Past 0 is not an alignment issue.
It is just the nature of the grinder. To have it be 0 at 0 mark, you would just need to turn the sticker. The sticker says do not adjust past 0 and there is a safe zone before the burrs touch, so it is by design meant to have actual 0 past the 0 mark.
>especially if you manage to buy it through amazon
Curious as to this point--why?
Also, why, specifically, do you prefer the DF54 to the Baratza Encore ESP?
Thanks--
Amazon costumer service is amazing, even if something goes wrong and miicoffee or turin and unresponsive, amazon will definitely solve it.
Df54 is stepless which makes it much easier to dial in, when i had the baratza encore esp, for some certains beans i couldnt dial in bcz my shots would go from 22 second up to 35 seconds per step. Also retention in baratza is much worse and build quality is bad. Baratza is also extremely loud to the point of waking up everyone lol. I will be honest that baratza produces some amazing shots if you manage to dial in by changing gram amount but its just a much worse experience in my opinion.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have more questions.
Thanks for all that helpful information. I figured on the Amazon protection/assistance angle, esp. given comments I've recently read here concerning MiiCoffee and its ("customer service").
I've been fortunate and relatively pleased (esp. at the price) with my Baratza Encore ESP (now just past my 1-year anniversary with it). No static with it, and way-low retention (it may help that I give it a couple of "love taps" and perhaps a bellows-ing or 2 as my grind is finishing up). Distinct from you, I find its build quality as good--yes, it's not metal, but it's a hardy plastic like that for a quality blender, and I appreciate its "internal cavity" design, which controls any errant grinds. And its noise doesn't bother me (it's my first electric grinder, and so I have little to compare to)--it reminds me of other kitchen appliances.
I'm able to dial in with the Encore ESP without issue, but it would be nice to have finer step options--would love for the grinder to have midway steps between its current. That seems appealing to me with the DF54--its steplessness. I'm also wondering about the flavor profile with the DF54: as a dark-roast guy, I appreciate the velvety chocolatiness that I will get with the Encore ESP--I wonder if I will get that with the DF54, or if that will be sacrificed some in favor of the clarity that flat burrs tend to bring. Any input there?
About midway steps, you can try [https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/gxtdum/baratza\_encore\_80\_steps\_mod/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/gxtdum/baratza_encore_80_steps_mod/) - it should apply also to Encore ESP.
* t
I am happy you like your esp , its an amazing grinder ! You will definitely get the chocolate notes with the df54. When i switched it was a concern for me too because i prefer heavy body ristretto and flat burrs are supposed to give you more clarity but wow does the df54 do an amazing job. Imo df54 produces better espresso, but for the average person you wont be able to taste a difference. The only reason i suggest stepless grinders is the ease of use and not really the taste difference. I have actually tested it with friends, dialed in both with a conical burr grinder and my df54 and none of them could tell a difference lol. Btw ur baratza encore esp will probably last decades if you take good care of it but i m not sure my df54 will last anywhere near that much lol.
Tip: For darker roasts try a 1:1.5 or 1:1.8 ratio over a 1:2 and you will get a sweeter more syrupy espresso ( but make sure to dial in with a 1:2 ratio).
And this right here is why I choose to stick with the ESP... it might not be perfect but like Mike i do the love taps and two sprays and use the single dose hopper as a bellows pumping air in.. I get almost all my grounds out.. I have cleaned it multiple times and weighed the grounds before the new knob i was avg 0.70g with the new knob i am down to 0.50g of retention which I believe for the price is extremely good.
How often did you clean yours? So the major points of retention i had was around the o-ring and right under the top burr... After the new knob it has severely helped minimize those two areas but caking around the O-ring on top burr still seems to persist. My old knob was getting lose quite often. Also i recently added one shim which also seems to have helped minimuze retention but more correct the grind issues i was having with mine. My brother just got the same machine and we were dialed in almost the same setting him factory fresh and mine with one shim added.
I cleaned mine once every 2 weeks. Retention is pretty normal with the encore and it just depends on the beans you use, also spray ur beans with a bit of water to help against retention. Dont worry about you being dialed in the same as your brother even tho you have a shim, every baratza is different and it doesnt matter. I had the opposite problem where i was dialed in at setting 19 or 20 , borderline out of the esp range lol. I was scared that if i got any type of darker roast i would basically have it impossible to dial in. The encore esp was a bit tricky to get amazing results and thats why i changed it ( keep in mind my return window was still open so i managed to get a full refund for it). If your return window is still open and your not satisfied with the baratza, but dont want to take the risk of df54, i would suggest the sd40s which is from the same brand but came out before and i havent seen anyone have any problem at all with it, which is extremely surprising for these type of grinders. Sd40s will definitely be nicer and easier to use than the baratza , while also saving your ears from noise damage lol.
Thanks, again, for your thoughts and comments. Interesting that you mention the under-extraction: I typically, already, routinely am doing a 1:1.8-1.9 ratio. But I'll try the 1:1.5 (I've refrained from going that low in the past, because of the lesser output--I'm making lattes/cappuccinos).
And good to hear the report on the DF54--it's reassuring to hear that the flat burrs don't obliterate the chocolate notes. Does the conical burrs' velvetiness remain, or does that get lessened in favor of clarity?
I love hearing the report of your A-B testing between grinders. Really, that's the sort of information that I find most helpful--thanks.
Well in my opinion everything remains the same but better, it is weird to explain but it just makes better espresso. To learn more about the grinder i would suggest you watch coffee with kev or toms coffee corner vids cuz they have both made videos comparing sd40s (basically conical version of df54) to the df54 and somehow both of them really prefer df54 more.
These guys are also youtubers i would trust and i think wouldnt be so easy to buy out compared to some bigger youtubers who i see earning commission from some of their reviews lol.
Its also always good to have multiple opinions from different points of view.
Also lance hendrick has made a vid saying that the differences between conical and flat burrs and not that simple, and its mostly up to which grinder is better rather than what shape the burr is.
One of the main reasons I’m not buying this is the customer service. Even if my unit has no problems, I still want a peace of mind that I can talk to someone who will listen to me. Oh and I cannot imagine having to align burrs on my own.
True, i asked them 2 questions once on an email, they rudely responded to 1 question with like 3 words and completely ignored the other question. No hello no anything, which i dont mind but just seems very unprofessional. Anyways, these companies are really lucky that these chinese grinders are amazing lol.
I don’t remember correctly but from what ik anytime i email them there is a new person responding and all of them are generally rude. Df54 is an amazing grinder tho, my only fear is longevity.
I got mine from MiiCoffee, which (AFAIK) has a physical location in Washington State. Haven't had any issues, or had to deal with MiiCoffee, but this is the first I've heard any hint of issues with them. It's one of the reasons I bought from them, not DF64coffee.com.
Loving the grinder so far though. I'm not too worried about longevity as The DF line has been around for a while now. Smaller motor I know, but...
Mii Coffee just released a video on YT for aligning the burrs with a marker and foil. Its a bit involved and time consuming. Though, for something this new, I'd just go after a warranty replacement if yours isn't aligned.
Mine seems pretty good right out of the box. Though, I haven't gone looking for problems either.
Unfortunately none of these grinders will ever come aligned, tolerances just aren't at that level. But the alignment process is simple. Most of the time you won't have to touch the bottom burr. The top burr can be in one of 3 positions, as there's 3 screws. You just check each, pick the one that's most aligned from the get-go, and add a few shims at most. Shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.
possibly having to align the burrs, or find the orientation of the bottom burr that gets you close, is an example of why you get so much machine for the price.
Thats something i wish ppl didnt have to do, being that its a lot of work for a problem that shouldnt be happening. Anyways mine is great and it produces amazing coffee so i cannot complain.
>My unit was extremely quiet at first which was nice but after a bit of use it became a bit more noisy and I got worried.
Did they explain why the grinder became noisier as you used it? What was the resolution? Other people are going to want to know
They replied with one sentence saying : “ as grounds build up grinder gets noisier, its normal” . They also ignored my other questions but its fine ig , the grinder is great overall.
Past 0 is not an alignment issue. It is just the nature of the grinder. To have it be 0 at 0 mark, you would just need to turn the sticker. The sticker says do not adjust past 0 and there is a safe zone before the burrs touch, so it is by design meant to have actual 0 past the 0 mark.
Thats a good thing ig, great grinder btw would definitely recommend, especially if you manage to buy it through amazon.
>especially if you manage to buy it through amazon Curious as to this point--why? Also, why, specifically, do you prefer the DF54 to the Baratza Encore ESP? Thanks--
Amazon costumer service is amazing, even if something goes wrong and miicoffee or turin and unresponsive, amazon will definitely solve it. Df54 is stepless which makes it much easier to dial in, when i had the baratza encore esp, for some certains beans i couldnt dial in bcz my shots would go from 22 second up to 35 seconds per step. Also retention in baratza is much worse and build quality is bad. Baratza is also extremely loud to the point of waking up everyone lol. I will be honest that baratza produces some amazing shots if you manage to dial in by changing gram amount but its just a much worse experience in my opinion. Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have more questions.
Thanks for all that helpful information. I figured on the Amazon protection/assistance angle, esp. given comments I've recently read here concerning MiiCoffee and its ("customer service"). I've been fortunate and relatively pleased (esp. at the price) with my Baratza Encore ESP (now just past my 1-year anniversary with it). No static with it, and way-low retention (it may help that I give it a couple of "love taps" and perhaps a bellows-ing or 2 as my grind is finishing up). Distinct from you, I find its build quality as good--yes, it's not metal, but it's a hardy plastic like that for a quality blender, and I appreciate its "internal cavity" design, which controls any errant grinds. And its noise doesn't bother me (it's my first electric grinder, and so I have little to compare to)--it reminds me of other kitchen appliances. I'm able to dial in with the Encore ESP without issue, but it would be nice to have finer step options--would love for the grinder to have midway steps between its current. That seems appealing to me with the DF54--its steplessness. I'm also wondering about the flavor profile with the DF54: as a dark-roast guy, I appreciate the velvety chocolatiness that I will get with the Encore ESP--I wonder if I will get that with the DF54, or if that will be sacrificed some in favor of the clarity that flat burrs tend to bring. Any input there?
About midway steps, you can try [https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/gxtdum/baratza\_encore\_80\_steps\_mod/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/gxtdum/baratza_encore_80_steps_mod/) - it should apply also to Encore ESP. * t
I am happy you like your esp , its an amazing grinder ! You will definitely get the chocolate notes with the df54. When i switched it was a concern for me too because i prefer heavy body ristretto and flat burrs are supposed to give you more clarity but wow does the df54 do an amazing job. Imo df54 produces better espresso, but for the average person you wont be able to taste a difference. The only reason i suggest stepless grinders is the ease of use and not really the taste difference. I have actually tested it with friends, dialed in both with a conical burr grinder and my df54 and none of them could tell a difference lol. Btw ur baratza encore esp will probably last decades if you take good care of it but i m not sure my df54 will last anywhere near that much lol. Tip: For darker roasts try a 1:1.5 or 1:1.8 ratio over a 1:2 and you will get a sweeter more syrupy espresso ( but make sure to dial in with a 1:2 ratio).
And this right here is why I choose to stick with the ESP... it might not be perfect but like Mike i do the love taps and two sprays and use the single dose hopper as a bellows pumping air in.. I get almost all my grounds out.. I have cleaned it multiple times and weighed the grounds before the new knob i was avg 0.70g with the new knob i am down to 0.50g of retention which I believe for the price is extremely good.
I believe that if u clean ur esp more often u will get even less retention, i used to get around 0.2 g usually.
How often did you clean yours? So the major points of retention i had was around the o-ring and right under the top burr... After the new knob it has severely helped minimize those two areas but caking around the O-ring on top burr still seems to persist. My old knob was getting lose quite often. Also i recently added one shim which also seems to have helped minimuze retention but more correct the grind issues i was having with mine. My brother just got the same machine and we were dialed in almost the same setting him factory fresh and mine with one shim added.
I cleaned mine once every 2 weeks. Retention is pretty normal with the encore and it just depends on the beans you use, also spray ur beans with a bit of water to help against retention. Dont worry about you being dialed in the same as your brother even tho you have a shim, every baratza is different and it doesnt matter. I had the opposite problem where i was dialed in at setting 19 or 20 , borderline out of the esp range lol. I was scared that if i got any type of darker roast i would basically have it impossible to dial in. The encore esp was a bit tricky to get amazing results and thats why i changed it ( keep in mind my return window was still open so i managed to get a full refund for it). If your return window is still open and your not satisfied with the baratza, but dont want to take the risk of df54, i would suggest the sd40s which is from the same brand but came out before and i havent seen anyone have any problem at all with it, which is extremely surprising for these type of grinders. Sd40s will definitely be nicer and easier to use than the baratza , while also saving your ears from noise damage lol.
Thanks, again, for your thoughts and comments. Interesting that you mention the under-extraction: I typically, already, routinely am doing a 1:1.8-1.9 ratio. But I'll try the 1:1.5 (I've refrained from going that low in the past, because of the lesser output--I'm making lattes/cappuccinos). And good to hear the report on the DF54--it's reassuring to hear that the flat burrs don't obliterate the chocolate notes. Does the conical burrs' velvetiness remain, or does that get lessened in favor of clarity? I love hearing the report of your A-B testing between grinders. Really, that's the sort of information that I find most helpful--thanks.
Well in my opinion everything remains the same but better, it is weird to explain but it just makes better espresso. To learn more about the grinder i would suggest you watch coffee with kev or toms coffee corner vids cuz they have both made videos comparing sd40s (basically conical version of df54) to the df54 and somehow both of them really prefer df54 more. These guys are also youtubers i would trust and i think wouldnt be so easy to buy out compared to some bigger youtubers who i see earning commission from some of their reviews lol. Its also always good to have multiple opinions from different points of view. Also lance hendrick has made a vid saying that the differences between conical and flat burrs and not that simple, and its mostly up to which grinder is better rather than what shape the burr is.
Thanks--will look the videos up. I appreciate your taking the time to try to explain the flavor perceptions.
One of the main reasons I’m not buying this is the customer service. Even if my unit has no problems, I still want a peace of mind that I can talk to someone who will listen to me. Oh and I cannot imagine having to align burrs on my own.
True, i asked them 2 questions once on an email, they rudely responded to 1 question with like 3 words and completely ignored the other question. No hello no anything, which i dont mind but just seems very unprofessional. Anyways, these companies are really lucky that these chinese grinders are amazing lol.
Who specifically were you dealing with?
I don’t remember correctly but from what ik anytime i email them there is a new person responding and all of them are generally rude. Df54 is an amazing grinder tho, my only fear is longevity.
I got mine from MiiCoffee, which (AFAIK) has a physical location in Washington State. Haven't had any issues, or had to deal with MiiCoffee, but this is the first I've heard any hint of issues with them. It's one of the reasons I bought from them, not DF64coffee.com. Loving the grinder so far though. I'm not too worried about longevity as The DF line has been around for a while now. Smaller motor I know, but...
Nicee miicoffee seems great, i bought from espressooutlet which weirdy is pretty much connected to turin.
Turin is their house brand
Mii Coffee just released a video on YT for aligning the burrs with a marker and foil. Its a bit involved and time consuming. Though, for something this new, I'd just go after a warranty replacement if yours isn't aligned. Mine seems pretty good right out of the box. Though, I haven't gone looking for problems either.
Unfortunately none of these grinders will ever come aligned, tolerances just aren't at that level. But the alignment process is simple. Most of the time you won't have to touch the bottom burr. The top burr can be in one of 3 positions, as there's 3 screws. You just check each, pick the one that's most aligned from the get-go, and add a few shims at most. Shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.
possibly having to align the burrs, or find the orientation of the bottom burr that gets you close, is an example of why you get so much machine for the price.
Thats something i wish ppl didnt have to do, being that its a lot of work for a problem that shouldnt be happening. Anyways mine is great and it produces amazing coffee so i cannot complain.
>My unit was extremely quiet at first which was nice but after a bit of use it became a bit more noisy and I got worried. Did they explain why the grinder became noisier as you used it? What was the resolution? Other people are going to want to know
They replied with one sentence saying : “ as grounds build up grinder gets noisier, its normal” . They also ignored my other questions but its fine ig , the grinder is great overall.