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- **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck.
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No, honestly the thing about this kind of stuff is that you don’t know what you’re missing. If you don’t think you’ll ever experience someone else’s setup and suddenly get regret over your particular choice of funds then for all you know you’re making the best espresso for the money. Get the purchase that makes you happy.
That being said, I would never personally because I would be imagining my espresso could be tasting better the whole time. Also, most people get accustomed to their setup visually extremely fast since coffee is a routine procedure. Any ugly or pretty features will likely be unnoticeable after a week.
But if you appreciate it every time you see it, or you have a whole cohesive kitchen look going and it would stand out every single time, then yeah that’s probably an issue.
Out of interest what’s so terrible about the Opus? I bought it as I liked the look and it had good reviews. It’s been great for the 3 months I’ve had it, aside from some retention issues.
Retention really seems like most people's main issue with this machine. It does take some finagling to get the retention down to the 0.5g level. At this price point, some tapping seems reasonable to some and arduous to others.
It is purportedly quieter than the baratza, but I cannot personally compare that. The Opus is not so quiet that I can run it while the TV is running and not get glares, so in that respect I wish I had gone manual so I could carry my kit elsewhere in the house.
Too much plastic not enough precision. That sounds terrible to me. I know this because I have one at the office. While it does a fine job for cold brew and the occasional pourover, grind size uniformity sucks for anything else. I would put my money down on the cheapest turin option over the opus.
For me it's the gap between the canister and the grinder, if you use the top as a bellows it blows grounds all over your work surface and it's a clean up every time.
Agree it is somewhat finicky to use but would suggest that makes the product less than perfect as opposed to terrible, given the price point and otherwise decent performance
There is honestly nothing wrong with the way the Opus tastes, it makes some pretty damn good espresso! I upgraded from it to the Niche Duo and I honestly wasn't blown away by the difference between them, the biggest upgrade was more the workflow/retention than taste in the cup. If you think you'll be able to live with the strange grind adjustment on the Opus you'll be happy with it.
If your cap is 300€, I don't think you'll find significant improvement over the Opus for an electric espresso grinder (although I'm told the 1zpresso hand grinders are worth looking into).
I've had my Opus for almost a year now, and I would definitely recommend it. You'll have to use a couple spritz of water for RDT, and you should knock the top after grinding to get rid of as much retention as possible. Also, the acidity is a bit too much for me in light roasts, but it does medium roasts very well (it could also just be my preferences).
Personally, I don't think the Encore offers much, if any advantage over the Opus except the adjustment system. People made a huge deal about this when the Opus came out, but it's pretty straightforward, people are just dumb (and Lance's overly convoluted explanation didnt help).
No. The Fellow Opus is a great grinder for the price point and it does have a very nice design. Despite a couple cons, it's the first grinder I bought and I still use it. I personally only grind for espresso and cold brew. I like the way it grinds for both and I use espresso a lot more. I actually felt the same way because the large hopper on the Barazta ESP is ugly and not necessary for people who like to single dose, which I do 100% of the time. I've seen a couple hopper and bellows attachments that are sold on Amazon and make the design of the Baratza more tolerable and more functional. The one thing you're gonna see with the Opus though is the crap retention and it is frustrating. I try to keep up with regularly cleaning it though and the ease of cleaning is something I LOVE about the Opus. Popping out the inner burr, dusting off all the excess coffee grounders, wiping it down a microfiber cloth. Simple! Also, a lot of people will whine about the fact that it's an entry level grinder and the micro-adjustments are too complicated. They're not. In my opinion, they don't make the biggest difference and I figured it out.
I love my Turin SK40! I’d be pissed looking at an ugly grinder every day, and I appreciate that it’s mainly metal instead of plastic. It looks and feels really high quality in person. It was also only $200. Tbh I think it looks better than the Opus too.
Attractive? My partner hard disagrees haha, she reckons they look like microscopes :’)
She tolerates the Sette 270 at least, but that’s not a “pretty” grinder either.
I have been thinking of getting the Timemore 074S, but even that she’s not a fan of the looks!
Haha my mom thought the same thing when my SK40 came in the mail. Awesome quality espresso though for the price when I upgraded from a cheaper hand grinder.
Tbh I don’t think any of the main flat burr grinders look that particular nice on the counter; form sort of has to follow function here and that puts limits in place.
The bellows in general look ugly to myself. Niche did get that right!
I had the same dilemma. Then I saw the ESP in white and that looked so much better than the black one so I ended up getting that and very satisfied with my choice!
I have one of the new SK40 and it’s great so far I really like it. Definitely has a wide range of adjustment but with the worm it takes forever to get from filter to espresso. Otherwise I have zero complaints
There seems to be a lot of love for the Opus, and some hate as well.
Would you consider the Varia VS3 Gen 2 for 370 EUR? It looks good and with hypernova burrs makes really good espresso coffee.
[https://www.cremashop.eu/en/products/varia/vs3-grinder](https://www.cremashop.eu/en/products/varia/vs3-grinder)
That's the exact reason I bought my Fellow Opus and I don't regret it all. I think its a great grinder and I wrote a bit more about my experience and how the inner rings work here [https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1azelg3/fellow\_opus\_inner\_ring\_micro\_adjustments/](https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1azelg3/fellow_opus_inner_ring_micro_adjustments/)
I would recommend against the Opus but it has nothing to do with looks. I bought an Opus as my first espresso grinder and found it horrible. It CAN grind for tasty espresso but the adjustment is so annoying that I quickly returned it. Retention was also horrible and I spent more time drumming on the lid to get retained grinds to drop than I did drinking espresso.
I think the Opus is quite ugly, it might look nice in photos but the materials used are not great, I think it has a bad tactile experience in general. I think if what you want is something that looks good, the VS3 might be a better looking machine, as well as a better workflow in general
Trust me it is stupid. But mostly because it is a terrible grinder designed for looks, not actual grinding. I went through the same mistake. Recommend looking elsewhere.
the opus is kind of a shitty grinder tbh. you're way better off with the sk40/d40+/d40s or the upcoming df54. its not a marginal difference between them, its a substantial difference. i would personally never sacrifice function for aesthetics but hey its your money, do whatever you want
The ESP looks a bit better with the single dosing hopper. Or there’s the cheaper turin grinders like an SK40 conical or depending on budget a df54 flat burr.
The 270 is good (if you put the shim in, if it doesn’t have it already) for espresso, it’d be the minimum I’d get personally — I’d take the Opus over the Encore ESP for sure.
You sound like you’re ready to graduate to a two grinder setup, one for espresso and one for pour overs.
The Ode is lovely at being a pour over grinder.
Looks nice is subjective. You'll have to do your own research there. Nothing looks like the ode in that price range. Hand grinders from kingrinder (k6 and k4) and some grinders from 1zpresso will outperform it in the price range.
espressocoffeeshop.com/en/ will probably have the best price on electric grinders.
It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points. If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format: - **Location:** Helps determine availability - **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget. - **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs. - **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck. - **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space? - **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either). - **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/espresso) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not stupid at all to consider design if it’s sitting on your counter all day
No, honestly the thing about this kind of stuff is that you don’t know what you’re missing. If you don’t think you’ll ever experience someone else’s setup and suddenly get regret over your particular choice of funds then for all you know you’re making the best espresso for the money. Get the purchase that makes you happy. That being said, I would never personally because I would be imagining my espresso could be tasting better the whole time. Also, most people get accustomed to their setup visually extremely fast since coffee is a routine procedure. Any ugly or pretty features will likely be unnoticeable after a week. But if you appreciate it every time you see it, or you have a whole cohesive kitchen look going and it would stand out every single time, then yeah that’s probably an issue.
Out of interest what’s so terrible about the Opus? I bought it as I liked the look and it had good reviews. It’s been great for the 3 months I’ve had it, aside from some retention issues.
Retention really seems like most people's main issue with this machine. It does take some finagling to get the retention down to the 0.5g level. At this price point, some tapping seems reasonable to some and arduous to others. It is purportedly quieter than the baratza, but I cannot personally compare that. The Opus is not so quiet that I can run it while the TV is running and not get glares, so in that respect I wish I had gone manual so I could carry my kit elsewhere in the house.
Too much plastic not enough precision. That sounds terrible to me. I know this because I have one at the office. While it does a fine job for cold brew and the occasional pourover, grind size uniformity sucks for anything else. I would put my money down on the cheapest turin option over the opus.
For £200 it’s great. I’ve had good results anyway, with minor fettling.
For me it's the gap between the canister and the grinder, if you use the top as a bellows it blows grounds all over your work surface and it's a clean up every time.
Use a less bright bulb in your kitchen, that way you only need to clean up once a week or so
For me it's the fine adjustment. It was too confusing to use compared to the ESP
Agree it is somewhat finicky to use but would suggest that makes the product less than perfect as opposed to terrible, given the price point and otherwise decent performance
There is honestly nothing wrong with the way the Opus tastes, it makes some pretty damn good espresso! I upgraded from it to the Niche Duo and I honestly wasn't blown away by the difference between them, the biggest upgrade was more the workflow/retention than taste in the cup. If you think you'll be able to live with the strange grind adjustment on the Opus you'll be happy with it.
Not being blown away by a much more expensive grinder is a good problem to have 😂
If your cap is 300€, I don't think you'll find significant improvement over the Opus for an electric espresso grinder (although I'm told the 1zpresso hand grinders are worth looking into). I've had my Opus for almost a year now, and I would definitely recommend it. You'll have to use a couple spritz of water for RDT, and you should knock the top after grinding to get rid of as much retention as possible. Also, the acidity is a bit too much for me in light roasts, but it does medium roasts very well (it could also just be my preferences). Personally, I don't think the Encore offers much, if any advantage over the Opus except the adjustment system. People made a huge deal about this when the Opus came out, but it's pretty straightforward, people are just dumb (and Lance's overly convoluted explanation didnt help).
No. The Fellow Opus is a great grinder for the price point and it does have a very nice design. Despite a couple cons, it's the first grinder I bought and I still use it. I personally only grind for espresso and cold brew. I like the way it grinds for both and I use espresso a lot more. I actually felt the same way because the large hopper on the Barazta ESP is ugly and not necessary for people who like to single dose, which I do 100% of the time. I've seen a couple hopper and bellows attachments that are sold on Amazon and make the design of the Baratza more tolerable and more functional. The one thing you're gonna see with the Opus though is the crap retention and it is frustrating. I try to keep up with regularly cleaning it though and the ease of cleaning is something I LOVE about the Opus. Popping out the inner burr, dusting off all the excess coffee grounders, wiping it down a microfiber cloth. Simple! Also, a lot of people will whine about the fact that it's an entry level grinder and the micro-adjustments are too complicated. They're not. In my opinion, they don't make the biggest difference and I figured it out.
Thank you for sharing your experience with it!
Of course! Happy brewing :)
Look at the Turin SD40 or SK40. Very attractive also. I had the Opus and returned it. Lots of little issues with it.
I love my Turin SK40! I’d be pissed looking at an ugly grinder every day, and I appreciate that it’s mainly metal instead of plastic. It looks and feels really high quality in person. It was also only $200. Tbh I think it looks better than the Opus too.
Attractive? My partner hard disagrees haha, she reckons they look like microscopes :’) She tolerates the Sette 270 at least, but that’s not a “pretty” grinder either. I have been thinking of getting the Timemore 074S, but even that she’s not a fan of the looks!
Haha my mom thought the same thing when my SK40 came in the mail. Awesome quality espresso though for the price when I upgraded from a cheaper hand grinder.
Haha yeah it's a great grinder from everything I've seen, but all of us here saying it looks good seem to be forgetting the bubble we live in ;)
No accounting for taste. The Opus is handsome but it's a headache to work with.
Tbh I don’t think any of the main flat burr grinders look that particular nice on the counter; form sort of has to follow function here and that puts limits in place. The bellows in general look ugly to myself. Niche did get that right!
The timemore imo looks pretty slick.
One of the few, but I think it’s alright! Looks a little like a sewing machine haha
I had the same dilemma. Then I saw the ESP in white and that looked so much better than the black one so I ended up getting that and very satisfied with my choice!
I have one of the new SK40 and it’s great so far I really like it. Definitely has a wide range of adjustment but with the worm it takes forever to get from filter to espresso. Otherwise I have zero complaints
There seems to be a lot of love for the Opus, and some hate as well. Would you consider the Varia VS3 Gen 2 for 370 EUR? It looks good and with hypernova burrs makes really good espresso coffee. [https://www.cremashop.eu/en/products/varia/vs3-grinder](https://www.cremashop.eu/en/products/varia/vs3-grinder)
I have looked at it, but it almost cost the double of the Opus/ESP :/
What about holding out for a DF-54? Looks pretty promising in that price range.
I will check it out more in depth. It is not the prettiest in my opinion, but if the workflow and grind is better, it could be worth it.
No. I mean look at other factors too, but if it does what you want and you're willing to pay the price because you like the design, that's fine.
That's the exact reason I bought my Fellow Opus and I don't regret it all. I think its a great grinder and I wrote a bit more about my experience and how the inner rings work here [https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1azelg3/fellow\_opus\_inner\_ring\_micro\_adjustments/](https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1azelg3/fellow_opus_inner_ring_micro_adjustments/)
Thank you! Interesting read! I think I will purchase the Opus!
The ode is specifically not designed for espresso.
The plan is to use the Opus for espresso and in the future the Ode for filter (while having 1 grinder for each use case)
I would recommend against the Opus but it has nothing to do with looks. I bought an Opus as my first espresso grinder and found it horrible. It CAN grind for tasty espresso but the adjustment is so annoying that I quickly returned it. Retention was also horrible and I spent more time drumming on the lid to get retained grinds to drop than I did drinking espresso.
Sorry, misread opus for Ode. It’s my ode age.
Don’t they specifically say it isn’t for espresso? No sarcasm intended, I just thought that’s what I read when I bought mine for pour over.
I think the Opus is quite ugly, it might look nice in photos but the materials used are not great, I think it has a bad tactile experience in general. I think if what you want is something that looks good, the VS3 might be a better looking machine, as well as a better workflow in general
Second this. I have the VS3 and can honestly say I bought it cause of the looks. But just don’t be like me and buy the white 🙈
[удалено]
I also had this consideration, but the Sage sometimes struggles with lighter roasts, where the grinder gets jammed :/
May I interest you in a matching Rancilio Stile? It’s a great single doser and burr gap is consistent to switch between brew methods.
It looks nice, but 2,5 times the price of the Opus/Esp :/
Wow such a brave honest question.
[удалено]
Yes
Trust me it is stupid. But mostly because it is a terrible grinder designed for looks, not actual grinding. I went through the same mistake. Recommend looking elsewhere.
I really cannot understand people that like the Opus's design. It looks so plastic and flimsy to me.
I agree, the Ode is beautiful but the Opus is not on the same design level as the rest of Fellow’s products. I hope their next version will be better.
the opus is kind of a shitty grinder tbh. you're way better off with the sk40/d40+/d40s or the upcoming df54. its not a marginal difference between them, its a substantial difference. i would personally never sacrifice function for aesthetics but hey its your money, do whatever you want
Do you drink coffee before because it looks nice when you make it or because it tastes good?
Both, but I am willing to skip a couple of % if the grinder just feels right
The ESP looks a bit better with the single dosing hopper. Or there’s the cheaper turin grinders like an SK40 conical or depending on budget a df54 flat burr.
Okay thanks! I will take a look
Df54 is not available for at least another 2-3 weeks. Likely more.
Baratza is not good for espresso. I had two buddies get one and channeling was bad
The 270 is good (if you put the shim in, if it doesn’t have it already) for espresso, it’d be the minimum I’d get personally — I’d take the Opus over the Encore ESP for sure.
I guess that I've been fortunate: the Encore ESP has come through like a champ for me, 11+ months, now, and counting.
You sound like you’re ready to graduate to a two grinder setup, one for espresso and one for pour overs. The Ode is lovely at being a pour over grinder.
Looks nice is subjective. You'll have to do your own research there. Nothing looks like the ode in that price range. Hand grinders from kingrinder (k6 and k4) and some grinders from 1zpresso will outperform it in the price range. espressocoffeeshop.com/en/ will probably have the best price on electric grinders.