I spent some time with my SSP burrs and the dry erase marker last weekend and as far as I can tell, there's no obvious uneven wear occurring when the burrs chirp.

One potential difficulty with the marker method and the SSP unimodal burrs is that edges of the burr aren't perfectly flat. That is, the burrs only rub on the raised edges rather than uniformly across a smooth surface.

I re-calibrated my Ode dial to start 1+9 clicks above burr chirp to get a bit more useful range, since I won't be using the finest grind sizes anyway. Getting better brews now with the dial set to 4,0-4,2 (7,0-7,2 normally) and a ~2:30 drawdown time. Any finer and I start to get that astringent taste/feeling. Visually the grind resembles a 24-click grind on my Comandante (~720 microns?).

Just ordered 15 lbs of unsaleable coffee from a local roaster (Chromatic, if anyone is curious) to be delivered this week. The plan is to slowly break in the grinder while measuring particle size distributions every pound or so. Will update.

violin_geek123 wrote:FYI everyone, Fellow customer support got back to me and they said that the SSP Brew Burrs do NOT fit in the Ode, as they are about 1mm too big.

Based on at least some evidence in this topic, isn't that kind of like saying bumblebees can't fly?

violin_geek123 wrote:FYI everyone, Fellow customer support got back to me and they said that the SSP Brew Burrs do NOT fit in the Ode, as they are about 1mm too big.

I wonder if sanding or filing some parts of the Ode to fit the burrs will solve the issue. Although there could be an issue with uneven sanding surface making it slightly elliptical if you're inexperienced. But then again, not like the factory did a super great job at QC so might as well take matters in your hand.

Mine died today about 3 weeks in. I was simply grinding my daily brew, and it stalled halfway thru the beans in the hopper. Seems like the motor may be running and the burrs are turning, but it isn't feeding any beans, even after nursing some more. Some raps on the side didn't help either. I opened up the grind to coarser in case it was a simple jam, but no joy. I unplugged and replugged with no improvement.

I've been on the fence with it anyway, having to nurse and guide the beans in the hopper every day, the misfit hopper lid, and the grind button seeming to have a different response from time to time. There is no (to me anyway) taste difference between it and my SGP so the only things it really had over the Breville were stylish looks and a cool magnetic catch cup arrangement.

I'm going to call Fellow and attempt to return for full refund. If they refuse and will only replace then I will have a new-in-box unit that will be up for sale.

Although I didn't expect miracles at this price point, the current reports are disappointing to say the least.

I agree with Ira. While these instances of first batch QC problems are unfortunate, I think it's important to remember that a lot of people have been shipped this grinder, many of whom we don't hear from on this forum (or on Kickstarter) - likely because they are happy with the product as is. That should count as a success, because those are happy costumers.

Looking aside from these reports of some people having QC issues (while this rightfully being cause for frustration, but not concern, given Fellow's proof of good costumer service), I think that they suceeded in creating a grinder that's both (1) beautiful, (2) has as compact form factor that helps it being a stable in many kitchens, (3) grinds insanely fast for its size, (4) has a 'pleasant' sound, (5) designed for easy replacing of parts and calibration, (6) can get swapped for new Fellow or third-party burrs, and (7) the current burrs produce an even grind for *most* alternative brew methods (still leaving some to be desired, but hey, this is where affordable new Fellow burrs come in). These aren't just features that should be neglected, just because some of them are old news.

This grinder may be different things to different people. To some those achievements above will be a home-run for its price tag. For me, I with ya on the hopes of maximizing its potential for a hopefully not good but great grind and in-cup quality. So there's still questions about how e.g. alignment works, if possible - is it similar to the EK, but not quite? What about the SSP burrs.. every statement made by Fellow (in their Kickstarter comments, in their backer updates, and in personal mails) except for the one above to Violin_geek, explicitly states that they are compatible and that Fellow themselves have used them in the Ode with stellar results. I bought the SSP brew burrs used for cheap before getting my Ode here in Europe (coming November), but if I have to fiddle around with a tight fit/sanding, or request a replacement unit to make the swap work, that's okay by me (given all the positives mentioned above).

As we all know, those who have issues / negative experience will always be louder and more numerous than those who are content.

It does trouble me that Fellow said SPP burrs will not fit when they have clearly said otherwise in the past. This tells me that the machining tolerances of their subcontractor is not tight enough (as confirmed by different accounts of the burrs fitting and not fitting) and that they don't seem to be standing behind their word/commitment.

My reckless completely speculative pet theory is that Fellow tested the grinder with their Stagg pourover drippers which are known to choke and thought they'd have no problems with the grind size. I think they shot themselves in the foot for not getting the burrs right the first time because at $300, without grind size issues they might not have created the miracle EK43 grinder we hoped for, but they're actually only just shy of that in grind quality imo and then once you add in the modern form factor and convenience features, I argue they've changed the game.

I would not have gotten SSP burrs right away and maybe ever if it could produce the same quality just a little finer. Instead, at least for me, I now need to look at this as a $500 grinder that has SSP brew burrs, and that's still amazing. There's only one grinder in that price range and quality that I can really compare with the Ode and that's the Baratza Vario ($480) with Steel Brew Burrs ($60). New Vario with Brew Burrs is 540 and with the Forte carrier you're at $600 and that thing IS a true miracle grinder. Pure grind quality it's going to be splitting hairs/marginal/well in the law of diminishing returns area. Form factor, convenience, sound, speed, and price all go to Ode.

My Ode doesn't have SSP burrs (yet) but I think if I can get SSP burrs on it and relatively aligned, and do not experience any long term issues, then it really IS a miracle grinder for $500. At $300 if it grinds fine enough for your brew method, I think it's still amazing value compared to anything else on the market pending the long term test results.

Bret wrote:Mine died today about 3 weeks in. I was simply grinding my daily brew, and it stalled halfway thru the beans in the hopper. Seems like the motor may be running and the burrs are turning, but it isn't feeding any beans, even after nursing some more. Some raps on the side didn't help either. I opened up the grind to coarser in case it was a simple jam, but no joy. I unplugged and replugged with no improvement.

A broken shear plate, perhaps? Does not account for the issue with the power button but it would explain motor noise with no beans feeding.

JacquesCousteaudian wrote:I agree with Ira. While these instances of first batch QC problems are unfortunate, I think it's important to remember that a lot of people have been shipped this grinder, many of whom we don't hear from on this forum (or on Kickstarter) - likely because they are happy with the product as is. That should count as a success, because those are happy costumers.

I'm getting flashbacks to the Sette launch, except this sort of response would have been a breath of fresh air!

ira wrote:At the price point I thinks it's far better than expected.

I've had my Ode for about 3 weeks now and I think it is great, especially for the Kickstarter backer price I paid. No issues out of the box at all. I wasn't expecting Kafatek-like alignment (I have a Monolith Flat for that), and I don't have any intent on using SSP burrs - to me it doesn't make sense to install a burr set that costs 2/3 the cost as the entire grinder. Visually, the grind appears very uniform, and seems to have less fines compared to the Virtuoso.

I have noticed that draw down times are faster compared Virtuoso, and I have had to adjust my brewing methods a bit, but I'm not getting any under extracted taste notes. Side by side, I prefer the brews from the Ode to the Virtuoso. Since I only have room for one brew grinder on my counter, the Virtuoso is being shipped to a new owner in a couple days.

I have two minor gripes:

• The fins on the catch cup are annoying because they seem to trap ground coffee. I just dump the ground coffee out from the side of the catch cup opposite the fins.

• I do wish there were more steps in the adjustment mechanism, and that the zero point was calibrated finer than it currently is.