Timemore Sculptor 078S Grinder Review - Was it all Hype?

[@PewPewNomNom]

Been using my 078s for a year now. It’s been utterly reliable, and putting out some darn good filter brews and espressos. It’s certainly not overrated when you got it at the KS price.

[@MdrnGmngScks]

As for burr options, SSP are working on 78mm burrs so stay tuned there, but also LeBrew which are getting alot of attention right now has filter burrs just released for the 078 as well as Lab Sweet style burrs coming soon at that size. So options are fast coming.

[@1101naomi]

Timemore has taken into account all the cons/quirks from customer reviews and is working on improving them so I’m excited to see the next generation of this grinder. It’s suppose to be much easier to replace burrs and since new burrs are out or coming out I’m eagerly awaiting.

[@Foolsauce]

Wait, where have we heard anything about a next gen? I haven't seen that!

[@1101naomi]

@ Hoons’s Coffee interviewed a guy from Timemore and hes the one that said they were addressing all the cons for the next gen. And specifically mentioned easier access to burrs

[@Foolsauce]

@@1101naomi Dang! I'll have to check that out! Thanks

[@Foolsauce]

@@1101naomi Which interview? The one with Sam about the Timemore Duo Scale?

[@1101naomi]

@ I think that’s it

[@Nicknyamka]

I have the 064S and I love it. Looking forward to your review of that one. I wish you talked more about the flavor profile of this grinder. Hopefully you’ll do so for the 064S

[@AlternativeBrewing]

I'll make sure to cover the taste in the 064S review! Thx

[@johnquinn2992]

What about the 064S?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Gonna do a review on that soon too 👌

[@theone9564]

Would you say this would be an excellent upgrade from the breville grinder?

[@theone9564]

Or what upgrade would you recommend? I tried a lighter espresso beans, and the breville failed.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Yes, just about any grinder is an upgrade fro the Breville , but you wouldn't need to go as far as the 078S. You could even grab the DF54 Grinder, which has a comparative price as the Breville Smart Grinder and still have a lot of new flavour experiences 🙌

[@dylanevans5644]

Whilst you are correct about the knocker (it's for both purposes you mention) for espresso the fines help a lot in managing even puck extraction, so most will want the fines in their puck. For filter, you'll want to remove the fines.

[@Inserico]

Hey, just want to let you know SSP does offer a 78mm burr set (multi-purpose, red speed) for this grinder. But it'll cost 350 USD + Fedex shipping. This is not on their website but I inquired them directly and they gave me this quote.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

That is very interesting - Thanks for sharing that information!

[@pieeetr]

As others already pointed out. There are alternatives from both SSP and Lebrew to the Sculptor 078S.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Yea you’re right - will have to return for the review of these. Certainly changes its scope

[@mialikeseverything]

Super helpful video, thanks!

[@AlternativeBrewing]

I'm glad you found it useful!

[@nogurus4260]

It seems like a bit of an odd choice to compare the 78s vs either the df64v or varia vs6. There is a large disparity in the price points or burr sizes of these 3 units. Personally, i struggled with coming to a decision on which grinder under $1k to purchase. Ultimately, i chose the 64s as it offers the flexibility of the 64mm burr options, has auger fed vertical mounted burrs, has almost 0 retention, and is incredibly small, all for just over $500.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

I’m glad you’ve found a grinder that works well for you! These 3 grinders are within $250 of each other in our region hence the reference - but I can see why in other areas this is a go-to. Im also seeing alot of ppl mentions how they got it at the KS price - which yes - would have been incredible now for the price 🙌 64mm is a good choice too

[@gabrielo8922]

LeBrew just released 78mm burrs 5 days after this video released

[@BensCoffeeRants]

I really enjoyed the profile / taste from the Timemore 078s, especially for espresso (I think it did filter coffee alright too) but a few quirks really bothered me about it. The RPM dial on the back, the fact it popcorns and needs a 3d printed higher hopper to prevent bean fragments from escaping and making a mess. The fines collector collects a lot more than fines, so you either have a NOT SO low retention grinder wasting about a gram of coffee for every shot of espresso, OR you include the fines in your coffee which could potentially affect the cup quality. It benefits from slow feeding but popcorning is annoying, especially at higher RPM where it happens worse. At low RPM it takes a while to ramp up to it's chosen RPM for some reason. IT's faster to reach medium or high RPM that seems odd to me. It adds an extra delay if your ready to start putting in coffee at low RPM, you want the RPM to be consistent ideally. I don't get why the Timemore grinder popcorns, I've had 2 other grinders with auger/prebreakers and they just eat up the beans without popcorning. It's a great grinder if you can live with the quirks. I think the 078 for FILTER is the hyped one really, and you'll likely get less retention / fines stuck in the fines catcher with a coarser (filter) grind.

[@taejaskudva2543]

I'd say this was an ideal grinder for me. Came around just as i wanted to upgrade from a Baratza Encore and started considering getting in to espresso. Mostly do filter, capable of doing espresso, and the KS price made my partner cringe but I didn't have to tell her just how much higher it could go. Hype seemed balanced with a decent reputation, and it wasn't a grinder that someone with a relatively unrefined palate and beginner skill level would have to monkey with much to go from Aeropress, Clever, v60, Chemex for guests, or occasional moka up to espresso and then back again. Still need to get the espresso machine though... But the months doing filter should have made some progress on the seasoning the Internet keeps telling me the burrs need.

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Sculptor! 😊

[@DigitalicaEG]

Got mine on KS a year ago or so, pretty happy with it!

[@chrisdturner]

I don't understand the issue with the bean hopper. I've never had coffee stick to it or need to push debris down into the auger. I think it is only a problem if you RDT or have very oily beans. RDT really isn't needed for this grinder in my opinion.

[@Yirgamalabar]

RDT makes this otherwise-great grinder miserable to use. I'm so glad I stopped doing it.

[@chrislange1354]

O64s I can't wait

[@DigitalicaEG]

I have no idea what you’re talking about with retention issues on the grinder. I literally use it everyday and typically after using the fines knocker I don’t get any retention on the timemore scale or at most 0.1 gram MAX. I don’t have to use the blower thing that you’re using in the video even. And also after using it for 6 whole months the first time I got it I took it apart to clean the burrs and made sure to collect all the coffee grounds it had stuck inside of it and it was so little it literally didn’t register on the scale when I weighed it. The burrs were squeaking clean to the point that I didn’t bother ever cleaning it again since. I don’t use RDT or grind oily dark roasted beans, that could be your problem…

[@DigitalicaEG]

Also you didn’t mention that SSP burrs for the 078S are already out in the wild. Anyways the burrs on it are quite excellent for the purpose (espresso) so maybe the SSP will be an improvement but I doubt worth almost the price of the grinder that they’re asking for them.

[@Cenot4ph]

8:00 that's a big issue already, that means you can expect great variance between released grinders and thus alignment difference per unit are expected. I wouldn't call that optimal for consistency at all.

[@kevinerlangga8356]

Size medium to klik 8

[@BensCoffeeRants]

I think it's silly to open a grinder to clean it, some people do that so often it's unnecessary a waste of time and more likely to make things worse. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it!"

[@essensse]

How are we still talking about seasoning the burrs to make better coffee in 2024? It’s a myth 😂

[@FatNorthernBigot]

Why do home baristas want a faster grind, these days? It seems trivial, and, I'd go for quality over speed every time.

[@dahorn100011]

for an average home espresso machine, something like a gaggia classic, it's going to take 10 minutes to warm up anyway. So is a quick grind going affect you. This is why I started with a quality hand grinder.

[@greysuit17]

I dont know man when you have something like an EK43S and try to go back to a slower grinder it’s hard to go back, that being said it is my best grinder in most cases compared to everything else I have. There is something to be said for super fast grinding.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@greysuit17 ya think? I'd go for quality over speed every time. Say it takes thirty seconds instead of three. That's 27 entire seconds to do other stuff whilst you're waiting. 🤣

[@greysuit17]

@ well like I said I have quality and when I tried something slower there weren’t improvements and it messed with my flow. That also being said if I want to go slow I have plenty of hand grinders to spice things up. I never sacrifice quality and yes if I come across something that’s a tad slower but better in the cup I am all for it. My point though is when you are used to a super fast grinder and then go to something ten times slower you feel it and it’s hard to go back.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@greysuit17 Fair enough. The fastest I've had was a DF83, but it wasn't consistent at all. My Niche Duo is very slow, but I just let it do its thing whilst I get the milk. 🤣

[@ahmed.dhaheri]

the worst grinder ive ever bought. gladly sold it and i lost hope of timemore electric grinders

[@thestarver]

@ahmed.dhaheri would you be able share your thoughts on why it's 'the worst grinder' you've ever bought please?

[@ahmed.dhaheri]

@thestarver the workflow is not convenient. the grind is never consistent even after seasoning with so many KGs of coffee. The cleaning process is absolutely difficult for a home grinder. The design of the hopper and dosing cup is esthetically pleasing but not practical. I went back to my good old df64. 🙌🏻

[@reactionsok]

Glad i canceled my order during the hype train.

[@CBstoffer]

don't get why you call it reliable all the time. I don't think its really consistent or reliable at all, and a lot of users agree with this.

[@Yourbeautyformyashes]

It’s consistent and reliable for me, got examples of how it’s not for you?

[@KrishnenduKes]

@@Yourbeautyformyashes Not consistent for me at all! See my comment in the comments section.

[@CBstoffer]

@@Yourbeautyformyashes I'm glad you having a great time with your 78s. i found the setting was drifting quite a bit, to the point it was impossible to adjust effectively. My shot time varied like 10 sec. shot to shot! My puck prep was on point, and with my new mazzer philos im within a couple of seconds, always. The taste it made was very good, my unit was just to inconsistent. So to praise the grinder for its consistence is a stretch, when so many people are having QC issues with it.

[@Yourbeautyformyashes]

@@CBstofferman that indeed sucks, may have been burr alignment or something loose for the setting to drift that far. My issue is how finicky it is to align and take the burrs out but i haven’t had such variance in my shots. Glad you found a solution

[@KrishnenduKes]

I feel it is overrated. I have been using this grinder for a year now. Even at a setting at way less than 0.5, some coffees brew out at 10 seconds or less. Also, at that setting, the grinder often stalls several times for an 18 gram dose. And at the finer settings, there is very heavy retention. As for the seasoning, do not even get me started!That said, filter is pretty decent at 16 or so.

[@nogurus4260]

I've never heard of anyone stalling these grinders. I have a 64s, which has a smaller motor, and I've never once stalled. That's with my chirp set to the 0 point, grinding at 1 on the dial, 800rpm, using H&S Ultra Light beans, with MP burrs.

[@KrishnenduKes]

@nogurus4260 I have heard only positive things too. But that said, mine stalls each time on some very light roasts at

[@thepatwalsh88]

​@@nogurus4260 unrelated but can you please explain what is implied by "chirp set at 0"? is it not always supposed to be at 0?

[@nogurus4260]

​@thepatwalsh88 my chirp, with stock burrs, out of the box, was effectively-2.

[@KrishnenduKes]

@@nogurus4260 Mine too

[@DJProPlusMax]

What about the 064s?

[@AlternativeBrewing]

Coming Soon 👌