LMichaels
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
So as noted in the other thread I did in fact order the Aiden and it came this past Thursday. As noted earlier it's size compared to the Breville Precision and OXO 12 Cup seems absolutely miniscule. It can get VERY granular on control. Regulating flow rate, temp adjustment on the fly, with the control system or built in "recipes" and or profiles. Also apparently if a roaster registers their product with Fellow, Fellow will then upload a specific brew profile for it and the brewer can get that as OTA update since it's network connected. You can also upload stuff from your phone and also control it. Or you can fill it with water put in the amount of grounds you want and hit "instant" and it will act like a Mr. Coffee. Other interesting feature is the brew chamber is "sealed". It does not vent steam under your counter. This alone (to me) is an amazing feature and one which I cannot understand why other companies can't figure that out. A simple silicone seal when you close the lid. It also fits exceedingly well on my counter and the way I have to use it. But it's also a bit on the "quirky" side. Like the removable water tank is made more for styling that actual usability (but at least I can take it off and fill it at the sink). Rather than needing to drag the machine out from under the cabinet.
On to important stuff: I found right off the bat it REALLY extracts a lot. The first times I brewed the coffee almost felt like I could "chew it". Instructions go on to warn you about the high extraction rates and to grind a little coarser. This AM I did 2 steps coarser than what Baratza calls a "normal" drip setting and I actually got a very nice solid cup. So, I think I will experiment with that as a starting point. And one other weird thing that threw me off. A "cup" on this is not a normal 5oz. Since the tank is marked with ML and the cup lines are at cup and 150 ML increments rather than cup lines and oz. So here you get 150 ML as a "cup" measure whereas others give you 5oz or 147 ML It's a small change but multiplied over 7, 8 or full 10 cup it does change your "recipe". I'll fill in more as I find anything out or if someone has specific questions try to answer. But so far (as long as it doesn't malfunction) I'm rather pleased. And one other little "gripe". While the carafe is VERY easy to handle and clean it does not keep the brew as hot as well as OXO's or Breville's. Maybe I'll handle that with smaller batches but for now I have the microwave
On to important stuff: I found right off the bat it REALLY extracts a lot. The first times I brewed the coffee almost felt like I could "chew it". Instructions go on to warn you about the high extraction rates and to grind a little coarser. This AM I did 2 steps coarser than what Baratza calls a "normal" drip setting and I actually got a very nice solid cup. So, I think I will experiment with that as a starting point. And one other weird thing that threw me off. A "cup" on this is not a normal 5oz. Since the tank is marked with ML and the cup lines are at cup and 150 ML increments rather than cup lines and oz. So here you get 150 ML as a "cup" measure whereas others give you 5oz or 147 ML It's a small change but multiplied over 7, 8 or full 10 cup it does change your "recipe". I'll fill in more as I find anything out or if someone has specific questions try to answer. But so far (as long as it doesn't malfunction) I'm rather pleased. And one other little "gripe". While the carafe is VERY easy to handle and clean it does not keep the brew as hot as well as OXO's or Breville's. Maybe I'll handle that with smaller batches but for now I have the microwave