Fellow Ode Gen 2 Review: Excellent, and Not for Espresso

64mm flat burrs, single dose by design, and Fellow says plainly it will not do espresso.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Fellow's published product specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• The grind is genuinely even for filter, which shows up as clarity and less bitterness rather than as a number on a chart.
• Single dose by design, so no beans sit in a hopper going stale and swapping coffees takes seconds.
• The anti static system and knocker mean very little grounds mess, which is the practical difference you notice daily.
• Quiet enough to run before anyone else is awake.
• Grind and walk away. It stops on its own, so there is no timing or babysitting.

Where it falls short

• It does not grind espresso. This is not a limitation you can work around with technique, and Fellow puts it in the product description rather than burying it.
• 31 stepped settings are plenty for filter and would be far too coarse a ladder for espresso, which is part of why the above is true.
• Its price is a lot for a grinder that only covers half of the brewing world. A DF64 costs about the same and does both, less elegantly.
• Retention is low rather than zero. The knocker is there because it is needed.
• The load bin is 100 grams. Grinding for a large batch brew means more than one pass.

What owners report

Owners consistently describe a jump in cup clarity when moving from a conical burr grinder, and just as consistently mention the tidiness. The most repeated frustration is people who bought it hoping to also pull espresso and discovered it will not go fine enough, which is entirely foreseeable from the specification. Reports of burr alignment being good out of the box are common in the second generation, having been a criticism of the first.

If you brew both espresso and filter, read DF64 vs Fellow Ode Gen 2 before spending anything, and if you have not settled the format question at all, drip machine vs pour over is the more useful starting point. Once the grinder is chosen, the brew ratio calculator is what actually improves the cup.

Who it suits

• Pour over, drip, French press and cold brew drinkers who never pull espresso.
• Anyone rotating between several bags of coffee who wants no cross contamination.
• Households where grinder noise is a genuine constraint.
• Owners of a Moccamaster, Chemex, V60 or Precision Brewer who have hit their current grinder's ceiling.

Who should skip it

• Espresso drinkers of any kind. Buy the DF64 II, Eureka Mignon Specialita or Baratza Encore ESP instead.
• Anyone brewing large batches daily, because of the 100 gram bin.
• Buyers under $200, where the Baratza Encore covers filter well enough.

Alternatives worth considering

Keep reading

• DF64 vs Fellow Ode Gen 2
• Conical vs flat burr grinders
• Brew ratio calculator
• Best espresso grinders
• MiiCoffee DF64 II review
• Technivorm Moccamaster KBT review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.