TIMEMORE - Sculptor 078SSP

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.

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

Just change the 1z for the timemore electric. Nobody likes manually grinding coffee firsr thing in the morning

Another 078 owner here. It is just really really good. Not just performance but the user experience is really nice as well. Quiet, clean, not fussy. I don't see myself needing to upgrade for a very long time.

Grinder: Try pour over with your solito first. If it leaves you wanting, try the timemore sculptor.  Kettle: Timemore fish smart or Brewista Artisan Brewing Scale: Hario Polaris or Maestri S3 Hario V60: get your favorite color (Whether in glass, porcelain, or plastic is up to you) Filter: Timemore Server: Kinto Oct, Kinto Sepia, or Timemore Drinking Vessel: Duralex Picardie 310 ml

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. 

You already have a Niche Zero, don't get a 078s. 078 is on sale from Timemore's own website right now with 20% off code S20 While Timemore 078 is a mess without some hopper mods, I otherwise really like it. I consider it a significant step up from Ode 2 in both build quality and grind quality. If you like something battery powered and/or more portable and/or more like your ZP6, some people have been loving on the Femobook a4z lately, but I don't have any personal experience.

Yeah, I don’t think switching between different drippers gets you all that much in cup quality (unless you, like some, prefer immersion or hybrid recipes over straight percolation, in which case the Hario Switch is a nice upgrade). On the high quality coffee front, I think there’s a meaningful step beyond ‘top roasters’ to ‘preferred varieties from preferred producers’. On the electric grinder front, from personal experience, I think you’d see a difference in the cup with a Timemore 078 or Lagom 01. Whether you prefer it depends on your preferences.