Taiwan Startup Femobook Launches the A68 Single-Dose Grinder

The Femobook A68 single-dose grinder is making its public debut this week at the Taiwan International Coffee Show. All images courtesy of Femobook.

Taiwan-based coffee equipment startup Femobook has introduced itself with the A68, a single-dose, high-end home coffee grinder with some commercial-level mechanical muscle.

With a pre-order price just over US$500, the A68 grinder features innovative mechanisms for grind adjustment, burr alignment and disassembly for cleaning, while also boasting low grind retention, according to its maker.

The electric grinder features 68-millimeter conical burrs with an aluminum alloy exterior and a finely stepped adjustment system. The range offers more than 300 clicks of adjustment, with each step making a difference in burr gap of approximately eight microns, according to the company.

“The digital segmented adjustment helps you adjust with a certain number, and that’s easier while switching the grind,” Femobook Marketing Specialist Jack Lee told Daily Coffee News. “The more than 300-segment adjustment range is suitable for all your brewing methods, and there’s no need to worry about the risk of running off the scale.”

Another notable mechanical feature of the A68 is the mobility of its inner cone burr. When adjustments to the grind are made, the outer ring burr remains stationary as the system raises or lowers the position of the inner cone burr. This is contrary to other conical burr systems in which the outer ring burr is repositioned in relation to a stationary cone burr, and adds stability to the alignment for a “calibration-free” system, according to Lee.

“The central shaft of many grinders is fixed with the motor and gears, which would make it wobble while the motor vibrates, causing inconsistency and an uneven grind,” said Lee. “We shorten the central shaft, which helps the burr set spin with minor tolerance. It achieves the grinding evenly, and the gear is set on top of the burr with an external numerical adjustment, to raise and lower the burr when adjusting the grind.”

Burrs can be accessed for cleaning through a tool-free removal of parts that doesn’t disturb the alignment system. Removable parts include a “slide unit” located between the hopper and the burrs.

By burr size and shape, the 68-millimeter conical set within the Femobook A68 puts it in league with a variety of commercial grinders made by companies such as Compaq, Macap and Slingshot. Yet its pairing of a DC motor and low RPM with a compact footprint and single-dose design align it more closely with home-oriented options such as the 63-millimeter conical-burred Niche Zero.

The Niche is also comparable by price, selling currently for £499 (US$589 as of this writing) before shipping. Pre-orders for the Femobook A68 start at a promotional price of NT$15,888 (US$513 as of this writing) before shipping. That will eventually will rise to a starting price of $610.

Femobook will display the A68 in public for the first time beggining Nov. 18 at the 2022 Taiwan International Coffee Show. The company anticipates shipping the first batch of pre-ordered machines to customers around the world in January of 2023.

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