Home baristas, rejoice! On Tuesday, Fellow announced its first espresso machine, the aptly named Espresso Series 1. The new espresso brewer can pull shots, steam milk and offers a range of clever features that let users customize everything — from pressure and temperature to programming and saving settings for more elaborate pulls. Its main appeal is that it offers a commercial espresso machine’s worth of temperature consistency and accuracy in a package that comfortably rests on your kitchen counter. It can also give real-time feedback when you pull a shot to ensure you’re getting the most flavor — a nice addition for newbies and grizzled baristas alike.
If you’re a self-described coffee nerd, you likely know the brand Fellow or have one of their many coffee-centric products like the Stagg EKG Electric Kettle or beloved Carter mugs and tumblers. Seeing the brand expand into espresso is incredibly exciting because its current lineup is all about elevating the experience of brewing and serving coffee while reducing many of the pain points that come with both.
“For the last 13 years, we’ve made coffee stuff, and then we took everything we learned about making coffee stuff and designed a home espresso machine,” Fellow founder and CEO Jake Miller told CNET.
You have to love how approachable Miller makes it all sound.
The Espresso Series 1 comes in black, cherry red and malted chocolate colors and costs $1,500. It’s anything but cheap, and isn’t meant to compete with similarly priced all-in-one solutions like the Breville Barista Touch Impress that have a built-in grinder. In fact, if you plan on getting a Series 1, you’re going to need a good, if not great, espresso grinder to get the most out of the machine. On paper, the Series 1 should perform at the level of a machine that’s twice the price. I’m keen on testing it.
The good news is that the price drops to $1,200 for preorders, which start today, and comes with $100 in Fellow Drops credits (the company’s program for limited and rare coffee bean releases). Fellow says that the preorder deal is for a limited time.
With dozens of home espresso options ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, Fellow aims to stand out with a stylish machine tailored to its loyal following — coffee lovers who shun K-cups and embrace the ritual of the perfect brew. The Espresso Series 1 also aims to make brewing espresso and steaming milk more approachable, while still offering a number of ways to customize the experience to your liking.
For example, one of the Series 1’s clever features is the ability to set a cutoff temperature when steaming — thanks to a sensor built into the steam wand’s tip. If you’ve ever been a Starbucks barista, you know the value of a built-in cutoff temp when steaming milk.
The Espresso Series 1 takes Fellow’s design aesthetic to the next level of posh. It has aspects of a classic looking Italian espresso machine (especially the cherry red version) mixed with a very contemporary looking chrome group head that defines the front. A lot of the body is taken up by the two-liter removable water tank which, thanks to the machine’s appealing low-profile design, is easy to take out and refill. It also has a similar circular display and control dial as the Aiden Precision Coffee Maker that Fellow launched last year.
On the top left of the machine are three piano key-like buttons for pulling a shot, steaming milk and dispensing hot water. On the right side is one of the most robust steam wands I’ve ever seen on a home espresso machine. The Series 1 comes with a 58-millimeter bottomless portafilter with an attractive wood handle — you also get a matching tamper and metal steaming pitcher in the box. The drip tray is noticeably deep and has cutouts at its base to help prevent any accumulated water, coffee and milk from sloshing around as you carry the tray to a sink to empty.
Like the Aiden, the Series 1 can save different custom profiles. So if you found that a 25-second pre-infusion works best with a certain roast of coffee, you don’t need to reprogram that every time.
On the inside, the Fellow Espresso Series 1 has a novel thermal architecture made up of a multi-point heating system: a low thermal mass heater, a mini boiler, which Fellow calls a “boosted boiler” and an independently-heated group head. Unlike a lot of home machines sold today, Fellow has found a way to control the temperature across the machine’s entire thermal chain. That way you can get a similar level of consistency and accuracy as a commercial-grade espresso machine without the need for a 220W outlet. One of the benefits of all this is that the Series 1 takes only 90 seconds to heat up.
“The secret sauce is the thermal architecture. It’s understanding what you can do with 120 volts,” said Nick Terzulli, Fellow vice president of research and development. “We’ve been able to package an incredible amount of tech into a very, very small space.”
You might be saying, all that sounds impressive, but how does it perform? Fellow invited me to its headquarters in San Francisco to find out. I got to watch a working prototype of the Series 1 pull several shots and steam milk. The flat white Miller served me from the Series 1 was delicious. The espresso had a nice texture and clarity and the milk was velvety and sweet.
Here are some other specs and features for the Fellow Expresso Series:
- In the box: Espresso Series 1,58mm bottomless portafilter, steaming pitcher and tamper
- Dimensions (LxWxH): 17.24 x 12.4 x 10.98in.; 438 x 315 x 279mm
- Weight: 21.7lbs.
- Max water capacity: 2.0L (removable tank)
- Cord Length: 3ft
- Power: 110-120V; 1,700W; 60Hz; 15A
- Materials: Food-grade plastic, stainless steel and silicone
- App: iOS and Android — With automatic software updates for the machine and the ability to create, share and edit espresso profiles.
- Pressure control that automatically adjusts based on puck prep to help users find that flavor sweet spot
- Get real-time insights and feedback pulling a shot
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