The postman delivered a new to me DF83 Gen 1 with SSP HU burrs. Just had fun dialing it in over lunch for espresso. It is a huge step up from the Niche Zero it replaces for espresso.
Short answer is price, df83 with the SSP burrs used is about the same price as a brand new df64 with stock burrs in the UK.
I decided I wanted the profile of the SSP HU burrs and the 83mm offers slightly better results than the 64mm of the same burrs. Shrinking the cuts down isn’t just a question of making the same cuts smaller, it reduces the surface area which changes the way it grinds.
However I suspect most people including me wouldn’t be able to blind taste the difference with just one to sample from
That makes sense, financially. These things aren’t cheap!
How did you come to the conclusion that HU were the burrs for you? I’m finding it all a bit of a gamble because I don’t have any way of trying out all the different burr types.
I read and watched reviews, lurked on a few of the coffee forums to see the consensus on what sort of coffee the different options would make. From there it was a simple step for me to pick the highest clarity burrs I could get as I really love my ZP6 for pour overs and I had grown to dislike the body focused espresso my Zero made.
I wouldn’t spend the sort of money the SSP burrs are, be they 64s or 83s, unless you either want to try and then sell them, or you are very sure you know what you want.
If you don’t know what you want based on what you have now (even if its I don’t want what I have now like me) then if you really really lucky you might have coffee meet ups near by that you can try different grinders, otherwise you are at the mercy of what grinders the specialist coffee shops have near you for taste testing.
I would feel the same if somebody posted a p100 or Monolith Flat MAX, but then they also way more expensive like the DF83 with SSP burrs is vs. the Zero.
As a Canadian the DF83 with the SSP burrs is actually pretty close the Niche zero price wise due to how their distribution works. Essentially you pay UK tax and Canadian duties at least the last time I checked last year.
The zero is terrible value new in Canada in that case. I actually think that the zero is a bit over priced in the UK now due to cheaper options like the Ode.
It’s poor value but for many years it was the only modern single dose style conical grinder especially one with very solid workflow so people gritted there teeth and paid for it.
I have a significant disdain for anything from Fellow after a few bad experiences.
The workflow on the Zero is best in class as long as you aren’t trying to slow feed and/or hot start for better coffee. It gets painful to work around the lid closure detection if you do.
Most of the “budget/high value” grinders such as the DF83 have significant workflow problems compared to more premium rivals like the Zerno or even the Zero, but for a handful of shots per day you have to be pretty picky for workflow to be a higher priority choice than grind quality.
I do think the hype with it has sustained it so far, you even see people with Linea Minis with one as their only grinder, talk about back to front. I am expecting to sell mine for almost as much as I paid for my used DF83, which is just insane.
I don’t rate the Ode as best in class, but with the right burrs it leaves the Zero for dead despite being less than half the price in the UK.
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