1Zpresso ZP6 Special: The ZP6 is back - Page 32
I will have to check it out, I am not sure. I usually take a look and forget it.
I did just put a cup that I ground at a setting of 4. I definitely liked the finer ground coffee better. I will shortly be getting my second cup and I will report on the setting and time. I think that this one (at 4)was about 3 minutes with 275g of water and 21g of coffee.
I did just put a cup that I ground at a setting of 4. I definitely liked the finer ground coffee better. I will shortly be getting my second cup and I will report on the setting and time. I think that this one (at 4)was about 3 minutes with 275g of water and 21g of coffee.
Received the ZP6 yesterday. Build is great, though, I have to agree with others that I much prefer the magnetic catch cup of my previous K-Plus.
I thought I'd go in a different direction than others and see what it would do for the "dark" roast I'm currently finishing.
25g of Chromatic Opus
ZP6 set to 4.5
Kalita Wave 185
George Howell recipe
Grinding was noticeably longer than on the K-Plus. I would go as far as to say twice as long. BUT it was smoother and easier. I guess that's all in the burr geometry.
25g was nearly topped on the catch cup. Someone else mentioned wanting a larger one. I agree. Again, the K-Plus was better in this regard. Just so spilling grounds isn't as much of a potential, especially before my first cup.
I hit the recipe draw down (3:30) on the nose. So I haven't adjusted and tried another cup yet.
I'm getting a similar cup to my Ode Gen 2 - no noticeable difference in body or balance. Opus is great on teetering on the edge of bitterness, and this cup was no exception. While I expect subtler differences in a darker roast like the Opus, I still hoped for something noticeable.
Onward to lighter...
I thought I'd go in a different direction than others and see what it would do for the "dark" roast I'm currently finishing.
25g of Chromatic Opus
ZP6 set to 4.5
Kalita Wave 185
George Howell recipe
Grinding was noticeably longer than on the K-Plus. I would go as far as to say twice as long. BUT it was smoother and easier. I guess that's all in the burr geometry.
25g was nearly topped on the catch cup. Someone else mentioned wanting a larger one. I agree. Again, the K-Plus was better in this regard. Just so spilling grounds isn't as much of a potential, especially before my first cup.
I hit the recipe draw down (3:30) on the nose. So I haven't adjusted and tried another cup yet.
I'm getting a similar cup to my Ode Gen 2 - no noticeable difference in body or balance. Opus is great on teetering on the edge of bitterness, and this cup was no exception. While I expect subtler differences in a darker roast like the Opus, I still hoped for something noticeable.
Onward to lighter...
I brewed an Ethiopian coffee from SEY at the 2 mark, using a V60 and I was very surprised to see that there was no astringency or bitterness. You really can take this thing very fine without hitting a wall of bitterness.
That being said, my favorite cup has been at the 5.5 mark, using a Rwanda coffee with my Hario Switch.
So far, with a very limited group, I am preferring a grind setting of around 3. This has only been with 2 types, Ethiopian and Tanzanian. The Ethiopian can go finer than the Tanzanian, and no astringency
Keep on mind that I have only made around 10 cups so far
Keep on mind that I have only made around 10 cups so far
My first impressions, from a grinding neophyte.
I have very limited experiance with grinders and only have, and only have used (other than an in store Bunn grinder) their jmax. I also am only dealing with pour over, zero espresso.
Physical (compared to jmax} - I like the slightly slimmer diameter of the zp6. The adjustment is also easier to do. This is due to there being a much smaller usable range. Both adjust very easily.
Catch cup - I go not like the screw on one that the ZP6 has. It is messier, and smaller than the magnetic ones.
Speed- the ZP6 is noticeably slower than the jmax. It is also much easier to turn the handle. I use a cordless drill so that isn't a big deal, but I am now using a faster speed and it feels like it takes twice as long and into the annoying, smaller, screw-on cup.
Case - I like the layout of the case better than the jmax's, but they do not include a blower/puffer. Not a big deal.
Price - I ended up paying $60.00 more for the ZP6 ($200 vs $140)
Most importantly, Taste - yes, for pour over taste, the ZP6 is superior to the jmax (as expected)
I have only used this very briefly so far, only about 15 cups, with 2 different types of beans.
Would I purchase this again? Heck yeah!
I will overlook the annoyances to get a superior cup of coffee. It does seem like 1zpresso is jacking up their prices but everyone is doing that now. With that being said, for $200.00 dollars give me a bigger, magnetic catch cup. I guess that they will be coming out with the pro, or max model soon that will resolve these small issues. Will I upgrade to this if they offer it? No, I will deal with what I have now, warts and all. The taste is great and for 200 bucks you really can't go wrong.
I have very limited experiance with grinders and only have, and only have used (other than an in store Bunn grinder) their jmax. I also am only dealing with pour over, zero espresso.
Physical (compared to jmax} - I like the slightly slimmer diameter of the zp6. The adjustment is also easier to do. This is due to there being a much smaller usable range. Both adjust very easily.
Catch cup - I go not like the screw on one that the ZP6 has. It is messier, and smaller than the magnetic ones.
Speed- the ZP6 is noticeably slower than the jmax. It is also much easier to turn the handle. I use a cordless drill so that isn't a big deal, but I am now using a faster speed and it feels like it takes twice as long and into the annoying, smaller, screw-on cup.
Case - I like the layout of the case better than the jmax's, but they do not include a blower/puffer. Not a big deal.
Price - I ended up paying $60.00 more for the ZP6 ($200 vs $140)
Most importantly, Taste - yes, for pour over taste, the ZP6 is superior to the jmax (as expected)
I have only used this very briefly so far, only about 15 cups, with 2 different types of beans.
Would I purchase this again? Heck yeah!
I will overlook the annoyances to get a superior cup of coffee. It does seem like 1zpresso is jacking up their prices but everyone is doing that now. With that being said, for $200.00 dollars give me a bigger, magnetic catch cup. I guess that they will be coming out with the pro, or max model soon that will resolve these small issues. Will I upgrade to this if they offer it? No, I will deal with what I have now, warts and all. The taste is great and for 200 bucks you really can't go wrong.
Well, I tried to fill up my small jar so that I can have things ready to go for tomorrow. What a horror show.
It was a big mess, I tried to not use the screw on cup and go directly into a jar, oy. There was static cling everywhere and grounds too. When I used the cup it was not easy to cleanly manipulate things. The jmax seems to have much less of grinds clinging (static or moisture maybe) and the larger cup I just empty into the jar without any issues. I am not sure why things are so problematic. I am only trying to get maybe 100 grams ground. What I am forced to do for taste.
It was a big mess, I tried to not use the screw on cup and go directly into a jar, oy. There was static cling everywhere and grounds too. When I used the cup it was not easy to cleanly manipulate things. The jmax seems to have much less of grinds clinging (static or moisture maybe) and the larger cup I just empty into the jar without any issues. I am not sure why things are so problematic. I am only trying to get maybe 100 grams ground. What I am forced to do for taste.
I'm enjoying my cups so far from the ZP6.
Conflicting first impressions, after one week:
1. The clarity is there for the "higher" notes, but it seems like it may take some skill to dial in
2. The cups are significantly cleaner than those with my Niche Zero. So much cleaner, less muddy flavors, less astringency, less distracting body, that I find it almost unpalatable to imagine switching back to my Zero. I have not brewed a single cup with my NZ since opening this ZP6.
3. I am finding the lower body / texture to be a little unnerving. Turns out I built a familiarity and preference around textured filter brews, as those are all the NZ will brew!
4. I am finding it impossible to get my V60s as sweet with the ZP6 as they were with my NZ. If I grab a medium, chocolatey coffee, I may brew it with the Niche. I've ground on the ZP6 as coarse as 5.1 (51 clicks past 0, my burr lock position), and as fine as 3.1, and found a slight uptick in astringency between 3.5 and 3.1 for this coffee. I simply can't get my brews as sweet as I'm used to, but that sacrifice is rewarded by virtually no astringency.
5. Oh yeah, astringency doesn't exist. I didn't know it was possible. But above a 3.2 or so grind size, for this current coffee bean and setup, my cups are just so gentle.
I'm honestly having a little trouble adjusting to the gentle cup profiles. I'm chasing clarity and flavor notes, and finding a huge difference from my Niche Zero already. But I'm hoping I can at least get better at dialing in additional sweetness out of the ZP6, it may need slightly higher hardness or buffer in my water recipe to help that flavor perception.
All in all, a good purchase. If I wasn't expecting a Sculptor 078 sometime in the next year (backer #12,968 - better late than never?), then I'd wish I had gotten an Ode2+ssp instead of this handgrinder. But as it is, I think I'll be very happy with this setup.
My 2 cents. When they say "it's not a better cup, it's a different cup," it's hard to understand. But body and texture are pleasant even though we associate them with astringency. And if you're good at dialing in coffees on a low uniformity grinder (e.g. Niche Zero or other lower end conicals), then you're likely getting a LOT of sweetness in your cup along with that astringency. And maybe we take that for granted. But the flavor profiles are definitely muddied, and I'm so excited to keep playing with the ZP6 to see where I can go!
Anyways, happy brewing y'all.
Conflicting first impressions, after one week:
1. The clarity is there for the "higher" notes, but it seems like it may take some skill to dial in
2. The cups are significantly cleaner than those with my Niche Zero. So much cleaner, less muddy flavors, less astringency, less distracting body, that I find it almost unpalatable to imagine switching back to my Zero. I have not brewed a single cup with my NZ since opening this ZP6.
3. I am finding the lower body / texture to be a little unnerving. Turns out I built a familiarity and preference around textured filter brews, as those are all the NZ will brew!
4. I am finding it impossible to get my V60s as sweet with the ZP6 as they were with my NZ. If I grab a medium, chocolatey coffee, I may brew it with the Niche. I've ground on the ZP6 as coarse as 5.1 (51 clicks past 0, my burr lock position), and as fine as 3.1, and found a slight uptick in astringency between 3.5 and 3.1 for this coffee. I simply can't get my brews as sweet as I'm used to, but that sacrifice is rewarded by virtually no astringency.
5. Oh yeah, astringency doesn't exist. I didn't know it was possible. But above a 3.2 or so grind size, for this current coffee bean and setup, my cups are just so gentle.
I'm honestly having a little trouble adjusting to the gentle cup profiles. I'm chasing clarity and flavor notes, and finding a huge difference from my Niche Zero already. But I'm hoping I can at least get better at dialing in additional sweetness out of the ZP6, it may need slightly higher hardness or buffer in my water recipe to help that flavor perception.
All in all, a good purchase. If I wasn't expecting a Sculptor 078 sometime in the next year (backer #12,968 - better late than never?), then I'd wish I had gotten an Ode2+ssp instead of this handgrinder. But as it is, I think I'll be very happy with this setup.
My 2 cents. When they say "it's not a better cup, it's a different cup," it's hard to understand. But body and texture are pleasant even though we associate them with astringency. And if you're good at dialing in coffees on a low uniformity grinder (e.g. Niche Zero or other lower end conicals), then you're likely getting a LOT of sweetness in your cup along with that astringency. And maybe we take that for granted. But the flavor profiles are definitely muddied, and I'm so excited to keep playing with the ZP6 to see where I can go!
Anyways, happy brewing y'all.