Homemade grinder for filter coffee Fellow ODE grinder [review]

FELLOW BARISTA TEAPOTS, COFFEE JUGS AND NOW A FILTER COFFEE GRINDER FROM

First, let's start with Fellowitself , the company behind this grinder. This is abarista supplies brand from the USA. If you are not a complete newcomer to the coffee world, you will have noticed Fellow barista pots, which are the top of the line among barista pots. Especially the EKG model , which offers a reheat function or temperature setting.

Theirvacuum coffee jars or thePrismo attachment for the Aeropress are also well known . However, they also offer, for example, a pour over set or thermo mugs. So it's safe to say that the last thing Fellow was missing in their coffee accessories was a grinder.

DESIGN FELLOW SIMPLY KNOWS HOW TO

Why you won't confuse this grinder with others is definitely its design. Fellow is committed to minimalist and elegant design in all of their products, and the ODE is no exception. The matte black grinder is composed of a base, on the front of which we find the off/on button. On the base is a container for the ground coffee, this fits perfectly thanks to themagnet located on the bottom of the container. On the front of the grinder body there is then a large wheel which is used to adjust the coarseness, but we'll get to that in more detail later. On top of the body is then a hopper that holds up to80g of coffee beans. Overall, the grinder is intended to be a single dose, so no grinding to stock and always nice fresh coffee.

Although it doesn't seem like it at first from the pictures, the grinder is quite small and can easily fit on your kitchen counter alongside other accessories. In fact, it measures just 24 cm. But it is asturdy piece that weighs 4.5 kg. The body is made of high quality aluminium and the hopper is plastic.

GRINDING COARSENESS ADJUSTMENT ON THE ODE GRINDER

To begin with, itshould be mentioned that this is agrinder designed only for grinding filter coffee, it will not grind coffee for espresso in any way. As I pointed out earlier, the coarseness is adjusted via a dial on the front. This is a very easy adjustment. If you don't know what coarseness to choose you'll find a smaller dial on the bottom of the hopper lid that will show you what coarseness you should be at for a given brew.

There are a total of31 coarsenesses to choose from, which is certainly not a few. At Fellow, they used flat stainless steel stones, which are a great choice for an electric grinder. When setting the coarseness for the Aeropress or V60, you may need to use a slightly finer coarseness than Fellow recommends because the gaps between the teeth are quite wide. However, that won't stop you from grinding your coffee into the perfect cup of filter coffee. However, it will make up for these minor shortcomings with its quietness and speed, in that it can compete with even the best home grinders.

THE GRINDING PROCESS AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE ELECTRIC GRINDER FELLOW FROM

Finally, let's get into the functionality of the grinder and the whole grinding process. Before grinding, you need to weigh your coffee on a barista scale. The grinder does not have any setting for grinding time, but this is not such a complication. In addition, the aforementioned feature in the ground coffee container can also help youwith the amount of coffee used.

You then pour the beans into the hopper and then just press the start button. TheODE has a self-shut-offfunction . This works on the principle that when the grinder detects that there are no more beans between the stones, it switches off. However, if a grain gets a little chopped between the stones, it can take up to 15 seconds to switch itself off.

Before you decide to take out the ground coffee container, it's a good idea to use the knocker on the side next to the coarseness adjustment wheel. You'll usually see this knob on large professional grinders in coffee shops. And what is it for? It helps to get the leftover ground coffee out of the grinder. However, the problem with the knocker on ODEs is that it doesn't work 100% and the coffee residue will still fall out of the grinder after you remove the container.

What I have to appreciate, however, are the stops in the hopper that prevent your coffee from ending up everywhere. Moreover, the grinder grinds very fast, and it is also quiet compared to other grinders .

Even themaintenance of the grinder is somewhat easy. You can access the stones simply by removing the front side with the wheel and coarseness scale.

Another little thing that the ODE struggles with a bit is the static in the ground coffee. It is both in the container and stuck to the walls. However, a simple trick from coffee specialist James Hoffmanshould help you with this , who advises that you soak the gripping part of the spoon in water and stir the beans with it before grinding. This small amount of water helps alleviate static electricity.

HIGHER PRICED GRINDER FELLOW ODE TO UNIQUE DESIGN

The price of this grinder is not the smallest and is around the under 10,000 mark. Without a doubt, the customer is paying extra for the unique design because the ODE is different from other home filter coffee grinders like theWilfa Svart or Baratza Encore. On the other hand, it should be noted that the ODE is made of high quality materials.

IT IS WORTH BUYING A HOME COFFEE GRINDER FROM

So now we come to the question, does it make sense to buy an ODE? If design is important to you, you're a fan of Fellow's other products, you don't have extremely high demands on fine grind coarseness for an Aeropress or perhaps a Jazz, and you're looking for a grinder primarily to go with your home drip coffee maker, Chemex, or Toddy, you'll be completely satisfied with the ODE.

If price is more important to you, for example, and you're not so keen on design, you'll probably find electric grinders on the market that offer the same features but for less money.