Overview

The 1Zpresso ZP6 Special is a manual coffee grinder designed around one job: producing highly uniform grounds for pour-over brewing. Its 48 mm hexagonal stainless steel burr is shaped to reduce fines and narrow the particle distribution, which translates into a cleaner, more articulate cup — the kind of result that highlights subtle flavours in light and medium roasts. Carlos Medina used a ZP6 to win the 2023 World Brewers Cup in Athens, which is a reasonable signal of what the grinder is built for.

Dialling in the grind

Adjustment is handled by an external ring (a Red Dot Design Award winner shared with 1Zpresso’s K-series) with 9 numbers and 90 clicks per full rotation, giving roughly 22 microns of movement per click. That’s finer than most pour-over-oriented hand grinders and means you can fine-tune between, say, a V60 and a Kalita Wave without hunting. 1Zpresso suggests starting around setting 4.5–5.0 for a 15 g pour-over dose and adjusting from there.

How it compares to the 1Zpresso K-Ultra

The K-Ultra uses a conical burr aimed at being a good all-rounder across pour-over, French press and even espresso in a pinch. The ZP6 Special is more specialised: its flat-style hexagonal burr geometry is tuned for clarity on filter brewing, and it’s less suited to espresso. If you mainly brew pour-over and want to taste more of the cup, the ZP6 is the more focused choice. If you want one grinder that does a bit of everything, the K-Ultra is more flexible.

Specifications

What’s in the box

• 1Zpresso ZP6 Special grinder
• Cylinder carrying case
• Cleaning brush

Care notes

The grinder is designed to be disassembled without tools for cleaning, and reassembly doesn’t require recalibrating the burr in normal use. Clean with a dry brush or air blower only — don’t wash it with water. When finding the zero point during calibration, stop where you feel resistance rather than forcing the dial to its absolute tightest position; over-tightening can lock the burrs.