TIMEMORE - Sculptor 078S

I have the 78s, kopi deva and fellow ode v1 with v2 burrs. I rarely use the 78s as it leans more towards traditional taste profile, in my opinion. - I would recommend kopi deva & mahlkonig x54 for either espresso or pour over, fellow ode for pour over

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

crossposting my 078s review: > I recently got the timemore 078s and no regrets 5 months in (very happy, actually). I drink very-to-ultra-light-roast aiming for clarity (eg. washed coffees from kenya by manhattan, that kind of stuff). I slow feed for pourover and get very clear brews. put the full dose in for espresso for convenience and still very clear (though the difference is huge, I need to grind two full pegs smaller when slow feeding espresso). > downsides: toggle is weird, the dial should have the numbers on the side, I’m not a fan of the look of it (though I don’t like any expensive grinder for that). > recommended!

I'd lean on 078s. one of the quirks of the sculptor grinder is that it needs a ton of coffee to season the burrs, and a year old timemore is perfect for skipping that process

Tbh since I only want matte white stuff I'd say that the Sculptor 74s is the best if you can't afford something from Weber. The Sculptor is at least better than anything else under 1k IMO.

This list seems somehow outdated, and is missing some important items, that are popular and offering a great value. Hand grinders: **Kingrinder K6, K2, K0, Timemore C3S, C2S** Electric: **Zerno Z1**, soon also **Z2** (80mm, now in a prototype stage), **Mazzer Philos, DF64V, Sculptor 078s,064, and Lagom 01** (although grinders with burrs larger than 83 mm is a rather niche ultra-high-end, so not sure really, if EK43, P100 and L01 make sense to be included in such a list) Also: In this list, the **Fellow Ode2** is placed in "budget-friendly", while **Fellow Opus** in "mid-range/prosumer"?? :) Ode costs almost twice as Opus, and while Ode is rather popular for manual brews, Opus is not that popular neither for brew, nor for espresso, although technically "it can do both". (edit to add) Also missing, the **DF54** low-cost electric grinder.

Timemore 078 or 078s if you enjoy espresso. I have one since October 2023, and beside the pop corning issue and the auto shut off after 1mn which is annoying when slow feeding it has been perfect. Without RDT I have 0,1g of retention, which is great because it's chaff and fines. I take the coffee out then knock the 0,1g to discard them because I don't want it in my brew. I opened and cleaned it after 6 months of 2-3 drinks a day, I barely found a quarter of a gram inside, I could have waited several more months, but anyway the procedure was super fast. It took me 20 mn for the whole thing the first time, next it will be done in less than 10.

It's my first grinder so I sadly have 0 information to provide, also I have a 078s and not a 078. I have brewed some excellent coffee, sometimes not, but I mostly put it on my dialing than my grinder. I can compare it to the EK43 of my roaster, which is better than my 078s for pourover, I would expect (and lance suggested so) that the difference would be smaller with a 078 vs EK43.

Sorry, I have not used the 64s only the 78s and not with the SSP burrs. Someone else will have to point out the differences.

honestly, i would do it. SSP is working on 78mm burrs so you’ll have an option to switch. but Brian Q found 078s burrs to have a more interesting presentation for filter than a 078. haggle a little bit and get it for 400-450 and you can skip the seasoning stage:) just make sure everything works

i wouldn’t worry about changing burrs, try the 078s for filter and see if you like it. ssp may not have them for another year, or two, or three. no one really knows. i never checked the alignment on my 078 since i don’t the need to do it, and i don’t think it’s possible for ghost burrs anyway. burrs are held by 2 screws and are pretty easy to swap. but i can’t comment on alignment

I'm confused, and I have heard this before, do we have a surplus of small affordable high quality grinders with vertically mounted burrs, perhaps with burrs larger than 64 mm? All I can think of currently on the market, as of Oct 24, is the Timemore Sculptor 078S and the DF 84V, and thr DF isnt that small. Even with that, the coffee influences have critisisms, like the power switch on the Sculptor, that it is hard to change the burrs, or that the DF 84V has odd engineering choices, that it could be unreliable and hard to get repaired. I think we are just at the beginning of single dose innovation. I like the idea of quick relase burrs like you see with the Niche Duo and WPM ZP-1, new burrs being created by OEMs like with the new Timemore grinders, smaller grinders with high build quality like with the Zerno. Bring it on. My concern would be with build quality, does it have a usable range for espresso, are these marketing claims or is this actual usable innovation.

The answer is absolutely yes, and the best recommendation will depend so much on what kind of beans you like, what kind of drinks you like, and your budget. But if it were me, these would be my top choices for a two-in-one (I do both pourover and espresso, but I lean towards pourover these days): If you're willing to hand grind, 1zpresso K-Ultra or Comandante would be outstanding. Kingrinder K6 on a budget. A lot of people find this tedious but it's actually my preferred method and I swear by my 1zpressos. You won't beat a hand grinder for price to quality, and you'll save space. For electric, Lagom Mini would be fantastic and space saving, or a Lagom Casa. Timemore 078s for a slightly higher budget. If you want to blow your budget, you've got TONS of options. Lagom P64, Zerno Z1, WPM ZP-1, Acaia Orbit, Lagom O1...we could go on. The DF grinders are an option I guess...Excellent bang for your buck but I personally do not like them or recommend them at all (I have a DF64 Gen 2 and...let's just say it's gonna be gone soon).

At those prices I'd go with the 064s. (I have an 078s and I love it!). The 064s has the advantage that you can later upgrade to aftermarket burrs, which may further improve your clarity.

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.

1Zpresso K-Pro + Timemore Sculptor 078s Mostly use the K-Pro.

This. I have daily driven 078s for some time for espresso and pour over and it handled it very well. I had 0.2 gram retention after many months off use and basically 0 exchanged retention (which is the more important retention). I'd like to go a bit coarser on pour over though, but it is fine

The slightly larger hopper on the Ode is kind of an underrated quality of life feature. Its the perfect size for doing a 60g batch brew, the catch cup is also appropriately sized to catch all of it. I have the 078S as my espresso grinder and it is def a single serve focused design. You'll be grinding 15g 4 times because you also want to cover the hopper while grinding or else the popcorning can be annoying. Also the catch cup I don't think would hold 60g so you'll be using a different one or also be doing that part in sections. Taste is king but these little things matter too!

I have a 078S and love it for both espresso and pourover. Was about $650 new on sale from Timemore directly.

I would recommend the 078s, and a hand grinder (1zpresso K ultra, ZP6, or Kingrinder K6) for filter. Switching between filter and espresso range on a regular basis is a pain. You also lose the exact adjustment of the espresso range when you switch, and any retention will mar the flavors. Hand grinding for filter is a breeze (20 seconds) and you get great consistency. Also easy to travel with one.

I use the Mahlkonig x54 for espresso, love the flavor that comes out of it, but it also retains lot if you single dose it; wouldn’t fully recommend it. I would recommend any of the Timemore 064s/078s.

So to start, I'd say you get a flat bottom dripper instead of a v60/conical dripper. Tho if you're steadfast on this brewer then thats fine, just know that v60 tend to require precision for good brews- unless you have the perfect particle distribution on your grinder. Which brings me to another point; Coffee Grinders. Depending on how you want your coffee to taste, a grinder with a specific type of burrset will be your best friend in that situation. • Hand grinders, albeit 99% of them are conical burrs, are the cheapest and yet most flexible option for the price range. [E.g. Comandante's Nitro-blade and 1zpresso's X-series have a more sweeter profile, and K-series are more acidity driven.] • Electric grinders on the other hand tend to have a gap between conical and flat burrs for different price ranges. For v60 sweeter profile, I'd go for a flat burr grinder like Fellow Ode, Timemore sculptor, or DF54. Keep in mind that no matter which grinder, it will vary alot in terms of clarity and roundness in the cup. Also make sure you use the right water quality for brewing, as it can decide whether it will make it more difficult for you or make it easier to brew.

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.

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

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 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