Niche Zero Test: the single-dosing grinder with almost no retention

The first Niche Zero espresso grinder made its way into our academy in the company of a coffee enthusiast. John Buckman, the founder of the Decent espresso machine, had brought the grinder along as a counterpart to his portable Decent. At just 4.1 kg, the grinder is particularly a lightweight in relation to professional espresso grinders and travel-friendly – yet with the ambition to grind at a high level.

We purchased our first Niche Zero in white in March 2020 for an initial test. At the time, this crowdfunding-financed espresso grinder came to us via Indiegogo for 617 CHF or 580 euros – a crowdfunding price, not a retail price. We were very optimistic back then, and our first test video reflected that enthusiasm accordingly.

As part of our comprehensive espresso grinder comparison, the Niche Zero, this time in black, found its way onto our test bench again. And once again, the grinder performed very well and came out on top in the direct price comparison within its category against the ECM S64, the Mazzer Mini Electronic A, and the Eureka Mignon XL.

For the larger sister of the Niche Zero, we have our own test report on the Niche DUO. And because the category has since filled up: In October 2025, we pitted ten single-dosing grinders in the price range of 500 to 1000 euros against each other, the Niche Zero was there again. You can read about it in the large comparison test – the measurements from back then have been incorporated into this article.

Niche Zero Grinder – the single-dose grinder at a glance

The Niche Zero wears multiple hats as a grinder. It grinds espresso-fine. It was primarily designed for this. However, we have actually also brewed very good filter coffees with coffee that we ground with the Niche Zero.

The grinder is a lightweight with roughly 12 cm width, 31 cm height, and a depth of 21 cm. The control consists of a single button lever with two positions: single-dose grinding and "off". Conical burrs with a diameter of 63 mm made of hardened steel form the grinding mechanism of the Niche Zero. The grinder body is made of aluminum.

The Niche Zero is designed to grind single doses. The bean hopper itself holds just under 30 grams of beans. The concept of single-dose grinding was back then primarily known from professional commercial grinders like the EK43 – today single dosing is its own category with dozens of models. While in a commercial context, individual grinding or pre-portioning slows down the workflow, this is less of a problem in everyday home use.

The advantages are obvious. Only as much coffee as is immediately needed is put into the bean hopper. Coffee that is exposed to light and oxygen ages quickly and loses flavor complexity. Coffee oils begin to oxidize – not good! This problem does not exist with the Niche Zero.

You weigh the coffee, add it to the grinding mechanism, and close the lid. In single-dose mode, grinding begins automatically when the lid is closed. Clever safety measure!

A big question is: How much coffee comes out when I, for example, add 18 grams?

The "Zero" of the Niche Zero – retention measurement

Retention is the amount of coffee that sticks in the coffee grinder after the desired portion of coffee has been ground. Generally, every coffee grinder has some retention. In screw openings, between the burrs, and in the gaps, smaller or larger spaces hold coffee. This residue remains when grinding stops.

If another coffee is ground right after, this is less problematic. The "retention coffee" is then exchanged and aging processes do not start. However, it becomes more problematic if no coffee is ground for a longer time or even for a day.

In ground form, coffee loses most of its volatile aroma components within minutes. This is because the surface area of the coffee has been greatly increased by grinding. Imagine an apple that you cut in half. At first, only the outer skin was exposed to air and sun, but now these act on the two inner halves. Similar, only multiplied many times over, is the case with coffee.

Coffee aged this way has two consequences. First, it tastes different, and often not good, but quickly rancid. It also tends to clog the grinder more. Second, it extracts differently, which can lead to different extraction behavior when pulling the espresso.

How strong this effect is depends on how much coffee remains in the grinder's retention and is thus part of the next pull. With many grinders, this is several grams. With the Graef CM800 we easily measured 4 to 5 grams, and even higher peak values.

This means that a simple espresso made with 8 to 10 grams is brewed from half retention coffee – that is, old coffee. With a double espresso of 16 to 20 grams, we are still looking at a quarter of the coffee amount.

We disassembled the Niche Zero, removed the burrs, and scraped together the ground coffee. When measuring retention coffee, a distinction is made between coffee that permanently sticks in a grinder and coffee that is exchanged with each grind. Only the exchanged coffee is truly problematic. Overall, with a precision scale, we came to a maximum of 0.82 grams of coffee from retention. Around 0.35 grams of that do not exchange.

The exchanging portion, according to our measurement, is 0.47 grams. Using the system we use today to measure, the absolute retention is thus 0.82 grams and the temporary retention is 0.47 grams. That is really, really little! It was the lowest value we had measured at the time. Anyone who knows a grinder with less retention is welcome to write to me.

We are happy to keep the "Zero" of the Niche at a decimal figure.

In our second test of the Niche Zero, we determined retention differently compared to conventional grinders. Grinders not designed as single-dosing grinders constantly have coffee in the bean hopper. So they do not grind empty. We also tried this with the Niche Zero and came to 1.1 grams of ground coffee that remain around the burrs when the grinder stops. Following the grinder's concept, however, this is ground out if grinding continues long enough. With classic espresso grinders, this is not possible because beans constantly feed in.

Grinding and workflow with the Niche Zero

Working with the Niche Zero, I quickly developed a workflow. Anyone who works professionally with an EK43 will love the workflow with the Niche. I myself am not an EK43 devotee and have preferred to work with a classic espresso grinder like a Mahlkönig K30 at barista championships. But I warmed up to the Niche quickly.

The Niche Zero is powerful but slow. The slow speed is certainly a reason why the grinder is relatively quiet. For 18 grams, the grinder grinds for about 16 seconds.

In the 2025 comparison test, we measured this again and came up with 11.9 grams in 10 seconds and 13.5 seconds for 18 grams – somewhat faster than the first run, but it remains slow. The compensation for this shows in the noise measurement: at 72.9 dB, the Niche Zero is whisper-quiet and was the quietest of the ten grinders in this field. The ground coffee exits at 30.4 °C and thus cool.

The grind size can be adjusted infinitely. Very fine grind size changes can thus be made without problems. From espresso-fine to grain sizes suitable for filter coffee, the grinder can be adjusted. The grinding burrs of the grinder are explicitly not suitable for Turkish coffee – so don't overdo the fine adjustment.

The grind size adjustment from espresso to filter coffee was rarely found even in professional grinders back then. As a rule, a grinder had to be calibrated for one beverage category.

The design of the Niche Zero is such that you can turn the grind adjustment beyond the endpoint of the coarse marking. It's then only important to remember how many rotations you opened the grinder.

In our case, we had very good espresso results in the grind range of 25 to 15, which corresponds roughly to the 6 to 7 o'clock hand position. For filter coffee, I ground in the grind spectrum of 11 to 1 o'clock, where no grind markings are applied.

How does the espresso taste and how consistent is the Niche Zero?

We brewed very good espressos with the Niche and above all consistently. Even over many shots, we had many good shots in terms of taste. On 10 espressos, we had maximum coffee powder fluctuations of 0.2 grams per shot. The powder comes out of the grinder without lumps.

In particle comparison, the Niche Zero, as far as the coarse peak is concerned, lies between the grinders with flat burrs (M2D, Eureka Mignon) and the two grinders with conical burrs (Graef, Sette). The curve resembles the particle distribution of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro. The extraction yield was not as high as the Sage Smart Grinder Pro, but it was much more consistent over many shots.

For the 2025 comparison test, there are also figures for this: a main peak of 270 µm, an x50 of 343 µm, and a fine fraction (Qf below 100 µm) of 19.8 percent. As the only grinder with conical burrs in this field, the Niche Zero had the broadest main peak and at the same time the lowest fine fraction. Such values are roast-dependent and are not suitable as absolute ratings. But they explain well why the espresso from the Niche turns out the way it does: silky, creamy, with body – and forgiving in handling.

In the following table, you can see our espresso shots with various grinders. The grinders were each set so that around 50 grams of espresso were extracted in 24.5 to 25.5 seconds. Each time, the concentration of dissolved coffee solids was measured (TDS in percent) and the extraction calculated. For the test, we used our Brazilian Espresso Henrique.

With the Niche Zero, we measured an extraction yield of 7.14%. The coffee was very balanced and particularly sweet. In terms of taste, the Graef CM800 and the Sette 270 WI fell short. Interestingly, these two grinders also showed a lower extraction yield.

Precision in Setting and Resetting the Niche Zero

Particularly with single-dosing grinders, an important question is how well they can be adjusted and reset from one grind setting to another. With the Niche Zero, this should even be possible from filter to espresso, since the grinder is designed for both.

In our test, the Niche Zero performed very well here, especially in comparison to the other three test grinders in this price category (ECM S64, Mazzer Mini Electronic A, Eureka Mignon XL).

We adjusted the grinder from espresso grind to ristretto and further to café crème, then turned back to the original grind setting using only the previously marked position on the grind marking. The particle distribution was nearly identical at the main peak afterwards.

Removing the Grinding Burrs and Cleaning

A thorough cleaning of an espresso grinder should be done more often rather than rarely. We understand, however, that this is not something people like to do. It's usually complicated. With the Niche Zero, the outer grinding burr can be removed without tools, allowing you to clean a larger part of the grinding mechanism. The grind setting of the grinder is opened in the direction of coarse until the grind adjustment can be removed. The outer grinding burrs can then be removed with two fingers.

With a fine brush, coffee residue can be easily removed; for routine cleaning, we use a grinder cleaner in our academies. If you also want to remove the inner grinding burr, you only need a wrench or ratchet. Important: when reassembling, do not over-tighten the central screw, especially.

After cleaning, the bean hopper can be screwed back on. We turned it all the way and then opened it halfway again. This returned it to the grinder's original setting, and we could use the previously used grind settings.

Where You Can Buy the Niche Zero

The Niche Zero is still being made and sold directly by the manufacturer. On nichecoffee.co.uk, it costs approximately 559 GBP including VAT, and according to the manufacturer, is ready to ship within seven days (as of August 2026). We do not sell the grinder and have no partnership program with Niche – the link goes to the manufacturer without commission.

In our comparative test of single-dosing grinders in October 2025, we listed it at approximately 600 to 750 euros on import – depending on what shipping and import duties add on top.

For context: The price of 617 CHF or 580 euros that we paid in March 2020 was a crowdfunding price via Indiegogo and is not comparable to today's retail price.

Desired Improvements for the Niche Zero

• Grind marking around the entire circle.
• Counter showing how many turns the grind ring has been opened.
• Dosing cup options for different portafilter sizes, not just 58 mm.
• When using hard beans, the last ones sometimes jump over the grinding mechanism for quite a while.
• With our model, the central screw appeared to be warped visually upon delivery. This did not negatively affect the ground coffee, but it was annoying.

Supplementary Images and Measurements for the Niche Zero

Technical Specifications of the Niche Zero

Measured values from our own tests: 2020 the initial test, 2022 the XL comparison, October 2025 the single-dosing grinder comparison test between 500 and 1000 euros. Price from manufacturer as of August 2026, source: nichecoffee.co.uk.

As always, we purchased this grinder ourselves. This test was not requested by Niche.