Breville Oracle + Niche Zero

[JT1]

Barry, would I need a better scale for responsiveness to weigh out the shot given that I’m just starting off?

[JT1]

Congrats!

You’ll definitely be needing scales with a grinder like the niche!

You’ll also probably want a wifi smart plugboard of some variety to help you have that machine already warm when you wake up, for those rushed mornings!

Will add the smart plug to the to-do list!

It seems that the IKEA Bror table is also a popular choice to hold everything so looking into that.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Yes, scales. But you don't 'need' anything spectacular. I use a cheap set (i.e. <$10 IIRC) from ebay that have a small footprint, and are sufficiently consistent for me to not notice any problem over about 14 months use. I 'weigh in' only (i.e. weigh the beans, but do not weight the extracted coffee). I do actually have a set of Hario V60 scales laying around that I don't use simply because I'd rather save the bench space, but if I was going to 'weight out' regularly I guess I might use them.

[emslibbles]

Congrats!

You’ll definitely be needing scales with a grinder like the niche!

You’ll also probably want a wifi smart plugboard of some variety to help you have that machine already warm when you wake up, for those rushed mornings!

[JT1]

... and I have a Profitec Pro 500 now, with a Niche Zero on the way. What next, scales?

[sakabatou]

I initially had a Breville smart grinder, then a Baratza Forte.

I upgraded because a friend was upgrading and offered me a good deal on his machine.

[JT1]

That said, i used one for several years with an external grinder and tamper, and was happy with the quality. They do require regular servicing though.

What grinder did you use with it and what made you ultimately upgrade your machine?

[sakabatou]

The oracle can absolutely make good coffee, but I’m not sure it’ll work like you envision.

The inbuilt grinder/tamper doses around 23g, and won’t autostop sooner than that. It won’t effectively tamp a smaller dose.

That said, i used one for several years with an external grinder and tamper, and was happy with the quality. They do require regular servicing though.

[JT1]

Now if you're after a new hobby and want to jump down the rabbit hole of coffee snobbery, a separate grinder and espresso machine will be the way to go. A word of warning, this hobby can be expensive, painful, disheartening but very rewarding when it all comes together.

So really you need to decide. I don't think you can try do both, because either way will be a compromise.

Yes absolutely, trying to figure out how far to take it, while not being wasteful. I do think maybe I should start with the Oracle, then when the quality is at its limit then maybe add a separate grinder, and ultimately decide whether to upgrade the main machine from there.

[Tronn]

In my opinion, you have to decide what you want to do.

If all you want is pretty decent coffee in the mornings with minimal effort, then a semi-auto machine like the Oracle will be fine. I have close friends who have had an Oracle Touch for 2 years and it makes pretty good coffee imo. They have a big family and don't have time to fluff around learning all things coffee, nor would they care to. They are satisified with the results they get and I can completely understand why they have no inclination to do it all manually.

Now if you're after a new hobby and want to jump down the rabbit hole of coffee snobbery, a separate grinder and espresso machine will be the way to go. A word of warning, this hobby can be expensive, painful, disheartening but very rewarding when it all comes together.

So really you need to decide. I don't think you can try do both, because either way will be a compromise.

[JT1]

This is not coming from a place of irresponsibility, it’s the user experience of the Oracle in that it is set and forget in regards to the milk. I have every intention of maintenance, just not on weekday mornings before the morning rush.

Please don’t regard this as disrespect in any way, I’m starting off and setting myself (and my wife) a very low bar!

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Depends how 'dummy proof' you expect it to be. If you don't take the time to clean and maintain any machine you are going to run into trouble very quickly. The desire to leave processes 'unwatched' is a bit of a red flag. Most here would respectfully suggest 'just become a little less of a dummy and you'll get better coffee without too much angst'. Easier said than done though I guess.

[JT1]

Also does the bambino have auto milk where I can leave it unwatched? Does it also use a smaller portafilter?

Guess that’s the predicament I’m giving myself (and you guys). What’s the ultimate dummy proof solution besides forking over $5.50 to a barista?

[JT1]

The Breville Bambino has at least one version of it with mostly automated milk, not quite the same as the Oracle though.

The Force 58.5mm flat tamper will be pretty damn consistent and much cheaper than a Puqpress if money bothers you. You'll be able to stuff up separate components a little more because there's more manual steps than "lock in and dose grind tamp are all taken care of" but once you get into a routine you'll be pretty right.

Just looked into the force, looks like another solution that I can’t stuff up! Just distribute then use the spring tamp mechanism and done right?

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

You're probably right I suspect re the ability to use pre-ground coffee. But I'd think that if you are prepared to use a separate grinder that the benefits of a machine like the Oracle start dissipating a little. Though I understand the issue about automating the dose tamp thing. While you are using the ORacle grinder , I would think that loading the hopper with a decent amount of beans would result in more consistent grinds.

It's hard for others to make decisions for you regarding the trade-off between simplicity, reliability and quality of coffee in the cup. But I'd actually be more inclined to go for something like the Dual Boiler (which also heats up quickly) and grinder like the Eureka Specialita (given the difficulty in obtaining a Niche.....I'm not knocking the Niche....I own one). You and (your wife) would obviously need to do the dosing / tamping thing in that case though.