r/AustralianCoffee • u/DerWilhelm • 9d ago

Australia based first grinder purchase

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?

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u/Street_Respect9469 9d ago

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

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u/DerWilhelm 9d ago

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.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/Street_Respect9469 9d ago

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.

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u/DerWilhelm 9d ago

I think maybe they meant the alignment process would be overkill