DF83 - first impressions

MediumRoastSteam I immediately switch off (😬) whenever the location of the power button, the cord or any other inconsequential things are used as criticisms of machines. Subjective things like design and workflow are a matter of personal preference and they affect everyone differently

wilburpan thanks for the write up of the machine, have you tried it for filter yet?

Ugh I dislike his videos/reviews. I just never believe a word he says. I think the more interesting grinder is the DF64P to be honest

KyleT Ugh I dislike his videos/reviews

Whose videos? There are four in this thread! 👍😉

MediumRoastSteam Let us know how you get on, specially around exchange retention.

I’ll be more than happy to, once I get more espressos under my belt.

After this morning’s round of espresso making, I’m finding that I almost have the opposite problem from my Virtuoso+. With that grinder going just one step up or down caused quite a big change in the espresso. With the DF83, I’m at the point where I’m moving the dial just one mark at a time as I’m optimizing my espresso, and the changes are so small that I think I could stand to go two marks at a time. I guess I should be careful of what I wish for. 😆

dutchy101 I think the DF83 comes with Italmil burrs (like the DF64 / Solo) as stock and not Mazzer burrs.

This is true — the DF83 comes with Italmil burrs. SSP HU burrs are an option at this point in time. There have been reports that other 83 mm burrs will fit.

FadedFrontiers wilburpan thanks for the write up of the machine, have you tried it for filter yet?

Sorry — I really only make espresso.

wilburpan I’m finding that I almost have the opposite problem from my Virtuoso+

I think that’s expected. The Virtuoso+ is a toy grinder, mainly designed for pour overs, and tweaked for espresso and consequently (all purpose) with 40mm conical burrs. This is hand grinding territory really. I’d be scared the grinder would stop working if I look at it the other way. 🤣

The DF83 is a beast in comparison.

I’d be curious to know how much grinds it retains in the chute, and what’s the routine like in terms of using the bellows and how messy it gets in the end.

MediumRoastSteam oh lol, sorry, I meant the Kyle Roswell video

KyleT yeah I used to watch him as he touched on some lower end stuff. But after a while the reviews all sounded the same to me…

Very very very initial thoughts !

Solid and heavy, well finished on the outside without any imperfections. Quiet with and without beans .

Made sure it’s working and replaced burrs with mazzer t151a, checked alignment which looks fine without any shims (correct me if I’m wrong please). Turned manually with the burrs just touching.

First grind 10g in - 7.6g out at setting 10 (burrs touching at 0) with grounds fine as Turkish. Would choke the machine no doubt.

Second grind 10g in - 12g out at setting 20. Seems good starting point for espresso.

Third grind 8g in - 8g out without using the bellows.

Quite positive at this moment.

CoyoteOldMan I should’ve done the same with the original italmil burrs to compare but couldn’t be bothered !

prezes My DF83 was very similar with the stock burrs in terms of alignment. The bottom burr was very well aligned, and the top one was pretty good. It only needed one round of shimming to get the top one aligned well.

Photo of grinds below. This has been ground straight to the portafilter. The static is acceptable with this bean although gets much worse when using the puffer hence the scattered grinds on the side of the dosing ring

Bottom carrier looks very mazzer.

I really don’t like bellows. Makes hell of a mess

MediumRoastSteam that’s next on the list to check. Might get around to doing it today

Cuprajake same here! Not a fan of them at all

Cuprajake I’ve always thought of bellows as more of a hack rather than a well designed solution for grind retention. Why people use silicone nipple suckers on a Niche is beyond me 😂

whinmoor85 He probably had it knocking around the bedroom and thought…I know…