Which to buy · Every setting
Breville Barista Express Impress (built-in) vs Fellow Opus
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The Opus is numbered 1–11; the Barista Express Impress (built-in) is numbered 1–25.
Which to buy
Choose the
Barista Express Impress (built-in) if you…
- want the grinder in the espresso machine, with 25 settings
- want the dose worked out for you from the last grind, then an assisted tamp
- brew espresso only — Breville gives no filter range
Choose the
Opus if you…
- want espresso as well as filter — Fellow rates it from espresso to cold brew
- want a magnetic catch cup with an insert for portafilter dosing
- want a timed auto-stop at 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Fellow now sells the Opus 2 in place of the original. The settings on this page are for the original Opus.
Sources: Fellow — Opus (archived) · Fellow — Opus gear guide · Fellow — Opus page today · Breville — Barista Express Impress · Breville — Barista Express Impress manual
| Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Opus | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Breville | Fellow |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 1 – 25 | 1 – 11 |
| Burrs | Conical | Conical |
| Espresso → filter | 2.6 numbers | 5.7 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 4.8 numbers | 3.9 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 6 sits at grind index 0 on the Barista Express Impress (built-in) but 34.2 on the Opus — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Opus |
|---|---|
| 15 | 1.2 |
| 17 | 1.2 |
| 18 | 8.2 |
| 19 | 9.3 |
| 21 | 10.2 |
| 22 | 11 |
| Opus | Barista Express Impress (built-in) |
|---|---|
| 1.2 | 15 |
| 2 | 17 |
| 3.2 | 17 |
| 5.3 | 17 |
| 7.1 | 17 |
| 8 | 17 |
| 8.2 | 18 |
| 8.3 | 18 |
| 9.1 | 18 |
| 9.3 | 19 |
| 10.2 | 21 |
| 11 | 22 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Barista Express Impress (built-in) | Opus |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 16 | 1.2 |
| Moka pot | 17 | 1.3 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 17 | 3.2 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 17 | 6.3 |
| Siphon | 17 | 7.2 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 17 | 7.3 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 17 | 8 |
| Drip / batch brew | 17 | 8 |
| Cupping | 17 | 8 |
| Chemex | 18 | 8.2 |
| French press | 18 | 9 |
| Cold brew | 20 | 10 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Breville Barista Express Impress (built-in)
Fellow Opus
Dialing in the Barista Express Impress (built-in)
The Impress version adds assisted dosing and tamping, but the grinder underneath dials much like the standard Barista Express. Its range is built around espresso; treat filter settings as the far edge of what it was designed to do.
Dialing in the Opus
Marketed as all-purpose, and it genuinely does cover more range than the Ode, but the espresso end is workable rather than good — expect to chase it. Where it earns its place is the coarse end: cold brew and French press come out notably even. If you bought the Opus mainly for espresso, dial it as a brew grinder first and judge it there.