# Upgraded set up - MaraX and Niche Zero



## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Hi guys.

Received my new Lelit MaraX this morning and I've now got it all unpacked and set up.

I started off with a Gaggia Classic and Eureka Mignon Mk1 nearly 5 years ago. After reading DaveC's review of the Niche I took the plunge and became an earlybird backer.

A year and a half on (I think) and yet another of DaveC's reviews persuades me to buy a new machine...

Pulled the trigger at 9am yesterday and she's all ready and set up in my kitchen already. Great service from Bella Barista!

Here's a few pictures of the unboxing and the new machine up on the counter. Thought I'd take a picture with the old Gaggia, which is currently in pieces awaiting some parts for repair.

Have to say, it's a stunning machine and a pleasure to use. I have some learning to do with this thing, but plenty of lock down time to experiment!


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

And a couple more...

My coffee corner is small, but think this is the best use of the space!


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## Fadox (Feb 20, 2020)

Looks great and tidy!


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Congrats on the combo!


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## Aamz23 (Aug 20, 2018)

Looks really good. How was the coffee?


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Aamz23 said:


> Looks really good. How was the coffee?


 Thanks guys!

Yeah first one was great, although went up to 10 bar, which seems a bit high... It's the Chinese bean from Rave that I had in the freezer, which needs an incredibly fine grind, so I'll try a few others and see what's what.

Steam wand was so weird to use first time round compared to the gaggia beforehand... Lovely, but it'll take some getting used to!

The second attempt, after pulling the shot the steam boost either didn't kick in or it was a problem with my work flow - I'm so used to pausing, cleaning and pouring milk etc. while the boiler gets up to steam temperature on the gaggia classic, maybe I just took too long!

Also, forgot to turn off the eco mode, so could have been something there.

But yes, very nice, love the machine so far. Need to experiment more!


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

Looks great, love the Mara/MaraX styling. Makes me wonder why I've got such a chonky beast on my countertop 😅


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

catpuccino said:


> Looks great, love the Mara/MaraX styling. Makes me wonder why I've got such a chonky beast on my countertop 😅


 Haha! The V is undoubtedly a more capable machine, but yeah it's an absolute tank!

There's no way I'd have got either the size of it or the cost of it past the Mrs 😉 the MaraX is perfect for me though, footprint isn't all that much bigger than the gaggia classic and still fits nicely in the corner 😊


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Great keep us updated, I might even sell my V when I get bored.


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## Craigzad (May 31, 2017)

Looking Good 😍


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

Just ordered a white niche, was looking at Mara x when I lump the sage off somewhere! looks lovely together as combo! You going to keep black wood toggles or change to brown?


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## Pleevus (Apr 29, 2020)

Nice set up.

Was lucky enough to get one today too.

Had three shots out of it so far and considering they were the first I've ever pulled, really happy with the results.

My milk steaming needs some work though. The streaming was surprisingly loud but I've been told that I might have had it too deep. Sounds like I had a similar issue as the steam pressure dropped down to 0.5 bar while I was faffing about, came back up to 1.5 quite quickly after I purged the wand though.

I best research the eco mode you mentioned.


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## Dr Forinor (Jul 30, 2018)

I currently have a Gaggia Classic, and when space allows I feel upgraditis will kick in real quick. The Lelit Mara X is one of the ones I have been drooling over.

Can you *taste* the difference between your old setup, and this new one?


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Jony said:


> Great keep us updated, I might even sell my V when I get bored.


 I'll swap you 😉



Joe shorrock said:


> Just ordered a white niche, was looking at Mara x when I lump the sage off somewhere! looks lovely together as combo! You going to keep black wood toggles or change to brown?


 It's a great looking combo (it's even got approval from my partner!) and makes a cracking brew 😊 I think eventually I'll go for the walnut knobs and bottomless portafilter (I'm interested in the bianca paddle, but I'll wait to see if anyone has any experience putting it on the Mara).

This is me set for now though - don't think I'll be changing anything soon!



Pleevus said:


> Nice set up.
> 
> Was lucky enough to get one today too.
> 
> ...


 Yeah I'm really pleased with it so far. Milk steaming definitely needs more work though!

The eco mode was easy to disable - instructions are at the bottom of DaveC's review on the Bella Barista site.



Dr Forinor said:


> I currently have a Gaggia Classic, and when space allows I feel upgraditis will kick in real quick. The Lelit Mara X is one of the ones I have been drooling over.
> 
> Can you taste a difference between your old setup, and this new one?


 Yeah that's exactly the position I was in. It was a big step up for me! The footprint isn't a whole lot bigger than the Classic (very similar width), just that the drip tray extends out further.

In all honesty, I'm only 3 shots in so far, which have all tasted great, but it's a different experience! I had my work flow nailed with the Gaggia and it was a capable enough machine to get a decent enough drink.

The draw back was definitely temperature stability (despite the PID - the temperature seemed to drop through the shot slightly) and the steaming power was far from consistent, which the MaraX seems to have nailed.

I feel I'll soon be smashing out great shots with the MaraX, just need a bit more tome to play with it...


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## Dr Forinor (Jul 30, 2018)

jaffro said:


> In all honesty, I'm only 3 shots in so far, which have all tasted great, but it's a different experience! I had my work flow nailed with the Gaggia and it was a capable enough machine to get a decent enough drink.
> 
> The draw back was definitely temperature stability (despite the PID - the temperature seemed to drop through the shot slightly) and the steaming power was far from consistent, which the MaraX seems to have nailed.


 Same here, only thing I don't like about my current setup is I am hand grinding for every shot (I only have a Lido for my espresso grinding).

And yes, I find that even with a PID fitted the temperature stability is lacking, which irks me somewhat.

Thank you for you reply, and I hope your new setup brings you years of coffee enjoyment.


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Dr Forinor said:


> Same here, only thing I don't like about my current setup is I am hand grinding for every shot (I only have a Lido for my espresso grinding).
> 
> And yes, I find that even with a PID fitted the temperature stability is lacking, which irks me somewhat.
> 
> Thank you for you reply, and I hope your new setup brings you years of coffee enjoyment.


 Ah yeah hand grinding makes it a bit more effort. Having said that I'm sure the shots are good from it! Used to get some good ones from my feldgrind in between selling the Mignon and getting the Niche, but it's now mostly my travel grinder...

Thoroughly recommend the Niche though if you're debating it. Had a lot of success with it when paired with the Classic.

So far I've had about 8 hours of coffee enjoyment, long may it continue...


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## Dr Forinor (Jul 30, 2018)

jaffro said:


> Ah yeah hand grinding makes it a bit more effort. Having said that I'm sure the shots are good from it! Used to get some good ones from my feldgrind in between selling the Mignon and getting the Niche, but it's now mostly my travel grinder...
> 
> Thoroughly recommend the Niche though if you're debating it. Had a lot of success with it when paired with the Classic.


 As much as I hate the hand grinding, I don't mind it as much as having to adjust the grind setting (it's horrible to do on the LIdo - to make matters worse my wife and I drink different coffee...).

I'm glad you mentioned the Niche. How did you find the the comparison between the Mignon and the Niche? (Yes, Niche is the grinder that I want to upgrade to).


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## Aamz23 (Aug 20, 2018)

Joe shorrock said:


> Just ordered a white niche, was looking at Mara x when I lump the sage off somewhere! looks lovely together as combo! You going to keep black wood toggles or change to brown?


 How long is the delivery time on the niche


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

Aamz23 said:


> How long is the delivery time on the niche


 Mine comes in June, ordered start of May, but they told me each month have set batches, so delivery is taking time atm


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## Aamz23 (Aug 20, 2018)

Joe shorrock said:


> Mine comes in June, ordered start of May, but they told me each month have set batches, so delivery is taking time atm


 So they have to sell a certain amount before they ship them all? I want to order one but it says August. Can't wait that long and have a new mara x just sitting there for that long


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Dr Forinor said:


> As much as I hate the hand grinding, I don't mind it as much as having to adjust the grind setting (it's horrible to do on the LIdo - to make matters worse my wife and I drink different coffee...).
> 
> I'm glad you mentioned the Niche. How did you find the the comparison between the Mignon and the Niche? (Yes, Niche is the grinder that I want to upgrade to).


 So I had a relatively old Mignon Mk1, which needed the burrs changing (had a chip in the burrs!), so my thoughts might be a bit skewed. I know the new ones are quite different, particularly the Specialita with the bigger burrs, which probably make a way better cup.

I never actually owned both at the same time, think there was a good 2 or 3 months in between. However, I was making "fine" drinks with the mignon, which turned to really quite enjoyable drinks with the Niche, despite sticking with the classic. This then got better again with the PID on the classic, so it's hard to properly remember and compare.

For me though, single dosing is the way forward. The Niche also has big burrs in a small package (as you can see in the pictures, I'm very limited on space!) and the Mrs likes the look of it. So overall, it's a winner and it's going nowhere!


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## Dr Forinor (Jul 30, 2018)

Excellent, thank you so much for your helpful replies.


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## Joe shorrock (Nov 18, 2019)

Aamz23 said:


> So they have to sell a certain amount before they ship them all? I want to order one but it says August. Can't wait that long and have a new mara x just sitting there for that long


 Yeah basically have certain amount for each month.. That's all when they sell out shipping goes to next month.. that what niche told me anyway, you living in UK?


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## Pleevus (Apr 29, 2020)

Aamz23 said:


> So they have to sell a certain amount before they ship them all? I want to order one but it says August. Can't wait that long and have a new mara x just sitting there for that long


 My Niche doesn't get delivered until June, but the ground coffee from Bella Barrista today is going to see me through.

No doubt better to grind fresh but you can still have decent coffee.


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