JX Coffee Grinder

The 1Zpresso JX is one of the best hand grinders you can buy for filter coffee, and it costs around $100. If you're looking for a manual grinder that handles pour over, AeroPress, French press, and cold brew without breaking the bank, the JX is the one I recommend most often. It grinds fast, it's built like a tank, and the grind quality punches well above its price.

I've owned a JX for over two years and used it daily for pour over. Here's my full take on what makes it great, where it has limits, and whether it's the right pick for you.

Design and Build

The 1Zpresso JX has a stainless steel body with an aluminum outer shell. It feels dense and premium in your hand, nothing like the cheap, hollow-feeling grinders you find for $20-$30 on Amazon. The whole thing weighs about 1.3 pounds and stands roughly 7 inches tall without the handle extended.

The handle is fixed (it doesn't fold like the Timemore Slim), which means it sticks out when stored. For a kitchen counter, that's not an issue. For travel, it makes the JX less compact than some competitors. The crank arm is a solid length, and the wooden knob at the end provides a comfortable, natural grip during grinding.

The catch cup threads onto the bottom with a snug fit. No wobble, no accidental detachment. It holds about 30 grams of ground coffee, which is enough for most single-serve brew methods. If you're grinding for a large Chemex or French press (40+ grams), you'll need to grind in two batches.

The 48mm Steel Burrs

The star of the JX is the 48mm stainless steel burr set. These are significantly larger than what you find in most hand grinders under $150 (which typically use 38mm burrs). Bigger burrs mean fewer rotations to grind the same amount of coffee, which translates directly to faster grinding and less arm fatigue.

The burr geometry is designed for filter and immersion brewing. It produces a grind with moderate fines, just enough to give the cup body and sweetness without muddying the flavor. Side by side with my Baratza Virtuoso (a $250 electric grinder), the JX produces a cleaner grind with fewer boulders.

Grind Performance

For pour over, the JX is outstanding. I use it daily with a V60, and the resulting cups are clean, sweet, and well-extracted. The particle distribution is even enough that I can hit a 3:30-4:00 brew time with 15 grams of coffee and 250ml of water consistently, without needing to adjust the grind between bags of the same roast level.

French press is another strong suit. The JX goes coarse enough to produce a grind that won't over-extract during the 4-minute steep. The resulting press is full-bodied without being gritty or sludgy. Some hand grinders produce too many fines at coarse settings, which leads to a muddy French press cup. The JX avoids this.

AeroPress works well across the range. The JX's adjustment gives you enough resolution to experiment with both fine and coarse AeroPress recipes. I've used it for everything from the WAC-winning recipes to quick inverted methods, and it delivers consistent results across all of them.

What About Espresso?

This is where the JX has a clear limitation. The standard JX (not the JX-Pro) does not grind fine enough for espresso. The finest setting is roughly in the Moka pot range, which is too coarse for a pressurized portafilter and way too coarse for an unpressurized basket.

If espresso is on your list, you need the JX-Pro, which is the same grinder with a different adjustment mechanism that extends into espresso-fine territory. The JX-Pro costs about $60-$70 more. If you'll never make espresso, the standard JX is the better value because you're not paying for a range you won't use.

Grinding Speed and Effort

The 48mm burrs make a noticeable difference in speed. Grinding 20 grams for pour over takes about 30-35 seconds of steady cranking. That's roughly 40% faster than a 38mm burr grinder like the Timemore C2 or Hario Skerton.

The effort required is moderate. Light roasts (which are denser) take more force per rotation than dark roasts. With a light roast Ethiopian, I can feel the burrs working harder, but it's never a struggle. If you have any wrist or shoulder issues, 20 grams is manageable. Grinding 40+ grams for a large batch would be tiring.

The bearing system is smooth with minimal axial play. There's no wobble in the handle, no grinding or scraping sounds at any setting, and the crank motion feels fluid from start to finish. This is one area where 1Zpresso's engineering really shows.

Adjustment System

The JX uses a stepped adjustment with numbered markings on the ring beneath the burrs. Each full rotation covers 10 numbered positions, and there are about 4 full rotations of usable range. That gives you roughly 40 settings from finest to coarsest.

For filter coffee, you'll work in the 20-30 range. Each click changes the grind enough that you can feel a difference in brew time, usually 5-10 seconds per click on a pour over. That's adequate resolution for dialing in, though it's not as precise as a stepless grinder where you can land between positions.

The adjustment ring clicks firmly into each position and doesn't drift during grinding. I've never had the setting change mid-grind, which is a real issue with some cheaper hand grinders.

For a broader comparison of grinders across all price points, check out our best coffee grinder and top coffee grinder roundups.

How It Compares

Vs. Timemore C2

The C2 costs about $60, making it $40 cheaper than the JX. The C2 uses 38mm burrs that grind slower and produce a slightly less uniform particle distribution. For a tight budget, the C2 is still a good grinder. But if you can stretch to $100, the JX is worth the extra money. The larger burrs make a real difference in speed and grind quality.

Vs. Comandante C40

The Comandante costs $250-$300, more than double the JX. Is it worth it? The Comandante produces a noticeably cleaner grind with better flavor clarity. But the gap is smaller than the price difference suggests. The JX gets you about 80-85% of the Comandante's grind quality for one-third the price. For most people, the JX is the smarter buy.

Vs. Baratza Encore (Electric)

The Encore costs about $170 and grinds automatically. The JX produces a better grind quality at a lower price, but you have to do the work manually. If you value convenience and don't mind slightly less grind precision, the Encore wins. If grind quality per dollar is your priority, the JX wins.

FAQ

How do I clean the 1Zpresso JX?

Disassembly takes about 30 seconds. Unscrew the catch cup, pull the outer burr off the shaft (it slides right out), and brush both burrs with the included brush. No screws to remove, no tools needed. I do this once a week and it keeps the grinder fresh. A deeper clean with a compressed air duster every month handles any stubborn grounds stuck in the adjustment mechanism.

Does 1Zpresso sell replacement burrs?

Yes, replacement burr sets are available from 1Zpresso's website for about $25-$35. The burrs are rated for roughly 40,000 to 50,000 grams of coffee, which is several years of daily use. Most home users will never need to replace them.

Is the JX good for cold brew?

Yes. Cold brew uses a very coarse grind, and the JX goes coarse enough to handle it. The main challenge is volume. Cold brew recipes often call for 60-80 grams of coffee, which means you'll be grinding for 2-3 minutes straight. It works, but your arm will know it. For regular cold brew production, an electric grinder saves significant effort.

What's the difference between JX, JX-Pro, and JX-S?

The JX is the filter-focused model (no espresso range). The JX-Pro adds finer adjustment for espresso. The JX-S uses a different burr geometry (seven-core S2C design) that produces slightly higher clarity for filter brewing. All three share the same body, motor (hand-powered, of course), and 48mm burr size. Pick the one that matches your primary brew method.

Final Take

The 1Zpresso JX is the hand grinder I recommend most for filter coffee drinkers. It grinds fast thanks to the 48mm burrs, the build quality justifies the $100 price tag, and the grind consistency rivals electric grinders costing twice as much. It's not for espresso (get the JX-Pro for that), and it's not the most portable option (the handle doesn't fold). But for a daily-driver hand grinder that sits on your kitchen counter and delivers great pour over every morning, the JX is hard to beat at any price.