Fellow Ode Gen 2 Review: Is It the Best Flat Burr for Pour-Over Under $400?
If you are deciding whether to spend $345 on the Fellow Ode Gen 2, the real question is narrower than the marketing suggests. You are choosing between a hand grinder you already love, a sub-$400 electric conical, and this flat-burr Ode. My bottom line: for filter coffee on a V60, Kalita Wave, or Origami, the Ode Gen 2 is the best electric grinder under $400, but only if pour-over is 90% of what you brew.
What It Is, And Who Should Skip It
The Ode Gen 2 is a single-dose electric grinder with 64 mm flat burrs, 31 stepped settings, and a knock-down anti-static chute. Fellow targets it squarely at home pour-over brewers grinding 15–35 g doses. List price is $345 USD as of this review.
Who it is for:
- V60, Chemex, Kalita, and Origami brewers chasing sweeter, more separated cups from light and medium roasts.
- Anyone tired of cranking a hand grinder twice a day for two cups.
- Single-dose workflow people who hate hoppers and stale beans.
Who it is NOT for:
- Espresso drinkers. The Ode Gen 2 does not grind fine enough for a 9-bar machine, full stop.
- AeroPress-only brewers using inverted, fine recipes. You will run out of fine settings before 2:30 contact time recipes shine.
- Anyone grinding more than 40 g per dose. The catch cup and chute were not built for batch brewing.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 64 mm flat burrs deliver flatter particle distribution than sub-$400 conicals | 31 steps feel coarse between V60 settings 4 and 6 |
| Sub-1 g retention after a 20 g dose with the knock-down lid | No espresso range, even with the SSP MP upgrade |
| Single-dose hopper, no bean staling | 68 dB at the ear, louder than the Baratza Encore ESP |
| Anti-static chute keeps grounds from clinging to the cup | Plastic catch cup feels cheap for a $345 product |
| SSP-style burr upgrade path ($150–$190) extends the ceiling | Bench footprint is 6.7 × 9.5 in, larger than expected |
| Auto-stop after ~20 seconds per 20 g batch | Stepped adjustment makes 0.2-click fine tuning impossible |
What Changed From Gen 1, And The SSP Upgrade Path
The Gen 1 had two real problems: it retained 1.5–2 g of grounds, and the stock burrs were tuned more for immersion than V60. Gen 2 fixes both. Fellow swapped in a redesigned 64 mm flat burr with a steeper cutting geometry that is widely described as SSP-style, though it is not a true SSP burr. They also added a magnetic catch cup and a knock-down assembly to the chute.
Measured retention on my unit, after seasoning with 1 kg of beans: 0.6 g average across ten 20 g doses, light roast at setting 4. Gen 1 measured 1.7 g on the same protocol.
If you want to push the ceiling, SSP sells a true Multi-Purpose (MP) burr set for the Ode that drops in with two screws. Budget around $170 plus shipping. The MP burrs add maybe 8–10% more clarity on washed Ethiopians; on darker roasts the difference is negligible.
Pour-Over Dial-In: Actual Numbers
I ran 30 V60 brews at a 1:16.6 ratio (20 g coffee, 332 g water, 96 °C / 205 °F) across three roasts. Refractometer was a VST III; agitation was a four-pour Tetsu Kasuya rhythm.
| Roast | Setting | Total brew time | TDS | EY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Ethiopian washed | 4 | 3:05 | 1.42% | 21.3% |
| Medium Colombian | 5 | 2:55 | 1.46% | 20.8% |
| Medium-dark Brazilian | 6 | 2:40 | 1.51% | 20.1% |
For comparison, the same beans on a Comandante C40 MK4 (28, 30, 32 clicks) produced TDS of 1.39, 1.43, and 1.48 with EY 1.0–1.4 points lower. Translation: the Ode extracts slightly harder for the same dose, which is the expected flat-burr signature. If those numbers feel abstract, what 18–22% extraction yield actually means in the cup is worth a separate read.
Workflow And Ergonomics
The Ode Gen 2 fits 14 cm under most cabinets. Noise sits at 68 dB measured at 30 cm, versus 62 dB for a Baratza Encore ESP. Grind time for 20 g of light roast at setting 4: roughly 19 seconds. The auto-stop magnet means you load beans, tap the front button, and walk away.
Static behavior improved dramatically with the new chute design. After RDT (a spritz of water on beans), I see almost no grounds stuck to the catch cup walls.
Head-to-Head: Comandante C40 MK4 And Sub-$400 Conicals
Vs. Comandante C40 MK4 ($285, hand): The Comandante’s 39 mm conical burrs give a slightly more rounded cup with more body. The Ode gives more separation and acidity. On a washed Kenyan, three blind tasters out of four picked the Ode for clarity, but two picked the Comandante for overall enjoyment. If you brew once a day, the Comandante is still a brilliant tool — I went deeper on whether the C40 MK4’s $300 price tag is justified for home pour-over in a dedicated review. If you brew three cups a day or batches, the Ode pays for itself in wrist time within a month.
Vs. 1Zpresso K-Ultra ($225, hand): Closer than I expected. The K-Ultra’s larger 40 mm conicals make cleaner cups than the Comandante on medium roasts. Against the Ode, it loses about 0.05% TDS and 0.5 EY points on the same recipe. The Ode wins on convenience; the K-Ultra wins on price and travel.
Vs. Baratza Encore ESP ($199, electric conical): Not close. The Encore ESP is fine for an entry brewer, but its 40 mm conicals produce noticeably more fines, muddier finishes on light roasts, and a TDS that is 0.08–0.12 points lower at the same ratio. The Ode’s flat-burr clarity is real and audible in the cup.
Where It Struggles
Three honest limitations:
- Espresso is off the table. Even with SSP MP burrs, the finest usable setting chokes at 14 g in 28 seconds on a 58 mm basket.
- Very fine pour-over for AeroPress inverted recipes. Settings 1–2 produce too much boulder-to-fine spread for short contact times.
- Channeling risk on the V60. Flat burrs produce a slightly drier, fluffier grind. Without WDT (a needle stir), I saw bypass channels in 3 of 10 brews. WDT eliminated them entirely. If you are not sure what to look for, here is how to spot channeling in a V60 and fix it fast.
Verdict
Rating: 8.7 / 10 for pour-over specifically. The Ode Gen 2 is the best electric grinder under $400 for V60-style brewing, full stop. It is not a do-it-all grinder, and Fellow is honest about that.
Pick-by-scenario:
- You already own a Comandante and brew 1–2 cups daily: Skip the Ode. The cup difference does not justify $345.
- You brew 3+ cups a day, mostly light roasts on a V60: Buy the Ode Gen 2. Pair with a WDT tool.
- You want one grinder for espresso and pour-over: Skip the Ode. Look at the DF64 Gen 2 instead.
- You are upgrading from a Baratza Encore or hand grinder under $150: The Ode is the biggest single jump you can make under $400. If you are still picking a dripper to pair it with, see my ranked list of the best pour-over drippers for single-cup brewing.
- You have $500+ and want the ceiling: Buy the Ode and budget for SSP MP burrs in year two.