Look out, Breville! Fellow, the company that makes what we consider to be the best coffee maker, is finally expanding into the world of espresso machines with the Fellow Espresso Series 1.
This machine, which goes on presale today (April 22) and will ship this fall, incorporates many of the features we love about Fellow's other coffee maker in a gorgeous design. I got a chance to check out the Series 1 a few weeks before its announcement; here's what I thought about how it compares to the best espresso machines.
Fellow Espresso Series 1: Price and availability
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 costs $1,499, which puts it at the higher end for most in-home espresso machines. That's the same price as the Breville Barista Touch Impress, though it's $500 less than the Breville Oracle Jet and De'Longhi La Specialista Opera.
Still, if you preorder the Series 1 (preorders start April 22), you can get it for $1,199 plus $100 in Fellow Drops credits. Fellow will continue to offer other deals on preorders, but says that this one will be the best of the bunch.
The Series 1 will come in three colors: red with a walnut portafiler handle (as shown in the photos), black with a black portafilter handle, and chocolate with a maple handle.
Here are all the accessories that come with the Series 1:
- Shot splitter attachment
- Single wall shot basket
- Double wall pressurized shot basket
- 10 oz stainless steel steaming pitcher
- Tamper - with ergonomic plastic handle (Matte Black model), Walnut wood handle (Cherry Red model), or Maple wood handle (Malted Chocolate model)
- Steam wand tip cleaner
- Backflush disc
- Cleaning supplies: descaler and backflush tablets
- Water hardness test strip
Fellow Espresso Series 1: Design
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 takes its design cues from the kind of classic espresso machines you might find at a cafe. As with Fellow's other products, the Series 1 keeps things pretty clean; there's not a lot of knobs or buttons, which may be a plus or a minus depending on your tastes.
There's something to be said about having an espresso machine that looks a little steampunk, but then I can also appreciate the clean lines of the Series 1.
The Series 1 is wrapped in plastic — there were some complaints that the Aiden should have been made of something a little more solid, but the Series 1 doesn't look cheap. And the rest of the machine, such as the circular head, is fitted out in metal with a mirrored finish.
To the left is a similar display and dial as you'll find on the Fellow Aiden. I like the continuity of design, but the small circular screen does make it a little hard to navigate through a lot of submenus.
Fortunately, the Series 1 will connect to Fellow's app, so you can configure things through your smartphone.
Fellow also uses the circular shape of the display to its advantage; when the Series 1 is pulling a shot, it displays a virtual pressure gauge.
Three buttons above this screen also let you quickly dispense coffee, switch to steam mode, or have the machine pour hot water if all you want is tea.
To the right of the 58mm bottomless portafilter is the Series 1's steam wand. It has an inverted U shape, and rotates and tilts very neatly using a ball hinge.
The Espresso Series 1 isn't as tall as some other espresso machines — Fellow said it was designed to fit under kitchen cabinets easily — but it does have a much bigger footprint (17.2 x 12.4 x 10.98 inches) than other espresso machines I've tested, so you will need some counter space.
It also weighs 21.7 pounds, so regardless of size, you're not going to want to move it often. You still might need to shift the machine a little bit to refill its water reservoir, which can only be accessed from the top.
There's no built-in coffee grinder — Fellow doesn't want to kill off one of its product lines, after all.
Fellow Espresso Series 1: Performance
An espresso machine might look like a million bucks, but if it makes coffee worse than day-old convenience store joe, you've got serious problems.
A Fellow rep made me an espresso, an Americano, and a cappuccino from the Series 1, and all were excellent.
The Series 1 is capable of producing up to nine bars of pressure, which is low compared to other espresso machines. But the company said that the Series 1's "boosted boiler" system (which helps heat water faster) and adaptive pressure profiling (which adjusts the pressure on the fly) makes up for it. And, having tasted its output, I would have to agree.
As with the Fellow Aiden, Series 1 owners will be able to create specific profiles for their espressos. Fellow will also update the machine with profiles for different coffee beans.
Another feature I really liked is that the steam wand not only has a built-in thermometer, so that you can heat milk to different temperatures, but it also has a self-purging function to clean itself after each use.
Fellow Espresso Series 1: First impressions
While it's not cheap, the Espresso Series 1 looks to be an excellent first effort from Fellow. It does a superb job of blending the design of Fellow's other products with the look of more traditional espresso machines.
It also incorporates one of the best features of the Fellow Aiden — the ability to obsessively customize your brews — which will appeal to those who really like to tinker with their coffee.
At $1,499 — $1,199 if you preorder — the Series 1 is aimed at those looking for a higher-end product, and you can get perfectly good espresso from machines that cost far less.
We're hoping to get a review unit in the coming months, so stay tuned.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
