DF64V Gen 1

I’ve owned a Baratza Virtuoso (barely adequate, if that), a Turin DF 64 V. 1, a Niche Zero, and the Eureka Mignon Zero. The Turin was more clarity/fruity forward, though not by much, but I sold that for a Niche Zero. I owned them both for a little while and decided to keep the Niche. The Niche was fine—super user friendly, and easy to clean—but for not-particularly-rational reasons I was drawn to the Eureka (for esthetics mainly), so I sold the Niche. The Niche and the Eureka are both quiet, and great for my preference of dark beans and classic Italian espresso—- really, between the two you can't go wrong. But unless you can find a used Niche there's a big price difference. As I reread my post I sound like a person always after the next thing, but I did eventually stop questing something different!

I have owned the following burr grinders, in order: Breville Barista Express built-in, Niche Zero, DF64, Niche Duo. Currently, I use the Niche Zero and Duo, only, with the former servicing my decaf, and the latter servicing my regular. My only brew method is espresso (on a simple garagist-built E61 machine). My main method of puck prep (for my own drinks) is a blind shaker and tamping. Sometimes I use an OCD, if my blind shaker dump is clumsy, even though it seems to mitigate the benefits). My first-gen DF64, despite regular cleaning, is highly self-fouling, and just will not stay in operation, so I stopped using it. At one point, I had all three. I have not tried the gen 2, but I appreciate that it does fix some of the most obnoxious design flaws of the original. As far as delivery of coffee grounds for delicious espresso, I think all three grinders are highly capable. My favorite of the three is the Niche Zero, for a number of reasons. Although its medium-size conical burr does give higher grind variability than the bigger flat burr, the difference is not highly perceptible in espresso. It runs quietly. It's reliable. It doesn't take up much space. It's visually-pleasing. It's easy to work with. The cost is high, but it is not a bad value for money. The glaring weakness is the funnel size not being big enough to fill a pour-over basket. This isn't a problem for me, but the Duo does solve the problem. (However, it's not why I got the Duo.) Unfortunately, while it solves some problems, and offers marginally more uniform grind results, the Duo is louder, takes up more space, costs more money, and for my brew method, delivers a slightly better result, but it's on the verge of imperceptible. The original DF64 was awful to use. Big footprint. Heavy. Loud. Extremely messy. Cheap-feeling parts, and a start-stop switch in the worst possible place for comfort. So, Gen 2 fixes those things and still delivers a really nice flat burr grinder at a price below, or near, the Niche Zero. Sounds great to me; I wouldn't refuse to buy it out of arbitrary loyalty, but I don't need a fourth grinder right now. This is not so for pour-over people (which I'm not) but if your brew method is immersion or espresso, then, at or above the quality of the Niche Zero or DF64, good use of the grinder (i.e. dial-in, puck prep, brew recipe) matters more than the differences in the grinder itself. So, my advice is to choose based upon what you want to operate, look at, listen to, and are willing to take the time to learn to master. That's more important than this brand versus that brand, or what type of burr. But, overall, my workflow experience with the Niche Zero was far more enjoyable and "joyful" than it was with the OG DF64; I would expect the Gen 2 DF64 to be an improvement. I wouldn't discourage anyone from getting one. I would encourage anyone to focus more on *the way that you use it*.

I've had a first gen df64 for years that has been a workhorse. I'm considering upgrading to something quieter and faster now (not sure what yet) because my schedule has changed and I'm frequently making coffee while the family is still asleep. If not for that, I would have no reason to change. That said, I'm definitely in the "get to good enough and stop screwing around" camp of coffee appreciation, so I'm not chasing extremes the way some folks are and my opinions may be less stringent as a result.

This is my exact setup. A ZP6 for pourover and a DF64V with SSP HU burrs. It works well.

I've not long bought a Sage Dual Boiler, paired with a DF64V and it's absolutely brilliant. For me the main selling point was the heat up time which is around 10 mins from cold to the group and portafilter fully heated. If you're in a rush then it's about 6 mins to get a warm group, hot water and steam. Had the grinder 2 years and the DB around a month, no regrets so far.

For hand grinders, go to rogue wave and get a zp6. For automatic grinders in that price range, youre almost stuck with the Ode and I really hate the Ode for a multitude of reasons, one is the auger is so badly warped from factory that you need to machine it flat. The machine shaft spins out of round (has a ton of runout) so you'll get plenty of misalignment from burrs there as well. And then you're also stuck with the stupid high RPMs it has. Imo the best cheapest 64mm electric burr grinder on the planet is the df64v. It's been A LONG time since I looked at them but they used to be around $400-450 USD, but being that you can buy directly from China, you may be able to get it for way cheaper than 600 CAD even after duties. Yes it's obviously more expensive than the Ode, but the quality is infinitely better than the Ode. It's kinda ugly and I don't love the upright/angled grinders, including my Monolith Max that's like $3200, but the DF64V has so much more bang for your buck than the Ode and you don't ever have to align the burrs in the df64v where you absolutely must align them every time on the ode and it's just a bad situation. Outside of 64mm burrs, there are some nice 48-58mm burrs iirc, but I have zero experience with them and honestly never paid much attention to them.

Definitely will. Review video will be a bit as it takes some time to get used to it and potentially season it. First impressions are that that work flow is great. I've not used RDT and have had next to no retention (<0.2g) and static is quite minimal as well. The initial (light/medium-light) cups I've made have had decently high clarity, comparable, if not slightly better than my stock 078s.

That's exactly why I took a chance. It feels solid. Everything is metal except for the "hopper" and the variable speed dial. Build quality does not feel low for this one at all

The more I use it, the more I enjoy it. It appears to use the very similar, if not the same multi-purpose burrs as the Df64. Incredibly fast grind, but a bit on the louder side. The work flow is quite nice and I've been able to get rather consistent espresso shots with it, and have even jumped between dark and light roasts with no noticeable impact on the shots. I have not tried it out for pour over yet. Any specific questions that you have, feel free to ask.

I have not used the (included) RDT yet and I have noticed just a little static, nothing ridiculous. The (what I assume to be) plasma generator does a decent job. I haven't used a Gen2 Df64, I'm comparing it to a timemore 078s, which is my other grinder. It's not much louder, but I can tell a noticeable difference in the volume. Retention has been a non-issue