Out of the BoxDF64 Gen 2
As part of what we do at CoffeeGeek, we applaud manufacturers and vendors that use environmentally friendly, sustainable, and 100% recyclable (or better) materials for packing and presenting their machines. I know Turin doesn’t control this much, but there is a lot of very unfriendly materials used in packing their grinders.
The DF64 comes in a plain white box with black graphics and letting on it (a good thing), but inside, there’s layers and layers of black styrene type material and loads of plastic wrap (a bad thing). If the DF64 Gen 2 becomes the best seller I think it might be, I do hope Turin can convince the manufacturer to up their game on packaging.
I will say this – there’s so much of the black styrene material, the grinder does arrive very safe and sound.
Unpacked, there’s not a lot to assemble, but everything you unpack seems very high quality. The grinder body itself has some serious heft to it, and is all metal, painted black. This includes the base. The adjustment collar is a big upgrade over the previous DF64s, and is all metal now with a lot more ‘professional looking’ grind indicator numbers and ticks.
The dosing cup is a very nice upgrade as well. All aluminum, it has that nice anodized “iMac” look to it. A bonus is a mated dosing collar that sees multiple duties (more on that below). The dosing cup’s bayonets slot nicely and securely into the grinder’s holding forks.
The bellows is also a big upgrade over the original DF64 (or the SK40 and SD40 bellows). It looks to be made out of silicone, is much beefier and thicker, but still has a nice “action” to it. On top of the bellows sits a nice solid oak wood cap or lid, that fits securely.
The grinder also comes with a nice brush with what looks like badger hair or some other natural hair. There are also a few spare rubberized grips for the dosing fork on the grinder, should you lose one. The power cord is attached to the back of the grinder, and is full length: there is no way to store part of it in the grinder.
When Turin first showed off this grinder, it had a red power button, and immediately everyone complained about it. Looks like they changed it to white, which looks great.
The dosing cup and dosing collar can pair up together, and when you do so, it sits very close to the grinds chute. Everything looks serious and professional.
Speaking of serious and professional – the original DF64’s grind indicator numbers and graphics were a horrid font; it looked kind a mickey mouse. The entire adjustment collar was also made with cheaper materials and a lot of plastic. This is all changed on the DF64 Gen 2. It’s now made from aluminum, and the top plate is nice shiny black with very professional looking indicators, numbers and text on it.
Overall, the entire impression of this grinder out of the box is “serious”. Fit: serious. Finish: serious. Weight: serious. Materials: serious. The way it sits on the counter… aggressive. That’s a good thing.
DF64 Gen 2 Grinder
A serious grinder, for serious grinding needs, on your counter.
Also, it turns out that having flaps and buttons to close the flaps is a good thing with this brewer. It keeps the copper sleeve in place during travel, as well as keeping paper filters secure. Franklin also travels with a little pocket gram scale with a closing lid, that also slots into this brewer nicely with the flaps closed and secured, giving him that additional tool in the good pour over coffee arsenal.
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UpgradesOver Original DF64
Here’s all the changes and improvements from the top down (along with my own snippy commentary)
Bellows Updated
The new bellow on the DF64 Gen 2 is a lot higher quality than the cheesy plasticy one on the original DF64. It seems like it is made from silicon, but I will confirm that. It is beefier, weighs 66g on its own, has thicker walls than the original, but compresses very nicely and fits very securely on the DF64 Gen 2’s single dose bean hopper. The cap for the Bellows got an upgrade too – it is a much nicer piece of dark oak wood.
Bellows Design
The bellows and cap are high quality and fit very nicely. The bellows only works with the anti-popcorning insert in place.
Anti-Popcorn Device
This is a big deal because the manufacturer built this new part very well, out of metal and very tight fitting tolerances. It keeps a nice profile to the top of the machine too, and doesn’t look at all like the janky 3D printed “solutions” people had for the original DF64. The inclusion of this device means you could easily use the DF64V without the bellows in place (some people just don’t like bellows on a grinder).
Anti-Popcorn Device
The anti-popcorning device is actually part of the overall design structure of the DF64 Gen 2, and acts like a "hopper" on its own. Grinder can work fine without the bellows.
New Low Profile Adjustable Grind Indicator
Another thing people used to 3D print for the DF64; this one’s included in the box, is made out of metal and a very low profile. Adjustable too, if your zero point for the grinder moves (if you change burrs).
Adjustment Dial / Settings Indicator Improved
It’s all metal now, and a lot more slick and professional using than that cheezy font they used in the original DF64. As an aesthetic update, it’s fantastic. As a solid materials update, ditto.
Dial Area
The grind indicators and entire grind selecting dial is a big upgrade, and a lot more pro looking.
Burr Carrier Area Redesigned
Everything around the top burr carrier is new and improved on this unit. First and foremost, it’s mainly a solid metal plate now, and there’s less places for any stray grinds or beans to exfil from the grinding area into the machine itself. It’s also a lot easier to remove everything to get into the burr chamber area and do a deep clean.
Friction Wave Spring for Grinder Adjustment
This is a big upgrade. The original DF64 had 3 small springs mounted in cavities, along with some rubber grommets, which provided the friction for grind setting changes on the outer dial. That is all gone, and replaced by a single 360 degree wave ring spring. No more issues with losing parts when doing deep cleanings, or screwing around with alignment when putting things back together.
The Burrs
Putting aside the fact apparently everyone can taste the most subtle differences between two nearly identical burr sets, therefore, they always want to swap burrs for better performance, the new DF64 Gen 2 has a legit upgrade in the burrs this time around. The original used stock Italmill burrs which are kinda budget-ty, general purpose, “let’s slap them into anything” burrs out of Italy.
These new burrs are custom to the DF64 Gen 2, and near clones of the sought after (and $$$$) SSP High Uniformity burrs. Turin has two burrs ready to go with the launch of the Gen 2: these ones, and for $75 more, the same burrs with a DLC (diamond like carbon) coating. This is a big upgrade. You basically get a $200 set of burrs included in the $400 price for this grinder.
Plasma Generator in the Dosing Chute
Yup. This grinder generates live plasma when operating. Microscopic amounts, but enough to seriously reduce static. And it definitely works. My only concern is the longevity of it all. For the review, I will definitely be talking to an engineer about this.
Redesigned Declumper
The declumping system on the DF64 Gen 2 is redesigned and a lot simpler. It can be, because the plasma ray thingie helps also with preventing clumps.
New Aluminum Dosing Cup and Detachable Dosing Collar
Again, another huge upgrade, because it’s a big quality jump from the original DF64. I especially like the detachable, 58mm portafilter sized dosing collar: this saves you $20-$30 having to buy an optional once, since they are pretty much required if you do the WDT method. The dosing cup alone is a nice $25-$35 upgrade if didn’t like the plastic one that came with the original DF64.
Dosing Cup and Collar
Well designed, the dosing cup has a detachable PF collar for doing the WDT.
New Fork and Chute Layout
The original DF64 benefited from an aftermarket angled dosing cup adapter because stock, the cup sat too far from the exit chute, and all the static and spray from the chute would mess up your counter without it. The new dosing cup with dosing collar attached sits very close to the exit chute, giving less pathways for stray grinds or “spray” to mess up your counter. Coupled with the plasma beamer, this machine stays very clean during use.
All Metal Body and Base
The body is now all metal (painted black or white), and feels a lot better than the plastic wrap type of the original DF64. Just oozes quality.
New Placement of Power Button
The original DF64’s power button was in a horrible position: right at the front base of the grinder, often blocked by the dosing cup. The new button is on the side, and thankfully (or not?) does not light up.
That is a lot of improvements! Normally it would be hard to pick which of them are the best upgrades, but I have to say, just finishing up the grinder’s seasoning (5kg ground through it), the plasma creating ion generator works as advertised. Grinds just slide out of the chute as if they were liquified. Even chaff (and I’ve ground some chaffy coffee through this grinder) is controlled to a point.
There’s also the almighty dollar. Just looking over the list above, the DF64 Gen 2 saves the following money: $200 for a SSP burr upgrade, $25 for a dosing collar, $35 for an anti popcorning device, and $25 for an angled adapter. This adds up to $285 you’ve saved if you usually suffer from upgraditus. The entire grinder costs $400 currently. My weird math says the DF64 Gen 2’s actual cost is just $115 based on these included “options”.
ConclusionDF64 Gen 2
This is not a review. That’s coming. I am typing this just after completing the initial break in and seasoning of the Turin DF64 Gen 2 Single Dose Grinderg, putting about 6kg through it. It’s been used to grind only for espresso, siphon, pour over and AeroPress so far.
I have noticed it’s very quiet when running without beans inside, but puts off a particularly high pitch sound when under load. My wife holds her ears when using it.
It’s also very fast. Not as fast as a Sette 270Wi (not as loud either), but faster than many of the grinders I use and test, including the Baratza Vario + models, the Fellows Opus, the Breville grinders, and others.
The Turin DF64 Gen 2 is an exceptionally clean grinder. Seriously. The plasma generator just works. I have questions about its longevity (will it need maintenance?) but for now, it’s impressive. You almost don’t need the bellows, because the redesigned grinding chamber works much better at sweeping out all the grounds, and the plasma generator, located at the top of the grind chute, almost “parts the seas” of static and cling, allowing the grinds to sluce down the exit chute like they ice cubes sliding along glass.
I normally don’t like recommending a product in these introduction posts. But I’m gonna. This is a pretty amazing, multipurpose, single dosing grinder. I could see later on some nice options for it, including a larger hopper and deeper grinds catcher (for larger grinding batches, up to 70g for auto drip), but out of the box, it pretty much fixes, improves, or eliminates every gripe everyone seemed to have with the original DF64s.
The Turin DF64 Gen 2 full review process is just commencing here at CoffeeGeek. But for now, if you’re in the market for an espresso primary, multipurpose grinder, this might be the one to beat them all, at least under $1,000. There is a bit a of a presale going on as I type this over at Turin Grinders: order it now, and you can pick it up for $400.
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