TL;DW: Niche hits about 78dB while grinding, whereas MC4 peaks at 71dB. Pretty big difference in volume due to the lower RPM and quiet motor of the MC4. Grind times for 16g of coffee in the Niche, approx: 13 seconds. And for MC4 is about 25 seconds.
I thought niche was quiet but wow the monolith is quieter. Do you see a difference in taste between both machines for milk drinks or is the upgrade cost not worth it if all I made is lattes?
Yeah, it’s crazy quiet! I love it. I mostly drink milk drinks, and the mc4 has definitely improved them. I find the lighter the roast, the more the mc4 shines over the Niche. So if you had something dark roasted, there’d be very little difference in a milk drink. Medium roast a noticeable difference. And light roast, a significant difference. The mc4 is just easier to dial in and get consistent results which is really the biggest benefit, imo.
Apologies for the delay, I didn't see your comment until today. Taste difference is notable, but not extremely significant. Both Niche and MC4 have good body, but MC4 is better at pulling out more flavor in the subtle notes of a coffee. Flavor is also incredibly balanced, it's harder to get a sour or bitter shot from the MC4, whereas it's easy to end up in the world of sour or bitter on the Niche. Where things really make up the cost difference is consistency. For example, if I'm pull multiple shots, I can trust that the MC4 will be nearly 100% consistent in flavor, shot times, etc. I can't say the same things for the Niche. While I still love the Niche, and it's absolutely king of its price point, it's not nearly this consistent. Most notably, when dialing in light roasts on the MC4, it's easy to get great results. The same can't be said for the Niche. In Michael Fabian's video of the MC4, I totally agree with his conclusions. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DuJV2KLwrDI.html
@@JeremyJensenTheOriginal Hi Jeremy, thanks for the reply. Indeed that was the only video that I could find. I do have niche however I'm not able to get the results that I like from light roasts. Would you recommend MC4 over something like 98mm flat burrs? Or do you think it is better to keep niche for canonical experience and have flat burr to get more flavor for light roasts?
@@ersatemek9052 I haven't spent a lot of time with a 98mm flat burr, so my opinion isn't super strong on this. However, I have a friend with a Versalab which is 68mm flat burrs and two stages of grinding. The Versalab feels like it can handle a more robust selection of roast levels and brewing types -- but the workflow and design isn't quite as enjoyable to use. Flavor was also not a significant enough difference to justify the huge price jump up to the Versalab. My friend Brian Quan's RU-vid channel has quite a number of breakdowns of various 98mm burrs, so if you haven't checked him out, I'd definitely recommend his channel. He also owns an MC4, so it may be worth asking him in the comment section of one of his videos and see if he replies. :)
@@JeremyJensenTheOriginal I pulled the trigger for HU 98 SSP grinder:) I can see the difference clearly. The flavor is way more dominant but w.r.t. Niche the body is lacking.
Taste difference is notable, but not extremely significant. Both Niche and MC4 have good body, but MC4 is better at pulling out more flavor in the subtle notes of a coffee. Flavor is also incredibly balanced, it's harder to get a sour or bitter shot from the MC4, whereas it's easy to end up in the world of sour or bitter on the Niche. Where things really make up the cost difference is consistency. For example, if I'm pull multiple shots, I can trust that the MC4 will be nearly 100% consistent in flavor, shot times, etc. I can't say the same things for the Niche. While I still love the Niche, and it's absolutely king of its price point, it's not nearly this consistent. Most notably, when dialing in light roasts on the MC4, it's easy to get great results. The same can't be said for the Niche. In Michael Fabian's video of the MC4, I totally agree with his conclusions. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DuJV2KLwrDI.html My conclusion. Worth it.
Yep! Very much so. Unfortunately RDT (spraying beans with water to reduce static) isn’t an option for the Niche, as the burrs aren’t water resistant. So the Niche gets quite a bit of static.
