TIMEMORE - Sculptor 078S

I think the only way you’ll know if they are too close is to brew them both to what you prefer. If they can both do that, then the answer is yes, if they can’t… well… does the 078 have the variable rpm like the s model? If so, that can change some stuff and the ode can also take other burrs more easily… so there is that.

Which burrs in the 078 do you have? The turbos, ssp or the earliest original version? I have a 078s and use the ssp lab sweets v2 in my ode1 so i am not sure i can provide that real specific assistance you are looking for. My wife already complains about the dial in when i swap burrs in the ode every couple of months. Just gotta A - B and see if you can tell the difference when you are using your preferred brewer and beans.

For both espresso and pourover with a budget of $900, I highly recommend looking at the [Timemore Sculptor 078S ](https://www.amazon.com/TIMEMORE-Sculptor-Electric-Coarseness-Adjustment/dp/B0DNZ3SKCN). It's a solid flat burr grinder that is an excellent value proposition considering the quality you get. Things I like... + Flavor separation (especially in espresso) is the best you are going to get for under $900. + The sliding chute, fines knocker, and magnetic catch cup are great QoL improvements. + The build quality is superb. It's a cast all-metal body. As a result, it's somewhat heavy, which may not be ideal for some. For me, I absolutely love it. + It's remarkably quiet. Perfect if you don't want to wake up others when brewing coffee in the morning. Things I don't like... - The small hopper makes larger batches more challenging. I still keep my Sette 30 ➡️ 270 conical burr grinder to make cold brew every week. I also use a 3D printed a hopper extension for french press when we have several folks over wanting coffee. - Disassembly is somewhat more difficult compared to many other grinders. Recommend picking up a bottle of Grindz for routine cleanings in lieu of full disassembly. - 78mm flat burrs are not a common size and may limit future upgradability. I upgraded from the Niche and it's been my daily driver for over a year now. I have zero regrets and no desire to upgrade to anything else, after trying some grinders that are twice the price without any improvement.

I had a ton of success with the baratza encore, but it is probably better suited for espresso and not pour overs. After upgrading to the sculptor 78s, I realized the encore produced a ton of fines even at the coarse settings I used for pour overs.

I should also add .. I’m not sure “a ton of fines” is accurate. It definitely produced less uniform grinds than, say, the sculptor (visually obvious, not just suspicion). It also had poor retention so I had to add a bellow.

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 used to own the Niche, replaced it with the 078 and now I don't feel like I will be buying a new grinder any time soon. It's fantastic for pour overs, and I stopped drinking espressos

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

I have a 078s and don't really like it for pourover. My main issue is 1) interchangeability of grind settings. When going from coarse to fine, you will get stuck a few times when adjusting down to the espresso settings. Just have to be patient with this but too much work for the cup of pourover 2) don't really like the cup I'm getting with 078s, I'm not an expert but I prefer cups from my Zp6. My 078s is now exclusively for espresso or moka pot

This grinder isn't 0 retention so there is bound to be Coffee grounds left between the burrs after each grind. The coarse coffee powder tend to get stuck in between the burrs as I am adjusting to finer setting. That's because when I turn the burrs closer together, the coarse powder get jarred in between the burr. The grinder will need to grind them down to the size before you can turn it further. So you have to repeat this process until you reach the final espresso setting. Luckily the motor on the 078s is strong enough so there shouldn't be any issues. But there is a slight risk if you are using greasy dark roast, you might jam the grinder and stall the motor.

Yea that's what I'm doing. You are not supposed to adjust grinder when it is stationary precisely because you will cause it to get stuck more. But even so, I have to do 2-3 adjustments before reaching espresso

I think the Timemore 078 is a good choice. I personally use an Ode Gen 2 alongside my ZP6. If I could go back in time and had a slightly higher budget, I'd get the 078. However, if you get a good deal on the Ode Gen 2, it's definitely also a good grinder. I use the stock burrs btw. I like it as a combo with the ZP6 because they can give you quite a different cup with the same coffee. For some coffees I actually prefer the Ode. I have had serious RSI issues due to my day job. Having an electric grinder helped me a lot! I have basically no pain now thanks to that. I'd definitely switch to an electric, I think it'll really help you

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