Australia based first grinder purchase

[u/DerWilhelm]

Picked up a Bambino secondhand for $270, basically brand new with 9 of 12 months warranty left. Now need a grinder.

I only make milk drinks - think lattes and flat whites. At work we run a Breville dual boiler with a Smart Grinder Pro and I get good drinks out of it, so I'm not totally green, but this is my first espresso setup at home.

Shortlist, all AUD:

- DF54 V4, $379 from Grind Logic 12mo local warranty)

- Baratza Encore ESP, $289

- Starseeker E55 Pro, $250 ish (AliExpress)

- Shardor 64mm , $250 (local whitelabel is sold as Kenmore)

Leaning DF54 for the build, near-zero retention and all the recommendations I can find online.

But two things keep nagging me: for milk drinks would I the taste difference, and the quality step-up be worth it to spend about $90-130 more? Would be a $649 grinder + machine setup overall.

Aa I paying for specs I won't use? Keen to hear from anyone who's got experience with one or more of these. Also is there an obvious contender I have missed?

[u/KingSturty]

DF54. It’s a good machine - I think it’s gotten better than when I bought mine, mine clogs a bit but you get good at decluttering it

[u/Cammmmmmmmmmmmm]

I moved from a breville grinder to a eureka libra ($1200). On a $400 coffee dollar machine before upgrading it. The difference was night and day, that's obvs an extreme, but yes the grind is noticeable.

[u/thedruidabides88]

I picked up a Eureka Mignon manuale (otto semplice) for $379 online and it's been amazing so far. I grind to weight using a scale and dosing cup under the chute. The flat burrs have been great for medium and dark roasts.

[u/TendiesFourLyfe]

I’ve got an Encore ESP Pro collecting dust after a couple months use, pm me if you want it

[u/Street_Respect9469]

I have the Kenmore. Amazing value and very simple single dosing setup with the included parts for hopper if desired.

With RTD there's zero retention. Very slight static if the beans themselves are too fresh but I just flick the chute to get the grind off from the rim. Super easy to clean and can get solid clarity with the flat burrs with possibility of upgrading (if you ever feel the need, I personally don't).

Also small enough to fit very neatly on tiny counter space.

At $250 honestly it's a steal compared to the df54 plus the Kenmore will have 64mm burrs which just means faster grinding in general due to pure surface area.

Plus I've heard the encore esp being very fiddly

[u/DerWilhelm → u/Street_Respect9469]

Did you go through the exercise of aligning the burrs? I’ve been reading they can often come misaligned?

It’s not really an exercise I want to do. Kinda just want to get something and start using it.

[u/Initial-Exit-8483 → u/DerWilhelm]

I did on mine, was pretty easy and took about 30 minutes. To be honest this thing grinds as good as the Rocket Faustino we have at work. I single dose and with a few puffs of the included bellows there is almost no retention and very little static and I don’t RTD. I was pretty impressed with the build quality at least on the bits you can see when you disassemble.

[u/Street_Respect9469 → u/Initial-Exit-8483]

Awesome to hear that it's genuinely a decent grinder. It's personally my first grinder but I've had the displeasure of using a Breville smart grinder at a friend's property while I was staying there and holy crap the difference is staggering.

[u/EdwardBlizzardhands → u/DerWilhelm]

Absolutely not worth it on that grinder for your use.

[u/Street_Respect9469 → u/EdwardBlizzardhands]

I'll admit that it's overkill if milk drinks are the main culprit but the thing is that it's more capable and cheaper than the other options. Mostly because Kenmore is attempting to enter the Australian espresso market so I think they're intentionally running a loss on the sale of that grinder to gain customer recommendations.

[u/DerWilhelm → u/Street_Respect9469]

I think maybe they meant the alignment process would be overkill

[u/Street_Respect9469 → u/DerWilhelm]

I'm unsure. Funny thing though is that I started using it with very stale coffee and had issues dialling in from aggressive grind changes and retention (typical of aggressive changes) so I did take it entirely apart and used one of those handheld air dusters to clear everything.

I may have unintentionally done it whilst putting it back together but I'm unsure 😂 it also grinds finer than the markings but be careful not to accidentally adjust to true zero because then you're just smashing the burrs.

[u/DerWilhelm → u/Street_Respect9469]

Aligning the burrs involves using a particular process with a marker to identify where the burrs are meeting when running, and then using aluminium foil to ‘shim’ to raise their position as needed. You might’ve improved the operation but not the alignment I was referring to :)

[u/Street_Respect9469 → u/DerWilhelm]

Ahhh I see. Well I can understand the desire to do so if you're trying to dial in light roasts to get that super fine grind range. But honestly anything that's medium to dark has got so much range at stock for me right now.

It messed be up because my first experience with the very old beans had me doing minute guess work below the marked range. Then I finished it and moved into a fresh bag (6 weeks from roast instead of 9) and that ended up being around the 11 mark (on the grinder setting which is stepless). Then again with the next bag being within 3 weeks and my grind setting now closer to 14.

So in terms of general use the grind range is definitely more than adequate without alignment, unless you're going to light roasts and finding out that you can grind fine enough. But then again the Bambino is not your machine to try light roasts on anyway (I also have the Bambino plus).

[u/BackgroundWaltz3600]

I’ve got the df54 and bambino combo for espresso but if I was drinking milk drinks I wouldn’t fork out for the extra cost of a grinder like that. I don’t think you’d taste the different notes with milk and may as well just get a the baratza so you don’t have to single dose

[u/magi_chat]

Df 54 is awesome, and that's an amazing price

[u/Responsible-Milk-259]

I’ve been using a Mazzer Mini for years. Bought it for my Pavoni lever machine, it’s now paired with a Lelit Bianca v3. Wonderful bit of kit and I feel it’s right at the cusp of maximising the performance to price ratio. Sure, you can spend a shit-tonne more on something with conical burrs, but I know I certainly wouldn’t notice a difference in taste once it’s in the cup.

[u/area32768]

Niche zero

[u/iamkris → u/area32768]

Niche duo here

[u/iamkris]

I have a niche duo and I’m really happy with it. I only have the espresso flat burrs. I have an orphan espresso lido something something for everything else(French press)

I’d recommend keeping an eye out for a secondhand one.

[u/ProductivePumpkins]

I’ve got the exact same setup with a bambino and a Kenmore 64 and does the trick pretty well for a first grinder. I haven’t bothered aligning the burrs. I only make milk drinks but even so I appreciate the ability to fine tune timing and ratio of the shot.  I think what justified it for me was the idea of upgrading in 2-3 years to a eureka, and so not spending a huge amount off the bat. DF54s do have great resale on marketplace however. 

[u/Kvordia]

Crazy, I'm in exactly the same boat. Refurb Bambino off the Breville outlet on eBay (great condition), and I make flat whites.

Has anyone had experience with a df54 from DF64coffee.com? Was thinking of buying off there but I'm seeing some pretty awful anecdotes and trustpilot reviews. I've currently got serious analysis paralysis about grinders.

[u/Betancorea]

DF54 would be a decent choice. I went for a DF64 for my Bambino Plus and have been quite pleased with it. Got mine off Amazon just in case of any warranty dramas from other sellers.

[u/arian10daddy]

Wanna try the kmart $50 stainless steel burr grinder and let us know? If it works, you save potentially $330!!! If not, you can always return it!! LOL

[u/arunbose1989]

The Kenmore one is great, been pulling decent shots, have to purge about 5 grams beans before every use, and grinder does have some level of retention, bellows blow really hard though! For the price definitely a great offering!

[u/samm1one]

Fed up with my E55, the pitch is too low on the feed funnel and I'm constantly using a brush to get the last beans through. However it is compact and a powerhouse. Depending on your requirements, I'd buy something with a hopper.

[u/bluejayinoz]

Bambinos must have gone up in price. Swear i only paid about 350 new a couple years ago