I've been using this for 6 months plus and love it, rarely have to use the fine adjustments - very consistent. The antistatic is fantastic and so nice! If you pick up the top lid slightly you can use it like a bellows to help push the retention out better
I heard that the cap of the hopper is an anti-retention tool of sorts - that you can essentially use it to push air through the grinder by putting it on and off a couple times. Might be more effective than banging it around to get those last bits of grounds out.
Yeh I actually did find it works like bellows but it still doesn't help get the last bit of retention. It seems as though it drops the coffee after you take the dosing cup out. It's only a slight annoyance though really. I find I get pretty close using all the tricks combined. But I'll still lose about 0.2g each time. Still, for the price it's way better grinding than the Breville SGP.
@@RydecoffeecoachI’m torn between the Opus and ESP. Very similar in price, and while I think the Opus is sexier it seems like the ESP generally wins out on ease of adjustment and customer support. If you’ve got a comparison coming, I’d love to see it!
Great review. I usually hand grind with Comandante C40. I've just made espressos with the Opus and I am impressed how close the results have been with the particular coffee beans that I use. I also notice minimal clumping from Opus as compared to C40. The antistatic feature on the Opus seems to be quite effective. But, I have been tapping on the unit after finishing grinding while the motor would still be running.
Yeh the static on the commandante is a bit annoying. I always have to use a brush to get into the chamber. And there is retention. Yeh the Opus really does deliver super consistent grinding. 🙌
I would only add that the fellow is very messy and this is off-putting. My friend has made me a coffee catcher though and that helps a lot. I think Baratza ESP is great and you could go for either and be happy. Design of Opus is beautiful tho. 🤩
Got my Opus a couple weeks ago, have gone through about 460g of beans dark roast with it on 3, whenever I go lower it seems to choke my Breville Bambino plus... Am I missing some prep here for the Opus? I saw that you said in another comment that you ran 1kg of old beans through it first, is that why I'm getting some strange results? New to the whole espresso making art but already completely hooked on it so trying to improve!
Yes, usually it will take a few kilos to really season the burrs and they should start settling in. You mentioned dark roasted beans too, these usually have a lot of oils on the outside and will clog up your grinder too but I doubt 460g worth will do that. But something to be aware of as you continue, you should really stick to medium roasted coffee as it won't be as oily. If you insist on dark roasts, then you should clean your grinder more frequently. Also, just check you're not grinding too fine.
This grinder has the potential to easily grind too fine for espresso (even Turkish coffee), just go for 1 : 2 ratio at like 25-30 seconds and you should be good. Also some people's grinders may come calibrated much differently so just use the numbers as a reference for yourself, not to compare to others.
Nice work! Yeh it will depend on your Espresso machine and beans but just start nice and low and work your way up. Once you get close with the outer ring, then use the inner ring but just realise the inner ring goes in the opposite direction.
Nice, balanced review mate, keep it up! We are just starting our espresso journey, we were doing french press and using the Breville smart grinder but we bought a Profitec go. We're finding the Breville grinder a bit inconsistent (grind consistency as well as adjustment consistently) and clumpy. We will definitely be upgrading our grinder at some point
Exactly my issue. I started with a Sage Bambino and Dose Control Pro. It worked fine but I always found the user experience of the Bambino a bit lacking. Mostly due to that light weight meaning you had to hold it to put the portafilter in and then it would often move when brewing. Just upgraded to a Go and am having real trouble dialing in. Even at 0, 20g in 36-40g out shots are coming out in around 22 seconds. I know it might just be me but it's frustrating and am looking at grinder alternatives too.
Ultimately I did not buy the Opus because I concluded that, in reality, it is not a grinder 'specifically made to make espresso,' but one that's *able* to make espresso. Of the 41 steps, reviewers have found 6 or fewer that can make espresso and the 13 internal steps are not *between* the 41 external steps (they are 50 microns external and 33 microns external; they serve to shift the 11 groupings fine or course by *one* grouping). That is too few to dial in the myriad coffees I would like to try other than with simple luck.
Yeh it isn't a step less grinder which is always preferred when you're doing espresso, but it does work great for espresso and sure it could be better but also remember that it's one of the cheapest grinders on the market today.
loved this grinder, but had to return it after 2 weeks because it just stopped working.. like burrs moved, no grains.. .cleaned thoroughly multiple times, still nothing.
that's such a bummer. Of course, lemons are going to be in every brand but I'm sad to hear you didn't get a great experience from it. What grinder did you go with after that?
@@tigerag29607 ok yeh the Eureka range is great. I do like the DF range but the problem with all these new Chinese imports is that we haven't had any real indication of lifespan. We know Eureka grinders basically last forever and many Italian manufacturers have been around at least 20+ years so you know they are high quality. I personally use a Timemore Sculptor 78s and love it however it still needs to pass the 7year mark before I'll give my full approval
Outer ring was set just around 2.5 and the inner ring was at about 11 (I think). However, a lot of these machines are not calibrated the same so it might be different on yours.
How much coffee did you have to grind through before you stopped getting large amounts of fines? I’m a pound or so in with mine and still getting 40s shots on 4.1 and filter coffee on 9.
I wonder whether there has been inconsistency from one batch to another. I've just got mine, I am pouring espresso at near 4.1 as well. From what you are stating, that will change with time. It is a big jump from near 4 setting to under 2, as it indicates under the cover.
Hey! Interesting that you are at 4.1. In every video I've seen so far about the opus they grind around 2.2 but for me 2.2 was a 1:50min shot. I am at 3 and it still takes a minute. I guess this approves my question of whether I should grind more coarsely.
Technically yes M&P is cheaper but you don't get a consistent grind. I've tried many times to crush it fine enough but while you get some powder fine grinds, you also get bigger granules and this causes channelling. In my experience, the $15 hand grinder can't grind fine enough or consistently enough for a good espresso.
🙏 yep, the brother that taught me that coffee can taste soooo good. Was cleaning out the grinder and forgot to turn it off. Was back in the day before they had safety mechanisms in place. 😱
retention doesnt matter if you allways use the same coffee . even if you get 17.7 instead of 18 g as long as it is consistently 17.7 it is fine . consistency is what matters
Well, Niche is technically better but also it's about 7X more expensive so I would expect that. HOWEVER, Opus is way way better value for money. I'm not a huge fan of the Niche zero anymore, I would much rather spend the $2k on a different grinder at that price point. Opus is the best entry level grinder, but while I have yet to receive my Timemore Sculptor 078s this grinder might be my new favourite! So see if you can buy one of these instead of a niche. In fact, just avoid the Niche altogether. 👌
Lots of reviewers suggest you need a math degree to work out the variables on this. I chose the Baratza Encore ESP. Great results, a little cheaper and very user friendly
