Introduction
Timemore built a solid reputation with the original Fish Smart Pro, much like it did with manual grinders such as the C3 ESP Pro. The Fish Smart Pro delivered what a serious pour-over setup needs: decent temperature accuracy, a gooseneck spout, and a price that didn't feel like highway robbery. So when Timemore announced the Fish PRO X, priced at $159 in black or white (also available directly from Timemore), the obvious question was whether it's a meaningful upgrade or just a cosmetic refresh with a new sticker.
Having spent several weeks pulling V60s, Kalita Waves and the occasional Chemex with the Timemore Fish PRO X, and running it side by side against a Fellow Stagg, the short answer is: this is a genuine step forward, not a rebrand. The headline feature is what Timemore calls tempX technology, a temperature control system that claims ±0.5°C precision a bold number in a category where "close enough" has long been the accepted standard. We wanted to know if that precision actually translates into a better cup, or if it's just a spec sheet flex.
This kettle was sent to me by Timemore. The writing of this review is entirely independent: my evaluation is based solely on real-world use, with no commercial influence whatsoever.
Technical specifications
The Fish PRO X holds 900 mL, runs on a 1350 W element, and lets you dial in any target between 40°C and 98°C in 0.5°C steps enough range for filter coffee, French press, or tea. The ±0.5°C precision comes from tempX, which dynamically modulates power as the water nears the target instead of blasting full power and overshooting a real departure from the overshoot-then-cool-down pattern common on cheaper kettles, where a 92°C setting can actually land closer to 95°C.
We'd actually push back on treating the 900 mL tank as a limitation: it's rare to need much more than that for coffee or tea, and a bigger tank would mean a taller, bulkier kettle a trade-off that would hurt the compact, elegant shape as much as it helps capacity. For us, this is a deliberate, well-judged volume rather than a compromise.
Because the 1350 W heating element concentrates all that power into a fairly small volume, it's best to fill the kettle with a reasonably sufficient amount of water for your brew. With too little water in the tank, the temperature can slightly overshoot the target before tempX gets a chance to rein it in.
Independent testing backs this up: rather than trusting the kettle's own onboard sensor, I'm Not a Barista checked the water with an external ProGrade four-channel digital thermometer accurate to 0.1°C. With the target set to 92°C a typical V60 temperature they measured the actual water ten seconds after the kettle's ready signal: 91.1°C, a deviation of just 0.9°C. Tested the same way, the original Fish Smart Pro was off by roughly 3.5°C. It's not a laboratory-perfect ±0.5°C in every condition, but it's a genuine leap over the previous generation.
Timemore's own long-run data tells the same story. In hold mode around 90°C, the Fish PRO X keeps a tight band for the full session, while the original Fish Pro wanders noticeably more over time:
This chart is recreated from data provided by Timemore on their official website. The values are therefore approximate, but they illustrate the general trend: the Pro X holds a noticeably tighter band around its target than the original Fish Pro over an extended session.
Beyond the heating logic, the build justifies the "PRO X" name: a Grooveboard touch panel replaces physical buttons, the body is 304 stainless steel, and the thin gooseneck spout suits the slow, controlled pours V60 and Chemex demand. We particularly like that the panel is fully touch-sensitive rather than physical buttons: there are no seams or crevices for water spots and coffee grounds to collect in, which makes the kettle noticeably easier to wipe clean. The old black plastic thumb rest gives way to a wooden one a small change that noticeably lifts the kettle's perceived quality. You also get overflow protection and automatic altitude detection, which recalibrates boiling-point assumptions at elevation, plus a clear LED screen showing current and target temperature at a glance.
Strengths
The most tangible strength is speed combined with accuracy, which is a combination kettles rarely nail simultaneously. Timemore states the Fish PRO X is around 30% faster than premium competitors and 10% faster than the standard Fish Pro, and in day-to-day use that difference is noticeable you're not standing around waiting for water to hit temperature before your grinder has even finished. The tempX system deserves the credit here: because it modulates power instead of overshooting and waiting to cool, you get to your target faster without the "wait it out" tax that comes with correcting an overshoot.
Pour-over is where this kettle earns its keep the category we rate highest. Slow, controlled flow is non-negotiable for V60 and Kalita Wave, and the thin spout plus rock-solid temperature stability make it easy to hit the same numbers pour after pour. We rate the pour-over experience a full 5.0/5 not because it's flawless everywhere, but because it drips water exactly where you want it, as well as this price category allows. The wooden thumb rest reinforces that, sitting right where your thumb lands and keeping the kettle balanced whether full or nearly empty.
Timemore actually specifies three distinct flow settings for the gooseneck spout, according to their own product page: a high flow of 15 g/s, ideal for quick filling and generating turbulence; a medium flow of 8 g/s, suited to center pours with more agitation control; and a low flow of just 1 g/s, great for dialing in a precise final weight or a gentle bypass. Here's what each looks like in practice:
- High Flow (15 g/s)
- Medium Flow (8 g/s)
- Low Flow (1 g/s)
Ideal for quick filling and generating turbulence.
Perfect for center pours and high agitation control.
Great for reaching a specified weight or a gentle bypass.
Source: videos and flow-rate figures from Timemore's official product page.
Limitations
Honestly, there are only two real drawbacks we found, and neither is a dealbreaker. The first is more personal than technical: the kettle beeps. It beeps when it reaches temperature, and at a few other points during operation, and there doesn't appear to be any way to turn this off nothing about it is mentioned anywhere in the manual. It's a minor thing, but if you brew early in the morning before anyone else in the house is awake, or you just prefer a quiet kitchen, it's the kind of small friction that becomes mildly annoying over repeated use.
The second is the absence of a built-in timer. Unlike some rivals, the Fish PRO X doesn't track your pour or steep time at all. Personally, this doesn't bother us we already rely on the timer built into our coffee scale for every brew, so a timer on the kettle itself would just be redundant. But if you don't own a scale with a timer, or you'd simply prefer to have everything on one device, this could be a genuine point of friction worth knowing about before you buy.
Comparison with the Fellow Stagg
We tested the Fish PRO X directly against a Fellow Stagg reviewed in depth in our Fellow Stagg EKG Review and two differences stood out immediately, both in Timemore's favor. First, grip: the Timemore's wooden thumb rest simply sits better under the thumb, giving a more natural and secure hold during long, slow pours. The Fellow's handle is fine, but it doesn't offer that same deliberate resting point, and over a multi-minute pour that difference in hand comfort adds up.
Second, and more concretely, the lid design. When tilting the Timemore to pour, water stays exactly where it should no leaking around the lid seam. With the Fellow Stagg we tested, tilting to pour let a small amount of water leak through the lid, which is a frustrating flaw in a kettle built specifically for controlled pouring. It's worth noting Fellow has since released a newer version of their kettle, and it's entirely possible this issue has been addressed in that update we haven't tested that specific model ourselves, so we can't confirm either way. If you're choosing between the two and already own an older Fish PRO X-era Fellow, it may be worth checking whether the redesign fixes the leak before assuming it still applies.
Temperature accuracy is worth comparing too, even though the two kettles weren't tested side by side under identical conditions. In its own instrumented review, TechGearLab found the Fellow Stagg EKG nailed a 200°F (~93°C) coffee-brewing target with an average deviation of only about 0.3°C genuinely impressive. But at green-tea temperatures (170-180°F, roughly 77-82°C), the same test found it consistently overshot by more than 5°F (about 2.8°C), suggesting its accuracy narrows outside the pour-over sweet spot. Other independent tests broadly agree on this pattern: Forbes checked the water with an instant-read thermometer across several settings and found it always within 1°F (about 0.6°C) of target, while Coffee Review flagged the opposite issue using a thermocouple: the kettle's own display can read 1-3°F (roughly 0.6-1.7°C) higher than the water actually is. Timemore's ±0.5°C tempX claim, by contrast, is meant to hold across the kettle's full 40-98°C range, not just around typical brewing temperatures.
Two more practical details tip things further in Timemore's favor. There's a physical power switch on the back of the kettle, so you can cut the power entirely when it's not in use something the Fellow Stagg doesn't offer. And unlike the Fellow, the Fish PRO X remembers its last set temperature even after being switched off at that rear switch, so you're not re-dialing your target every time you power it back on.
Who it's for
This kettle is built for pour-over enthusiasts who care about precision the kind of person dialing in a recipe down to the gram and the degree (a habit worth building, as we explain in Weighing your coffee? Yes, but... why?), pairing it with a precise grinder such as the Timemore Chestnut S3, brewing V60, Kalita Wave or Chemex, and who wants temperature consistency they can actually trust rather than a display number that may or may not reflect reality. It's less suited to anyone brewing large volumes at once or anyone who just wants "hot water fast" without caring about the last two degrees of accuracy.
A V60 recipe with the Fish PRO X
Here's the recipe we settled on after several weeks of testing, using the kettle's precision to keep every pour on target:
Brew curve recreated from the xBloom app's own brew-history graph for this 3-pour V60 recipe (1:16 ratio, 240 g water, total brew time 2'28"). Values are approximate.
The coffee: Geisha Pinton - Zarza a washed, extended-fermentation Geisha grown at 1,560 m in Pitalito, Huila (Colombia) by Jhonatan Gasca's Zarza Coffee, with notes of thyme, lemongrass and watermelon.
- Weigh 15 g of coffee precisely with the Timemore Basic 3.0 a 1:16 ratio for 240 g of water
- Grind with the Timemore C5 ESP Pro, medium-fine for V60
- Heat the water to 89°C with the Fish PRO X and set up your Hario V60
- Pour in 3 stages up to 240 g total (roughly 75 g, then to 150 g, then to 240 g), following the brew curve above
- Let it drain fully around 2'28" total and enjoy
Verdict
At $159, the Fish PRO X isn't the cheapest gooseneck kettle on the market, but the accuracy it delivers is hard to find anywhere near this price point, and the ergonomic details the thumb rest, the leak-free lid make it a pleasure to use pour after pour. For anyone serious about pour-over, it's well worth the money. You can also buy it directly from Timemore.
- Genuinely accurate tempX temperature control, measured close to the ±0.5°C claim
- Noticeably faster heating than the standard Fish Pro and several premium rivals
- Comfortable wooden thumb rest, better grip than the Fellow Stagg
- No lid leaking when tilted to pour
- Wide 40-98°C range in 0.5°C steps covers filter coffee, French press, and tea
- Touch-sensitive Grooveboard panel, no seams or crevices, easy to wipe clean
- Rear power switch and temperature memory retained even after being cut
- Compact 900 mL tank a deliberate, well-judged size rather than a compromise
- Beeps at several steps with no apparent way to disable the sound
- No built-in timer to track pour or steep time
Fish PRO X vs. the competition
A quick side-by-side against the Fellow Stagg tested in this review. Manufacturer specs and independent-test figures come from different sources and testers, so treat the accuracy row as directional rather than a strict head-to-head.
| Fish PRO X | Fellow Stagg EKG | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 900 mL | 900 mL |
| Power | 1350 W | 1200 W |
| Temperature range | 40-98°C, 0.5°C steps | 57-100°C |
| Manufacturer accuracy claim | ±0.5°C (tempX) | Degree-precise |
| Independent test result | ~0.9°C off at 92°C (I'm Not a Barista) | ~0.3°C off at 93°C, but 2.8°C+ off at tea temps (TechGearLab) |
| Built-in timer | No | Yes (brew stopwatch) |
| Physical power switch | Yes retains last set temperature | No |
| Price | $159 | $199.95 |
Further reading
5 Reasons Your Filter Coffee Isn't Perfect (Fix It)
Fix 5 common filter coffee mistakes - pouring, grind, filters, dripper, and dense beans - with practical solutions from coffee specialist Asser Christensen.
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1Zpresso J-Ultra Review: Premium Manual Espresso Grinder
Review of the 1Zpresso J-Ultra: 48 mm burrs, 8 µm precision, retractable handle. The premium manual grinder for espresso - handling, grind quality, and verdict.
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Coffee degassing: why wait before brewing it?
Discover why degassing coffee after roasting is essential: the role of CO2, the ideal resting time, and tips for optimal extraction.
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