For many people, coffee is a very passionate subject - we fall into that group! The Niche Zero was born out of a passion for engineering and top-quality coffee. When Martin Nicholson, Niche’s founder, came up with the idea of creating a home grinder that could match (and even outshine) the quality of professional café equipment, he entered a world where two passions met: one for precision engineering and one for top-quality coffee.
The result was the Niche Zero, a single-dose coffee grinder that’s considered worldwide to be at the very top of the game. Renowned for ease of use and incredibly low near-zero retention, we’re proud that people really do love our Niche Zero.
Let’s look a little more into what’s been said – and why.
’It’s just a pleasure to use…’
Martin began development of the grinder that was to become the Niche Zero in 2015. He watched members of his family trying to make coffee and having real trouble with their grinder (loud, inconsistent and poorly made). And the biggest issue – retention. Without a consistent dose of ground coffee each time, making coffee was an impossible task. This made his mission clear: to make a grinder that was deliciously simple to use and enjoy.
With a fastidious approach, Martin built and tested over thirty prototypes over the following three years (that’s almost one a month), taking his machine to cafés around the UK to share the project with professional baristas who worked grinding premium coffee all day, every day.
With an open ear and fine-tuned desire to perfect everything, Martin refined the design, honing every aspect of the grinder to meet the feedback he was being given. Nothing was dismissed or ignored in his desire to make the Niche Zero the very best home grinder possible.
Launched and originally distributed through Indiegogo, the Niche Zero was an immediate success, with a community of excited and enthusiastic professional baristas showing their support. One early video review, from the well-renowned online coffee expert James Hoffmann, exemplified the reaction the grinder was getting.
‘It’s just a pleasure to use,’ James said, rounding up his feelings about his experience using the grinder. That was six years ago, and to our knowledge, James continues to enjoy that simple pleasure to this day. He’s not alone – more than 100,000 Niche Zeros have been sold since launch, as more and more people discover the joys it offers.
What makes the Niche Zero so different?
Quality design is about understanding the user’s need and meeting it as simply as possible. This has been seen throughout history with some great inventions, from the wheel all the way through to the iPhone. While there are many technical enthusiasts out there who don’t mind fiddly operations or difficult workflows to achieve their goals, for the majority of us, simplicity is key.
But simplicity shouldn’t mean sacrificing results.
The Niche Zero is designed for simple operation. Pour in beans, turn on, and get perfect grounds - but it does so because everything has been so well thought-out in the background.
Zero retention
Traditional grinders can retain a surprising amount of coffee. Leftover grinds can quickly go stale and will be reintroduced into later doses, affecting both flavour and particle consistency. Making sure this didn’t happen was a core principle for the Niche Zero, so much so that the idea of zero retention influenced its very name.
The idea is absurdly simple: don’t leave any coffee in the machine. The execution requires staggering precision.
That virtually zero retention was achieved is a huge part of the draw of the Niche Zero – users at every level of coffee experience, from first-time home brewers to professional baristas, love the clean and efficient operation of the grinder. Every gram in equals every gram out. No waste, no mouldy flavours carried over, no complicated cleaning rituals – just fresh coffee, time after time.
Peaceful operation
Making a morning coffee should be a relaxed, peaceful ritual – not a household alarm. The solid, precision construction of the Niche Zero means it’s quiet – you don’t end up waking the whole house or stopping all conversation just because you’re brewing a delicious espresso.
It may seem like a small consideration, but it’s an appreciated one that speaks (quietly) about the care that’s all part of the Niche quality experience.
Simple workflow innovations
Your grinder should be an invisible part of your coffee-making process. Not so much that you can’t find it to pour the beans into, but in terms of how much brain drain goes on when you’re preparing a delicious drink.
If you have to put too much thought into operating the grinder, then something is very wrong. With a Niche Zero, you simply pour in the beans, turn it on, and get the right amount of grinds out. Effortless.
One of the innovations that makes that possible is the grind cup – a seemingly simple piece of equipment but designed to achieve a number of hidden benefits, as we’ll explore.
Grinding straight into your portafilter produces waste and results in poor grind distribution. This can result in channelling and either under- or over-extraction. It’s such an important consideration that we’ve written a whole article about it!
The grind cup solves this problem with elegance. Perfectly crafted to fit seamlessly into your portafilter, the grind cup (or ‘dosing cup’) ensures even distribution, no waste, and minimal effort. It’s no wonder it’s had people enthusing about it from the very beginning – and plenty of imitators since. Genuinely, we’re flattered!
High-quality build
At Niche, we believe in longevity. The Niche Zero grinder is not a product with planned obsolescence like so much of today’s manufacturing but has been painstakingly constructed to last a lifetime. If you take care of it, it’ll take care of you.
Every component has been chosen because it’s the best for that task, from the solid aluminium body and high-quality Mazzer stainless-steel burrs to the real oak in the trim – the fact that they look beautiful is a welcome secondary pleasure.
Commercial-grade burrs
The Niche Zero uses Mazzer conical burrs, a top-quality burr set that is typically found in larger commercial grinders used in cafés around the world.
Pairing these proven professional parts with the smaller single-dose simplicity of a home-brew grinder results in a unique experience, bringing café grind quality to your kitchen. Perfect for a home espresso that brings out the delicate flavours of a specialist blend or a filter coffee that highlights subtle tones.
Effortless grind dialling
The simple adjustment ring makes dialling in your grind easy and consistent. Its stepless mechanism means you can adjust across a full range of grind sizes, allowing for fine espresso grinds with absolute precision, through to coarser filter sizes – all with the same zero retention quality.
Returning to a previous setting is extremely accurate, allowing you to return to previous results or experiment with minute adjustments with ease.
Whatever your brewing preferences, the analogue precision of the grind ring enriches your experience. Explore more in our guide, 'How does grind size affect your coffee and its beautiful flavour?’.
Beloved in the coffee community
From the very beginning, as soon as the Niche Zero reached customers, the response was incredible. Whether on coffee-centric forums, social media, or official review sites, the enthusiasm was infectious – people discussed the freshness of the taste, the professional level of consistency, and above all, the simplicity it offered.
Professional reviews were equally impressive. Barista Magazine said, ‘This might be one of my favourite pieces of equipment I’ve seen in a while,’ while respected independent reviewer DaveC wrote an in-depth 17-page report that was consistent in its praise, declaring, ‘The Niche Zero is going to be a game changer’ – and he was right.
Customers today continue to rave about the Niche Zero, with recent testimonials including:
- ’It is the most premium, well-made appliance I have ever used.’ - Ciaran Dorney
- ‘You will never find such a unique and great grinder like it.’ - Mohamed Adel Elgendy
- ‘One grinder to rule them all? Yes!’ - Cg Phillips
We’re thrilled that so many coffee lovers don’t hold back with their praise, and as each year goes on, work continues to make sure the Niche Zero stays at the very top of the grinding game.
Discovering the Niche Zero
If you love the sumptuous aroma and delicate tastes of a premium coffee, look to the Niche Zero to bring out the best in your beans. Buy right, buy once.