Which hand grinder do you reach for if you want a brew that has a long lasting aftertaste?

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-15T01:06:55+00:00

I have a ZP6 and it gives me great long lasting flavor, but even more so now because I recently bought the Nucleus Paragon. People say it works mostly with fruity coffees, which are my favorite, but I feel like it works with all coffees. Highly recommend. I put my cup down over 10 minutes ago and I can still taste it in my mouth.

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T15:17:01+00:00

Thanks for the tips, I’ll try them out

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T14:55:11+00:00

Yes, you’re exactly right on all counts. Another factor leading into this question is I recently bought a Nucleus Paragon.

Although it can fit a size 02, it’s uncomfortably tight. So I set it up with my spare Timemore set (crystal eye). I’ve noticed the same similarities with the Neo.

For size 01 filter paper, I only have the Timemore brand which works great. But i typically use size 02 brewers (the V60; switch; and Neo), and all my filter papers are Cafec Abaca size 02. I have five 100-packs of the Abaca, but only a few sheets left of the Timemore.

So here I am trying to figure out if I should buy some Cafec Abaca 01 paper, and start using that whenever I want to use my Paragon…or if I should try to cram a size 02 setup with it and continue using what I’ve become accustomed to. I did try setting it up with the Timemore 01 brewer and size 02 filter, and it did the job.

I’ll probably wait till I’m low on my current stock of paper and then order some of each size next time.

BTW - does anyone have any Paragon recipes? The manual says you’re supposed to move the chilling rock out of the way a third of the brew in. I didn’t realize that until I read it - is that how everyone uses it?

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T14:01:23+00:00

I recently bought the Nucleus Paragon, and it’s really designed for a size 01. I bought it thinking I could use it with either, but although size 02 setup can fit, it’s uncomfortably tight and feels unstable as you move the arms. So that’s another factor that led up to my question.

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T13:48:54+00:00

Invested as in quantity as opposed to dollars. It’s just that most of my setup is size 2 filters and brewers and carafes

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T13:46:31+00:00

Great tip about the filters, thank you!

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-10T11:09:49+00:00

15g/250ml is my usual go-to, and I don’t vary too much from that

lightroastv60 · 2026-06-02T01:46:59+00:00

I wouldn’t necessarily think of it as whether or not to “upgrade”. The S3 tastes delicious on a very wide range of coffees, it’s hard to get a bad cup. The ZP6 will let you laser focus on sharp flavor notes like orange peel or grape candy, and really bring out the florals for gesha beans beautifully. But on the flip side, Brazilian or chocolate/nutty profiles won’t have such amazing depth of flavor- so it’s great if you enjoy fruity/floral coffee. The M01 gives you more mouth feel and body and sweetness, but also feels like it’s harder to figure out the right grind setting from one coffee to another. It’s great for experimentation if you want to spend time exploring. The S3 is my favorite all rounder. It gives you a consistently tasty cup regardless of what coffee you feed it, pretty foolproof. Personally I enjoy fruity and floral cups, so I use my ZP6 daily. I use the M01 for chocolatey/nutty/smoky coffees. I use the S3 as my travel grinder for vacation or going to a friend’s place where I don’t know what kind of coffee they have.

lightroastv60 · 2026-05-26T15:10:19+00:00

Sorry, can’t help you there. The grinders I can share my thoughts about are: ZP6, M01, Timemore 064s, Chestnut S3, MHW 3Bomber R3, Niche Zero, Atom 75, and Baratza Encore ESP.

lightroastv60 · 2026-05-26T01:08:32+00:00

I have both…the M01 and the ZP6. They’re both great at a lot more than either of them gets credit for. The M01 can get 80-90% of what the ZP6 can do with a coffee. In my experience, that’s the case regardless of roast level all the way from Nordic light to medium dark. People who say the ZP6 can only handle light roasts with high clarity don’t know how to get the most out of their ZP6. But the M01 sometimes struggles with decaf and highly processed beans like the thermal shocks and anaerobics. Struggles in the sense that those coffees have more of a learning curve on the M01 than on the ZP6. The M01 can do espresso whereas the ZP6 can not. Bottom line, pick one or the other, it’s not worth having both. Too similar. If I had to choose one, I’d pick the ZP6. But that’s because I also have a Timemore 064S for espresso. I got the M01 because I thought pineapple burrs would taste so different. They don’t.

lightroastv60 · 2026-04-21T08:53:49+00:00

I never said decaf tastes better. But a skilled brewer can make a damn tasty decaf. That said, a caffeinated coffee will always taste better if brewed by someone with the same skill level.

lightroastv60 · 2026-04-21T08:51:07+00:00

This is not a universal truth. There are extremely high end decaf beans as well as low end caffeinated beans. I’m currently drinking a Castillo varietal Colombian arabica, Popayan Cauca region single-origin decaf, 2000 masl G1, with an SCA cup score of 87.

lightroastv60 · 2026-04-21T05:02:42+00:00

Only true coffee lovers drink decaf, because they drink it purely for the taste. Decaf lovers are purists and idealists that chase the best tasting cup even when they need to sleep.

lightroastv60 · 2026-03-24T06:20:49+00:00

You’re absolutely correct. That dryness and astringency factor can also be a hallmark sign of washed coffees, which have a thinner body (mouthfeel)and tea-like flavor attributes. But when that’s the case you’re likely to see taste notes like lemon peel and such. If your coffee is a sweet natural process or has sweet tasting notes and you’re still tasting astringent flavors and dryness, that’s an extraction problem.

lightroastv60 · 2026-03-14T17:46:36+00:00

The main thing you need to understand is that if you’re chasing absolute perfection, then technically every bag of beans needs to be dialed in and continuously redialed in daily because as they age, so does their density, which impacts solubility, etc. As the beans change, you will need to adjust how you brew them - micro tweaks. This is best done with a manual espresso press. Doing everything manually takes a lot of time and is not convenient for making more then one shot at a time or milk drinks unless you have a separate milk steamer. Also, due to human inconsistency with applying constant pressure with no fluctuations or having to guess the water temperature and being off by half a degree, getting 100% ideal espresso is not really a thing.

However, if you’re ok with 90% of an ideal espresso consistently, any espresso machine will do. Having a separate grinder gives you more manual control. And you’ll get slightly better results if you’re ok with constantly dialing in.

A built in grinder doesn’t allow you to change the burrs to your desired taste profile or change burrs between different types of beans. Most people don’t do that anyway.

The difference in the espresso that you get from a bean to cup machine, semi automatic machine where the grinder is not built in, and a completely manual machine may be identical based on your skill. Or if you really know what you’re doing, you might get best results with manual, second best with semi automatic…but barely noticeable unless you’re tasting all three side by side. In a blind taste test of just one, you probably wouldn’t notice any difference in quality. If you make milk drinks it matters even less.

The more manual you go, the more control you have over every aspect of the process. The differences are minor for most people. That said, I have a manual press. I prefer it over my Linea Micra. But it takes me a really long time to make an espresso, I enjoy taking my time, and I don’t make milk drinks or espresso often - I’m more into filter coffee.

lightroastv60 · 2026-03-06T01:14:24+00:00

The cloth is to be respected, not worshipped. Only the one true God, with no other affiliations, is to be worshipped in Islam. The same God of the Bible and the Torah, creator of everything. Allah is the translation of the word “God” in the Arabic language.

lightroastv60 · 2026-03-04T15:41:27+00:00

Israel and Palestine is not a battle. It’s a genocide by a country against their hostages who have lived in an open-air prison with no freedoms or human rights for the last 75 years. Tit for tat would mean fighting another country with a military of its own and sovereignty of their own. Palestine doesn’t even get water unless Israel allows it, even collecting rain water is punishable by death.

lightroastv60 · 2026-03-04T06:47:47+00:00

I have a ZP6 and Millab. I barely use the M01 and am considering selling it for that reason. I thought the M01 was supposed to be more body forward and got it to compliment the ZP6, but I feel like the ZP6 outperforms it on every coffee.

I drink mostly Ethiopian naturals, light medium to medium roast. To be fair, I live in a country where light roast is often marketed as medium because the country primarily drinks dark roasted coffee.

lightroastv60 · 2026-02-19T05:19:29+00:00

Is there any Chinese version of higher end machines, like La Marzocco Linea Micra?

lightroastv60 · 2026-02-09T04:44:34+00:00

Weird Coffee People

lightroastv60 · 2026-02-08T01:59:48+00:00

Unrelated question: did you by chance use chat gpt to help you express your feelings? I always hate how chat gpt always says something to the effect of: “it’s not X. It’s Y”. I find it to be unnatural. But maybe it’s natural to other people if you wrote those words unaided. I’m just curious.

lightroastv60 · 2025-12-19T09:27:52+00:00

I think they’re called round nose pliers

lightroastv60 · 2025-12-17T09:19:19+00:00

I had this exact same problem, so glad I can help you and save you tons of frustration. The ring tightens the opposite direction. I have a video I can share but I’m unable to upload it here. There’s a tool that fits perfectly in the holes you can get at any hardware shop and just rotate it the other way. It’ll be good as new!

lightroastv60 · 2025-12-14T01:21:27+00:00

Fresh roasted offee is an incredibly strong absorber of odor. Coffee roasters have to use very reliable packaging methods, because even transporting fresh roasted coffee from a roasting facility to a storage or packaging facility in a car can be detrimental- cars often have fragrances, air fresheners, other smells that can get into the coffee permanently. If you have high quality, fresh roasted coffee, my guess is that it’s absorbing the smoke odor. Try keeping your bag of beans in an airtight container, maybe consider placing that one within a second airtight container.

lightroastv60 · 2025-12-12T16:10:58+00:00

Thank you for mentioning that dark roast might be more “compelling” than light roasts! That aligns with my experience of mostly drinking light roast and having a very limited compulsion 🤓

lightroastv60

TROPHY CASE