In January of 2023, CES took place in Las Vegas, allowing all sorts of brands to show off their latest wares. Coffee favorite Fellow took part in the Pepcom at CES event by showing off their latest product: a brand-new grinder that can handle espresso.
Engadget broke the news on Thursday that next month Fellow will be debuting a new coffee grinder called the Opus. For the past few years, Fellow has offered the Ode Brew grinder, one of the best in the industry. Both generations of that grinder use professional-grade flat burrs, with the Ode Gen 2 boasting improved burrs that can grind finer — but not fine enough for espresso, arguably the biggest strike against the machine.
Here's what we know so far about Fellow's new Opus grinder.
The Fellow Opus Has Conical Burrs
Switching things up from the 64mm flat burrs of Fellow's Ode Gen 2 grinder, the Opus uses a six-blade 40mm conical burr setup that Fellow calls "C6-40 Burly Burrs." Conical burrs aren't necessarily better or worse than flat burrs, but they are cheaper to manufacture (more on that later).
The burrs are powered by a motor cranking out 6 n*m of torque at the burr, which Fellow claims combine to deliver excellent grind consistency and flavor profiles that are approved by certified Q-Graders — essentially sommeliers for coffee.
The Fellow Opus Is Made for Espresso
While Fellow doesn't recommend the Ode for espresso — like, at all — the brand does claim that the Opus can grind fine enough for "true 9-bar espresso shot." In total, the Opus boasts 41 different grind settings (plus additional fine-tuning using the inner ring), handling everything from ultrafine espresso to coarse cold brew. This is a ten-setting jump over the 31 settings of the Ode Gen 2 and Gen 1. Fellow claims that no other grinder on the market at the Opus's price point is capable of grinding at such a wide range.
The Fellow Opus Has the Ode Gen 2's Anti-Static Tech
One of the biggest complaints about the original Ode grinder was that it was incredibly messy (read our Ode Gen 1 review here). Fellow addressed that by incorporating anti-static technology in the Ode Gen 2 grinder, leading to a much cleaner experience overall (read our Ode Gen 2 review here). That anti-static tech has been brought over to the Opus, meaning users won't have to wait for the device's second generation for a clean grinding experience.
The Fellow Opus Is Beautiful
No surprise there. Fellow's Stagg EKG Electric Kettle and Ode Brew grinder are already design icons, popping up in just about every fashionably-staged kitchen of the past few years. Fellow is continuing that tradition with the Opus, which incorporates the familiar design language of the Ode in an even sleeker package. "There aren’t that many coffee grinders out there that you can call 'beautiful' – Opus was made to be eye candy on your counter, just like all of Fellow’s products," the brand said in a statement.
The Fellow Opus Is More Affordable Than the Ode
Fellow is really hammering home the affordability of the Opus, a trait that the brand is admittedly not known for. In a statement, Fellow says "Cafe-grade home grinders are thought to be either too expensive or overly complicated and we designed Opus to address those consumer pain points." So what does Fellow consider affordable?
The Opus went on sale February 21 for the price of $195. While that's pretty pricey for a conical burr grinder, it's a whole lot cheaper than the Ode Gen 2, which retails for $345. You get a lot for the money, too, as the Opus features an automatic timed stopping function, single-dose loading, a volumetric dosing lid, a grind guide, a transparent 110-gram capacity hopper and no-tool calibration. If the Opus really does everything Fellow says — which we have no reason to doubt — then it's a steal. It's only available in black to start, with a matte white version due to arrive in August.
