CF64V Grinder Review – A 64mm Variable Speed Grinder

Introducing the CF64V Grinder

The CF64V is first of all a grinder with vertically mounted, 64mm burrs, and variable speed. That means it can be changed from 800 rpm to 1800 rpm. It has a brushless motor, so it’s quiet while idling. It’s also got an unstepped grind adjustment on the front panel.

It includes a deionizer, to remove static from the grinds, and it’s got a baffle or bellows on the top, to be able to bang out the remaining coffee grounds into its held cup. It has a small footprint, and is on the affordable side, if you’re looking for a 64mm, vertically mounted and variable speed grinder.

The Looks and Features

If you like the Fellow Ode, you might like this machine, as it seems to be a bit of an homage to it, at least function wise. The looks are a little different, though…I dare say ugly?

The CF64V sits atop an aluminum cast foot. A square tower arises from there, which houses first the toggled power switch, then the rotary dial with electronic display for the RPM settings. The display is crisp white digits on black background. The tower has 3 riffles to the left and right of the control elements – the only design elements visible.

Moving upwards, another square element sits 90 degrees atop the vertical tower. This square houses the motor in the back, as well as the 64mm flat burrs and dial towards the front.

On the very top of the CF64V is a plastic anti-popcorning smoke colored plastic hopper, with a nice rubber bellows and wooden cap on top.

On the front face of the grinder sits an aluminum dial with the letters “CHKA” – I don’t know what the relevance of those letters are. The front plate with the dial numbers is removable, and held on with magnets.

Sitting underneath the dial is the grinder exit chute, equipped with a deionizer to remove static, and a knocker to help remove any remaining fines from the chute.

How about the 64mm flat burrs?

Looking at the burrs, these are a conventional 3 holed design, for attaching to the burr carriers. Their geometry shows some aggressive cutting angles, and relatively large pre-breaking hollows. These burrs are equipped with a DLC – “diamond like carbon” which is supposed to harden the burrs, reduce friction, and also reduce the static of the grounds.

I find the included DLC burrs to do a fine job for espresso, as you would expect. They produce good chocolately and syrupy shots for me, to be honest very similar to the DF54. I have also tried them for pour over, but they didn’t fair as well for that. It seems like the fines they produced were somewhat clogging my Hario V60 filters, making the pour overs take longer than expected to extract.

Maybe the best thing about the CF64V or the DF64 for that matter, is the fact that there are so many other burrs that can be used in place of the included ones. MiiCoffee offers the CF64V with various other burr sets from SSP, such as the high uniformity, multipurpose, and Lab Sweet burrs.

How is the retention?

Retention on the CF54V after using the bellows is very low – usually around 0.1 to 0.2 grams. The grinding chamber and exit chute remain quite devoid of grounds, but no amount of mashing the bellows is going to get the caked on powder removes from the screws, screw holes, and vertical edges of the burr’s cutting blades.

There is a caveat however. In order for the retention to remain low, the exit chute with the deionizer pins needs to be regularly brushed out. Otherwise, the grounds get stuck on the pins, causing them not to work properly, and also increasing retention.

De-ionizer

Static causes lots of problems in everyday life, also at work for me. We have to ground our machines, to avoid electromagnetic effects from the static build up. Also, on our film machines, we need to remove the static while unrolling the film, so that the film can be guided properly.

What does this have to do with espresso? Well, it’s the same principle and solution. Coffee beans while being ground build up static, that causes them to stray when exiting the chute, creating a mess. The de-ionizer uses two pins across which there is a small voltage potential, to remove the static from the grounds as they exit the chute. Awesome!

Just remember to clean the chute with the included spiral brush, and you’ll be good to go!

So how does the CF64V perform for Espresso and Pour Over?

I think the CF64V does a respectable job grinding into its included cup. The result is a nice mound of static free grounds, for easy transfer to my portafilter. I have gotten some nice and balanced shots from the grinder for espresso, accentuating the chocolate notes.

The CF64V can of course grind for pour over and other methods as well, and it does an average job. I find that it produces maybe more fines than similar grinders, and you really have to make sure the deionizer pins are clean, otherwise you will get a fines build up.

Ultimately, I find the C64V does best for espresso, as least for me. But then again, I also have the most experience in preparing espresso.

Pros and Cons of the CF64V?

I think due to its $499 price point, people will be more critical of this grinder, so lets talk about its pros and cons.

Specifications of the CF64V:

– Dimensions: 9” D, 4.5” W, 14.5” H

– 64mm DLC coated flat burrs

– Weight: 12 pounds

– 400 watt brushless DC motor

– 800 to 1800 RPM speed adjustment

– Build Materials: metal (painted aluminum)

– 1 year warranty with MiiCoffee

– Country of Origin: China

Find your CF64V here:

What about import fees and shipping into the EU?

While the $499 price tag may sound good for a grinder with all these features, EU residents must consider first shipping, and then also import fees. For example, shipping to Germany would cost €69.

Then you have to consider import taxes, the main one being the VAT tax. This is for example 19% in Germany, and this is also charged on the shipping fee. Let’s look at an example of the import fees for Germany, as seen below.

So in our example, import fees would come to another €122, bring the total to €674.

Check out my CF64V review below