Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker review: drip coffee just got a whole lot smarter
Aiden Precision Coffee Maker Fellow: 2-Minute Review
The Fellow Aiden Precision coffee maker is a super-sleek, modern drip coffee maker that delivers on filter coffee with automatic water temperature adjustment, dosing calculations, carefully timed coffee blooms before brewing, and presets tailored for different roasts Intelligent processing. There’s even a cold brew mode that produces deliciously smooth results without waiting overnight.
If that sounds like a bit of work (or you live with someone who’s less strict about brewing), there’s also an automatic brew mode that lets you use the Aiden like a regular manual drip machine – just load your Just as much ground coffee as you like and it will run until the water tank is empty.
The timer is a smart addition, but you’ll need to make sure you have your cup ready as soon as your coffee is done, as the Aiden Precision coffee maker doesn’t have a heating plate and the carafe is double-walled. Loses heat fairly quickly. You can minimize this problem by preheating before brewing, but if you’re using a timer, this isn’t a viable option.
The Aiden Precision coffee maker has a mobile app (available for iOS and Android) with some handy extras, like customizable brewing profiles that can be shared with others, and the option to update the machine’s firmware. You can use a QR code to link the coffee machine to your phone by selecting “Connect” from the settings menu, but this is entirely optional.
Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker: Price and Availability
- On sale price is US$365/£365 (approximately AU$580).
- Optional coffee grinder for $111
Fellow Aiden Precision coffee machine launches in July 2024 and is available now Directly from the researcher in the United States, or from Amazon in the UK. It’s priced at $365/£365 (approximately AU$580).
Unlike some drip coffee makers we’ve tested, e.g. Cuisinart Grinding and Brewingthe Aiden Precision coffee maker does not have a grinder. If you don’t own one yet, Fellow offers machines bundled with conical burr grinders Priced at $476 (approximately £380/AU$760).
About the same price as this Moccamaster KBGV Selectcurrently ranked #1 in our guide The best drip coffee makerpriced at $359/£229/AU$515. Both are quality machines, but with the KBGV Select, you’re buying a super-sturdy manual machine that’s built to last a lifetime, while the Aiden’s price tag comes from its smart brewing technology. Both justify their price tags – it’s just a matter of where your priorities lie.
Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Machine: Design
- Stylish, modern aesthetic
- Simple control wheel
- Single and batch brew baskets
The Aiden Precision coffee machine is beautifully designed – a compact black cuboid with a small but bright display panel, a single control dial and a matching matte black water bottle. From the sturdy hinges on the matte plastic tank (dimensions are clearly marked on the front) to the smooth movement of the control knobs, every part of the machine feels solid and well-made.
During the brewing process, the LCD display shows a countdown timer and the current stage of the brewing process (such as “bloom” or “pulse”), which is especially handy since a black carafe doesn’t let you see how much coffee is inside.
The machine has a maximum capacity of 1.5 liters (approximately 53 ounces) and brews in 120 ml increments (standard cafe). A typical coffee cup holds about 280ml, so you’ll want to set it to two cups for your typical morning brew.
It comes with two baskets – one for holding up to three cups of coffee and the other for larger batches. It comes with filter paper designed for larger baskets; during testing, I found that my standard flat-bottomed 1×4 filter paper worked perfectly for the small filter paper. The machine detects the basket you insert and guides you to set the “shower” head to the appropriate color-coded setting so water is sprayed evenly across the floor.
The carafe is well made, with a drip-proof spout and sturdy handle, but as mentioned above, there’s no heating plate on the base of the machine to keep it warm after brewing is complete.
Keeping the Aiden clean is a piece of cake; the basket and carafe are easy to clean with warm soapy water, and you can keep the machine’s body looking like new with a damp cloth. There’s also a descaling mode that keeps water pipes clear and works with regular coffee machine descaling fluid. It is recommended that you do this every three months.
The researcher recommends grinding the coffee coarser if you find the brewing chamber is messy when you’re done, but this has never been an issue for me. I used a Dualit burr grinder on a relatively coarse setting, recommended for drip machines.
Aiden Precision Coffee Maker: Performance
- Automatic and guided brewing modes
- Very quiet when running
- No heating plate required, carafe cools quickly
Aiden Precision coffee makers give you a variety of options: instant brew mode, which works like a standard manual drip coffee maker, and guided brewing options, which let you modify settings, suggest appropriate dosages, and brew only The amount of coffee you want. Specified.
Guided Brew defies the preconception that drip coffee isn’t as good as espresso by adjusting the water temperature, brew time, and subsequent water pulses based on the dose and whether you’ve had coffee. Choose from light, medium or dark roasts. During setup, you’ll even be asked to enter your altitude relative to sea level. I don’t usually think about this, but at altitudes below 100°C/212°F, the water will boil and if you don’t adjust, it can result in under-extracted coffee.
I particularly like the cold brew setting on this machine. It’s much quicker than brewing in the refrigerator overnight, taking 1.5-2 hours from start to finish, depending on quantity. The Aiden Precision coffee maker still uses hot water to brew the coffee, but then switches to cold water for the rest of the process, and the resulting coffee is incredibly smooth. It’s great to pop the carafe in the fridge for a while when you’re done.
There’s also a timer, which is a feature I’ve always appreciated on drip coffee makers. The lack of a hotplate means you’ll need to get organized in the morning to get a fresh brew before the coffee cools down, but that shouldn’t bother any light sleepers looking for a nap. In my tests, the maximum noise reached only 59dB when water flowed through the ground. It’s about the same as a dishwasher, and the sound only lasts a few seconds at a time. Cold brew mode produces no pulse and is virtually silent.
For me, the downside of the Aiden Precision coffee maker is that the hot coffee cools down too quickly. Not only is there no heating plate, but despite the carafe’s double-walled design and Ferro’s claim that it “keeps your coffee warm in any room in the house for hours,” it seems to lose heat quickly. In my testing, a four-cup serving cooled significantly within half an hour in my kitchen.
This isn’t a problem if you’re only brewing a cup or two, but with the machine’s maximum capacity of 1.5 liters, it would be a shame if you brewed a batch and it went cold before you finished it. Once brewing, you can pour the coffee into an insulated bottle or carafe to keep the coffee nice and hot, but I’d rather avoid this as an extra step if possible.
Not everyone likes putting their drip coffee on a hot plate, and leaving the drink sitting for too long can definitely affect the taste, but for me, one of the joys of a drip machine is being able to brew a bottle of coffee and come back to it later Have a second drink. If I set a timer to make coffee in the morning, I don’t want to have to find a cold water bottle when I hit the snooze button on my alarm and stay in bed for a few extra minutes.
That’s a shame, because the Aiden Precision coffee maker is otherwise excellent. It works very well, but you should be aware that it won’t keep your carefully brewed beverage hot for very long.
Should you buy an Aiden Precision coffee maker?
| property | notes | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| value | Pricey, but justified by thoughtful design and smart guided brewing features. | 4.5/5 |
| design | Sturdy construction, easy cleaning and simple controls make the Aiden a pleasure to use. | 4/5 |
| Performance | Produces consistently great-tasting coffee, but doesn’t stay hot for long. The cold brew mode is a highlight. | 4/5 |
buy it if
If you don’t buy it
Fellow Aiden precision coffee machine: You can also consider it
If the Fellow Aiden Precision coffee maker doesn’t win you over, here are two other options to consider.
How I Tested the Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker
I tested the Aiden Precision coffee maker with a variety of coffees from different brands clifton coffee roasterscomparing the results to those of a fully manual drip coffee machine and a V60 coffee dripper. Compare cold brew coffee to coffee steeped in the refrigerator overnight. Use an electric burr grinder to grind the coffee to the same coarseness. Baskets and carafes are cleaned between uses and I use filtered tap water for all drinks.
For more details, see How we test.
