While I really do love coffee, I do not have the tools at home to experiment with different espresso pulls and make my own espresso-based drinks. So I always end up just buying drinks from my favorite coffee shops. Every time I get the urge to actually buy my own machine, the fact that machines seem so complicated stops me from building my own home coffee bar.
The Espresso Series 1 by Fellow, the first home espresso machine from the coffee equipment brand, is positioned as a premium semi-automatic machine that bridges the gap between professional-level performance and approachability. This means that whether you are a beginner in the home coffee game or you are an expert, you will be able to appreciate the features that this machine brings.
Designer:
Before we even talk about what it does, let’s talk about what it looks like, because this machine is genuinely beautiful. Fellow has always been known for its clean, minimal aesthetic, and the Espresso Series 1 is no different. It comes in a sleek matte black finish with a painted ABS outer wrap, and the portafilter features a real wood accent that gives it a warm, premium feel. The three piano-style buttons for brew, steam, and hot water sit flush against the front panel, keeping things looking uncluttered and intentional. There is also a rubberized cup-warming mat on top, which is a small but thoughtful detail that makes it feel more like a café machine than a home appliance. With dimensions of 12.4 inches wide, 11 inches tall, and 17.25 inches deep, it has a compact footprint that would sit beautifully on any countertop without overwhelming the space.
One thing that I appreciate about this machine is that the full-color LCD display will walk you through your entire brewing process. It can tell you if your shot ran too fast or too slow and can even suggest grind adjustments you can make. As a noob, this would be truly helpful if I ever got something like this. It also gives you customizable profiling including pressure, pre-infusion, brew temperature, and steam pressure, so as your skills grow, the machine grows with you.
Another feature worth highlighting is its patented Boosted Boiler system. It has a three-part heating system: a flow-through heater, a 225ml boiler, and a dedicated group head heater. This system works together to give you to-the-degree temperature stability and near-instant transitions between brewing and steaming. The warm-up time is also impressively fast at under two minutes, so you are not standing around waiting for your machine to be ready before your first morning cup.
Speaking of steaming, the steam wand comes with auto-purge and auto-stop functions, which are features typically found in high-end café machines. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of steaming milk, which is something that intimidates a lot of beginners (myself very much included). Whether you are going for a flat white, a latte, or a cappuccino, having a wand that practically guides you through the process is a huge plus.
The Espresso Series 1 also connects to Wi-Fi and syncs with the Fellow app, where you can save, download, and share espresso profiles with other users. You can download brewing profiles built specifically for certain coffee roasts, which is incredibly useful when you are still learning how different variables affect your shot. It turns espresso-making into something closer to a community experience, where you can learn from other home baristas and experiment with profiles without having to start from scratch every time.
From a materials standpoint, Fellow did not cut any corners. The boiler, portafilter, and baskets are all food-grade stainless steel, the water lines are reinforced silicone, and the entire machine is BPA and PFAS-free throughout. For anyone who is conscious about what their beverages come into contact with, this is a meaningful detail that is genuinely worth calling out. The machine also uses a commercial-standard 58mm portafilter, which means it is compatible with a wide range of third-party baskets, tampers, and accessories. So as you go deeper down the espresso rabbit hole, you have the freedom to upgrade and personalize your setup without being locked into proprietary parts.
Priced at $1,499, the Fellow Espresso Series 1 is definitely an investment. But for everything it offers, from guided brewing and app connectivity to professional-grade temperature control and a genuinely beautiful design, it makes a compelling case for itself. If you have been putting off building your home coffee bar because espresso machines have always felt too intimidating or too technical, this might just be the one that finally changes your mind. It certainly has me reconsidering my morning coffee shop run.
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