Fellow - Aiden Precision Coffee Maker w/ Built In Guidance & Optional Automatic Temperature, Timing, and Water Flow - Black

The machine looks sleek and doesn’t take up much space. The preset coffee function ensures a perfect brew every time. Also, the app is an added bonus! My only complaint is the coffee doesn’t stay hot because there is no heating element for the carafe. So any brewed coffee must be drank right away for a hot cup.

If you are one that really likes coffee and wants to experiment or try a variety of brew profiles then the Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker is for you. The price is an investment that users of some other high end coffee makers would consider affordable, but to the average coffee drinker it’s a bit steep. When the box arrived it definitely makes an impression with its unique closure system and sturdy packaging. The aesthetic of Aiden is one of the most unique things about it given its square form. It definitely has a modern vibe in black or white, but I’d suggest the black is the more practical option for a coffee maker. Build materials include food-grade plastic (BPA-free), stainless steel and silicone. We like the look and feel of the stainless steel, thermal carafe, yet it takes some getting used to that one cannot readily see the coffee level in the carafe. The hidden wrap cord on the underside of the coffee maker is a nice touch to minimize countertop clutter. The size of the coffee maker is great for easily fitting under upper cabinets and we especially like the fact that a seal ensures that no steam rises from the top of the coffee maker during brewing. We do have to pull the coffee maker out to lift up the water tank for refills, but then return it to its place at the back of the counter and no steam during brewing to affect our upper kitchen cabinets. We’ve found Aiden easy to use in terms of very clear instructions using the dial and digital read out to select light, medium or dark roasts, and specific coffee measurements related to selected cups of coffee. In operation, the coffee maker is very quiet as it controls water flow, and temperature to bloom cycles to produce a pour-over quality of coffee. The Aiden works without the app, but I’d definitely utilize the app to upgrade the firmware. The app will also provide features to schedule brews, automatically synced Fellow Drops profiles, create custom recipes and download profiles from your favorite roasters. This coffee maker provides flexibility to make single servings or a 10-cup batch, in addition to featuring a cold brew preset. The required coffee filters (depending on single or batch) are all standard sizes. You may very well find yourself using more coffee though as we feel the guidance provided by the Aiden is about 25% more than we had previously used. By all means the coffee tastes great and somewhat stronger, but we may experiment a bit to dial back the coffee quantity just to see what we think of the difference. Also, do register the Aiden with Fellow and they will lengthen your standard warranty period to three years.

This machine is primarily focused to coffee afficionados, yet it's so simple to use. From the looks it appears like a standard coffeemaker yet very stylish with a minimalist design in a cube shape with all square lines except for the coffee carafe. Unlike other coffeemakers that keeps the coffee warm by keeping the carafe warm with a heater at the bottom, this is a double-walled staginess steel carafe that keeps the coffee warm for hours without additional heat. The coffee maker is made for both batch brewing (up to about 45 ounces) or individual brew. It comes with two coffee baskets. One for individual serve and other for batch. The individual serve accepts #2 cone filters, while the batch basket accepts basket filters. The machine recognizes which basket is inserted and adapts accordingly. Like all good coffeemakers, it uses a 'showerhead', which adapts to the different baskets. The control is a single knob with a bright color circular display that's very easy to read. It has two modes, a one-push mode that's way too simplistic and a guided mode that's all I use and has three simple steps to start the brew, which consists of selecting the type of brew, quantity and then a confirmation which suggest the amount of coffee to use. A single brew of about 10 oz takes about 6 minutes to complete. It's very easy to clean and wipe off. The basket is easy to remove and the water tank is also easy to remove. The drip showerhead can also be removed for occasional cleaning. The machine of course connects via WIFI to be used with a phone app. The phone app provides all the steps to brew coffee like one would do in a pour over, including the different temperature for every step, blooming water and time, and pulses of water. One can also control schedules as well, and time is automatically set via the internet connection. It allows to set up multiple, customizable brewing profiles as well as a rotating pre-sets of coffees sold directly by Fellow, which is an on-demand service but it's not a subscription. Once the machine is configured with the phone app I don't need to use it at all for everyday brewing, however it notifies me every time the coffee is brewed, which is a nice touch. Two things I'd like to see improved is that coffee can be poured to either the carafe or your own mug for single serve, but it's not tall enough to fit a travel mug. It works well for me using a large glass measuring cup to hold the fresh brew and then fill the travel mug however a single step would've been nicer. The other issue is that the water tank although it holds a respectable 50 oz (1.5L), could be a bit larger, and I find it difficult to clean because the cover is not removable so it makes it more difficult to use a bottle brush. Overall those are small issues I can handle. This is by far our best coffee maker yet, for brewed coffee. I particularly like that it does great at blooming the coffee which cuts down on the acidity.

I’ve had the Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker for about a week now, and honestly, I’m loving it. The coffee tastes amazing, and it makes it super easy to brew the perfect cup every time. If you’re in a rush or just want that classic drip flavor, you can hit Quick Brew, and it does exactly what you'd expect—fast and familiar. But what I really love is the Guided Brew option. It walks you through the process step by step: you pick your roast (dark, medium, or light), choose how many cups you want, and it tells you exactly how much coffee to use. I set it to imperial units, and I love that it not only tells me to use 65 grams but also breaks it down into 13 tablespoons—super convenient if you don’t have a scale handy. It also makes cold brew, which is a nice bonus! Brewing a full 10-cup carafe takes around 10 minutes, which feels pretty average to me. But if you really want to nerd out and fine-tune your brew, the Fellow app is where it’s at. You can adjust things like bloom temp, bloom time, coffee-to-water ratio, single serve settings, cold brew options—it’s loaded. Plus, you can schedule everything through the app and even get a notification when your coffee’s ready. Waking up to that is such a nice touch. I’m also a fan of the sleek, modern design. It looks great in my kitchen. The double-wall carafe stays cool to the touch, which is new for me—I’ve always used glass carafes with a warming plate. This machine doesn’t have one, but honestly, I’ve come around to the idea that reheated coffee just doesn’t taste the same, so I’m fine with that. The design is tight, clean, and feels super well-engineered. Even the hinged lid has this really satisfying hinging motion to it. You can tell a lot of thought went into every part of the machine. Overall, I’m genuinely enjoying this coffee maker. I’ve had some incredible cups of coffee this past week, and it’s got me exploring new blends and roasts. It’s been a fun little journey so far, and I’m excited to keep experimenting with it.

The Fellow Aiden is the newest entry in Fellow’s brewing lineup. Fellow is known for their elegant, and innovative designs in the home coffee brewing scene. The Aiden aims to be a fairly traditional drip coffee maker, but with the taste and flavor complexity of a pour over. Moreover it brings the ease of use, and accessibility with niceties like user profiles, and high precision capabilities to the countertop. The end result is a coffee maker you can live with day to day, but also use as a precision machine in making everything from a traditional dark roast pot of coffee to a cold brew that takes hours to make. Inside the box, it’s immediately apparent you have a machine that’s bringing a lot of flexibility to the table. You don’t just get a normal coffee basket with a particular filter style; you get both of the major types (narrow cone, and full basket). Fellow also includes a starter set of filters for your coffee. The carafe is a nicely insulated design, which is cool to the touch. In fact, the entire coffee maker does a great job of insulating you and family from the heat generated by this machine and the resulting energetic liquid. I found no place that was even uncomfortable to touch during the brewing process, which is a testament to the engineering of Fellow. No steam is released as well, which means they’re super efficient with their heating, surgically distributing near boiling water without losing much in the form of vapor. The Aiden has a very unassuming look. It blends into pretty much any countertop layout with a fairly small footprint, and an overall rectangular cuboid shape. The black matte plastic doesn’t have a super premium feel, but what it lacks in appearance, it makes up in design. The water tank has a nice deep handle that makes it easy to grab and fill. The flap on the tank, while somewhat overengineered, makes sense after you work with it. The baskets and both the large and narrow baskets provided are super easy to lock in and out and are identified by the software. The Aiden may be understated, but certainly it brandishes its sophistication in all the details. Speaking of sophistication, the term that really stands out is precision. The coffee maker lets you fine tune to almost a ridiculous level. Even on the guided brew settings, the precision just oozes, as the amount of coffee, what basket, and what shower setting are called out specifically for prep. The narrow basket is used specifically for lower amounts of coffee, and the shower head setting matches the basket. The Aiden sports a color screen and a simple clickable jog dial control. Unlike your more common drip coffee maker, the Aiden hides its extraordinary options behind this dial accessed via this small screen. While that may seem like a backstep in usability, given most people just ‘hit’ the brew button on their maker and go (which the guided brew adds a few steps, but is fairly easy); I feel like this is the perfect solution to the advanced capabilities of this maker. Unlike most makers, the Aiden proscribes a plethora of options, details, and comes pre tuned for most of your coffee brewing needs. Do you happen to have some medium roast beans, and you want to make 3 cups of this for your commute to work? The Aiden recommends the narrow basket, uses a coffee to water ratio and calculates the precise weight in grams of grounds to use, tells you to swap the shower to the correct setting and presets the temperature to 205F with an initial bloom at 205F. Do you have some light roast for breakfast with friends and want a full pot? The Aiden will tell you to use the large basket, 82.5 grams of coffee, and swap the shower to the wide setting. 11 minutes later, you’ll have a pot of coffee precisely brewed. All these options come both predefined - through a simple guided interface, or through custom profiles that let you dial in exactly the temperature and bloom settings you want. I found that while overwhelming at first, the Aiden’s guided brew eases you into this. I found that I’m a much bigger fan of dark roast on lower temperatures for a smoother texture. Higher temps have a more burnt flavor, and while I’ve known this - actually having a coffee maker provide the option in a configurable profile is next level. The Aiden is a smart coffee maker. While that statement may throw some people off, this isn’t about adding WiFi and telling Alexa it’s time to make coffee (which it can do, but who does this?). The Fellow app makes it easier to manage these user profiles instead of being locked to the little screen. The one thing I wish the app offered was history with notes (so that I could annotate each pot I’m making with thoughts on the beans, and variables used in brewing). Now, on to the actual coffee. Who cares how fancy and precise if the coffee is bad right? Well, good news: The coffee is spot on the most flavor true to the pure smell/taste of the beans. I feel like I’m getting the best possible version of whatever coffee I’m brewing - be it Italian Roast Starbucks beans I just ground, or Folgers breakfast blend pre ground (I know sacrilege, but more on why I feel like this is a good compromise for daily brewing). Cold brew is one of the cool (see what I did there), features of this maker. Brewing cold brew takes time - in the realm of at least 1 hour for a given 2-3 cup amount. However, the resulting cold brew was surprisingly good and definitely could pass as slow steeped cold brew after cooling it appropriately. I’m very impressed by that feature. Now what are the cons? Well, being that this endeavors to deliver a pour over experience it seems as though additional grounds are required. I found adding the recommended amounts of coffee (coffee to water ratio of 1:16), used a TON of grounds. This is where my Folgers recommendation came from, because you’ll go through a ton of coffee with the recommended ratios. Almost 85g of coffee grounds (which nearly fills the large basket) is a lot to use. As I mentioned, you get a great brew, so compromising on beans for your daily cup of joe is probably not a bad way to bring balance. That said, you do you, but Black Silk is a good pre-ground. Lastly, I’d say price is a con, as the precision comes at an eye watering cost for what a more traditional unit could be found for less than a high end bag of beans. That said, buy this for that precision and you’ll be rewarded. If you’re just wanting a standard pot of coffee, this is a waste. Overall, the Aiden is an expensive but precise coffee maker. If you feel like you want to tune your brewing to plus or minus 50ml and 5 degrees fahrenheit - then you won’t find many coffee makers that live up to the Aiden. If you’re looking for a standard pot of coffee, it can certainly brew an amazing one.