Starting at $365, the Aiden certainly isn’t cheap. That said, compared to the $500 grinders and pricey accessories that so many aficionados lust after, this might seem like a bargain to some. But the big difference between the Aiden and traditional coffee machines is that unlike a typical drip-based brewer, it features an adjustable showerhead that mimics the process of a traditional pour-over. Fellow also uses a thick film Ferro Techniek heating element which is said to deliver exact water temperatures (down to a single degree and up to 210F). When combined with the ability to adjust things like bloom time, the amount of water used and more, you get a ton of control over the brewing process. Fellow even includes two different baskets: a single-serve option that delivers a slightly more nuanced product or a batch filter to accommodate big crowds (up to 10 cups at a time).

The Aiden also features a guided brew process that walks you through various settings, though you can always create your own profiles or download instructions directly from participating roasters via a QR code and Fellow’s free companion app. That said, I appreciate that if you don’t want to break out your phone just to make a cup of coffee, you can still set programs, start a brew and input data directly into the machine via its bright color LCD screen and large control dial.

But the best thing about the Aiden is how easy and convenient it is to use. It features a 1.5L reservoir and its heating element is completely silent so you can brew a cup in the morning without disturbing the peace. Once you have your favorite brews dialed in, starting a batch is as simple as dumping in some grounds and hitting start (and adding water to the tank if you haven’t done that already). The machine will remind you when you need to run a clean cycle or descale it. Because its showerhead is super precise, if you schedule it to run in the morning before you wake up, it will be ready exactly when you tell it. Not a minute too early or late. There’s even a cold brew setting that will slowly drip water through the grounds throughout the day (and of course you can set how long or short this takes) instead of relying on a prolonged immersion like you would otherwise.

However, one feature the Aiden doesn’t have is a keep warm function, but that’s because most coffee lovers tend to stay away from machines with built-in hotplates that can result in scorched joe. Instead, Fellow relies on a thermal double-walled carafe to keep things warm until you can get to it (which probably won’t be long if you’re in need of caffeine).

Finally, while your tastes may vary, I like the Aiden’s minimalist design. It’s short enough that it should fit under most kitchen cabinets and its sleek lines and boxy shape make it a cinch to clean. And while I only got to sample a single cup, the Scandinavian light roast I tried retained a lot of the subtle vanilla and hickory notes that would normally be stamped out by traditional drip brewers.

That said, it’s important to remember that the Aiden isn’t meant to replace your V60 or Aeropress or whatever your preferred brewing method is. It’s simply meant to provide a higher quality joe than what your standard drip brewer can make for situations where you don’t have the time or energy to make a cup yourself. From what I’ve seen so far, it does just that.

Pre-sale for the Aiden is live today, with shipments expected to begin sometime this September. Additionally, anyone who pre-orders will get a bag of coffee each from Onyx Coffee Lab, La Cabra and Verve Coffee Roasters specifically designed for this machine along with scannable brewing profiles.

Fellow Aiden

$365 at Fellow

The post The Fellow Aiden makes coffee good enough for snobs with a single button appeared first on Best News.

“The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change,” lead author of the study, Dr Rajeev Roychand of RMIT’s School of Engineering, said in a recent release. He notes that Australia alone produces 75 million kilograms of used coffee grounds each year, most of which ends up in landfills.

Coffee grounds can’t simply be mixed in raw with standard concrete as they won’t bind with the other materials due to their organic content, Dr. Roychand explained. In order to make the grounds more compatible, the team experimented with pyrolyzing the materials at 350 and 500 degrees C, then substituting them in for sand in 5, 10, 15 and 20 percentages (by volume) for standard concrete mixtures.

The team found that at 350 degrees is perfect temperature, producing a “29.3 percent enhancement in the compressive strength of the composite concrete blended with coffee biochar,” per the team’s study, published in the September issue of Journal of Cleaner Production. “In addition to reducing emissions and making a stronger concrete, we’re reducing the impact of continuous mining of natural resources like sand,” Dr. Roychand said.

“The concrete industry has the potential to contribute significantly to increasing the recycling of organic waste such as used coffee,” added study co-author Dr Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, a Vice-Chancellor’s Indigenous Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT. “Our research is in the early stages, but these exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill,” where its decomposition would generate large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

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Quick Overview

Miir New Standard Carafe

$80 at Amazon

Fellow Carter 3-in-1 Sip System

$49 at AmazonMore options

AeroPress XL

$70 at Amazon$70 at TargetSee more optionsMore options

Cusinart Electric Burr One-Touch Automatic Grinder

$45 at Amazon$45 at WalmartSee more optionsMore options

Fellow Tally

$185 at Amazon$185 at Sur La TableSee more options

Cosori Gooseneck Electric Kettle

$70 at Amazon

Baratza Encore

$150 at eBay

Hario Mizudashi cold brew maker

$21 at Amazon

Fellow Prismo AeroPress attachment

$25 at Fellow

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

$400 at eBaySee 5 more

Miir New Standard Carafe

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Miir New Standard Carafe

Miir’s insulated stainless steel carafe is everything I ever wanted a Chemex to be. The top is a funneled pour over brewer, complete with pour spout, just like a glass Chemex. There’s a stopper too, so you don’t lose heat between servings. What’s more, the top part is removable so you can add one of the company’s leak-proof lids for transport. So if you’re thinking of giving a multi-serving pour over maker this year, Miir is a great option for keeping coffee warm for hours. — Billy Steele, Senior News Editor

$80 at Amazon

Fellow Carter 3-in-1 Sip System

Engadget

Fellow Carter 3-in-1 Sip System

Fellow’s Carter Move Mug is one of my favorite travel cups due to its great insulation, curved lip and included splash guard. With the Sip System, the company makes the Carter an even more compelling gift option by adding slide and cold lids to the arsenal. Now, the mug is a complete package, easier to use while driving and better suited to cold beverages. — B.S.

$49 at Amazon

AeroPress XL

Aeropress

AeroPress XL

The tried-and-true brewing method has been supersized, and the bigger version makes a great gift for coffee nerds. The AeroPress XL offers twice the capacity as the original, which means the coffee nerd in your life can make enough for two people at once – or a super-sized serving for themselves. This version also comes with a carafe for brewing into. The XL still offers the ability to make espresso, pour over and french press-style brews depending on how you use it. And even though the bigger model takes up more space, it’s still quite packable for travel. — B.S.

$70 at AmazonExplore More Buying Options$70 at Target

Cusinart Electric Burr One-Touch Automatic Grinder

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Cusinart Electric Burr One-Touch Automatic Grinder

Before I upgraded, I had a Cuisinart DBM-8 that served me well for years, and it was still doing so when I put it out to pasture. It’s a burr grinder so it provides a consistent grind size with 18 different options to choose from. The hopper holds eight ounces of beans while the canister can accommodate enough ground coffee for 32 cups. Since the coffee drinker on your list probably won’t need that much often (if ever), there’s a selector that will automatically grind between four and 18 cups worth at the press of a button. — B.S.

$45 at AmazonExplore More Buying Options$45 at Walmart

Fellow Tally

Fellow Tally

Fellow Tally

You certainly don’t need to spend a lot on a coffee scale, but some companies throw in extra features that make us reconsider, especially when you’re shopping for someone special. Fellow’s Tally is a good example of this, combining weight accuracy with a Brew Assist Mode to help dial in the correct ratio for perfect pour-overs. There’s also a Timer Mode for more experienced users that only need time and weight info for their brewing process. Tally can be used in Weight Mode as a small kitchen scale that reads out grams, ounces, pounds and milliliters (up to 5.5 lbs). The rechargeable battery should last around three months, but you can still use the Tally when it’s plugged in via a USB-C port. — B.S.

$185 at AmazonExplore More Buying Options$185 at Sur La Table

Cosori Gooseneck Electric Kettle

Engadget

Cosori Gooseneck Electric Kettle

A good kettle is essential if you want to up your home-brewing game, and it can help make a bunch of other things too like tea, ramen and more. Cosori’s Gooseneck Electric Kettle packs most crucial features into a relatively compact kettle that’s also priced right at $70. Goosenecks can be intimidating but they give you much more control when pouring over a Chemex, and we think Cosori’s, with its matte black finish, also looks pretty nice on most countertops. It has a stainless steel interior and five presets so you can easily get the perfect temperature for things like green tea, black coffee and more. Plus, the “hold temp” option lets you set and forget the water for a bit; you can turn it on before you start your morning routine and come back to perfectly heated water, ready for whatever’s picking you up that morning. — Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor

$70 at Amazon

Baratza Encore

Engadget

Baratza Encore

Coffee grinders come in all shapes and sizes and with varying degrees of performance. You can get a solid Cuisinart for less than $40 that will serve you well, but if you’re looking to impress the coffee aficionado in your life with a nice gift, you’ll have to do better. Baratza’s Encore grinder has been a popular choice among roasters and coffee pros for a while now. It’s a little pricey for a grinder, but it offers a ton of attractive features that will immediately improve brewing regardless of method.

The controls are simple: There’s an on/off button on the side and a pulse button on the front. The Encore offers 40 grind settings so you can get the exact coffee you need for automatic brewers, AeroPress, Chemex, French press and more. This grinder is also relatively compact, so it won’t take up a lot of counter space, and it fits nicely under your cabinets.

$150 at eBay

Hario Mizudashi cold brew maker

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Hario Mizudashi cold brew maker

If the coffee geek on your list enjoys cold brew coffee during the warmer months, this is a great gift option for them. I’ve been using the Hario Mizudashi for years and I really enjoy the consistent, smooth results it produces. The simple, affordable pitcher holds a filter where you load the coarse-ground coffee of your choice. You then fill it with water, give the wet grounds a quick stir and secure the lid. In 8-12 hours, you’ll have delicious cold brew ready for ice and a splash of milk (if that’s your preference). While you can simply remove the filter and serve from the pitcher, it’s not air tight, so you won’t want to use it for days-long storage. There’s also plenty of liquid trapped in the filter when it’s submerged, so you’ll want to let that drain in another container instead of wasting it. — B.S.

$21 at Amazon

Fellow Prismo AeroPress attachment

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Fellow Prismo AeroPress attachment

The AeroPress is a versatile brewing device and that’s why we keep it on your coffee gift guide list. But with the help of Fellow’s affordable attachment, you can help the coffee drinker in your life take the humble method up a notch. The Prismo houses a pressure-actuated valve designed to mimic the process of making espresso so you can “pull a shot” without a machine. This creates the “crema” that you don’t typically get just by brewing stronger coffee with the AeroPress alone. The Prismo also comes with a reusable filter so you’re not burning through the paper ones an AeroPress usually requires. Prismo is not compatible with AeroPress XL. — B.S.

$25 at Fellow

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

Engadget

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT

Technivorm’s Moccamaster coffee brewers are true workhorses, making a full carafe in four-to-six minutes. The boiling element quickly heats water to between 196-205 degrees Farenheit before moving water up a glass tube and out over the brew basket. Pulsing water delivery simulates a pour-over by blooming the grounds and the cone-shaped basket maximizes extraction. A thermal carafe maintains just-brewed temperature for up to an hour, although the coffee will stay warm for much longer than that. All of that combines for a great coffee maker that makes an excellent gift. — B.S.

$400 at eBay

Coffee subscriptions

What do you get the coffee nerd who has everything? Well, we’re always down to try new beans. Most coffee roasters offer a subscription of some type with varying frequency based on consumption habits. And even if they don’t, you can still send a bag or two as a one-time gift. Some of my favorites include Vignette in Greensboro, North Carolina and Vesta in Las Vegas, which has been a lifesaver during CES. — B.S.

Shop Hatchet CoffeeShop Dark Matter CoffeeShop Vesta Coffee

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