Fellow Aiden In-Depth Review!

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Rounding out the ever-growing home coffee lineup from Fellow, the Aiden Brewer is their latest and most ambitious product yet. It claims to be maintaining equal quality for both small and large batch coffee brewing, have spectacular temperature accuracy, and all with the widely loved sense of Fellow product design flair. So in this review, we put the Fellow Aiden precision coffee maker to the test, so see if it’s worth your consideration to be in charge of your daily coffee at home.

#coffee #barista #coffeemachine

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[LifestyleLab_]

(As an Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases)

[dez]

I completely agree that the build quality feels cheap. It reminds me so much of the early-stage Teslas, with big panel gaps but cool technology on the inside. My Aiden's water reservoir lid came snapped off, which likely happened in transit. That gets you an idea of how I really question the machine's reliability. The plastic dial to change between the single serve/batch dripper feels incredibly finicky and lacks a satisfying "click, " to the point that I could see it eventually giving out.

I am also frustrated with the machine's dripping and mess daily. It would really benefit from a simple, universal on/off drip switch found in much cheaper machines. When I remove the brew basket to rinse, it always drips, which will get very annoying over time. I don't want to have to lift up the lid daily and wait prior to rinsing.

$345 feels like a premium price tag when considering all the quirks mentioned. It may "look" like a Fellow product but I really have doubts about how long it will last. If you register the machine you can get a 3 year warranty, and certain credit cards can even extend that to 4 years. I will be surprised if many people will go 4 years without having to replace something in this machine. But the length of the warranty means I think I will keep the machine, because I am so excited about the ability to share brew profiles. Imagine just downloading James Hoffmann's brew profile...that's magic, and where the machine stands out. Of course, the app is still not ready, and I have doubts on the ability of the Fellow team to make a reliable app given it's their first venture in that area.

For most people, my best recommendation is to wait for gen 2. Like the ode grinder, I could see this machine truly changing the game with a gen 2 that works out the quirks. Most notably, if you had someone feel all the hinges and use the machine, they would likely expect the machine to be much cheaper than it is. My former Ninja drip coffee maker was half the price and actually "felt" more premium and long-lasting. Moccamasters are known to last forever, and at a similar price point it's hard to recommend the Aiden until it feels more premium. However, since I am the only person in my house that drinks coffee, and I'm a tech/engineering nerd, I will keep the product. I expect a year from now to have a warranty claim on something, based on the way the machine feels, but the coffee it makes tastes great.

[jdgordon]

I own a Stagg EKG kettle and an Ode Gen 2 - build quality on both are top notch with a premium look and feel. Your comments about Aiden's plasticky construction give me pause...sure I want delicious coffee but I also want my brewer to exude the same quality as my kettle and grinder. Thanks for your comprehensive and honest review.

[huntgoodstuff]

This is the review that I’ve been waiting for. Thank you for bringing it to us.

[MrKlawUK]

there are a couple of areas where it differentiates from the moccamaster in terms of convenience. Large tank that isn’t fully consumed - you can have several servings at different times just by replacing the grounds/filter, where the moccamaster will drain the tank so that needs setting up each time. Timer is an obvious convenience factor too. It seems quite a bit more compact than the moccamaster especially height so for many kitchens it might be more practical. Removable water tank is huge for many people. Even if you never use anything other than the ‘instant brew’ button

[itsxris]

great review matt! agree with all the thoughts here

[cafedeinsundmeins]

Thanks for a great review again but all things aside - bro where did you get your sweatshirt? Looks amazing.

[Aaron-ccyq]

Best review of this so far! I agree, not the machine for dedicated batch brewing only.

[SeanGordon-ymyf]

I'm surprised to hear that you found large batches to be similar between the Aiden and Moccamaster.

I have always been underwhelmed with batches larger than 750ml in my Moccamaster. I assumed this was due to the very narrow shower head, as I end up with pockets of dry coffee. I assumed the Aiden would produce better large batches with the combination of wide shower head and flat-bottom basket.

[algo-darksaber]

Agree with all thoughts. I have it, and what you paid for is the technology and wuality coffee outcome for those up to 3 cups. I dont tegreat it because is for me and my wife, but its hard to recommend for most people, specifically because of the price tag.

[el_leachador]

Great review! Thanks for this.

I think you're getting a comparable deal compared to similar brewers at that price point (Moccamaster, Ratio 6, etc.). Most coffee makers are primarily made of plastic, so they're on par with their competitors. They obviously sacrificed function over form, but they did nail the Fellow aesthetic. The lack of app completion is disappointing and takes away from a lot of the control they claim to offer the consumer.

[Infermity]

I have this machine and for water level I basically just open the lid and check its level that way. As I only really brew 300ml normally the tank lasts a while so I never think about it.

[Amarok]

This machine is wonderful. Idk why there are complaints about the plastic as it still looks great on the countertop. For $365 and the features this has. I find it incredible. However most people will inevitably feel that they want something to weight 30 pounds for it to “feel” like quality. As for the drip when removing the basket. Putting down a simple kitchen towel negates any dripping for me. I’ve seen many people’s countertop when attempting to make pour over single batch coffee. And that mess alone triumphs the little “mess” that this machine does. Considering the fact that it will make pour over to my standard by simply pushing a button. It’s great to note the small things, but in comparison of the entire picture. I have a great cup of coffee with a lot less cleanup than brewing with a chemex and having dishes to wash lol. It’s an excellent addition for anyone’s coffee adventure. And I’ll still use my v60 and chemex anyways.

[elengstrom]

Agree totally with your review!

I ordered the Aiden nearly a year ago and received it just about two weeks ago. Rationale at the time I placed the order for the Aiden: we have lots of overnight visitors to our home that always want coffee right away very early in the am when I’m not yet up. I thought this might be the fix.

I’ve played around with many different types of beans, grind sizes and programs on the Aiden, and, in comparison to my Mocha Master, for everything — as you’ve explained in your review — other than a single cup up or two, there is no comparison, the Mocha Master always produces far better, more consistent results.

I had hoped it would be better, but the Aiden is just OK if you’re a coffee aficionado and insist on, especially, deep or well nuanced quality brew coffee with clearly discernible flavor notes. I also wouldn’t have purchased the Aiden to replace a pour over as it’s nearly as fast to make a good pour over cup or two that will always be better than what the Aiden can do.

So far, I’ve had three coffee drinking people over and brewed some coffee with the Aiden on several different programs and grinds for them this week and, In general, their reaction to tasting the Aiden brewed coffee is that it is “drinkable” or “not bad” or “OK, ” and is “like the coffee they might get in an upscale diner” and that they “could have several cups of it if they wanted without having to worry about too much caffeine” — like they do when I brew coffee in the Mocha Master for them.

I’m kicking myself, of course, because, for far less money, I could have put a timer controller on the outlet where I plug the Mocha Master’s electrical cord in, but now I have the black box that I likely can’t return.

As other’s have said about the Fellow Gen 1 and Gen 2 Ode grinders — which my spouse jumped the gun on to purchase when the Gen 1 Ode when it first came out, because the noise from my original burr grinder that worked very well for 15 years, was unbearable and would wake anyone else up in the house who was still in bed. (I bought the replacement burrs for the Gen 1 and gifted it to a friend so at least it’s being used and only the original burrs went to the recycle or land fill.)

For now, I’ll pull out the Aiden when we have houseguests who want coffee early in the AM and have no clue how to work the “parts” of the Mocha Master even after a couple of lessons. The Aiden Brewer will be set up the night before and will have kind of OK quality coffee ready for them at the time they wake up and I’ll be able to sleep until a more reasonable wake up time. Not sure that the Aiden was worth the price for this though.

I’ll continue to play around with the Aiden and see if I can get any better results, but as other reviewers have said, it might be worth to wait for the Gen 2 version of this Fellow product. I’ll also follow the Fellow site and a few others to see if they offer any “fixes” to improve the brewing performance for those of us who like deep coffee flavors that are not bitter. The issue by Fellow of the better fairly expensive replacement burrs for their Ode grinder were a big and useful fix for anyone with the Gen 1 Ode grinder from Fellow.

Thanks for your review on this.

[joshuakrey]

I’m so torn between Moccamaster, this and the xbloom. The Moccamaster would probably be the pick but we want the flexibility of having the ability to do one cup and a batch. Which is also why xbloom is probably out. This seems to fit that niche but nervous about it just coming out and being Gen 1. We aren’t people who buy expensive coffee products all the time but want a solid maker.

[fratista]

Nice seeing the Gevi Grindmaster in the background. I own it since June and really like the aesthetics and workflow. However I have quite high retention if dont slap the grinder to death. On a 12g dose, I sometime only get about 11.3 grams and then have to slap it quite hard everytime

[emmet]

I've been using mine for a month now, ~3 brews/cups per day. I really enjoy nerding out with it, and the cups it produces. It does feel and function like a prototype still however. I've also run into an issue where it occasionally tells me there's no water, when it's full - so likely will be doing a warranty replacement soon, which after just 1 month isn't a good sign but maybe I'm just unlucky.

[wright.boy_]

Feels like a slightly rushed release that could use another 6 months of R&D to iterate and work out the kinks. Add a water sensor / visual level from the front, add a vent for steam, cost reduce the manufacturing to keep the price point the same, and dial in the injection molding to better match surface finish and dimensions. I’d expect the Gen 2 to be a better value proposition.

[robojimtv]

I'm primarily thinking of getting this for bigger batch brews and pre-programming things for wifey as well

[orrinbelcher]

Wonderful and nicely done video, Moccamaster for me