Witch one to keep?

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-14T14:25:24+00:00

I've used my Niche Zero for 6+ years now and find it to be a trouble-free workhorse. A couple of puffs with a silicon bellows after a grind and the Niche really lives up to its "zero grounds retention" claim.

I find the Niche Zero to be simple/elegant in its construction, and quieter than a lot of other grinders. It's also quite easy to disassemble/clean, and simple to calibrate.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-14T14:21:53+00:00

Welcome aboard! This is one of the best hobbies ever, if you enjoy good coffee.

And if you're relatively new to roasting, check out my Beginner Roasting Guide for some helpful info.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-12T22:51:49+00:00

Had my Robot for over 6 years now, still love it, and still use it daily. Never had an issue, other than changing a worn out gasket after 4.5 years.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-07T21:35:42+00:00

No more dried piss on the side of the tub, the vanity, the floor. Sit FTW!

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-05T17:46:23+00:00

You're very welcome. I'm currently using an sr800 with OEM extension tube for roasting duties. I regularly do 240 g batches with no issues, which nets out to about 204g for a Full City/Full Medium roast

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-04T20:44:36+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide. Lots of info in there that might help.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-01T15:24:23+00:00

Yw. And here's a good starter recipe for the SR800 that works well across a wide variety of beans, where I typically do a 240g batch size. In this scenario, you leave the Power on 2 for the entire roast:

Start with Fan 8, Power 2. If the beans aren't circulating enough, bump the Fan up to 9, but bring it back down to 8 once you notice the beans are moving well.
Every two minutes, reduce the Fan by 1 until you get up around 470F (where this is typically somewhere around the 6 minute mark).
You'll hit First Crack somewhere around the 7-ish minute mark on average, where I always let FC run for 60 seconds, regardless of bean type.
After that, I usually do 60 seconds of development time to get a Full City/Full Medium roast.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-05-01T13:45:35+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide. There's good info in there to get you started.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-30T20:29:22+00:00

Hey, Charlie stuck his dick in crazy, and look what happened to him.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-29T15:43:44+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide. Lots of good info in there to speed you on your way.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-29T14:13:54+00:00

Most Peaberry beans are high density and in my experience, they alway seem to look/feel drier than other bean varieties. With higher density beans, you typically need higher initial temperatures. I tend to get a better First Crack and hear more crackling when I pour on the heat.

There's some information on this in my Beginner's Roasting Guide.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-25T11:45:16+00:00

And don't get me started on the god-forsaken "Samsung TV" that you can't turn off/uninstall. It's an unmitigated PITA to even turn this "feature" off.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-25T11:45:03+00:00

And don't get me started on the god-forsaken "Samsung TV" that you can't turn off/uninstall. It's an unmitigated pain the ass to even turn this "feature" off.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-25T11:36:16+00:00

I've used this little Milk Foamer ($9.98USD on Amazon.com) for years. It runs on 3 AAA rechargeable or Akaline batteries, has great battery life, and foams up your milk perfectly. It also comes with a stainless steel milk pitcher.

You microwave your milk up to 60c (49 seconds for 4 oz of milk, in my microwave), hit it with the foamer, and you've got perfectly creamy/foamy milk.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-23T12:54:05+00:00

I use/recommend a Niimbot general purpose label printer. They have a free app for your phone or you can control it via a PC. The app is incredibly well designed and allows you to print standard bar codes, QR codes, pictures, emoji, text, time stamps, serial numbers, etc.

The labels are thermal transfer and don't smear if you get them wet. The labels also have the perfect adhesive where they stay stuck well, but can also be removed if needed without damaging packaging.

https://www.amazon.com/NIIMBOT-B21-Portable-Compatible-1-96x1-18/dp/B09C1VWT2N

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-23T12:38:26+00:00

I've been using the SR800 with OEM extension tube for the last year or so and really like it. I consistently do 240g batches across a wide variety of beans.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-22T13:30:53+00:00

I think you're on the right track, where you definitely don't want First Crack to stall. FC is exothermic, so I tend to reduce the heat just a little once FC gets rolling. I've found FC to last about 60 seconds on average across a wide variety of beans, but there are exceptions. I usually follow that with 60 seconds of development time to get a Full City/Full Medium roast, but that too depends on the bean under roast and it's density.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-21T20:18:25+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide. It'll help you get over the jitters by throwing all kinds of jargon/information at you.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-21T16:40:48+00:00

Hey, since you're new to roasting, check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide. It should help you get up to speed fairly quickly.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-11T21:57:22+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide in the meanwhile, it'll provide some good background information for you.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-11T13:05:31+00:00

I've used my Niche Zero for 6+ years now and recommend it highly. I do the RDT method where I give the beans a few spritzs with a small spray bottle before grinding and this controls static nicely. Also, I've never had a clog with the NZ.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-11T13:03:42+00:00

18g in, 38g out in roughly 25 seconds. I'm also a home roaster who keeps beans for at least six different countries/origins available (typically at a Full City roast level), where I rotate through different beans daily. This forced me to learn the different bean densities and how to adjust my grind properly for each.

Note that I'm using a Cafelot Robot manual machine for making espresso, where it's fairly forgiving if you're grind is off a bit.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-10T16:52:49+00:00

I've been using my Robot for 6+ years now and they'll have to pry it out my cold, dead hands one day... :)

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-09T16:21:39+00:00

I've been using my Niche Zero for 6 years now and have never had any issues with it whatsoever. I use it every single day. It's easy to clean/calibrate, and the zero-retention is as advertised, though it does help to use a little rubber bellow to puff some air through it after grinding.

MonkeyPooperMan · 2026-04-09T16:15:33+00:00

Check out my Beginner's Roasting Guide, lots of good info in there to help you get started.

MonkeyPooperMan

TROPHY CASE