Personally I hope he one day make a v2 that resolve the issue of not getting cast and MP to perform for other then filter... This question mark was why I pulled the plug on backing it on Kickstarter... because it means in its current iteration is not particularly useful for light roast consumers

Hopefully the Zerno dos so there at least will be one semi cheap option. Or else we are left with P64 and Orbit when that eventually comes out, but no news since April.

For me I am split between the Kopi Deva or the Lagom P64... but I got till around xmas to decide. Deva trumps the P64 on the looks side for sure.

Hopefully the Deva will be available for the non-backers to buy in the next few months.

If they were priced the same, I'd probably go P64 since it grinds faster and is apparently better at grinding for espresso using the MP burrs. But obviously the P64 is not priced the same, it's more than twice the price. For me, the issue is that it's getting to the price point where every time I considered ordering one, I started to wonder if I'd be better off just saving for another few months and then buying an endgame grinder like the P100. The Deva's price point makes it much more reasonable to buy as a first flat burr grinder to learn your preferences.

Also regarding the cast/MP burr issue, my understanding is that it can use the MP burrs for espresso, it just takes a long time (~60s). As for the cast burrs (v2), Kopi didn't say they don't work well for espresso, just that they haven't had time to test them yet.

RedPanda wrote:For me I am split between the Kopi Deva or the Lagom P64... but I got till around xmas to decide. Deva trumps the P64 on the looks side for sure.

Hopefully the Deva will be available for the non-backers to buy in the next few months.

If money is not an issue for you, I suggest you go with P64 its been out there for around 2 years and no other 64mm came close to its build quality, almost perfect alignment and good out of the box no MODs.

If you want something cheaper wait for the reviews on G64 it looks promising.

Just off the Wire....

Posted by Brandon Wong on Aug 8, 2022 • 9:27AM PDT
Production & Delivery Update
Hello Everyone,
Hope you all have been well! We have been quiet on this channel as we have continued with the production of our Kickstarter units.
Firstly, we would like to thank you for your patience. There's been a lot happening in the background over the past months. Due to the ongoing COVID and logistical issues happening globally, our timeline has continued to shift out of our control and while we were - until recently - in a position to catch up to the August delivery timeline, unfortunately we're facing some additional set backs that doesn't allow us to fulfill the timeline we promised.
The key challenge has been the delivery of the metal components. As mentioned, we were on schedule for an August delivery, but during an initial QC round, we made the decision to reject the components as the parts we received from our fabricator were not up to our standards. We did not feel comfortable delivering you a grinder with the parts that we had, and we are not willing to compromise on the quality of the product that you backed, just to meet the timeline, when issues can be relatively easily eliminated by postponing, allowing our fabricator more time to remake and QC parts. We are currently working with our supplier to fix the problem, and figuring out what the new timeline will look like. You will be updated as fast as possible!
This is our main priority before our Indiegogo production run can start, but we also want to keep you up to date with our entire company journey for complete transparency to understand the delays. We've attempted to outline the challenges - and solutions - below to give you and insight of our process:
Whilst we have been getting through our Kickstarter campaign, we have learnt a few things: We underestimated how hard it would be to go from a prototype to scale and manufacture our KOPI Devas, especially as we have been relying on a team of only 1 person on assembly - Brandon. We have learnt that our design for the Kickstarter unit was not conducive to scale our production due to the finer electronics and soldering work that was needed to complete this. Each element within the Kickstarter production unit took delicate handiwork and each task, while only taking a few minutes to complete, did not help to scale up production, and has increased our timeline significantly. On top of this, whilst assembling the Kickstarter units, we completed a 2nd QC, focused on the fit and feel of the components vs. aesthetics which was the primary focus of the 1st QC, before we had comparative knowledge of the necessary fit and feel, and the fine tolerances needed for efficient assembly. Similarly to our Indiegogo metal components, we have sent parts back to our supplier to be remade so we can complete our Kickstarter campaign. This is unfortunate, but not at all uncommon, when scaling up from prototype to production, especially with tolerances as fine as required for a coffee grinder capable of espresso.
Whilst setting ourselves up for the Indiegogo production run, we have changed some of the internal components for the KOPI Deva which will make manufacturing easier and faster for your production run. We will also have 2 more people on our assembly team. With the added workforce, we can form a more efficient assembly line, and speed up the process. Please note, nothing visually or functionally will change with the KOPI Devas you have ordered, all changes made to the final design impact our side of manufacturing and production only.
With the further delays, what is most important to us, is to ensure that we are able to deliver you your promised units without compromising on the quality. Your trust in us is of utmost importance and we hope to keep it this way.
We are almost at the finish line of delivering and fulfilling all of our Kickstarter orders which we will do before we start on the next production round for our Indiegogo backers. As I'm sure some of you have read through the Kickstarter updates, as of today, we have completed 76% of our Kickstarter units. Over the next few weeks, this number will not change as we wait for the additional components to arrive, and also deal with some personal issues. We will update you when possible, but in the short term, it will mean all tools are down and production will cease for a few weeks. We appreciate all of the messages that we have received and apologize for not getting back to you all, we needed more clarity on the timeline with our supplier before we could communicate individually to you all.
As we continue to finish our Kickstarter and move our full attention to our Indiegogo campaign, we will be more active on this channel and provide more updates. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We appreciate all of the support that we have been met with, and continue to work towards getting your KOPI Deva unit into your hands.
KOPI Concepts Team - Brandon, Sara and Clare

I've been daily driving it for a couple months now - upgrading from a Niche Zero. I don't have a lot of experience comparing flats and conicals, or much experience with flats at all, but I could tell right away that the difference between the Niche and the Deva was like night and day. I was perfectly happy with my NZ before, but after comparing side-by-side with the Deva, the NZ just came across as astringent and less rich. The Deva has completely replaced my NZ.

That said, my personal user experience hasn't been as smooth as others - but there's nothing bad enough for me to give it up as my daily driver.

Out of the box, I suffered from some retention issues. The Deva uses what look like zipties as wipers, attached to the burr carrier - these are supposed to wipe the grounds off the side of the funnel, but mine still had grounds stuck to the side of the funnel. I removed the lower burr carrier and messed around with wiper number, length, and positioning to try and resolve this issue - but I ended up throwing off the alignment between the upper and lower burrs.

I did a lot of research on burr alignment, but the problem turned out to be very simple - I had simply reattached the burrs to the lower burr carrier in the wrong orientation. The Deva uses a copper crush washer in the lower burr carrier to ensure even alignment. I believe when the lower burr carrier is first affixed to the upper burr carrier, the copper crush washer is deformed and molded into a shape to ensure even alignment. Their video says they have a patent pending on this alignment method, so I assume it's unique. I had reinstalled the burrs to the burr carrier in a different orientation from factory, so it threw off my alignment.

Anyone taking apart their Deva to clean it or change burrs should note the orientation of the burrs to the burr carrier, and the orientation of the lower burr carrier to the upper burr carrier.

Having done more research than was necessary about burr alignment though, I think this method must be pretty effective. The burr touch sound is very consistent and even.

Nice to hear you got good results even though you had some minor problems. May I ask what burrs you are using? I am still waiting for mine but got message it will come next week, ordered with SSP HU but hear people having great results with the stock burrs.

adyu wrote: I did a lot of research on burr alignment, but the problem turned out to be very simple - I had simply reattached the burrs to the lower burr carrier in the wrong orientation.

You are absolutely right about the lower burr position. I was baffled the first time I disassembled the burrs to clean, it was pretty easy to get the desired alignment. The next time I tried it, it took me until 3am the next day, it still was not horizontally aligned no matter what I did (including shims).

When I got my deva back from Team Brandon, it was back to perfectly aligned and I noticed that the bottom burr carrier had a small mark which I didnt realize at first. It turns out it was to mark the position of the carrier to install the right way in. I believe that this is the easiest grinder that I have currently to align the burrs on. The 'patented' technique really does help I guess.

Right now I have my SSP HU installed, and I was using the SSP Cast before that, and I briefly used the stock titanium burrs when it came. I will write in a more comprehensive experience to share, but not so soon.

Have you tried grinding for espresso with the Cast burrs?

I have! and I share the same sentiment as @otaibimn in that they are too 'heavy' in the body department and the amount of fines produced are too much at this stage of seasoning (2-3kg so far? I lost track). I'll do an experiment mixing up the burrs maybe to tame the fines production down.

I also used paper filter at the bottom of my portafilter, it helped a lot in fines mitigation, and actually, I liked it on some coffee. Ultimately, its still early, perhaps more seasoning is required, but I doubt it would a drastic change. It is what it is.

Disclaimer: Im using the traditional 1:2 ratio, sub 30s shot recipe to judge it. I havent extensively tried other recipe or different profile to judge, maybe it would taste objectively 'better' at lower dosages or shorter ratio?