Fellow Aiden Coffee Brewer

We’re a little skeptical of the latest whiz-bang coffee technology, but the Fellow Aiden caught our attention with some really unique capabilities and claims that made it stand out from the tried and true brewers we typically carry. In particular, the interchangeable brew baskets, LCD control panel, claims of variable/advanced temperature control, and ability to create brew profiles were noteworthy, so we ordered a unit to give it a whirl.

Now that we’ve put our Aiden through its paces, these are the features that really stand out: 

• Dual baskets allow it to brew a single cup as well as a large pot equally well
• Offers both simple and complex brewing options
• Gets consistently great results with a variety of coffees and roast levels
• Advanced brew settings are very robust, if you’re willing to invest the time
• Heats up quickly (almost instantly) and brews quietly
• LCD control panel is neat, but has a learning curve
• Uses standard filters: Melitta-style #2 and 8/12 flat bottom

We particularly enjoyed experimenting with the brew settings and getting to know the basic control scheme. When creating a brew profile, you can adjust the bloom ratio and time, number of pulses, time between pulses, the water temperature at each step, and the underlying brew ratio between water and ground coffee. Each profile can be split between the single serve and batch brew baskets, so you can easily scale your recipe up or down based on your preferences. Each time you brew, you can choose how much coffee you want to make and Aiden will use the recipe to tell you how much ground coffee you need to add and then execute the brewing to your specifications.

Don't want to deal with all that? You can also use the instant brew function and Aiden will brew just like a standard coffee maker. Put the amount of water you want to brew into the reservoir, add as much coffee as you'd like, and hit "Instant Brew." Mr. Coffee eat your heart out.

Something else that really stands out, perhaps the key feature, is the ability to brew a single cup. Literally, you can just brew into your coffee mug using the single serving basket. This was great for the afternoons or for those instances when we only had a few grams of a particular coffee left. We had solid results using the profiles we created ourselves as well as the three built in standard profiles (Light Roast, Medium Roast, Dark Roast). The coffee we got from this brewer was just consistently solid.

So with all that said does the Aiden live up to marketing? In our experience, yes, and that’s why we’ve decided to carry it in our store. We’ve really enjoyed brewing with it, and it’s a coffee brewer we feel good about recommending. Does that mean we recommend it for everybody? Well...not quite.

There are a few things we think anybody considering the Aiden should be aware of. For one, the LCD screen and control knob work well and are one of the standout features, but they have a bit of a learning curve. The manuals are a little sparse on explicit directions for how things work, so a lot of the learning process comes down to twisting that control knob and experimenting with the settings and control scheme. If that kind of exploration sounds fun to you, we think you'll love the Aiden. We enjoyed it ourselves, but if looking at an LCD screen first thing in the morning doesn't seem like a good time, or if learning by doing is not your thing, using the Aiden could prove to be a frustrating experience.

Another thing to be aware of about the Aiden is that it can connect to the internet and does have an app. These features allow you to update the firmware, register your product (which we recommend - you get an extra year of warranty), and Fellow will send over brew profiles for coffees they sell through their website, but we know that a coffee maker that can hop on the information superhighway and automatically update itself isn't for everybody. The good news is that you don't need to "be connected" to brew coffee. In fact, we turned off the wireless features (relatively easy to do, we're happy to say) after we set up the brewer and checked for updates.