Impressive, But There’s A Catch: TIMEMORE SCULPTOR 078S Review 

Click on our link thirdwavewater.com/aramse to get 10% off on all Third Wave Water products and brew delicious coffee! IMPORTANT THINGS WE MISSED: 1. Please DO NOT go and waste 10kgs of coffee. This is absolutely not what we're recommending. None of the coffee we used for seasoning was wasted. We get bad roasts from roaster around the country and some really old beans go to the garden and the rest goes to folks who just want the caffeine and drink it with lots of milk and sugar. Also filter is a lot less fussy than espresso so use it for that for a while and it'll settle down for espresso. 2. We seasoned around 4kgs at a setting of 5 and another 3kgs at a setting of 2. Just remember the finer you go the more stress on the motor and the more breaks your grinder needs to cool down. 3. The turbo burrs in the 078 started to produce really tasty cups with just 1-2kgs of seasoning. It should be noted that filter is a bit more forgiving than espresso. 4. There is no comparison between the turbo burr and the 078S burrs when it comes to filter. The turbos have been crafted specifically for this and they are just phenomenal. They somehow manage clarity, cohesion and juiciness in perfect harmony.

FANTASTIC video. Keep up the good work!

You're fast becoming my favourite coffee gear reviewer on RU-vid. Objective, to the point and with a clear conclusion - no beating round the bush. Also the dad jokes are ace.

What a treat it is to have yet another stellar review. Great to hear it reached a sweet spot eventually.

What a fantastic video once again! Very informative, beautiful shots, original takes and original ways of describing them. Very happy that I ended up choosing the 078 over the s in the end, as I am a filter drinker who pulls espressos every now and then. Your information has been helpful!

Very nice video. Loved the puns and the self deprecating cracks. I haven’t gone down the espresso rabbit hole (yet) but am deep in the nerd-gasm trench. Videos like this one keep me there. Thanks for sharing.

Nice to hear your opinion. Early backer here waiting for the first batch arriving soon to Europe! I will make sure to buy a lot of cheap beans to season it

This is a great video - great, straightforward narration while still allowing your your personality to shine through. Subscribed, and I'm looking forward to more!

oh boy. have been waiting for your review!

Also waiting for mine (patiently). This review was truly insightful. Especially your notes about changing burrs and the threads. I think i wont mind it in the beginning, since this will be my first electric grinder. But it is very good to know, that it matters. And as always very nice video. Keep up the great work :)

Awesome video BTW. Love the calm way of presentation and it feels honest.

Oh Mxcool Aries, wanted to upgrade my Eurika specialita to it. Looking forward to the review.

I'm from HK and so fortunately already got my 78s and have been using it for 3 weeks. i got some really cheap dark roasted beans to try to season the burrs, and tbh it wasn't that inconsistent for me. Granted that the beans themselves are pretty undrinkable as an espresso, i just made milk drinks instead although i usually prefer the modern style lighter roasted ones. also did light roast pour overs and definitely tasted better compared to my Baratza Sette, so i'm happy with it.

Great video, looking forward to mine arriving

Killer editing on this one. Nice work!

Love that art analogy! Although I would probably feel otherwise if I owned a Eureka Mignon 😅 Great video as always. Keep it up!

I'm really glad I saw your discussion with Hoon about the 078S's channeling issues prior to seasoning. I was having a ton of channeling issues prior to running about 4 lbs of coffee through the grinder. I'm still getting some channeling, but it's significantly less than when I first used the grinder. I have another 2 lbs of seasoning beans left and I'm probably going to burn through them tomorrow at a setting of maybe 3 or 4.

Love your dry, sarcastic comedic style, Aramse. Been waiting for the 078 to arrive and was wondering if I should have gone with the 's' for when I eventually get into espresso, but this along with other reviews really solidifies how great the 078 will be for filter. The art analogy made a lot of sense.

Hmm. So I think there needs to be a more scientific explanation of burr seasoning. I mean, what happened at 7 kilos? Is there some kind of material coating on the burrs that was entirely gone after 7kg? If it's not a coating, or the coating wasn't entirely gone at that point, then you'd reasonably expect the burrs to continue changing as more coffee gets ground. e.g. the sharp planes of the cutting surfaces will continue to degrade further. It would taste different at 14kg, and different again at 50kg, 100kg … What physical property is being changed here? Or is a coating being added? Like an oil layer? That’s possible too. But 7 kilos? Surely that would occur after a few grinds. Plus the nature of the added layer would change by the bean. And rancidity or other factors would come into play. Or is it mysticism? Where's the science to back this theory up? (Note, from what I can tell, these burrs in the Sculptor range are made from uncoated stainless steel.)

I'm huge timemore fan. Incredible build quality. Timemore c2 was my first manual grinder and still going strong 3 years later.

Fantastic video. Thank you for all your work to produce this--very helpful for those of us waiting for a 078S! Any grinders you have experience with that you would say are comparable to the 078S? How does the filter compare to the Ode Gen 2? :)

I managed to install the SSP HU in my LX Italia 65 and the difference is huge. LX is using Eureka standards burrs. Thanks for the videos and please keep doing them. I love it

i had this grinder since monday. well worth the money

Im very very happy that S doesnt have the same thread pitch 🎉 ... im still waiting for mine that should be here soon

Just received mine this week from the Kickstarter, I will season it with 3kg and check the results. It's my first electric grinder, so it's like Christmas day for me

Just received mine today. Perfect shot immediately without any seasoning, no channeling whatsoever at 1400 RPM. Thick, syrupy, delicious. Actually there is quite difference between 78s and SSP Cast (64mm). Casts are more clarity focused (probably not on the same level as SSP MP but 1/3 close to them) while 78s produces more thicker, silkier body. Some varieties taste better with enhanced clarity while other are better with thicker body.

Backed this one on Indiegogo, very excited. I guess I’ll have to go buy 8kg bags of cheap almost expired coffee beans and tame the burrs once they arrive.

I hope you can do a 064 review at some point in the future!

Superb review as always. Very happy with my decision to swap the 078s pledge for a 078 one and getting a Niche Zero for espresso.

This was wonderful. Well done

Great video! Does it matter, what kind of beans I use to season?

Thanks for the review! Timemore stated in a Kickstarter forum response that they will be coming out with some sort of accessory to extend the dial range on the 078s for espresso.

Maybe I noticed this detail since I recently watched your video titled "Coffee? That's Disgusting!" But I appreciate how you describe things as "modern" vs "traditional" and still describe both ends of the spectrum in positive ways. Opinions change over time, and people's perceptions of what their espresso taste says about them can literally influence what flavors they subconsciously decide to like. Putting "good" and "bad" labels is a lot less informative than the style of reviewing you do here, and I appreciate that

Being in the US, I'll eventually see my 078S toward the end of the year.

Mine just arrived (12/23). I didn't have 7kg of coffee around, but I did run a bag of really old Starbucks espresso roast decaf I must have bought years ago and stuffed in the back a cupboard. Just for laughs, I pulled shot of it and it was pretty much the worst coffee I've had in years. After that I tried my usual Klatch natural Ethiopian and it was superb compared to my previous grinder. I was gifted a Fellow Opus which, once you get the hang of it isn't terrible. But, even without a lot of seasoning, the 78s is world's apart. As I got the 78s at the first Kickstarter price I'm quite happy. Also, both of shots I pulled were very consistent.

I’ve backed several kickstarter’s, not one has come remotely to ship by their estimate. Although all have been good products, the 078 is my most expensive so hope my streak of good products continues. It should make a nice Christmas present to myself. 😂 Patience.

“…like looking at something I painted…” 😂 Appreciate the analogy and the sense of humor. Love it; I cackled 😆

what roast level did you use (or do you suggest using) for seasoning? this is what i ordered, and can't wait to receive it still! thanks for your review, they help with the unbearable wait!!!

3:00 Thanks for covering the thread pitch / adjustment differences. People didn't seem sure whether they're different or not. I found a post saying the S (espresso focused ones) have a thread pitch of like 8 microns per notch where the non S models were more like 15 or 16 I think, but wasn't sure if it was an official statement or not. This is exactly why I backed the 078s instead of the 078, I might just pop in the 078 burrs later if I don't hate the grinder or if I don't have something else I enjoy more with similar or better taste. That way I have a grinder that can do Ultimate coarse grinds (078 burrs) with fine adjustment, as well as still being espresso capable with the 078s burr. I'm also curious if SSP will come out with burrs similar to the EG-1's 80mm CORE burrs, since many people seem to love that for a nice balanced profile (although maybe the Timemore burrs are already similar in that way once seasoned). The 78mm burr geometry is very close to the 80mm size, 83mm burrs have a larger inner diameter so the aspect ratio and total surface area is different. That's interesting higher RPM = coarser on the Timemore 078s, in my experience with other burrs it's usually the other way around. I thought I heard someone saying the EG1 actually was also the other way around (maybe with different burrs?). I do find some burrs react more or less to RPM changes. This is mainly with espresso testing... With The 64mm SSP MP burrs I think RPM makes a bigger impact than Lab Sweet Style (SSP Cast or Mizen burrs). There's still a little difference with low vs high rpm with those but they're very subtle differences. I noticed on the MPs you get more flavour clarity with lower RPM but may also get more acidity. Higher RPM tends to blend flavours together a a bit more, and may be more balanced sometimes, also easier to pull shots without channeling, seems like it's due to more fines at higher RPM. With the 64mm Mizen burrs (I think that's what I tested it with, otherwise it was the MP burrs) there's a visibly noticeable difference at coarser grind size range for pour over with low vs high RPM. IF you compensate for the grind size differences the coffee tastes very similar, but I still notice a slight difference in body and clarity.

Nice review, waiting for my 78, I hope the review wasn’t to unburr-able for you.

I received a 078s yesterday and did not have these problems you described. I should have realised you have a pre production model as I've wasted money on 6kg of cheap seasoning coffee that I just don't need.

Now what I really need is a comparison of hand grinders to electric grinders. Which electric grinder provides a sufficient quality jump from a comandante/ZP6 or Kinu to make it worthwhile. It would be great to see all the current "top dogs" ranked regardless of power source and price.

Thank you for a great review as always! How will you compare it to the fellow ode v2 for filter?

Still waiting and I'm not even sure if I ordered the black or the white S78. I remember feeling like the white was just to white but the black is missing the transparency for the inlet 😩 But it's good to know about the seasonings. I'll start looking for some cheap coffee

I’m in the US. Still waiting on mine. Now I see the Gevi grinder at a steeper discount but is it as good? I think I’ll wait it out for timemore. It’s a nice looking grinder and it seems like the S would do OK with the Turbo burrs, so I’ll probably snag those once they’re available.

I came for a coffee grinder review! Then I finished as an art admirer! Lolz… good job Aramse.

10 kg until it's usable. Ridiculous... Oh and nice review 😅👌

Thank you for your valuable review. It will take more time to receive 78s in India by kickstarter.

I agree, if it's THAT bad burrs SHOULD arrive pre-seasoned, it is possible to do, Gorilla Gear pre-seasons their burrs. SSP 64mm Cast burrs might also be like that, I had two sets on two different grinders and didn't love them, some people claim they're almost as high clarity as the SSP MP but very nice and balanced (which sounds like it would be ideal!) but in my experience it seemed like it turned my DF64 and P64 grinders into a low clarity cheap conical burr grinder. So after a while I got tired of it, and got rid of those burrs. I don't want to waste the potential of my nice coffees and suffer through a years worth of subpar coffee (especially when I have other grinders or burrs that are good right out of the box!) and I don't believe in seasoning / wasting coffee! Option-O Mizen Omni burrs (original version with the Moonshine treatment) have a similar geometry and for me they were good for espresso right out of the box. Although I did notice some astringency on coarser brew methods, someone mentioned that may be common with a non seasoned lab sweet style burr, so that MAY change over time. BUT I still enjoyed the pour overs/aeropress from it despite the drying finish. I'll probably season them and try again because I'm curious and someone did give me a bunch of coffee for seasoning, plus I feel these are more worth it than the SSP ones, maybe because they're good for espresso right out of the box. I didn't notice astringency there.

Thanks mate! Do you know if the 078S can grind coarse enough to be used with the Decent DE-1 filter v3 basket? I have an Eureka specialita which cannot grind coarse enough... or too many fines at coarse setting.

You mentioned burr alignment but I'm patiently waiting on my 078 with the turbo burrs. For that one, there's nothing to do because of the ghost burr geometry right? Or what do you suggest? Thanks.

Great review. It’s a bit disappointing as we were all expecting a finished product. How does it compare to other grinders in it’s price range?

well, I guess I'll be drinking some really bad espresso for awhile. better be worth the hassle! Thanks for the review.

Regarding the RPM effect …empirically I have the same finding but using a hand grinder ie. keeping all things consistent, with the grinder always held vertical, faster rpm means courser grounds and vice versa. In fact while I keep hand grinding rpm consistent in general, I can tweak my grounds coarseness this way.

6kg+ ouch😢. How do we check whether the burr are aligned? Another video on burr alignment pls 😂

To your sports car reference, this is exactly how new boat motors work. You must run them at specific speeds for specific amounts of time in order to break them in properly before you can just use without thought.

How easy or hard will it be to buy the turbo burrs and swap them in? I went with the 078s because although I love filter coffee, my wife loves espresso. She often travels for a week or so and it’d be nice to experience the turbo burrs.

I have the 078s in White, have not had any issues with sticking dial

“No-purpose grinder until it's been seasoned” lol

I just got my first grinder. A df64 gen 2. I'm kind of regretting not picking up a 078s. I drink mainly filter and pour over, but looking at my first espresso. I wish I had known about the kickstarter. I am wondering if the ode gen 2 burrs will fit in my df64 gen 2 for filter.

Don't know if you've got to try out the 64 and/or 64S yet...but would be real curious to hear how you think these perform and compare to the 78 series, for those of us who just can't swing the higher price.

Just saw Justin's video on the 078s where he suggested using at least 5kg of beans for seasoning - so funny! Right after that, I came across your video. We tried seasoning with just 3kg and the results were excellent.

The quality puns just keep flowing 😂👏🏻🔥

Were you able to pull non channel/spurting shots after the 7kg at the highest RPM?

Great video, thanks alot for your quality content! One question: what is this sphere or ball at 6:03-6:06. Looks funky 😀

Have the p64 with mizen burrs; and have the 078 on the way. Do you think I should’ve gone the S instead? At times I do question whether I want a one dimensional grinder that could only do filter.

whats the seasoning requirements like for the turbo burrs on the 78?

078 or 078s for Filter? I have a 1Zpresso K-Ultra as a hand grinder currently. I’m keen to get an electric grinder for filter mostly but could see myself buying an espresso machine like an Ascaso steel duo. So very torn.

I just received my 078s today and I can tell that it will need some seasoning. Now I don't feel like buying (and wasting) 6-8kg of otherwise good beans, so I'm considering using rice or similar as a substitute. Has anyone tried this?

I think burr seasoning is wasteful, burr manufacturers need to do better. I don't season my grinders just adjust my brew methods to compensate for new burrs.

Great review, even if it puts some doubts in my mind about whether I should have pledged for this grinder. I really dislike the idea of grinding kilos of beans just to season the burrs. Would it make sense to use it for pourover and Turkish coffee for the first 6 or 7 kilos (I anyway drink both daily) and only then start using it also for espresso? I also own a Sette 270Wi which I love and don't intend to sell, so I have a grinder to use for espresso while the 078s is used for other types of brews.

What would you suggest for the more modern profiles? 9:19

What’s your experience /recommendation with RPM on this grinder after owning it for some time?

So I'm still fairly new in the coffee world. At the moment I only do filter coffee and have a lot of fun with that. I got my 78s a week ago and I am enjoying it so far. I went with the 78s because my plan is to get an espresso machine in the near future. I have absolut no experience with seasoning. Can you season a grinder with just filter setting? Does the grind size matter when you are seasoning? Thanks for a great review 😊

How would you compare it to say the DF64? That seems like the other best option for the KS price of the 078S. Or the DF83 closer to the RRP price of the 078S? The consensus seems to be that the 078 is the real star and the 078s is a compromise for espresso. I get the impression therefore that a more espresso focused grinder at the price point might be a better option?

Thanks for the video! Can we season it while grinding for pour over coffee? Seems like a huge waste to throw away 7kgs off coffee.

The market has just become more frustrating as companies such as Fellow, Eureka, and Timemore release even more products. The go-to prosumer all-purpose grinder was arguably the Niche but now I have no idea what to buy in the $400-700 USD range. I would like to get a flat-burr grinder but if I must buy SSP or similar burrs 𝘢𝘯𝘥 run kilos of beans through just to hit a sweet spot.. Maybe I'll just stick with my Encore M2 and JX Pro or scour the markets for a lightly used EK43.

I was literally just thinking about buying this grinder and shopping around when your video appears on RU-vid. I mostly enjoy filter coffee but I can't start any day without a cup of espresso. When you mention that the thread is finer, does it mean that it won't go as coarse as the 078 does? My filter grind size is usually on the finer side but some espresso-focused grinder can't even grind coarse enough to do filter.

Yesssssssss

I am still waiting for my 78S to arrive. I think that they are shipping last to the US. So, the wait continues... Edit: I wonder at what setting should one start for dialing in for filter.

Received mine about a month ago and used coarse setting for the first time. It was making scraping noise at coarser setting and sounds like the burrs were catching onto the side. I emailed timemore and they send me instruction about taking it apart and and realigning it. I found metal shaving inside and i told them this. They replied with that it is safe to use and is considering the matter solved. Is this the industry standard/Norm?

You should not need to season a grinder to get drinkable coffee. It should be a process by which your coffee changes taste mildly. That amount of waste is crazy.

Would it be possible to reuse the same kilo of coffee twice? First grind on highest setting and then grind that output on espresso setting?

How's the 78s espresso compared to 64HUs?

With my 78s, I tried to season my burrs but all I could taste was salt and pepper, so I went back to coffee beans

Why can't seasoning be done in factory with a different process? I mean can't the burrs be treated in some way that this isn't needed? Sounds so old-school to me..

very interesting and cultivated reflection of a coffee gear - e g the differentiating look at speed vs fine adjustment ... but generally speaking: this must be a students project in a kinda prototyping status, when the customer has to season it with huge time investment and (European prices) about additional costs of apps. 60-90 euro/USD for cheap coffee beans ... please keep us informed if this is a ramp up issue or a general problem, perhaps caused by their own burrs

I’m still waiting for my kickstarter to show up though

Is there an Option to buy the 078s now ?

Does it need cleaning during seasoning process? Since it is a lot of coffee.

Never seeing one of your videos before, I hit the like and subscribe for ‘unburrable’

Does anyone know what the expected lifespan of these burrs would be? How many kg?

Hang on... in the end, did you actually say if this was the "best all-purpose" grinder? Otherwise, great video!

Awesome video. I'm very excited for my 078 - what were your experiences with seasoning that grinder, and how many kg did you need?

I would season at the finest possible setting before the burrs start touching . This should in theory significantly reduce the # of KG required to season the burrs as it will make sure that grounds will spend more time and require more cuts till they exit the burrs.

Great informative video! Regarding 3rd Wave water: Aren't u a company here in India? Your web link lists the product in dollars & appears to be selling in the West? Thank u

I have a friend willing to sell me his at the intro kickstarter price, which i think im going to take. The certification(? i think) with the US is kind of a whole ordeal too. my understanding is its still not ready.

Unfortunate. But informative.

It's funny that you mention sports cars, as they often have a brake-in period before they can be driven hard haha

Is there any explanation why "seasoning" matters? I mean, why does the use of the burrs make such a big impact on the grind quality? Why does this effect reach a pick at some point? And why do it differ so much from one grinder to another? Seams like a very weird phenomenon and I don't see an obvious explanation 🤔