Femobook - A4Z Electric Coffee Grinder

Got the A4z for grinding for pourover; or more precisely right now with technovorm mochamaster (spelling?) It grinds enough for 10 cup coffee maker, and coarse enough to use. It is small and very heavy-comes with travel case. It takes about 3 minutes to compltely cycle through a grind when full. The grind seems uniform. I believe it has a feature that breaks beans apart before actually grinding them; so maybe that is why it is slower. Must be careful not to fill to brim with beans, otherwise the brush that rotates to keep the bottom of grind area clean will fall off in grind cup every time- I am surprised I have not brewed with this small piece lost in ground beans, and then even worse thrown brewed beans in garbage, along with brush.Just do not overfill, or make sure tiny little magnetically attached brush still there. One thing this grinder seems to do better than my ode gen 2 with stock burrs, is it produces much less coffee fines; so filter does not get clogged with fines; and has more uniform grind.

I’m quite enjoying a Femobook A4Z for drip and pour over. 

fwiw, everyone who buys the A4Z seems to love it. I got mine about 6 weeks ago and have essentially given up on my plan of eventually buying a multi-thousand dollar giant flat burr grinder for pourover. The coffee coming out of this thing is everything I've ever wanted from a grinder.

Used one at SCA Expo, it’s pretty legit. Iirc Femobook and 1zpresso are related in some way

Femobook A5 or A4Z depending on how much clarity you want. Lagom Casa would also be another option

No. The conical burrs in the A4Z are better than the 78mm flat ghost burrs in the 078.

I do have some expensive grinders - but I don’t necessarily think you need to spend a lot to get good results. I would take an A4Z every time over the 078, and it’s considerably less expensive, smaller, better built and a superior workflow. I’ve heard other folks online like the coffee chronicler and others mention they also much prefer the A4Z’s cups to the 078, but I have yet to hear the other way around. Not saying it can’t/wouldn’t happen - because there are bound to be folks that prefer the more subdued 078 profile, but I haven’t heard it yet. I will say the 078 has a very interesting and unique mouthfeel - so it does have something different going for it with the turbo burrs - but I just don’t like the cups from it, and I don’t particularly like using it either.

Use specialized coffee water and upgrade your grinder and the combo will be a night and day difference. You do not need to spend $1k, or even $800 on an 078 to get amazing results. A $500 Femobook A4Z or a $260 Millab M01 hand grinder will both outperform an 078 for filter. If you’re not opposed to hand grinding (it isn’t much time or effort) the Millab M01 is the best price to performance ratio on the market right now, knocking the ZP6 from it’s former top spot.

What’s completely laughable is your ignorant and dismissive comment which clearly shows you haven’t done your research. This [Q grader](https://coffeechronicler.com/femobook-a4z-a5-review/) in his review posted AFTER my original review and comments about the 078 vs A4Z as well as multiple other industry professionals and Q graders who I have physically stood next to and tasted multiple beans with (A4Z vs 078) side by side have all agreed with this conclusion. I also own these two grinders as I type - the A4Z and 078, pic posted below, and have meaningful time with both platforms across a wide array of different coffee’s. The A4Z provides a clearer, more vibrant, more dynamic cup - period. The A4Z’s performance in cup in terms of flavor separation, clarity and acidity is closer to a big 98mm or 102mm (like the Lagom 01 behind it) than it is to the 078. These are qualities that typically require larger, more powerful and expensive equipment - ergo “better” so if it can perform like larger and far more expensive products and do so in a way that is closer to these more expensive grinders than the 078 can - it is objectively better by definition. Identical story on the M01, which I also own and have done back to back tests with others (actually yesterday with the M01). Now - will everyone like the A4Z cup more? No. Some people want softer, more muted and less intense cups. I in no way said anyone would prefer one over the other - I merely stated these less expensive options will outperform the 078 and many higher end flat burr grinders. Technology has changed this space greatly - and there are flat burrs that taste more conical like than most conicals and visa vera - it’s no longer black and white, now that there are tight tolerance ultra low RPM conicals. The whole BS confirmation bias of the most expensive gear always being the best, and the thought/presumption that to get the best cup of coffee, you need to spend thousands on a large and expensive Titan grinder is absolute rubbish. I own multiple “Titan grinders” and have two more being custom made for me, not because they make objectively better coffee, but because I appreciate the engineering effort, enjoy vaporizing a 15 gram dose of beans in 2 seconds and generally find these big tools entertaining to use. It puts a smile on my face and keeps me having fun in this hobby - but I absolutely don’t suggest others buy expensive grinders for “better cups of coffee” - because they just aren’t. Most of the popular YouTubers will essentially say the same thing, despite their profession being hyping up gear. Grinders at the A4Z and up level are really more about personal preference, workflow, engineering excellence and emotion than they are about “being better” or feeling like you’re missing something in cup, because you aren’t. My entire point in my message above was you don’t need to spend $1k to get a good grinder. You don’t even need to spend $500. The 078 is a nice grinder - and it’s likely to stay on my counter as a dedicated funky co-ferment grinder when the two additional big boys I am waiting on show up later this year. It’s been hyped up for a few years now, and despite its issues - it’s still solid, but if you have a cup from the 078 then follow it up with a cup of the same bean from the A4Z, it’s like someone turned the lights up in a dimly lit room. https://preview.redd.it/ydmmf96jfanf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cce492bbaaf2064e24650e31f989c7d1a08ca8fc

So first off, I would take an M01 over a Pietro ANY day. It’s not worth the effort for me to sell my Pietro - but if anyone in my coffee club is looking to buy one and we’re going to the same meetup - it’s gone. Same to be said with my ZP6 and K Ultra. The M01 isn’t going anywhere. Second - I did cancel my pre order and wrote the M01 off, however some of the folks in my coffee club who own quite a few high end grinders, all had incredible praise for the M01 and the pineapple burrs. The list of grinders they felt the M01’s profile bested was a laundry list of heavy hitters. Given how reasonable they were with the discount and no tariff - it was a no brainer to give it a whirl.

About a half dozen people bought off my review have been trading DM’s with me and they’ve all been really happy with its performance as well. The only caveat I’d toss out there is that the auto stop feature on mine seems to be buggy from time to time and it stops grinding too early when there are still beans in it. I contacted Ply at Rogue Wave about it and sent him a video - it’s the first time they’ve ever seen that and are working with Femobook on next steps. I’ll update ya’ll on the fix/resolution - but I still like the grinder, and based on it seemingly being a one off issue, would still recommend the grinder. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - since the A4Z exists - the only reason to buy an 078 is if you do batch brews and need to grind more than 35 grams in the catch cup each time. The A4Z is the best pour over grinder I’ve used under ~$2,500. This is an amazing feat for such a small, battery powered grinder - being compared against big 78mm flat burr grinders with specialized filter burrs. The fact that this reviewer is also saying it’s as good or better than 64mm SSP brew burr setups say a lot. To go a level up beyond that into 80mm, 98mm or 102mm requires spending multiple thousands of dollars. The 078 is dead. Long live the A4Z. Per my original review on the A4Z - I’d select it 10/10 times over a Pietro as well. For the same money you get a MUCH better workflow, an electric motor, more consistency, finer adjustments, better build quality and more pronounced tasting notes.

I think it’s a fair point - and the fact that the coated Pietro burrs will easily last multiple lifetimes worth of home grinding use. The big difference though is having to operate the Pietro isn’t pleasant, and that annoyance adds up BIG time. That combined with the cups (for me) being less tasty on average (some beans the Pietro gets the nod) - the Femobook is a much better package. You buy a hand grinder to get better burrs/quality in cup for less $. If you can get as good or BETTER quality in cup for the same $ with an electric grinder - then the value prop of the hand grinder all but evaporates - especially given the fact that Pietro is incredibly large/heavy for a hand grinder so there’s no major size or travel benefit, which is typically the case between electric and manual grinders. As I said in my initial review - there’s a compelling use case to have both a Pietro and an A4Z - they offer different enough profiles that both are immensely enjoyable to own/have.

Been using my A4Z the last few days traveling - it’s a kicks ass grinder. I also enjoy hand grinding - but not with the Pietro. For the light roast coffee I drink, it’s a pain to use, and I prefer cleaner cups. https://preview.redd.it/isvdjfex7yyf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7a95fdcbba6ac025aaeeacdc77337b6e8c5c87e

If that’s your goal - the Femobook A4Z gets you that ease of grinding (electric) and cool factor, and is cheaper than the 078.

I also have a zp6 and while I love that there is now an electric version but I don’t think it gets a huge audience. For filter it’s not really a problem to grind by hand it’s really fast and not much effort. So unless you really want an electric grinder then the price for the upgrade is quite steep. I can totally see the value for an espresso / alround forward grinder of them

Sounds like my experience too! Had an Ode 2 and didn’t love it. Now have an a4z for single dose and a Wolf’s Uniform if I ever want batch…

I actually have the A4Z! And I agree it seems to have totally flown under the radar considering how much love there is for the ZP6. I bought it directly from Femobook at the Taiwan coffee show last November. I had never heard of them before, but when I stumbled across their booth and checked out the machines I thought it would be worth taking a gamble. They are really well made and super easy to take apart and clean.  I have a K Max from 1Zpresso as well. But I never did get a ZP6 so I don’t have a true basis to compare.  However, I do prefer using the A4Z over my K-Max. Both for the workflow and the final result in the cup. Anyway, I’ve been quite pleased with it. They seem like a cool company and I hope they’re successful. 

I agree it seems redundant if you have the ZP6 already. I was sort of holding out for 1Zpresso to make a ZP6 with a magnetic catch cup when I found the Femobook. I think my next grinder will have to be something with flat burrs and probably an order of magnitude more expensive than the A4Z. As far as capacity, i think 22-23g of beans about fills it up, depending on the bean and the grind. It would be nice for it to be a little bigger. Also the knocker would be nice. I use RDT and the blower and I get pretty low retention, on par with my K-Max (also using RDT).

The A4Z definitely isn't as portable as a hand grinder, but its actually not too bad. It comes with a nice travel case and, more importantly, it is actually battery powered and rechargeable (with a user replaceable li-ion batter). So you can pull it out of the case and grind even when camping. Its about the size of 2.5 K-Max travel cases side by side. I can upload a picture later if anyone is interested.

After owning the ZP6 for a few years I picked up an A4Z recently. The size and portability made it pretty attractive. So far it's performing well, maybe even better than the ZP6? It is difficult to compare though because the A4Z has more granular adjustments so you can't really calibrate and set them to the same setting. Also, I bought an electric screw driver (Fanttik S1) awhile back that I found fits perfectly on the ZP6. Definitely higher RPMs than the A4Z but effectively makes the ZP6 electric. A good option if you already own the ZP6 and are just annoyed with hand grinding all the time.

Femobook A4 is on sale for ~£200 (literally double your budget, I know), but you’ll never need another grinder. Slow rotation conical burrs, zero retention, no mucking about with bellows to blow coffee out or anything. Tiny footprint. Extremely well made. Portable when you need it to be. Femobook is a sister company of 1Zpresso. I moved from a huge Ditting 804 with 83mm flat unimodal burrs and was shocked by by how much I preferred the cups from the Femobook. Crazy good taste for the price point.

I have the A68 (larger version of the same burrs in the A4) but the A4 is essentially an automatic K-Ultra/Comandante and the cups from those hand grinders are absolutely fantastic. The A4Z burrs are nearly identical to the burrs in the 1ZPresso ZP6 which I own. I find the cups extremely clear, papery, and thin (similar profile to the competition burrs in my Ditting). Very unforgiving when you don’t want every single cup of coffee to be that transparent like you’re in a brewing competition. The trick to making hand grinders shine is a steady, slow pace (~50rpm), maintaining consistent RPM (which can be hard) and the Femobook solves that problem. I initially became curious about Femobook after going back to using my Comandante after years of using a Ditting with competition burrs in it and being very taken aback by how sweet the Comandante tasted with the same beans. It was quite hard to find a nice conical automatic that matched the slow speed of a hand grinder so I was happy to find Femobook.