Sculptor 078S

1zpresso Q is in your price range and makes the best coffee for the price ($109 before tax and shipping). I use the Q for my travel coffee kit because it’s really small- which is also its con- it only holds about 20g of beans which is only enough for 1 person. If he wants to make someone else coffee too, he just has to grind-dump-grind again. For a stay at home coffee station I would suggest the 1zpresso ZP6 for a real modern style of coffee, it’s almost unmatched for the price. or for something a bit more traditional with less clarity but gaining the ability to grind fine enough for espresso, I would go with the 1zpresso K-Ultra. The ZP6 and K-Ultra are bigger than the Q which is nice because I make coffee for my partner and myself every day and so I only have to grind once, but I will say, the burs in the Q have a more pleasing quality for pourover coffee than the K-Ultra, even though it’s cheaper and smaller. If you can go a tiny bit out of your budget at around $209 you can get the best pour over coffee grinder zp6 or at $259 you can get the best all rounder (espresso/pour over) K-Ultra. I have to say, grinding espresso on a hand grinder is kind of annoying so I would stick with the ZP6 and when he wasn’t an espresso grinder get an stemless electric flatbur like the timemore 078s. Good luck!

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.

I used it for espresso for a while before upgrading to an electric, it's great but manual grinding for espresso can be tedious. Still 100% recommend it as even after upgrading to a timemore sculptor 078s I use my k ultra for pour overs and leave the sculptor on my espresso setting. I also use it for travel brewing if I ever feel like doing that. It's a great grinder to have that for me still finds use even after upgrading.

FWIW I’ve got the 078s and just got into pour over and it’s been great for that (in my limited experience). I can’t imagine getting an entirely separate grinder for nuanced differences. But I definitely understand that people are into that.

Yeah I bought a Timemore 078s and Bambino Plus. I foresee upgrading the machine well before the grinder.

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.

I have the 78s for about a year. Multiple times daily use and it’s holding up well. Pros: adjustment range has been plenty for both espresso and pour over. The retention clicker works really well. I find the grind extremely consistent - it’s super easy to dial in now. Cons: modest popcorning with the stock hopper. I bought an aftermarket hopper with bellow. The speed control feels kind of useless to me - maybe lower speeds for hard beans to reduce popcorning? I just keep it lowish all the time. Kind of a con - I came from a conical and the difference between the this blade grinder and conical is clear. I prefer the timemmore for pour overs but the conical for espresso.