We provide an in-depth assessment of the premium flat burr espresso grinder, which is designed for each espresso and filter brewing.
BY VASILEIA FANARIOTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Featured picture courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti
Over time, TIMEMORE has carved out a notable house within the specialty-coffee world via thoughtfully designed, aesthetically pleasing gear—most famously, with their hand grinders. With the Sculptor line, they stepped into the electrical grinder market with appreciable momentum, backed by one in all Kickstarter’s most profitable coffee-related campaigns. Amongst these machines, the Sculptor 078S has garnered a lot consideration, and to see what the hype is all about, I frolicked placing it via a variety of brew eventualities.
Unboxing and First Impressions
The Sculptor 078S arrives well-packaged, full with a cleansing brush and air blower: a sensible, appreciated inclusion. The grinder itself feels substantial. At 6.5 kilograms, it’s not shifting round your bench anytime quickly. Its matte end and unibody aluminum body really feel sturdy and stylish, although in white, the bottom does get soiled shortly—a kind of tradeoffs between kind and performance.
Notably, many small elements are magnetic: The hopper lid and the grounds-catching cup snap satisfyingly into place. It might appear minor, however these touches clean out the workflow in a means that provides up over time.
Design and Structure
The 078S sports activities a vertically mounted burr set and auger, designed to attenuate retention and feed beans constantly utilizing gravity. It’s clear and compact on the counter, although a couple of decisions might have benefited from a second move.
The grind dimension dial, whereas properly weighted, has a restricted journey vary for espresso—small shifts can create large shot time variations. It’s additionally positioned on the entrance, whereas the variable RPM dial is situated on the again, forcing you to rotate the machine to make modifications.
A single side-mounted button on the aspect controls the grinder, whereas one other distinctive function is the rotary knocker: TIMEMORE’s different to bellows. In follow it really works effectively, however some customers could discover the twisting movement repetitive and never as ergonomic because it may very well be.
Specs Overview
- Burrs: 78 mm flat chrome steel
- Motor: 400W brushless with PID management
- RPM: Adjustable (800–1400)
- Grind settings: Stepless, with 36-step indicator
- Capability: 30 g bean container
- Weight: 6.5 kg
- Dimensions: 118 x 261 x 294 mm
This model makes use of flat burrs optimized for espresso however is marketed as an all-purpose grinder. In follow, its efficiency throughout strategies helps that declare—although with caveats.
Setup and Workflow
Getting the Sculptor 078S up and working is a clean course of, with intuitive elements and an easy design. Nonetheless, like many high-performance grinders, it does profit from a break-in interval. Operating a kilo of espresso via the burrs helped me mellow the preliminary sharpness and introduced out a extra balanced taste profile, significantly in espresso.
Burr alignment can even range barely between models. For these looking for ultra-precise espresso outcomes, particularly with gentle roasts, it might be worthwhile to examine alignment—although accessing the burrs does contain eradicating a couple of screws and elements. Whereas not troublesome, it’s a job higher suited to customers snug with a little bit of hands-on adjustment.
Grind Testing in Actual Situations
Espresso
As soon as seasoned, the 078S delivers espresso with notable syrupy texture and sweetness, providing a center floor between fashionable clarity-focused burrs and conventional high-body profiles. Nonetheless, dialing in may be fiddly because of how delicate the changes are—one notch can translate right into a 3–5-second change in shot time. Mild roasts at greater RPMs proved particularly temperamental, tending towards channeling and inconsistent move. Decrease RPMs (round 1000–1100) labored finest for me.
Filter Brewing (Pourover, AeroPress)
Switching to pourover and AeroPress, the grinder fared effectively. Readability was average—not fairly on the stage of SSP burrs, however greater than enough for a nuanced cup. I appreciated the benefit of constructing fast grind dimension modifications, although the absence of click on stops means referencing your setting for later could be a bit difficult.
French Press and Ibrik
At coarser settings, retention remained low and grind distribution was comparatively even, producing clear French press brews with minimal silt. For ibrik, nevertheless, I discovered the grinder’s best setting continues to be a contact coarse out of the field. A fast recalibration by adjusting the zero level solved that, nevertheless it’s one thing to notice if ibrik espresso is a precedence.
Cleansing and Upkeep
Upkeep is the place issues can get just a little cumbersome. Cleansing the burrs requires eradicating six hex screws and the internal plate, then twisting the burrs out—not precisely weekend-user-friendly. The catch cup’s slender base additionally makes eradicating caught grinds just a little awkward until you could have a protracted brush or use the included air blower.
That mentioned, retention is impressively low, particularly when utilizing the knocker—usually underneath 0.1 grams. Simply anticipate to present it a number of twists to totally filter the chute.
A Succesful Grinder with a Studying Curve
Total, the Sculptor 078S delivers spectacular grind high quality, a sturdy construct, and considerate design touches—all at a worth level that’s aggressive inside its class. It excels in producing candy, balanced espresso and succesful filter brews, with low retention and minimal mess.
That mentioned, it does ask one thing in return: endurance. The burrs profit from a seasoning interval, and fine-tuning espresso requires a little bit of care, particularly given the slender adjustment vary. The back-mounted RPM dial and rotary knocker could not swimsuit each workflow, and cleansing entry may very well be extra user-friendly.
This isn’t the grinder for somebody looking for immediate plug-and-play outcomes. However for dwelling baristas who benefit from the course of, respect a well-engineered software, and are keen to take a position just a little time to get essentially the most out of their gear, the 078S presents a compelling, well-rounded possibility.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vasileia Fanarioti (she/her) is a senior on-line correspondent for Barista Journal and a contract copywriter and editor with a main concentrate on the espresso area of interest. She has additionally been a volunteer copywriter for the I’M NOT A BARISTA NPO, offering content material to assist educate individuals about baristas and their work.
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