Fellow - Aiden Precision Coffee Maker

Check out the Fellow Aiden. Best coffee maker by far. Very comparable to pour over quality. And yes it has a timer function.

I use a Fellow Aiden for exactly this scenario. I make 450 ml batches. Makes tremendous coffee.

Big Fellows fan, that bundle is a great deal

I love it. I wish it had a single cup carafe though

I can only compare it to the V60 but let me tell you the Aiden is just really good coffee compared, it's delicious. I agree it shouldn't be that expensive though, probably it's because the community will be willing to pay that much

I've tried for years to improve my pour-over and I'm aware it's the user. At first for years used a clever Dripper and not knowing anything about the importance of a good grinder, was using a very cheap electric one. Then I looked into this and bought an Encore ESP and that really made a difference. Then a V60 which it's better, but not as good as at a local Cafe. So recently bought an Aiden and it's the best coffee I've gotten even better than the Cafe. It just solved my pour over issue and it's consistently good. Also got a manual grinder kingrinder K6 and it's a bit better than the Encore which is already very good, but I don't like how noisy it is.

I love my expensive Aiden coffee, it's delicious but complex flavored, on the lighter side. But often I really prefer and enjoy an Americano I make with my cheap Moka Pot.

No heat plate. The stainless steel carafe keeps the coffee hot for hours, surprisingly (about 4 hours)

Fellow Aiden

Actually my Aiden makes better tasting coffee than V60. But I'm aware it's a user, skill issue. I've tried for years to improve my method and I know he's baristas who make wonderful coffee, I don't know why I can't 😂. But my Aiden is really good, although can't compare it with anything else at the moment.

The sca certified brewers. https://sca.coffee/certified-home-brewer Of those I like bonavita or moccamaster personally. If you need temp control then xbloom and aiden make more sense.

After using a Breville for years I recently moved to an Aiden. Is bought and day hands down best cup from batch brewer

Second this Fellow Aiden.

I love my Fellow Aiden

Yes, the Aiden is great if you want to tweak a bunch of factors, the MoccaMaster is dead simple and will outlast the Aiden by a decade or more.

Breville Precision brewer and Fellow Aiden allow you to tweak a lot. But the Moccamaster quietly and easily delivers good brews.

Ok so I have some experience here. I've owned 2 different Bonavita, and Oxo 9 cup, Oxo 8 cup, Moccamaster KBGT, and finally a Fellow Aiden. If you are looking for the very best coffee maker for what you get in the cup as black coffee, then of those all that is hands down the Aiden. However, for all the technical wizardry it has, it is mostly plastic, so longevity is a definite unknown. Of the other ones, Oxo has the best warranty in practice, and Technivorm has the best warranty on paper. Technivorm does not warranty their carafes at all - if it breaks, you are out $80+ shipping to replace it. This is even if it breaks due to a manufacturing flaw or some other reason. Oxo on the other hand replaced my carafe for free on my Oxo 9 cup 3 times - over time it would lose the vacuum, and would get hot to the touch. The coffee maker was 6+ years old the last time - long out of warranty, but they still replaced the carafe. The Oxo 9 cup is the best all around of the coffee makers I had before the Aiden. While it is tall, it made excellent coffee, and was programmable if you wanted to use that. It requires no stirring of the coffee while it is brewing. I cannot say the same with the Technivorm. While the Moccamaster does make excellent coffee, it is more hands-on to get the best out of it because of their dumb design for the shower bar. Ground saturation is an issue - I usually stirred everything after about 1 minute of brewing. The bar also feels like it is just a bit too short - most of the water doesn't fall in the center but rather closer to the back. The Bonavita coffee makers work well, and are smaller. My old one died for no reason that I could determine after a few years. The ones made now though are technically a different company - that original company went bankrupt. The Oxo 8 cup was an absolute disaster - no idea how that thing got the praise that it does from some reviewers. It always had to be stirred or half the coffee would never even get wet. I hated it. Overall from a BIFL perspective, the TV Moccamaster is likely the top candidate. They do just work for a long time, usually. Make sure to buy it from an authorized retailer and keep your proof of purchase if you need warranty service. If you buy one with a thermal carafe - baby it. They changed from being all stainless and basically unbreakable to being glass lined a couple years ago. It may keep coffee hotter but the carafes are very delicate and prone to breaking.

As a counterpoint - I have owned 2 bonavita machines, an Oxo 9 cup, Oxo 8 cup, and a Technivorm KBGT. With all except the Bonavita (since they had moved on) I had used the same K6 grinder. The Aiden makes noticeably better coffee than all the rest of them, and does better than when I brew V60 too. V60 is obviously a more enjoyable process if that is what you are into, but I have three kids I'm trying to get ready in the morning. As with all of this, it only matters if you are drinking your coffee black. I've found the need to add that caveat when discussing machine differences. Also, no, you can't get good coffee out of a Mr. Coffee. I've tried when I was on vacation and brought my grinder, but wanted to make a larger pot of coffee for multiple people. It sucked.

Or you use the single basket and put your own mug there to catch it. I've made maybe 5 batch brews and 80 single cups on my aiden.

Coffee nerd here! Fellow Aiden is super fun for a coffee nerd. It's a newer machine, so I can't speak for reliability, but I have one, and it's great so far. Otherwise, I always suggest the moccmaster or any bonavita product, too. Feel free to message me with any other questions!

I got it and was really surprised at how good the coffee is. Far exceeds my pour over and my aeropress. My friend has the moccamaster and it brews better than that. Plus I love that you can do single cups or a full carafe.

I am a daily v60/aeropress user for the last 10+ years. In trying to automate the process, I’ve tried 6 machines including Keurig, Breville and Ninja. I’ve had the Aiden for about 2 weeks now and this might be end game given the simplicity that also allows complexity when I want to go full nerd on coffee. I dont think I can make a pour over as good as the Aiden has been doing .

No, the lack of control for the price made it to where it wasn’t an option. For me, Temp control is big as my two go to coffees taste best at different temps. I do see the simplicity of Moccamaster makes it less likely for some type of sensor or internal thing to go south but being able to modify bloom, pulse, temp and other things made the Aiden a must have for me. I was about to pull the trigger on a Breville precision brew after selling my Breville grind control but the fellow won over when comparing.

I own one. Was pleasantly surprised that it exceeded all my expectations. Pairs really well with the Ode 2 grinder as well. I would say that single brew is on par with my V60/Aeropress and a good batch is better than what a Moccamaster can do. It's easy to use. Will be even better once they update the app so I can start editing profiles from the phone. They've introduced a couple firmware updates that ironed out some kinks. Overall, for the price, I am very happy that I preordered it.

Fellow Aiden is definitively your best bet. You can configure it a lot, create profiles for each of your coffee beans, it's smart; does schedules etc., and will have an app, but if you want making coffee to be as easy as pressing a button it'll do that too. Moccamaster is horribly outdated (doesn't even have a detachable water tank).

This is not true, at least in my experience; the Kalita sizing (101, 102, and 103) have a different angle and height than the Melitta "equivalents." I've used Kalita filters inside Melitta drippers with no serious issues, but the other way around wouldn't work as well. Weirdly, Aiden's single-serve basket didn't work with the Filtropa #2 filters I ordered (which I believe are Melitta-sized and were widely recommended in my research) but did work with the Kalita 103 after cutting it down to the same size as the included filters. I'm wondering if Filtropa isn't shaped like Melitta's options, as their filters didn't work in an old #4 Melitta dripper I had lying around. I haven't tried with standard grocery store filters or Melitta's option yet, and I likely won't try the latter because I have never liked the taste with those micro-perforations they insist on adding. ETA: 102-sized filters should be a perfect fit based on my experience with the Kalita sizing which is what Cafec seems to be using. I haven't used them, but they should work well based on my experience with the 102.

Yeah been impressed so far myself. I really appreciate how much thought went into the design. There is no steam, the shower is completely sealed in. The water container is easy removed to fill and put back. The carafe is well insulated & super easy to clean. Temperature & bloom control is on point, you can get nerdy as you want or do a guided brew with minimal input and still get a great cup. I liked my oxo but this is far superior and much closer to pour over quality. Also looks clean af on my counter. App is apparently still a work in progress but stoked that we’ll eventually have more capability

I loved my Oxo. Great machine, super easy, one button great cup. Aiden there’s so much you can do. I can control the temperature and duration of the bloom, temp & the rate of water pulses into the bed of coffee throughout the brew. I can do an 8 hour cold brew. Aiden will use the exact amount of water you set and will tell you how much coffee to add based on your selected profile, the type of coffee or exact batch from specific brand. It’s the closest cup to pour over I’ve had from a machine.

There are very good decaf roasts out there. I get one from Wisconsin that is organic single origin medium roast water processed from Honduras and it’s very good on the Medium Aiden setting. It’s from Wonderstate. I haven’t messed around with a custom profile yet but I may start experimenting now. I have this most of the time with the occasional fully leaded in the morning. Decaf in the afternoon or before bed.

Currently, you can schedule a brew to be ready only on the machine. I think this functionality will come to the app one day. At the moment, this workflow is fine, though I’ll prefer the flexibility with the app when it is built (I wake up close to, but not exactly, the same time every day). Anyways, you use the dial to go into the “Schedule” where you select a time for the coffee to be ready, select a brew profile, decide what amount of water/coffee you want it to brew, and it will tell you how much coffee to grind. You can also tell it to schedule brew once, daily, or custom (has clicks on each day to schedule or not). One you go back to the main screen, it’ll have “schedule” and time listed to let you know there’s an upcoming scheduled brew.

I came from a Moccamaster and definitely think the Aiden is an upgrade - both in quality of coffee produced and the features.

Strong disagree. I want to know how much is going to be in my cup. I just got my Aiden today and IMO it is the most well thought out brewer I have ever seen. Everything by default is based on what you want in the end. The scheduling function is based on when you want your brew finished and ready to drink, as opposed to other brewers with scheduling that only time the start time. This is especially relevant because of how customizable everything is (bloom time, bloom ratio, bloom temp, brew ratio, brew temp, and pulse settings all configurable). As others have mentioned, if you want to do your own math and base it on the weight of beans, you can set up a custom profile. Also, who knows, this thing is connected so it's always possible they could add a guided brew function based on bean weight.

Yep. The default ratio is a little lower than I normally brew but it was still good and once I start messing with profiles I should be golden. I did run into the time offset bug that others had reported so hopefully they get that taken care of before too long so I can use the scheduling feature when I need it, but so far I'm very happy with it.

I just got mine (for my parents) and so far super impressed. We did a side by side with my parents brewer. Same coffee. Same dosing. Aiden had such a better extraction, they were impressed. Love that the instant brew function is identical to their existing coffee maker in terms of water in = water out. Great feature. Slowly but surely will get them to use the Ode I got them ;)

I realize this is old. My Aiden appears to draw from the water tank exactly the amount I specify in the menu. I can’t say they are all like this, but mine appears to work the proper way: 600ml is the amount of water you’ll pour over the bed of grounds.

How’s the scheduling feature on the Aiden? That is the primary feature I would like to use. I’ve been a pour over guy every morning for years but the time spent is weighing on me. I want to go with a machine like this and if I can grind my beans and put in the basket the night before and schedule to brew in the am that would be amazing.

Thanks that’s exactly what I was looking for! I’m hoping it works as it shows in the post. I was reading some reviews and some folks said the machine struggles to keep the correct time so the scheduling feature is not as useful as advertised. Have you experienced this issue with incorrect time?

Love it, that sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Fine to schedule from the machine as I plan to pre-grind the coffee and fill up the water tank the before I go to sleep so that coffee will be ready first thing when I wake up. I've been waffling between the Moccamaster KBGV and Fellow Aiden, but the schedule feature and more customization on the Aiden has me really leaning in that direction.

You have the KBGV? Got it, that’s really helpful to know. I haven’t seen much direct comparisons between the two and those really seem to be the only two machines that claim to replace pourover in a reasonable under $500 price range. Moccamaster is obviously older but seems to be a well regarded classic machine that will last for years. Five year warranty is great too. I hope the Aiden has similar quality and long life span.

Update here. I got the Aiden and could not be happier. Schedule function works amazing provided I’m not too lazy to set it up the night before lol. Great machine and makes an amazing cup of coffee. Not missing my pour over routine yet.

Yep. We provide some batch brew filters and some single serve filters to get you started; and you can buy them at almost any grocery store in the US.

You can choose metric and then in settings select "precise units". It will change everything to ml. :) Thanks for the review. We worked incredibly hard to make sure the coffee quality was on another level.

It’s awesome. I used standard Melitta 8-12 flat bottom filters and standard white Melitta #2 cone during development.

I \*think\* the Abaca 102 are the equivalent to the Melitta #2, but am not 100% certain. I haven't tested those unfortunately. But any flat bottom cone hybrid filter should work great. You may just need to adjust your brewing profile if the flow rate of the filter is significantly faster than the standard #2 filters that I did development with.

I just got mine a couple of days ago; I ordered from Crate & Barrel and got it within a week. I primarily do pour-overs using my Option-O Lagom p64 grinder and multiple different pour-over techniques (Kalitta Wave, V60, Orea, Simplify Brewer, Origami, Chemex). I have done primarily pour-overs for about 10 years daily. I tend to pick which technique I am going to use based on how much coffee I need and what I am in the mood for. I can also compare the machine to other brewers I have, such as a Technivorum Brewmaster and Jura Z8.  After having done five brews on the Fellow Aiden I am impressed. The machine is lighter than I was expecting, even surprisingly so.  It does not feel cheap, just light.  The parts seem well designed and easy to clean after each brew. I have done brews using my standard carafe or cup in it and not done one into their solidly made carafe which is for larger brews. I really appreciate that they made it easy to use whichever cups, or carafes you want in the machine. I am impressed in being able to brew both smaller amounts or a larger brew in the same machine, as well as I appreciate that they picked standard filter sizes so you can pick your own, lessens hassle and they decided to forgo the potential profit opportunity of putting proprietary filters in it.  The filters it uses are the Melitta #2 for brews up to 450ml, and flat bottom basket style filters 8 - 12 cup for larger amounts. You can brew using the selection knob on the front of the machine or do a tremendous amount of tweaking of options via the synched app.  The work flow for coffee is a little different than what I do when I do pour-overs, at least using the standard profiles for type of coffee you are brewing (light, medium, dark). Using the rotary dial on the front of the Aiden, you first select in the machine coffee type, and then how much coffee volume you want to make. I was a little put off that it has the number of cups in big print, but then noticed on the bottom of the dial it shows how many milliliters of coffee I want, being this is what I think of when I am brewing. When you put how much volume you want out of, it then tells you how many grams of coffee to put in, and it indicates if you should use the small cone-shaped basket for smaller or flat bottom for larger. When you change from one filter basket to the next you twist a switch on the top of lid which is color-coded to match the basket type. Then when it starts brewing it immediately shows how long the total brew time is going to take, which I really liked, and as it brews it counts down.  Now, for me, what was the important part, what kind of results have I been getting? I am actually really impressed with the result; it is right out of the box, using their standard profiles. But with everything being the same as far as water, beans, and my grinder, the results were impressively good. The coffee I got was much more full-bodied and had much more subtler notes than I have been getting using my standard pour-over technique. A little depressing with all the time and effort I have put into trying to improve my technique over the years. I am looking forward to when they release or I can try out some unique profiles to load to the machine via the app for specific beans. I would be happy to answer any specific questions for anyone thinking about it or trying something out on the machine. 

I am always nervous buying Fellow first generation. Their second generation generation grinder was much better than the first. Though this coffee maker makes such uniquely tasty coffee and it is upgradable via software, so I have no regrets.

I have had a Moccamaster for 20+ years , it is a great coffee maker but does not do as good a job as the Aiden in being able to consistently make coffee that is pour-over good.

Got mine a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get it to taste as good as my Chemex and single pour over but can’t seem to get the same richness and complexity. I’ve tried to change the amount of time between bloom and pulses and the number of pulse (so cool you can do this). I also tried different grind coarseness. I’ve also experimented with different amounts of beans. It’s gotten a little better, and it’s good, but not as good as pouring it over myself. If my pour over is my 10/10 then I’ve successfully gotten this machine to a solid 7. Not bad for a coffee maker! :)

Not quite yet! :) But getting closer to a return rather than a keep. I’m still working on trying to dial it in and figuring out why my drip is so much better than this machine can do. It could just be I need to find the right recipe change. The beauty (and fun) so far is the flexibility of designing your own profiles. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth the money yet to me. It’s still needs to live up to getting to as good as my pour over is to me. If anyone has any pointers to what’s worked for them when trying to do the same, I’m all ears! :)

I had to work some calculations because Aiden’s lowest ratio is 1:14 (and my usual flash iced concentrate is 1:9). The ratio for cold brew options are more flexible (down to 1:8). I’ve communicated that it would be helpful if the Fellow team synced the ratio options in a future update, to allow more concentrated hot brews for flash iced recipes.

As you stated, flow control options are not customizable with Aiden (an option that would make dialing in more complex). I believe the flow is consistent from batch to cone basket, just out of more holes, also as you stated. I’ve had to adjust grind size depending on output however, seems to be consistent across its varied brews.

Mine arrived around 3:30 in the afternoon and was eager to try my new machine, but I didn't want a big dose of coffee. Spun the dial to 180ml and Aiden told me to grind 18.7g of coffee. No math, no thinking. That'll be handy on those bleary mornings.

Ratio was fine, I mistyped. 18.7 was this morning for 300ml. The 180ml was a dose around 15-16. Clock bug is fixed. I got an OTA update last night.

I asked ChatGPT about this issue (no idea how long these share links last): https://chatgpt.com/share/671b4049-6bfc-800f-a285-101376a96c60 I was 97% on the Aiden and now I’m feeling disheartened again. I love my coffee HOT so the enclosed brewing seems excellent. Like you, I use a ceramic V60 into a glass server. I typically do 3 pour overs a day and would love to save some time. Obviously the heat retention with an open brewer like the Ratio 8 into glass isn’t anything like that. They do have a ceramic dripper into insulated carafe option (which hits that $700 price point). Reviews on that carafe indicate its hang time isn’t the best. Plus the Aiden’s removable side-access reservoir is tailor-made for my kitchen, and the Ratio’s top-access requires sacrifices. Argh.

I did see on Ratio that they tout "optional blown glass reservoir" but did not see a way to add it/pricing. Based on the reviews listed on their own website about the lack of reliability of the 8 and the customer service, and further consideration about how much a filter basket is truly going to affect me living in a modern environment (I remember when Jimmy Carter was actually president) and that most of my plastics accumulation is already a done deal, I decided to go for the Aiden. I've experienced Fellow's customer service first-hand (in a positive way, regarding my Stagg and my Ode 2), and if the Aiden ends up needing to be shipped back or replaced - I still have my trusty V60 gear in the meantime.

I own both moccamaster and two Aidens The Aiden is the best.

I have tried Moccamaster in the past and it was so-so (maybe it was the beans I tried?). Recently got to try the Fellow Aiden a few times and it is pretty good. I'd say check that out if you get the chance. Other than those two, unfortunately I don't have any experience.

Honestly, if you’re not all that bothered with the precise grind or anything like that, your best bet is to look at the [Aiden series](https://clickyourproduct.com/dp-B0D8HVBVS6). They have a really sleek design that’s meant to take up less space and kinda just blends into the background. This one in particular would fit your needs cos it has a 10 cup capacity, a removable tank and an app you can set up for the timings you want.

Your assessment of the Cup One is pretty poor. None of those things you mention are real issues so I think you have a misunderstanding of what Moccamaster is. It sounds like Moccamaster is not for you. If you can deal with some new tech and a few bugs, you probably want to checkout the Fellow Aiden. That will give you plenty of customization and options to cover everything you want.

This is my fave too since they make great coffee and are completely rebuildable (and have been since the 70s). OP, if he’s a buy it for life guy, this is the play. If he’s more into fancy automated features like bloom and being able to set his brew profiles then something like the Aiden is the way to go.

This is arguably my favorite Machine I have it for work and my Aiden for home. Brews so well!

I would still choose the Aiden as the better of the two but I do question the build quality of it as wonder how long it will last. That being said I think the best cup does come from it. I do love the coffee that comes from the ratio and its simplicity.

Part of the value of the Aiden is the ability to have recipes and roasters are starting to create Aiden recipes which has been fantastic. You simply select the recipe and it brews it to their specifications. If money is not a concern I would select the Aiden. It makes brewing elite coffee easy.

Moccamaster is a classic and this past Black Friday they were like $200 so deals do happen. They make good coffee, look nice, and are repairable. Something like the xBloom I would not want to own out of warranty (and honestly not really in warranty either). The Aiden is good but subjectively ugly and personally I see the simplicity of the Moccamaster as a pro As someone else said though, make sure you have a nice grinder. It’s way more important than the coffee maker, though depending on your palate and taste preferences you might not need an expensive one. If you really do have unlimited budget then spend your money there

Aiden fits the bill -- I've also transitioned from aeropress and am very satisfied

It tastes closer to a true pour-over, so I’d say V60. The flavor feels more vibrant/vivid compared to when I used the aeropress

I have had a MM for nearly 10 years, still makes really good coffee. Recently bought an Aiden… not going to lie, it makes a better cup than the MM. Will it hold up for 10 years, we will see. But I truly enjoy the coffee it brews. I vote Aiden if you want a better cup…

For non-espresso it's Aiden, and it's not close.

I don't doubt the Technivorm machines can make a good cup. But there's simply no way a fixed temp machine with no ability to control the flow, and with well known grounds saturation issues, can get the best out of a variety of beans in single serve, large batch, and cold brew, or even in any one of those. It's true that reliability of the Aiden is unknown at this point. But there's a 3 year warranty and good customer service. If decent coffee and established reliability are the criteria then Technivorm is a good choice. If the best coffee you can make with a machine is the priority then the Aiden is easily at the top of the list. And I'd put the Behmor Brazen ahead of the Moccamaster.

I've had zero problems with my Aiden, as is the case with the vast majority of owners.

The most flexible and capable of producing peak coffee in any amount 1-10 cups hot or cold has to be the Aiden. I'd put the Behmor Brazen ahead of the Moccamaster as it has adjustable pre-soak and brew temp, and several other nice features. Also, very reliable. Had one for a dozen years, makes a very good brew.

I was considering the OXO 8 cup but ended up going for the Aiden since it came out right around when I was shopping for a coffee maker and it was getting rave reviews. It really shines when pairing with the fellow drops. Otherwise, it has some good built in brewing profiles but I find it takes some trial and error to find the right grind size if you’re using random non-drop beans. Coffee comes out good though and you can grind the night before and schedule it if you like.

Not to complicate anything, but I love my Gevi 4 in 1. https://www.ebay.com/itm/116225996088?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=WKnJF7V6TN6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=1Y4dNee1Ti2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY It can take a while to learn to program, and the built-in scale is in an awkward position, but it is a tank. It is very well built. Heavy. Beautiful. And it makes a consistently great cup of coffee. The UI is so unintuitive that I've basically set up four basic pourover recipes and just use those. I also have an Aiden, which I use a lot. I enjoy using the Aiden, and it makes a good cup of coffee. The UI is super simple. You can update the recipe on the fly. So, if you just want a small cup one day and you want a batch the next day, it's the same recipe. The Gevi can't do that. As soon as the app starts working, I think I'll be playing with the Aiden more. I have a Moccamaster in my office. Great, simple machine. Can't go wrong with it. But it's really just a fancy drip coffee machine. And you'll still need a grinder (for the Moccamaster and the Aiden. The Gevi has a great grinder built in) If you are leaning towards the Moccamaster. I also have a Ratio 8. I am in love with this machine. I'm thinking of picking up the Ratio 4 soon. If you just want to grind some coffee and brew, I'd look at the Ratio 4.

I own a lot of coffee machines. The absolute best that I own that is simple is the Ratio 8. But it's expensive. The second best that I own is the Gevi 4 in 1, but it is also expensive and really difficult to program. The 3rd best is the Aiden. Tied for fourth is the Moccamasters and the Bunn. I have others as week, but I think these are the ones worth mentioning.

Op I would for sure agree with the Aiden. To me there doesn’t seem to be any comparison on brew customization and I have a feeling that more companies may adopt creating grind profiles that you can download.  If you need a grinder, I would start hunting for a used ode or even a baratza to pair with it 

Honestly? Something like a Cuisinart or Breville or Ninja is just fine for her. A Moccamaster or an Aiden are absurd, terrible recommendations for someone who doesn't care that much about coffee, lol. That's like buying a Pappy Van Winkle for someone who only drinks Bud Light, or a Traeger for a vegetarian. If they aren't into coffee, they're not gonna care about "SCA certified" or any of that quality stuff. In fact, they probably care more about how it looks, how fast it brews coffee, and maybe some of the other bells and whistles attached like a programmable timer. Don't spend money on something that's purely built for quality coffee; spend on the features instead.

It depends what you want: If you want to tweak and maybe hit maximal bean flavor expression w/ said tweability, probably a fellow aiden. If you want a no fuss tank that'll last forever - Moccamaster If you want a few basic features but nothing crazy that'll also be very durable - Sage/Breville brewer

Aiden, so simple, better than my pour overs.

Aiden makes great coffee - on par with my V60’s and the Fellow Drops recipes (automatically downloaded for each of their beans) often beat my V60’s. It allows great customization including specific temperature of each pour/pulse. However, It’s a new machine with lots of plastic parts, so long term durability is still untested The Moccamaster doesn’t allow customization, but is reliable and built to last

I guess we are supposed to say Fellow Aiden or the xBloom🤷🏼‍♂️ No but seriously if you've got the money, I think Aiden is the best in the market at the moment. If not, opt for Moccamaster or depending on where you live (these suggestions apply for mainly northern Europe), OBH Nordica Blooming prime or the Wilfa Performance series

For sure, paired with a great grinder I don't see any problem and like I said, if OP has the money, Aiden would be the way to go and if not, Moccamaster is a bit more affordable. I've seen a lot of mocking towards Moccamaster but it's a good basic machine. Compared to Aiden, it just hasn't got blooming function or temperature control. Brew time can be adjusted by locking the dripper like in Hario Switch but that's pretty much the only controllable variable.

I tried that in addition to trying to overcompensate by adding too many pieces of cardboard to see how much I could alter things. I didn't see any appreciable difference. I bought an Oxo 8-cup. It was ok, but not exactly what I wanted. So, I order an Aiden. So far, it's doing exactly what I want. Since I have the Aiden set up in the same spot as the Ratio Four, I'm not noticing any weird issues with the coffee bed. The bed is flat without issues cup after cup. No complaints with the Aiden so far, although I initially had to get used to the workflow, which is a bit different than what I'm used to.

UPDATE to this: I wasn't absolutely loving the brews I was getting out of the Aiden. The bed of coffee for the single-cup option always seemed to be dry at the corners and I just wondered if channeling was going on. So, I started using an Origami dripper (small) using the magnet trick instead of the single basket it came with. The circular nature of the Origami (vs the oblong style of the Aiden single-cup) seemed to result in a better cup of coffee. I highly recommend this. So, I started looking around to see what else was out there. I was never really interested in buying an xBloom. I have always avoided machines with built-in grinders. Given how much I've paid for grinders in the past decade, I always figured this would be where a company would skimp. But, I said what the heck and bought one. So far, I've been really pleased. Using my own coffee with the Omni-dripper is a delight. I even had a bunch of 155 filters that fit perfectly in it. The app (Android for me) is good--similar functionality to the Aiden regarding control. But, I haven't been able to go from Pro-mode to Auto-mode. Auto-mode is where you set up 3 different automatic recipes for each button and can just press those, instead of going through the app. So, I have to go through the app to choose my recipe of choice. No big deal. So, if you feel like you keep looking a good cup and don't feel like spending the time to do pour-over, this machine does a good job at providing a good, consistent cup of coffee every morning. If I had the patience, I'd probably sell my Aiden and both Odes, as well as the other coffee gadgets I have.

Lol, yeah, I suppose I was exaggerating a bit. Anyways, that’s beside the point - I don’t think it would be worth the money for OP to buy an Aiden if he has a poor quality grinder and isn’t buying good beans. That was the main thing I was trying to say. I’ve owned an Oxo 8-cup, Breville Precision and my dad owns an Aiden so I’ve tried that now too and they are absolutely fantastic, although my favorite is still a pour over. None of those would be as good without good grinders, though.

What brew profiles are you mainly using? I've got the Aiden, mainly for ease in the morning to go straight into my travel mug.