Fellow - Aiden Precision Coffee Maker

most of that list is fine for casual coffee drinkers but if we’re being honest, the only two worth talking about are the moccamaster and the fellow aiden. the moccamaster has been the gold standard for decades, built like a tank and dead simple, but it’s old school as in no scheduling, no fancy bloom programming, just hot water at the right temp and consistency. the fellow is the one that actually pushed drip brewers forward. precise control over temp, adjustable bloom, batch vs single-cup modes, proper thermal carafe that doesn’t ruin flavor after an hour. it’s the first smart machine that isn’t gimmicky. one thing that matters more than most people realize is the grinder. you can drop a few hundred on a brewer but if your grind is inconsistent, the cup will always taste flat or muddy. a [good gevi](https://noxohub.github.io/radar/?q=OXU44898) grinder paired with something like the fellow is where you actually notice the difference, even cheap beans taste cleaner when the grind is uniform. everything else on that list has compromises, oo plasticky, temp swings, or designed for versatility at the cost of straight drip quality. if the question is best drip coffee maker right now, it’s between those two, and i’d lean fellow just because it nails modern features without screwing up the fundamentals.

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.

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

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.

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.

The Aiden is my favorite coffee maker ever, and I have owned quite a few (Melitta Clarity, 2 Bonavita, Oxo 9 cup, Oxo 8 cup, and Technivorm KGBT). It excels at both single cup and batch brew. There is an issue with the flow meter getting clogged but Fellow is very good about supporting it and replacing the machine if this happens.

I bought an Aiden, and have never made a pourover again. I use the single basket 95% of the time, and have done approximately 400 brews.

I had one for about a year and determined it was my brew size. It's way easier to get a great tasting batch when your making 500+ ml than 1 or 2 cups (which was my normal use case). I ended up getting rid of it and getting an Aiden and I'm much much happier. Even brewing a single cup I can get a great tasting one basically every time.

It’s not that complicated if all you want is an enjoyable daily brews, but the ceiling is quite high. V60 is cheap but not the most forgiving. I think the most newb-friendly brewers right now are Hario Switch and Orea Z1. You can even buy a drip assist for Hario Switch to pretty much eliminate one variable to worry about (agitation). If you don’t care about these stuff, just get Aiden or Xbloom.

If you’re in the US, go find a local TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. They typically have Breville Precision Brewers for on sale for $179. I actually got one for $89 recently. Any of those on your list will be perfectly fine though. I like the OXO stuff for the money, but if you can wait on a moccamaster sale you’d be in good shape. It’s not my favorite brewer at MSRP (I much prefer the Breville precision, the Ratio 6, and the Fellow Aiden—all of which I’ve owned), but if you can get it around $200 it’s great.

The biggest thing is temperature stability, as well as being at a good starting temp in the first place. Also, it’s super easy with a pour over to ensure all the grounds are getting properly saturated. Lots of machines struggle with this in particular, especially cheaper ones. There are definitely machines you can buy that are as good as pour over. Ratio 6, Technivorm Moccamaster (although don’t like its water dispersion), Fellow Aiden, etc. There’s more, but those are 3 I’d trust any day.

If you’re using a good machine and grinder there’s really no quality difference whatsoever once you’re dialed in. Drip and pour over are conceptually the same thing, it’s just a matter of if you wanna do it yourself or not. I make pour overs for smaller weekend or evening cups, batch/drip for mornings before work to save time and brew larger cups. Using a Fellow Aiden currently, which has been great but also have the Breville Precision (also great) and have had the Ratio 6 and Moccamaster previously.

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.

Fellow Aiden with Fellow Ode grinder. Buy one of Fellows recommended coffees and with brewing settings. Or the Xbloom with their recommended coffee and settings. Coffee maker doesn’t make ‘cafe quality’ coffee unless you have a good grinder and coffee beans to go with it.