DF Grinders - DF54 (V2)

Got my DF54 a couple months ago and love it. Really don't think you could go wrong with it

If I was you I would buy a df 54 and use it for espresso, then use the left over money for a hand grinder for pour over. The biggest thing I see is people frustrated with dialing in their espresso when they last used their grinder for pour over. You can use a drill on most hand grinders.

Because it's sold out maybe buy a hand grinder that can do both and switch back and forth for now. I have what would now be called the time more c3 esp. I bought it as the time more c3 and bought a modified adjustment plate on Ali express which tripples the number of positions to choose from. I will eventually get the df54 but I don't mind grinding for the one drink I have a day. I think the df54 is simply such a good bang for buck that it doesn't make sense to go for something else. But that's just my opinion.

If you can, go for a DF54. The Baratza Encore ESP is a solid grinder, but you already have a fairly similar one in you Barista Express. The DF54 is a Flat Burr grinder which is a bigger upgrade.

I really like my Df54

Go ahead and spend a little extra for the DF 54.

the grind time on espresso for df54 seems quite high for me. Mine normally takes around 17-20 seconds to grind at espresso range.

The DF-54 is around that price and really performs more like a much more expensive grinder IMO. I've had it for 8 months now and have no complaints.

A good hand grinder can work great, but from my own experience if you were trying to grind fine enough for espresso using a hand grinder, you had better have pretty buff arms. I have a DF 54 electric grinder which I do not love, but it gets the job done. I also have an 1zPreso X ultra. I used my hand grinder exactly once to grind for espresso. It took so long and my arm was so tired halfway through that I swore I would never do it again. However, it works great for coarser grinds that I use for drip. And I can take it with me when I travel. So it really depends on how you feel about a higher level of effort to grind for espresso by hand. I have never used the Barraza encore but everyone on here says you need the ESP version to make it functional for espresso. No matter what you choose, you are probably better off shooting for the US $200 and above range to get something decent. Although I’m sure you could find a good hand grinder used or on sale for a bit less than that.

This is what I would do in your position: get a bambino plus and a Varia V6. Here is my logic: I think you would love the Profitec Go (I do), but it will take a bit more time than you have right now to get it heated up and pull a shot. The Go is known for its fast heat-up time, but that’s “fast “ for people who don’t have toddlers. You could use a smart plug to heat it in the morning, but if you leave it on and let it go into Eco mode during the day it will take a couple of minutes to get to temp every time you go back to use it. For me it’s no big deal, but the Bambino will be more immediate. Once your kid(s) is a bit older you might want to upgrade your machine. By then you will have a better idea of exactly what you want. For the grinder I would skip the DF series for two reasons: 1) lack of consistency, and 2) tariffs. Get a grinder right away that you won’t feel the need to upgrade. I have a DF 54 and it is easy to use and pretty quiet, but I’m not happy with the consistency. I’m looking at Lagom Casa or more likely Varia V6, and I am hoping the new grinder I get paired with my Go will be my end game. All the DF machines (and anything labeled Turin or MiiCoffee) are from the same factory in China. The tariff situation is likely to make them much less economical than when I bought mine. Given you already know what you like in terms of espresso taste/quality, I would skip the built-in grinder. You’ll want something that will get you better tasting shots than what you can get with the quality of the built-in.

I got the df54 flat burr for $230. Worlds better then the esp or opus in build quality and looks. Also quiet as hell cause of the flat burrs. I love it so far and hasn’t made a bad espresso. I would go for that if you are looking entry level

Best you can go for is a flat burr grinder. Cheapest option is the DF54 for clarity.

I use a df54 for French press and moka pot, for moka pot I'm sitting around 30 on the settings. So still lots of room to move finer for espresso.

Df 54 does French press, moka pot, and espresso for me. It works great with low retention, and I don't have to rdt. It's also easy to change the adjustment for different beans and brew methods.

I like this list because I bought the number 1 grinder after doing my research on Reddit and online in general. James Hoffmann did a comparison video of the most popular grinders and the only negative thing he said about the DF-54 that I recall was that he personally doesn't like bellows. He said more negative things about the other grinders he compared. Reviews I saw of the DF-64 said it is the loudest electric grinder of all other grinders in the low to mid price range so that makes it less desirable than the DF-54.

Agreed, I think if you stack these up side by side considering value for price you’ll find a nice bell curve with a bias toward the inexpensive. The most bang for your buck is the df-54.

I have k6 for travel setting. It’s not fun haha. Also have df54. It’s love or hate because of quality controls. I am using over one year and I don’t have any issue except zero point but it can be solve the issue easily with DIY or 3d printing indicator. 

I would get an electric one, it really is worth the convenience on the days you don't want to hand grind. But the main reason is I don't think hand grinders make as good espresso, well most. They can make a soup shot so if you like light roast and dont want milk in it, they are good. If you want traditional espresso an electric would be good. Before the Sage I would look at the fellow opus or even the baratza esp which is the same brand as sage. Or if you can get a flat burr probably that 400 range unfortunetly. They have the df-54 which is cheap and the fellow ode gen 2. Not sure what type coffee you make but as long as you don't use an open face portafilter or want Turkish it works best.

I can say that I have used the D54 intermittently for pour overs and sometimes french press. When you open it up for this style it does some annoying things. It seems bean remnants get stuck in the mechanism somewhat easily as it’ll make some weird noises at times. Then it will clear itself and you can see grinds get spit out. In addition, definitely have static more with coarse settings that you have to manage by cleaning more often. For espresso it has been great, rock solid. If I was changing styles a lot, I would get a K6 for pour overs and French press.

Df54 is above and beyond on all levels. It’s solid, it’s metal, it quiet, and it’s a flat burr. It’ll last you 20 years easily.

I ended up getting the DF54 and I am super satisfied!

Yeah pre ground coffee is very very bad, this is why the first advice here is to buy a (good) grinder. The df 54 is solid and probably the first recommendation here, but really any *burr* grinder will improve your coffee by 100x.

Maybe now that James Hoffmann has done a proper and thorough review of grinders in this price bracket that'll put an end to all the silliness that comes up every time anyone mentions the df54 over here? Most here knew that already, but as an espresso grinder it clearly punches way above its weight.

How even though this is a ridiculously cheap flat burr grinder and the clogging issues seem to be mostly caused by user error and/or lack of maintenance/cleaning, there's always some degree of vitriol along the lines of "how can such an expensive coffee grinder be such a piece of shit?? chinese manufacturing sucks" in the comments. Specially coming from that one dude who feels personally summoned every single time anyone mentions the df54 in this sub. I'm surprised he hasn't shown up here yet.

Love this video and the £500 one. As someone who's been grinding manually for espresso for close to three years, I've definitely reached the point where I'm prepared to make my life a little easier. I wonder if I can be cheeky, James (or anyone else kind enough to answer), why would I choose to go for the DF64 over the DF54?

I currently have three grinders: the DF54 (electric, flat burrs) as my daily driver; 1Zpresso J-Ultra (manual, conical) for exploring additional flavor profiles; and KINGrinder P2 as a compact, lightweight option for travel and Aeropress.

I have a DF54 flat burr, it's pretty easy to clean and you can just drop a grindex tablet.

I got the SK40 stepless conical when first released and a DF54 flat burr more recently. I think for $200ish, they're both better built and better performing than the other electrics at that price.