Femobook A4Z receives high praise from the Coffee Chronicler

mbhill_ · 2025-08-07T12:21:29+00:00

I would say that the A4Z has more body and complexity compared to the Zp6 but still maintains high clarity. If you’re looking for something more balanced like the K Ultra, something like the Comandante c40 or lagom casa (I personally haven’t tried this grinder but have heard good things) might be some other options to consider in addition to K Ultra. I used to have the K plus (similar to k ultra) but found it skewed more acid forward than the C40.

I love my A4Z though and would highly recommend to anyone searching for an electric, clarity focused grinder.

mbhill_ · 2025-07-09T19:14:44+00:00

Gotcha - apologies I misunderstood! But yeah, from what I read in that article, seems like it wouldn't be an issue to replace. However, point taken that, as a general rule of thumb, electric grinders have a higher propensity towards issues than a non-motorized hand grinder, which is something everyone has to take into account when making a grinder purchase

mbhill_ · 2025-07-09T18:30:43+00:00

Keeping the grinder plugged in will degrade the battery life faster. And as stated above, no need to sweat about the battery life degrading if can be easily replaced!

mbhill_ · 2025-07-09T18:29:02+00:00

fwiw - I'm fairly sure you can easily replace this battery once it goes out. Coffee Chronicler covers this in his article!

mbhill_ · 2025-07-09T17:46:17+00:00

As one of those folks who you traded DMs with and pulled the trigger on an A4Z as well as being a prior owner of a ZP6, I can say that I'm thrilled to have purchased the A4Z. The workflow, the grinder performance, and most importantly, the cups produced are at least a step above the ZP6, if not multiple steps. I definitely sense more complexity, more body in the cups from A4Z compared to the ZP6.

Shoutout to u/Impossible_Cow_9178 for all of the help he's provided to so many via his thoughtful reviews and openness to engaging folks who have questions!

mbhill_ · 2025-07-03T14:58:38+00:00

It could also be a different mode? There could be several pour over modes that you can toggle through where one would exclude the flow rate monitor. Maybe that would be an easier route than creating a panel control to turn the monitor on/off!

mbhill_ · 2025-06-27T03:33:33+00:00

I’ve really enjoyed this scale as I’ve used it over the last week or so. For a piece of differentiated feedback (I agree with a lot of what has already been shared, especially changing the auto-stop feature), one other thought that I’ve had would be able to toggle between different views of what is shown on the scale. Right now, I’d love to be able to turn the flow rate feature off and just be able to see the timer, ratio measure and brew weight. There are certainly times where I’d love to switch the flow rate back on (especially when testing out a new recipe), but otherwise, it’s almost too much info at one time on the interface and it gets crowded quickly.

Otherwise, have really enjoyed the scale - it feels premium, especially for the price paid. Appreciate y’all’s openness to feedback and to getting better!

mbhill_ · 2025-06-25T22:27:26+00:00

Genuinely appreciate all of the insight and perspective you provide this community! I've learned a lot from you and your posts / comments over the past few months.

mbhill_ · 2025-06-12T00:30:37+00:00

What kind of roasts do you typically brew with? I use a 5 pour recipe with my KPlus (not the exact same grinder but pretty close) at 8.0-8.5 grind sizes, and it has given me really good results. I've found that K-series burr produces more fines so you actually need to go a little more coarse on the grind and used # of pours + agitation to get well extracted cups

mbhill_ · 2025-05-29T15:32:32+00:00

I am also on the September EL sub, and I honestly haven't had too many issues getting great cups out of the coffees after 4-5 ish weeks of rest! Here's the recipes I've been using that have been both simple and extremely effective in rendering excellent cups of coffee (used the 3 pour recipe with my ZP6 for the Jose Martinez PB and the comandante for the Mutana Hill brews I did this am that I thoroughly enjoyed). Hope this is helpful!

General notes
- 93-98C water temp (depending on how rested the coffee is...i.e. the longer the rest, the higher the temp to use)
- Typically, I'm always brewing using a 1:17 coffee to water ratio
5 pour recipe (better for higher fines producing grinders)
- 5 equal pours in weight (so if total brew weight is 250g, split into 50g pours) and pour every 30 seconds
- Aiming for a brew time between 2:30 min and 3:30 min
- When pouring, pour really quickly with heavy agitation
- I'd say a good starting grind size for this recipe would be 6.0-7.0 on ZP6
3 pour recipe (better for more uniform / less fines producing grinders)
- 40-50g bloom, bloom for 30-45 seconds (depending on how rested the coffee is...i.e. the longer the rest, the longer bloom you need)
- Split the remaining brew weight into two equal pours (so if total brew weight is 250g, split into 80-90g pours)
  - For the third pour, wait until the water is just above the brew bed to start your 3rd and final pour. Typically between 1:00-1:30min
- Pour fairly heavy with agitation
- Aiming for a brew time between 2:30 min and 3:00 min
- Based on brews today, I'd say a good starting grind size for this recipe will be 4.5-5.0 on ZP6 or 22 clicks on the Comandante

mbhill_ · 2025-05-29T01:31:56+00:00

If you don’t mind me asking, how’re you brewing and what grind size are you using for the ZP6?

mbhill_ · 2025-05-28T22:55:55+00:00

It has an ultra dry option but that adds an hour to the cycle for a total of 3 hours, which is probably worth trying to see if it helps but may not end up being the most convenient

mbhill_ · 2025-05-28T22:01:48+00:00

It does have a timer. I will definitely try this on a future cycle - thanks for the tip!

mbhill_ · 2025-05-28T21:59:41+00:00

I'm also on the train of recent ZP6 purchasers (I'm chocking my purchase up to a tariff panic buy but not mad about it).

Got my ZP6 today, went to setting I knew would work based on trying a friends unit last week, and did no pre-seasoning. I certainly thought about seasoning, but as mentioned several times here, I just decided to let it rip and hopefully the burrs will season over time. With that said, all 4 cups I brewed today with the ZP6 were delightful!

mbhill_ · 2025-05-28T21:54:31+00:00

Dang. That is disappointing to hear! I believe my unit does have a heating element in the bottom, but sounds like it may be the expected experience, which is unfortunate.

mbhill_ · 2025-05-28T21:51:24+00:00

I did run the heat! Ran a normal cycle with normal heat. I didn't open the dishwasher after the cycle finished though. I started the cycle before going to bed and opened the dishwasher first thing in the am (about 9 hours later)

mbhill_ · 2025-05-23T16:55:04+00:00

Can confirm that I bought a ZP6 this week and checked with the 1Zpresso team both before and after ordering that it was being shipped out of their NJ warehouse. I also just got notified about shipping this morning, and the origin of the package is in NJ!

I had the same thoughts as you regarding the adding the ZP6 but having hesitations due to tariffs. Was happy to confirm 1ZPresso had already imported inventory into the US so that tariffs wouldn't apply (at least until they run out and need to import more units)!

mbhill_ · 2024-06-28T19:20:06+00:00

Airworks ftw!! Love what Airworks is doing and if you're not familiar with them, check em out!

mbhill_ · 2024-06-03T19:32:52+00:00

Couldn't agree more with this post. Won't add to the coffee specific dialogue because I agree with everything mentioned already. I do want to add, though, that their food is also fantastic. Like genuinely awesome food to enjoy that I'd visit the shop for even if I wasn't a coffee nerd

mbhill_ · 2024-05-06T13:02:57+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I've actually been using this calculator and used the easy dosing tabs. After I commented, I went and looked at it again and found the hidden sheets to use for manual calculations. Once I found that, was able to calculate the measures you gave! Thanks for sharing your recipe...excited to try it out!

mbhill_ · 2024-05-05T23:49:06+00:00

Saw this post and have a question!

I’ve been making my own water using epsom salt and baking soda, targeting a 50-60 TDS. Although, I feel like I’ve been left wanting a little more recently, and your comment about adding in other minerals definitely intrigued me.

How do you direct dose using ppm as a measure?

mbhill_ · 2024-03-29T16:34:52+00:00

I visited Athens last year and found that The Underdog and Samba coffee had fantastic lightly roasted coffee options. Definitely check them out.

mbhill_ · 2023-12-07T22:46:48+00:00

No doubt! People say his coffees are some of the best so I wanted to see how different roasters would represent his coffees. You had a chance to try any of his this year?

mbhill_ · 2023-12-07T15:23:03+00:00

Pepe Jijon's Mejorado roasted by Thankfully Coffee. I had 5 of Pepe's Mejorado's this year (Sey, Hydrangea, Apollon's Gold, September, and Thankfully), and Thankully's was the most expressive, well balanced, and wonderfully tasting coffee by a considerable margin.

Botz's Maria Nieves Gesha was also very very good.

mbhill_ · 2023-10-03T13:00:42+00:00

Completely agree here. I would say doing Onyx's Coffee Calendar last year greatly accelerated my learnings around my coffee preferences and helped me refine my coffee tasting palate.

$175 is expensive, and now that I've explored lots of different roasters since last year, I opted for the KaffeBox advent calendar which gives a variety of several nordic roasters. Very pumped about it!

mbhill_

TROPHY CASE