Fellow Opus Review: An All-In-One Coffee Grinder That Delivers
Coffee enthusiasts know the importance of a good coffee grinder. It's the key to unlocking the full potential of your coffee beans, and the right grinder can make a world of difference in the taste of your brew. Today, we're going to take a closer look at the Fellow Opus, a coffee grinder that promises to be an all-in-one solution for coffee lovers. But does it live up to the hype? Let's find out.
The Fellow Opus: A Grinder for All Coffee Styles
The Fellow Opus is designed to be an all-around grinder capable of brewing the entire spectrum of coffee styles. From the pebbly coarse grinds required for a stiff batch of cold brew all the way down to the superfine powder of a traditional Turkish coffee—espresso included, the Opus aims to be the one grinder to rule them all.
In our review, we put the Fellow Opus to the test, brewing everything from espresso to Aeropress to French press, which requires grounds to be super fine to super coarse, respectively. The question on our minds was: is this the grinder every coffee lover has been waiting for? And if not, who actually needs this?
Fellow Opus: A Blend of Design and Functionality
Design has long been Fellow's strong suit, and the Opus is no exception. The new addition to its product lineup maintains the same design language its fanbase has been accustomed to, namely clean lines, a matte black finish, and a general nod toward the Dieter Rams aesthetic. Its physical footprint is nice and tidy which makes it great for those with limited counter space or short cabinets.
But the Opus' small package and scant design belie its long list of features. Like the Fellow Ode Gen 2 and its predecessor, the grind catch is magnetic and slots in perfectly beneath the grind chute. This time, the Opus' catch also features a modular design comprised of a larger canister for most brew methods and an inset espresso catch, which fits inside the canister and can then more easily, and cleanly, get the grounds into both 58 millimeter and 54 millimeter portafilters, the two most common sizes of portafilters.
The hopper lid is another clever design feature. It covers the hopper and prevents dust, doubles as a dosing cup with compartments for both 20 and 40 gram doses, and even acts as a bellows, forcing air to blow through the machine to dislodge grinds and chaff stuck inside due to static.
The Fellow Opus: A Grinder with a Light Touch
The mostly plastic chassis of the Fellow Opus is a major departure from Fellow's other products, which have a more premium, all-metal design. This makes the Fellow Opus feather light; that's great for when you're cleaning the counter and need to move it out of the way. The downside is that because it's so light, you have to use both hands when you want to adjust your grind setting—one hand to adjust the grind ring and the other to hold the grinder in place. And though the plastic itself is high-quality and not at all flimsy, a metal chassis would inspire more confidence in the grinder's longevity.
Fellow calls the Opus a low-retention grinder, which for the uninitiated, means you won't lose a few grams of beans in the machine after it goes through the grinder. In our testing, we found that grind retention hovered anywhere between .4 and .6 grams, a minimal amount of loss. After some firm head taps and a few pumps of the hopper lid, however, most of the leftover grinds were mitigated.
The Fellow Opus: A Grinder with a Wide Range of Settings
The Opus comes with 41 grind settings, which is a good, wide swath, and it's 10 more settings than the Ode. But we would've been seriously impressed if the Opus was a stepless grinder, allowing users to dial in their grind settings infinitesimally. And while it is certainly capable of producing espresso-fine grinds, we found the intervals between each notch to be a little too wide.
Can the Fellow Opus Grind for Espresso?
Yes—but there's a caveat. In our testing, dialing in certain espresso beans resulted in shots that would come out extremely fast on one setting but nearly choke just one notch over—that is, we'd get either over-extracted or under-extracted shots on two adjacent grind settings with seemingly no way to get the right ground size. Fear not! In order to get in the sweet spot, Fellow built a microadjustment ring underneath the hopper that can adjust the grind settings with more granularity. It's a clever touch and it gets us where we need to go. But the process of removing and reinstalling the hopper between every shot is a bit more cumbersome than we would like.
Who Is the Fellow Opus For?
The Fellow Opus is a very good coffee grinder for most people, especially those looking to step up from bottom-tier electric options and the more serious coffee enthusiasts whose forearms just can't take any more hand grinding. If you enjoy using a variety of brew methods and/or rotate your coffee beans frequently, the Opus can accommodate easily. And though it might not have the most streamlined process for dialing in your espresso, it's absolutely capable of getting you to cafe-quality brews.
There aren't many self-proclaimed all-in-one coffee grinders that actually deliver on their promise. The Fellow Opus does. And at this price point, few other options can stand shoulder to shoulder.
Conclusion: The Fellow Opus Delivers
In conclusion, the Fellow Opus is a coffee grinder that delivers on its promise of being an all-in-one solution. It's a versatile grinder that can handle a wide range of coffee styles, from coarse grinds for cold brew to superfine grinds for Turkish coffee. Its design is sleek and compact, making it a great addition to any kitchen. And while it may not be perfect, its wide range of settings and ability to grind for espresso make it a solid choice for any coffee lover.
If you're interested in exploring more Fellow products, check out the Fellow Ode Brew Grinder Gen 2 or the Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Pouring Kettle in our store.
So, whether you're a coffee connoisseur or just someone who appreciates a good cup of joe, the Fellow Opus might just be the grinder you've been waiting for. It's all about coffee that delivers, and the Fellow Opus certainly does that.
I hope you found this review helpful. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to ask.