOeEj90](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtKZOeEj90)

HI gang...I have the 078 that I got for a deal off of kickstarter last yr (US$500)....am thinking complimenting it with a handgrinder that is flexible across the spectrum of light to med dark (I only do pourover/french/aeropress)..thinking of the pietro or k ultra...sure i like to pick out flavours (but am still a newbie at this) but sometimes a well integrated cup with medium body is equally enjoyable without getting overly analytical. FYI: I had the ZP6 and sold it for the Timemore 078

Just use timemore 078. Great for pour overs

I'm a tu ally considering this. I had a fellow ode gen 2, then got a df64v with ssp MP, then timemore 078 (sold it), then added the oden gen2 burrs to the df64v and I'm happy with it. I am considering getting the pietro just because it is so much praised here and it seems to be close to the EK43. But I'm a bit worried about hand grinidjng being annoying and me not using it too much.

If you are gonna get the 078 do a search on workflow issues and disassembly. I returned sold mine as I encountered a stuck hidden bean fragment more often than not (thus is some fragment not being ground for some reason). And I also didn't trust the longevity of it as the motor noise changed and increased after the first disassembly (I follow the YouTube guide step by step). Just a piece of advise.

Ode 2 will be the best value per dollar, the others might be better but not proportionally so. I have the 078 which I got 30% off on the kickstarter, and it is phenomenal.

I gave the 078 and it works very well for light roasts, can't comment on medium or dark. Do consider the lead time on the 078, if you go that option you likely won't get your grinder for a while

I have the 078 and all I can say is that it's fantastic. There are other great grinders that fit your budget, but this one is phenomenal in my experience. I also have a K-max, and it is blown out of the water by the 078... Great grinder, 1/4 of the price, but they are NOT equals in the cup.

That Timemore will be my next grinder for pour over for sure

If you're needing to grind 60g at a time you can count the casa out, probably the P64 and varia too. The casa hopper (is it really a hopper?) supposedly holds 30g, I can comfortably feed it 37g in one go, but a 60g dose you'd definitely need to feed it in two parts. I think 60g would be pushing it for all of the hoppers you've mentioned, although I think both the ode and timemore have extended hoppers available if needed.

Exclusively for pour over i recommend the 078 sculptor or the ode gen 2 with SSP MP, they're in the $500-$600 range, the other one would be the pietro but not necessarily an upgrade in the ease of use

For that budget, yes 078 gives the best bang

I also have the 078 and have zero complaints. I was using the Niche Zero before (for pourover and espresso) and this is a clear improvement. I haven't tested other grinders. I purchased it via the kickstarter.

Bro you have an amazing grinder with the sculptor. Just keep it. If you’re super hard up for cash df54 is really hard to beat rightnow or ode gen2. But personally i’d stick with the sculptor and experiment more with agitation and different water recipes. Those two variables are more significant than slightly diff particle distributions imo

Assuming you got the 078 at a discount from the crowdfunding efforts you should just keep that grinder. It manages more developed roasts perfectly fine. The more developed you get, the less complex the coffee becomes and more stripped from the terroir. I actually think the medium roasts benefit from the tighter grind size distribution from this grinder, you cut a lot of harshness from the brew imo. I really don’t understand this recent statement that is circulating about the 078 and how it handles medium roasts. This grinder kicks ass just keep it and you’ll be happy you did trust me.

Manual: ZP6 or K-Ultra Electric: Sculptor 078 or Ode II Edit: didn’t See OP comment about body, so would remove ZP6 from list, but stick with the rest that I recommended

I use the K-ultra for ultra light roasts and love it. I don’t like the tea-like profile of the ZP6. I disagree that the Ultra is medium roast focused. Also, the Sculptor is a superior grinder to both of the manuals. It’s not just about work flow.

If you think it's ludicrous money, don't buy an 078. It was extremely good value at the kickstarter price, but it's not quite as clear cut to recommend it at the current price (almost double). If you prefer fancy naturals or funky beans, it *does* make sense to splurge on the 078 in my opinion. If washed coffee is more your jam, go for a Pietro or SSP MP. If you have no interest in espresso, a DF64 and DLC burrs make little sense. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, the ZP6 is still a good option in my opinion. Big enough contrast compared to a K-series grinder - just not as big as going for a Pietro/MP/078 would be. I will say I liked the results about as much as with those other grinders, but wouldn't reach for it at home very often because it's less distinct - but overall very enjoyable. I fully agree with the above comment that you'll need more than one grinder in the end for maximum enjoyment, unless you have very narrow preferences. In the end it's difficult to know if you'll like these grinders before you try them, because it depends a lot on personal preference. I like them all, but can understand why all of them have detractors. To add to the several grinders point, I think a Pietro or SSP MP would complement your K-Ultra best. That's probably where I'd start.

If you're not in a rush and can stretch your budget slightly I'd try to look around and find a deal on a used Timemore 078. You're really close to the price point and it is a pretty big step up from other other two

What are you looking to get more of/maximize? In here you list a bunch of roasters who generally roast medium to light-medium beans. Do you plan to try to move to ultra light/nordic? Are you looking for clarity? For body? For me within a somewhat reasonable budget the best pour over I’ve had came from a 078. Great clarity on very light coffees and was quite easy to use. Pietro makes nice coffees I’ve heard but the user experience for me is just not something I’m willing to suffer. Ultimately other than potentially the ease of electric grinding I think “upgrade” over zp6 will br quite small fwiw

I don't think there is an ultimate grinder or a burr. Yeah maybe for your taste and specific coffee origin and especially process. Take a washed Ethiopia and some double anaerobic coffee and there is now way the grinder works equally good for both. Again Pietro and 078 are different. Had both at the same time. So, you need at least two ultimate grinders lolz 🤣

I have both the 078 and the ZP6. I haven't done any cuppings side by side as I have the 078 at home and leave the ZP6 at my girlfriend's place and I also brew differently (V60 at home vs. Clever at her's), use different water, etc. so I don't think it would be fair to make any comments on specific differences in the cup as those could be attributed to the other factors. I will say that as a home enthusiast they are both extremely capable and I don't feel like I'm compromising on my cup quality when I'm at her's vs. at mine. The biggest differences for me recently have been getting better quality coffee and better understanding how different brewing methods work. It seems like you're in the UK like me and since figuring out what types of coffee I like and which roasters to buy from (I get most of my coffees from a Tim Wendelboe subscription now), I've been enjoying my coffees a lot more. Truthfully, I have had coffee from my friend's X-Pro (which I think the K-Ultra even has an edge over) side by side with the ZP6, and I think you should be able to get some excellent cups from the K-Ultra. I am not sure you are at the level of sensory understanding that you need to go beyond that (that's not meant to be a slight, neither am I) - so I would probably actually invest in better coffee and cup more coffees side by side.

Thanks for the answer. Cloth filtering and another handgrinder, which affording to other threads takes quite long to grind, would be a deal breaker for me though. A child is soon to come and I'm happy to be done with handgrinding for good :) but 2nd on the 078, I might look further into that.

Found a used one for 500€ :) ordered that one. Excited to see what it brings to the table

Get the Pietro with Brew burrs, I have an 078 and the Pietro… both are great but the Pietro is king. The Pietro with Pro Brew burrs and 078 work extremely well together.

As stated above, two grinders is the solution at this price point You could get two very nice grinders that target both your needs separately. No single grinder will hit all these points without swapping burrs, which is often a bit of work. I'm currently using a two grinder setup (that is well under your budget) for this reason. I really enjoy my timemore 078s (1100 canadian) for our espresso. I have no issues with dark or light roasts in it. It's not perfect, but no grinder is. But for the price point, I am very happy. To go up from here price wise doesn't make sense to me unless you plan on swapping burrs regularly per bean. As for filter, I opted for a pietro with the pro burrs (670 cad). This is a manual grinder, but I absolutely adore it for it's clarity and vibrancy so far. If you want something that's a little better rounded for more beans, the 1zspresso max is a great option as well. And if you want something electric for filter, people have spoke highly of the timemore 078 with its turbo burrs. It's the same price as the espresso model above. Happy shopping

The 078 also has a coarser thread pitch on the adjustment so it makes bigger changes for the same movement of the dial. It's actually a stepless dial it just has the bumps for indicators and it will hold wherever you leave it even in between bumps.

Honestly, if you’re brewing medium and dark roasts for espresso, it’s hard to beat the Niche Zero for UX. If you want a flavor upgrade from your Ode for filter, I absolutely love my 078. The two of those together would still be well within your price range, especially if you can find a 078 secondhand ($600-650 is reasonable). A secondhand niche can be found for $500 or less very easily these days. You could probably find a nice 83 mm grinder and put some lab sweet SSP burrs in there and get a pretty good compromise, but if you’re changing grind sizes between espresso and filter constantly, it’s not going to be the most delightful experience. I have two grinders myself now, and I think it’s the way to go.

Yes, depending on how “light” and “medium” the actual specific roasters you’re buying from are - I drink very very light roasts for filter, and I think the 078 is amazing. Whether you’ll like the Niche or another espresso grinder best is more of a preference question; there are so many options these days (Lagom Casa, DF54/64/83, Eureka Mignon series…) that are all pretty good that you can kinda pick your favorite based on price, workflow, and aesthetics. My espresso grinder is a DF83 with SSP HU burrs, and if I were buying today at the $1000-and-under price point, I’d probably stick with that, except upgrade to the DF83V for a quieter motor and better feeding mechanism. Love the HUs though.

I think both the 078s and the Lagom Casa is geared more towards espresso if you are only doing espresso 30% of the time. Of those two the Casa will have a lot more fines. I think the Lagom Mini would be your best bet for an all rounder filter focused. It is supposedly similar to a Comandante C40 or a K-Ultra but motorized plus people like it for espresso too. Or a flat burr that can grind for both would be something like the Baratza Vario W+. You would need steel burrs not ceramic. But like others have said it is kind of annoying to have one grinder for both filter and espresso. If you are willing to spend $600+ you could probably afford 2 though. I know hand grinding for espresso sucks but since this is the pourover sub. I would say go all out on a filter focused grinder like the Timemore 078 or the Fellow Ode 2 then get an espresso focused grinder later on like a df54 or df64.

Timemore Sculptor 078 is probably the best pourover electric grinder before diminishing returns hit hard.

Ode gen 2 is great at making pleasant coffee and good for its price. High quality light roast coffee is gonna taste quite a bit more interesting if you go up one notch to Timemore 078 for electric or ZP6/Pietro for manual. The clarity and lower fines makes a big difference in my experience. 

I know it's months later and you probably already figure out the best grinder for your needs, but I have to mention for future buyers needing advice, that everyone here replying totally ignored your question which specifically asked for the best grinder for dark roast. Ode 2, the electrical Timemore, ZP6, etc are not good, they're light roast dedicated and they excel at that. That being said, why do you want anything other than your Encore for dark roast? You're not getting good results? The Encore is excellent for your needs, the more expensive ones are dedicated for light roasts and for one, they will result in a bad tasting dark roast, and second, they will get issues line clogging and require high maintenance with dark roast beans. The only thing I would get to complement the Encore would be a manual grinder for portability and variety, you would do good with a 1Zpresso J Ultra or Timemore C3

At least do enough research to decide between your preferences for conical vs. flat burrs. Niches (both zero and duo) along with the rest of the conical burrs make more fines in their particle size distributions. That gives more body but may make the espresso more “muddy”. Flat burr grinders like DF64/83, Timemore 64/78, Zerno Z1, Acacia Orbit, Lagom Option-O, and of course the Weber EG-1 (roughly in order of increasing price) will yield fewer fines and a thinner cup but with more clarity. Generally people who like lighter roasts tend to like flat burrs. People who like medium and darker may either not have a preference or even prefer the body you get from conical.

I was pretty close to pulling the trigger on the Sculptor but the more reviews and discussion forums I read, I saw a bunch of issues/quirks with it. And around that time folks were talking about Mazzer Philos, so I decided to wait for it instead. Here is what I found about Sculptor: 1. The 64 has a smaller motor 150W and folks mentioned it stalling when you do cold start. Its not an issue if you hot start it. It is also not an issue on the 78 with the 400W motor. 2. Seasoning - Philos comes factory seasoned but Sculptor needs 2-5KG of coffee to be run through it before it is ready for use. 3. Burr alignment - Mazzer is in the industry for al ong time and they claim their burr alignment is spot on. And that the alignment is retained even when you open it up for cleaning or replace burrs. That can't be said about Sculptor where folks have mentioned issues with alignment. I have added shims on my Crono and I def don't ever want to do that again lol 4. Opening the burr chamber is a lot more involved on the sculptor. I like to clean my grinder between coffee bags and looking at the videos, it is absolutely painful on the Sculptor. Mazzer Philos is designed with this in mind and is super easy. 5. Grind setting marker - this is on the side on Sculptor and there are these groves on the dial but it is hard to make out the exact number the marker is pointing to. Philos, though the dial is on the back, is a lot easier to read and change the setting. 6. This is anecdotal but a lot of people on forums said they were happy with the pre-production models during the initial kickstarter days. But the production models have a lot more issues. I was surprised to read this as I would have assumed they would have sorted out all the issues and the production models would be better. Lastly, trust - with everything mentioned, I have a hard time trusting Timemore as a brand but I have faith in Mazzer and their design and production quality. I want to buy my end game grinder and if I went with Sculptor, I feel I would get annoyed with it quirks and would want to switch. 64s is $599 and 78s is $799. They do run discounts like right now they have 10% off for labor day which brings it to $540 and $720. Since I would prefer the 78s with the bigger motor, the price difference between 78s and Philos would be $280. I would rather pay more and get something with less quirks and is more reliable than try and save $280. Do take a look at Dady got coffee's review of the 78 ~~where he covers a bunch of these issues I mentioned.~~. I got a lot of my talking points from his review.

# **Without philosophizing in the answer, you have two options: a handgrinder, or electric grinder.** — ## **🔹 Hand Grinders** ### **High-End Options:** - **1Zpresso K-Ultra** – External adjustment, versatile for both pourover & espresso. - **1Zpresso J-Max** – 8.8-micron steps, optimized for espresso but handles pourover. - **Kinu M47 Phoenix / Classic** – Precise & durable, great for both. - **Comandante C40 MK4** – Ideal for pourover; needs *Red Clix* for better espresso dialing. - **Timemore Chestnut S3** – Stepless adjustment, more suited for pourover. - **1Zpresso ZP6** – Produces ultra-clean grinds, excelling in filter brews. ### **Mid-Range Options:** - **1Zpresso JX-Pro** – Espresso-friendly with finer adjustments than JX. - **Timemore Chestnut C3 ESP** – Budget option with espresso-compatible burrs, decent for pourover. - **1Zpresso X-Pro** – Compact, external adjustment, slower but espresso-capable. — ## **⚡ Electric Grinders** ### **High-End Options:** - **Mahlkönig EK43** – The gold standard in specialty coffee shops. - **Weber EG-1** – Premium single-dose grinder for all brew methods. - **Lagom P100** – High-performance, SSP burr options for precision grinding. ### **Mid-Range / Prosumer Options:** - **DF64 Gen 2 / DF64P / DF64E** – Affordable single-dose grinders, great for both. - **Niche Zero** – Top-tier single-dose grinder for espresso & pourover. - **Eureka Mignon Specialita** – Stepless adjustment, solid for espresso & can handle pourover. - **Fellow Opus** – Budget-friendly, designed for both espresso & filter brewing. - **Baratza Vario+ / Sette 270** – Great entry-level grinders with micro-adjustments for espresso. - **Timemore Sculptor 078 / 064S** – New contenders with solid grind consistency. ### **Budget-Friendly Options:** - **Fellow Ode Gen 2** (Needs *SSP burrs* for espresso) – Excellent for pourover, but needs mods for espresso. - **Baratza Encore ESP** – Beginner-friendly with stepped adjustments. - **Eureka Mignon Crono** – Simple & effective for both espresso & filter. — 🔎 **Check reviews before buying**—grind quality & user experience vary. Preferences are subjective!

K-Ultra will give you better performance, about Electric grinder look for Baratza Forté BG will give you better than you expect. If you prefer single dose look for Timemore Sculptor 078/078S or Ode2.