GOAT STORY ARCO - Is It Worth The Wait?

The Goat Story ARCO is a unique addition to the coffee grinder market. With its electric base it claims to be a low-retention, single dose grinder capable of all brew methods, and with a quick twist it becomes a hand grinder. So its time to put this brand new piece of Kickstarter coffee gear to the test.

↓CHAPTERS↓
[0:00] INTRO
[0:56] STANDART AD
[1:36] QUICK OVERVIEW
[3:07] BREWING THE COFFEE
[4:18] QUIRKS & DOWNSIDES
[6:11] ARCO VS. NICHE ZERO
[7:00] FINAL THOUGHTS

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[larretube]

Backed it and got it some time ago. Use it for both pour overs and espresso. Always using it manually (do not wake up the rest of the family in the morning) for filter and electric for espresso. Impressed with what they have achieved building this. You are pretty spot on with your review. This is really a nice piece of coffee gear that I use everyday. A bit surprised when I got it how small it is, and that is a huge bonus on a small kitchen. So easy to use that my kids use it daily as well. For me the settings they recommend is spot on or just some minor changes to the settings depending on the beans. I have not compared the manual vs electric directly because I use manual for filter and electric for espresso, so settings might need to be different if switching. To get zero retention I always just take the grinder off the stand and tap a bit on it (bottom and top). Thanks for yet another nice video.

[alanroderick]

Seems like a good solution for the niche they are targeting - the occasional/regular coffee lover who travels. (Sorry could not resist the pun). Many thanks

[nenadseverovic]

I just got it ..and I love it .. for me the only down side is a time .. but I do not care about that when making coffee at home.. everything else is amazing ..so I would recommended for sure ..

[ahikernamedgq]

I have had the Arco and use it every day (mostly for espresso). I LOVE it. I've travelled with it, and it works great as a manual or electric grinder. Highly recommended.

[JediMedi]

As always thank you for the good review. I'm in the market for a new grinder and after hearing the good reviews about the Arco, I'm thinking about getting one. Keep up your good work my friend.

[shmiffy]

I have one and it's basically as described in this Video- it's a great grinder and i'd buy again. Hand grinder i have to hold further down to not hit my hand and the static is a pain but a few taps sorts that. The noise is a bit louder than i was expecting but it's alot more consistent and quicker to grind that my last couple of grinders. it's also nice that i can grind more for a Cafetiere in one go rather than having to do two lots of grinding to get the required amount.

[drazenbabich]

Not bad for a grinder of this type for those who caught it at the lower Kickstarter price, however at the current pre-order price level, I'd expect less retention, noise and clumpiness overall.
I'm still sitting on the fence, keenly awaiting release of Varia VS3 due next month, smaller burrs than Arco but promisses a lot at least on its spec sheet. Fingers crossed.

[florianretzlaff]

Definitely interested in the Arco. Looking for some more reviews before I make a decision on it. But the Hand grinder function is just exactly what I need, because I travel a lot

[dorincroitoru]

Thanks for the review. And for the comparison to the niche as arco is my first grinder after a long wait for the kickstarter (niche and df64 was on the radar the whole wait).

Agreed about ease of use for the niche in changing brew methods. It's kind of a stretch to shift from espresso to cold brew or filter though i bought it mainly for espresso. I guess the tradeoff here is finer grind adjustments.

There's a solution for the coarse grind. Arco will ship a spacer that will shift grind closer to the prescribed settings on the cup, not all grinders exhibit this. Probably the next production batch will be fine without the spacer. It's missing a calibration of sorts but glad it's a relatively easy fix.

The "alignment" of the dock and hand grinder is sort of backwards printed. so the reason yours is drifting is because it is not locked in that position. when the bayonet is fully engaged the line is offset from true center of the dock. in that position it will not drift

For the retention i found it got way better after first week of use, almost never something i could pick up on the scale but it does build up inside after some time of use, easy to clean though. Some beans have a lot more retention than others, if i find one that is more prone: RDT and it's all good

Quite happy with my arco, i needed something that could handle espresso well and i loved the small form factor and design foremost, it surely trumps the noise factor for me - and the kickstarter price proved to be amazing value despite the long wait.

[dfraser]

Spro — a grinder hand-selected, possibly tuned up, and gifted by the manufacturer should count as “compensation” when reviewing things. You gave it a little hand-wave at the end of the video, but I think such disclosures should be done up front on a review. Just helps weigh things.

Great overview and interesting grinder, thanks!

[bmd]

I’ve had the hand grinder only for a few weeks now. Really enjoy using it day to day, my only criticism is the grind setting indicators on the dosing cup. It can be a little hard for me to tell, certainly at a quick glance, and even after staring at it sometimes, which rung I am on.

[markmccann]

Great review. On balance, sounds like the Niche would be the better choice for most people. The noise is an instant deal breaker for me.

[garfieldclass]

This review is practically a glowing recommendation coming from you!

[lordpillager]

Thanks for the review, Spro. On my wishlist now, this will get me trouble with my wife when it's available in Indonesia hahaha.

On retention, I haven't seen any hand grinders that have real 0 retention. There are always some stuck on the bean jar

[MrArdytube]

Btw…. If you need to WDT… IT IS EASIER in the dosing cup before the portafilter
Also… I firmly tap the portafilter with dosing cup on top… this settles the grinds so they are not overflowing

[ondrejmitas]

I backed it, and based on this review especially, hope to receive it someday.

[clementlequan]

Great review I was looking for it, it looks nice and provide I guess good coffee but that noise is a deal breaker for me, I don’t wanna hear that loud dyson vacuum every morning especially during a 25sec grind.. saving money for the niche

[TC_Prof]

Great review legend. Seems will stick with the niche and Comandante combo for the time being 😊

[davidlogan]

Thanks for the alignment drift while grinding tip :)

[LumiLunar]

Gotta pair the Arco with the Argos when that comes out!