Fellow Ode Gen 2 Coffee grinder: Full Review

The Fellow Ode Brew Grinder is a high-end electric coffee grinder designed for home brewing enthusiasts and specialty coffee lovers. Launched in 2019 by Fellow, a coffee equipment company known for its pour-over kettles, the Ode aims to bring café-quality grind consistency into the home.

Ode features a unique design with a single rotating flat burr that evenly grinds coffee beans between 12 and 28 settings, allowing users to fine tune grind size for various brew methods. This innovative burr mechanism is optimized to reduce grinding heat and protect bean aromatics. The Ode produces grounds ranging from fine espresso to coarse French Press with minimal clumping or static buildup.

With its striking matte black body, LED touchscreen, and quiet operation, the Ode Brew Grinder makes an attractive and functional addition to any countertop coffee station. While it comes at a premium price point, Ode's exceptional grind performance and versatility helps justify the cost for passionate coffee aficionados.

Elegant and Compact Design

The Fellow Ode Brew Grinder has a sleek and elegant design perfect for any countertop. The grinder is made of durable plastic and metal components with a matte black finish. Despite its powerful grinding capabilities, the Ode has a compact footprint of just 4.5 x 7.25 x 12 inches and weighs only 7 pounds.

The Ode's aesthetics are modern and refined. The matte black finish gives it a classy look, while the clear bean hopper on top allows you to view the beans as they make their way to the burrs. The brushed metal accents on the hopper, dial, and base provide nice visual contrast. The Ode overall has a premium high-end appearance you would expect from a professional-grade grinder.

While compact, the Ode does not feel flimsy or cheap. The plastic used is thick and sturdy, while the metal portions including the burr assembly have an impressive heft. The materials and construction allow the grinder to withstand repeated use without any flexing or wearing down over time. Overall the Ode manages to have a simultaneously compact yet robust and durable design.

Grind Settings

The Ode Brew Grinder allows you to grind coffee across a wide range of sizes, from fine espresso to coarse French Press. This flexibility is thanks to its stepless adjustment mechanism, which lets you precisely dial in the perfect grind size.

To adjust the grind, you simply turn the hopper to the left or right. The hopper has clear markings from 1 to 10, with 1 being the finest setting and 10 being the coarsest. The stepless nature of the adjustment means you can fine tune your grind to exactly the right size anywhere along this spectrum. There are no steps or notches, just a smooth range of grind sizes.

The adjustment mechanism itself uses machined steel parts and planetary gearing, providing a very consistent grind size without clumping. So you can reliably go from an espresso to pour over grind and back again, without the grind size drastically changing in between. This level of precision is invaluable for brewing different coffee styles that require different grind sizes.

Overall, the Ode's broad grind range and stepless adjustment offers exceptional flexibility and control over the grind, allowing you to brew a wide variety of coffee drinks.

Grinding Performance

The Fellow Ode Brew Grinder is designed for exceptional grinding performance to maximize the flavor of your coffee. It features 64mm flat burrs made of stainless steel that rotate at 1300 RPM, providing a faster grind speed than many competing models.

The large burrs and powerful motor deliver consistent grinds with minimal fines or boulders. No matter what grind setting you use, from fine espresso to coarse French press, the Ode produces even particle distribution for optimal extraction. This consistency allows you to achieve balanced flavors from light, fruity coffees to rich, chocolatey espresso.

Many reviewers praise the Ode's capabilities for bringing out the subtle notes and acids from light roasted specialty coffee beans. The consistent grind reduces channeling or uneven extraction that can mute the tasting notes. The precision also provides room to experiment with grind size to draw out different flavors from the same bean.

Overall, the exceptional grinding performance of the Fellow Ode Gen 2 translates to better tasting coffee. The fast, consistent grinds maximize the flavor potential of whatever beans you use.

Ease of Use

The Fellow Ode Brew Grinder Gen 2 is very easy to use and maintain thanks to its simple and intuitive controls. The grinder has a single dial on the front which controls the grind setting. Turning the dial left makes the grind finer, while turning right makes it coarser. There are no numbered settings, just a smooth range of motion to dial in the perfect grind.

Cleaning the Ode is straightforward since the grounds bin, grounds catch, and burrs are all removable. The bin and catch just lift right out, while the burrs detach easily with the included tool. The burrs themselves are made from durable steel so they should hold their sharpness for a long time.

Overall, the elegant yet simple design of the Ode makes it a pleasure to use. With no complex controls or complicated disassembly, making great coffee is hassle-free. The smooth grind setting dial allows you to quickly hone in the ideal grind for your brew method. And occasional cleaning is fast and easy thanks to the removable, dishwasher-safe components.

Noise Level

The Fellow Ode Gen 2 is notably quieter than most electric grinders, operating at around 65 decibels according to the manufacturer. This is equivalent to the noise level of normal conversation and ranks among the quietest grinders available.

Compared to many popular electric grinders that produce 70-80+ decibels of noise, the Ode is remarkably quiet and peaceful to use. You won't wake up your family members when grinding fresh coffee in the morning. The noise level is comparable to manual grinders, providing a soothing and relaxing grinding experience.

The quiet operation comes from the Ode's unique single dose grinding mechanism. It uses flat burrs that don't require high-speed rotation like conical burr grinders. This allows it to grind efficiently at a lower RPM and with less noise. The hopperless design also eliminates noise from beans rattling around.

If you're looking for one of the most silent ways to grind coffee at home, the Ode Gen 2 delivers. The noise level is ideal for apartments, offices, or anywhere you don't want to disturb others. You can enjoy fresh ground coffee without the loud grating noise associated with most electric grinders.

Special Features

The Ode Brew Grinder has several special features that set it apart from other home coffee grinders.

• Automatic dosing: The Ode has an autodosing system that dispenses a preset amount of coffee grounds directly into your portafilter or grounds container. This helps ensure consistency and removes the guesswork from dosing.

• Bimodal burrs: It uses innovative bimodal burrs that produce both a unimodal and bimodal particle distribution. This provides the benefits of a consistent grind while preserving flavor and body.

• Low retention: The Ode has been engineered to minimize the amount of grounds retained in the grinder between uses. This reduces waste and ensures freshness.

• Mobile app control: Connect the grinder to the Fellow mobile app via Bluetooth to adjust grind settings, configure presets, monitor usage, and receive notifications from anywhere.

• Small footprint: Despite its powerful commercial-grade motor, the Ode has a compact and sleek body designed for home kitchens.

• Quiet operation: It runs at about 60 decibels, comparable to a normal conversation. This allows you to grind while others are sleeping or conversing nearby.

• Easy to clean: The grounds bin, hopper, burrs, and chute are all removable and simple to clean. Regular cleaning preserves flavor and grind consistency.

Cost

The Fellow Ode Gen 2 costs $299, which puts it at the higher end of home coffee grinders. However, it's still more affordable than many commercial-grade grinders.

When compared to other high-end home coffee grinders, the Ode Gen 2 is competitively priced. For example, the Baratza Sette 270 costs $399 and the Niche Zero costs $625. So at $299, the Ode Gen 2 offers exceptional performance and features while remaining accessible for passionate home brewers.

One area where you really see the value is build quality. The Ode Gen 2 has a durable cast metal frame that should provide years of reliable service. Many grinders costing less use more plastic parts and have a shorter lifespan.

Overall the Ode Gen 2 hits a nice sweet spot between price and performance. It's a premium product with commercial-level quality, but still reasonable for at-home use compared to true commercial grinders costing over $1000. So you get excellence and durability at a fair price point.

Pros & Cons

The Fellow Ode Gen 2 coffee grinder has several pros and cons to consider:

Pros

• Produces very consistent grinds for brew methods like pour over and French press. The flat burrs do an excellent job at uniform particle distribution.
• Grind settings are easy to adjust and dial in. The grind size knob has clear markings and clicks between each setting.
• Fast grinding speed can grind 20+ grams of coffee in under 30 seconds.
• Grinds have very little retention or clumping in the grounds bin.
• Low noise output compared to similar grinders.
• The grind catcher fits neatly under the chute to catch grounds.
• Beautiful modern design with a quality build.

Cons

• More expensive than comparable electric grinders.
• Manual grinding requires some physical effort.
• Grounds bin is relatively small.
• Lacks advanced features like programmable timers.
• No portafilter fork for hands-free grinding into a portafilter.
• Only available in black color option.

Conclusion

The Fellow Ode Gen 2 is an excellent coffee grinder that produces high-quality grounds for various brew methods. Its flat burr design and 60-setting grind adjustment ensure superior particle size consistency for espresso or pour over. The Ode Gen 2 also gives users precise control and flexibility to get the grind just right for their preferred style of coffee.

Overall, this is an easy to use and quiet grinder perfect for specialty coffee enthusiasts or dedicated home baristas. It's well-constructed with smart features like the grounds eject lever and magnet system for the grounds bin. The Ode Gen 2 can grind quickly while maintaining low noise and minimal mess.

If you're looking for a high-end home coffee grinder capable of rivaling commercial grinders, the Fellow Ode Gen 2 is definitely worth considering. It's a smart investment for those who want cafe-quality coffee through manual brewing methods and are willing to pay more for superior performance and build quality. With proper care and maintenance, this should be a grinder that lasts for many years of daily use. The Ode Gen 2 will appeal most to coffee aficionados focused on optimizing every variable for a refined drink.