G-IOTA / DF64 espresso grinder - Page 85

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
basiecally
Posts: 24
Joined: 3 years ago

#841: Post by basiecally »

are-bure-boke wrote:I have precisely that issue with my pour overs - a small amount of too fine coffee ground. The crazy static with light roasts, I was prepared for. But unepxected bitterness even in coarse grounds? Not so much. I read the comment questioning if that half a gramm really matters. For me it does matter too, and here's why I'm pretty sure the declumper-leftovers are the reason:

1) I realised that some brews were stellar in comparison to my old grinder: great full body, both clear and fruity with a slight acidity at the same time. It took me a while to dial that in & I take the time to do so for every new coffee kind I grind
2) Occasionally cups came out like that, but with a very dry mouthfeel and bitter aftertaste, as if I ground much too course. I was uprading from a wilfa svart precisely to avoind that combination that is the result of "uneven" grounds. I realised that using the blower at the end of the grind as suggested by the seller, after 2 or 3 pumps I felt a bigger resistance. That resistance dissolved with a "cough" of super fine ground powder.
3) After trying out everything* and homebarista.be offering me to send the grinder back in for adjustment, I tried the following which solved my problem for now
- for 13g of grounds that go into the filter, I grind 14g
- this results in a little more than 13g applying one soft blower push
- I weigh 13g of coffee into the filter, do my thing & I have a very clean cup of coffee as a result
- After enjoying my coffee, I push the blower until all the powder is coughed out. Sometimes bean fragments are audibly left inside, I grind & blow until the are out, too (letting the beans in slowly with the grinder running solved the leftover bean fragment issue)

So - I basically do not try to make it low retention (since I guess the DF64/G-Iota just might not be that, being a single doser & all), but low "change" / low leftovers between the grind sessions. Looking into the manual, they actually recommend using the blower after your grind is ready. Maybe I had the wrong expectations of a low retention value-for-money grinder? With the above workflow, I am pretty happy with the results. It took me a week to figure it out, and the seller wasn't really helpful, but now I can say: the DF64/G-Iota works for may single dosing brews as I would expect it for the price tag (I have had the SSP MP burrs preinstalled).

I assume that you don't have this issue with espresso grinding, so maybe the declumper is just not optimised for single cups of filter coffee. For now, losing 1g for a 13g brew is all right for me, but I would not mind to see an "universal" or maybe even "pour over" optimised version of the declumper in the future.


*: I checked burr alignment, found the touch point / zero point, and I was (am?) close to source some 3D printed spare parts :-)
I take it this was a response to my post?

Thanks for the info, and I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has had these issues! I have since bought some made in Japan filters that handle the fines a little bit better than the Dutch ones. I still have the original clump crusher in my grinder but I think removing one of the layers is going to be my first mod.

Regards

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DamianWarS
Posts: 1379
Joined: 4 years ago

#842: Post by DamianWarS »

are-bure-boke wrote:I have precisely that issue with my pour overs - a small amount of too fine coffee ground. The crazy static with light roasts, I was prepared for. But unepxected bitterness even in coarse grounds? Not so much. I read the comment questioning if that half a gramm really matters. For me it does matter too, and here's why I'm pretty sure the declumper-leftovers are the reason...
If I don't want the fines at the end use the bellows only to purge but I don't use what comes out. You have to add more coffee to compensate for the retention but when finished without using the bellows there is no fines at the end. Use the coffee then purge and dispose of the fines. Arguably that's what it's designed for to just get rid of the retention rather than use every last bit of coffee.

kompascoffeeculture
Posts: 2
Joined: 3 years ago

#843: Post by kompascoffeeculture »

Its hardened steel metal! not like rvs or something, it really feels very robust and heavy

jelt2359
Posts: 1
Joined: 3 years ago

#844: Post by jelt2359 »

LObin wrote:I received my G-iota back in February. Maybe someone else can confirm if the 6 burrs screws are identical or 2 different lengths like mine...?

*The long screws protrude on the top burr which could potentially damage the bottom burr. Mixing them up also screws up your alignment.
Mine are the same length. I even tried screwing the top screws on the bottom burr and vice versa- works great.

basiecally
Posts: 24
Joined: 3 years ago

#845: Post by basiecally »

kompascoffeeculture wrote:Its hardened steel metal! not like rvs or something, it really feels very robust and heavy
Why would anyone need a hardened steel grinds cup...? To double as a hammer?

I haven't seen it in person but it looks like it's either spray painted or surface treated in some way. But why anyone would bother nitriding or otherwise heat treat this for hardness is beyond me. It says that it is "hard metal to prevent static" but in my experience, the hardness of steel has no impact on it's tendency to be statically charged. I think just the fact that it is metal should do the trick. And I guess metal is harder than plastic. So metal is... hard?

mikelipino
Posts: 257
Joined: 3 years ago

#846: Post by mikelipino »

While the presentation is a bit too Youtube-y for my tastes (hey gotta get the clicks somehow), this is actually a very comprehensive video on the differences between a Niche, DF64, and Ultra on a Decent. He dialed in multiple times to get similar graphs on each grinder. While not double-blind, so there may be a bit of confirmation bias, I think it aligns with the general thoughts between the Niche and the DF64:
- The Niche has a broader conical distribution, which requires a slightly coarser grind for the same flow rate, and can bring a more balanced cup
- The DF64 has a tighter flat distribution, which requires a slightly finer grind for the same flow rate, and can bring a more nuanced cup
- The Ultra has an even tighter distribution (larger burrset), goes even finer, and brings more nuance (to the point of being less pleasant for this roast)
- The fine end brings the darker notes, seen in the larger proportion of fines from the Niche and the lower avg particle size of the Ultra

Interesting stuff!

CantinaCoffee
Sponsor
Posts: 237
Joined: 3 years ago

#847: Post by CantinaCoffee »

I ordered a Turin June 15th and it shipped yesterday. I wasn't expecting it that quickly.... Looking forward to comparing with the Niche.

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Smihalik
Posts: 6
Joined: 3 years ago

#848: Post by Smihalik »

DamianWarS wrote:it has a bigger bother the ZF64. it doesn't have all those features but it does have some. there's only so much you can pack in $350 (what I paid for my DF64)
Was the $350 with shipping? Or plus shipping?

DamianWarS
Posts: 1379
Joined: 4 years ago

#849: Post by DamianWarS replying to Smihalik »

I purchased it at an Indonesian online marketplace (like Amazon) that sells it for IDR 5,000,000 across a bunch of sellers. That was without shipping but it was local shipping (in Indonesia) and was less than $10. After conversion to USD it's about $350. Considering what others have paid for it I'm pleased with the price.

Smihalik
Posts: 6
Joined: 3 years ago

#850: Post by Smihalik replying to DamianWarS »

Yeah that's a steal! Biggest issue getting these in North America is the shipping is around $100 alone.

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