This is my favorite coffee maker — and it just got even better

(Image credit: Fellow)

I've been using the Fellow Aiden coffee machine since the fall, and agree with my colleague Millie Fender when she wrote in her Fellow Aiden review that "it's impossible to get a bad brew out of this drip coffee maker."

That's because this machine offers an neurotic amount of control over how your coffee is brewed: You can create all sorts of custom brews, specifying the water temperature, bloom time, ratio, speed, pulse length, time between pulses, and much, much more.

The degree to which you can control the Aiden is so granular that it would be the perfect coffee machine for Patrick Bateman.

However, while the machine tops our list of the best coffee makers, it had been missing a very key features until recently.

The one key missing feature

Fellow Aiden screen — (Image credit: Future)

In order to adjust the water temperature, bloom time, ratio, speed, pulse length, time between pulses, and much, much more, you could only make these adjustments on the machine itself, via a small round control knob and an equally small circular display.

To set any sort of program, you had to turn the dial and push it perhaps dozens of times if you wanted to use the advanced controls.

Same if you wanted to program the machine to automatically brew coffee for you in the morning: While the number of turns and presses was fewer, I still found it pretty tedious, especially if I wanted to back out of a menu to the main screen.

Killer coffee app to the rescue

Fellow Aiden app — (Image credit: Fellow)

Fortunately, all of that is finally at an end. Fellow has updated its app so that you can not only customize all of your brews programs, but now you can also schedule the Aiden to make coffee when you want.

What took dozens of knob twists and turns and far too much brainpower — especially if you haven't had your morning coffee — now takes a mere minute, thanks to the app.

Even better: You can create multiple schedules, so if, say, you know you're going to have to get up early every Monday, you can create a schedule for a darker or a stronger roast that day, and then a lighter brew for other days of the week.

What took dozens of knob twists and turns and far too much brainpower — especially if you haven't had your morning coffee — now takes a mere minute, thanks to the app.

I've used my share of smart kitchen appliances and more often than not, I'll eschew their apps for simply using the controls on the device itself. I love my ChefIQ pressure cooker, but its on-screen interface is so easy that I'll only look at the app if I want some sort of recipe inspiration.

The same thing goes with my Anova sous vide machine: It's so easy to use the on-device controls that the app seems almost superfluous.

And, while I've tested my share of the best meat thermometers, I prefer ones where I can see a readout of the temperature without having to open my phone. It's a lot simpler, and a lot easier, especially if your hands are messy from prepping other food in your kitchen.

However, in the case of the Aiden, where the screen is so small, and the menu options so intricate, being able to control everything via an app is more than welcome.

Next, I'd like Fellow to connect it with Alexa, Google, and Apple, so I could control the Aiden with my voice and link it to smart home routines, but for now, this is a great step.

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Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.