Today, my pre-order of the Fellow Espresso Series 1 in Cherry Red + Walnut arrived. Here are my thoughts if anyone is interested.
Note: I didn't have very much time with the machine after unboxing/setup. But, thankfully, I was able to get it pretty dialed-in after 3 shots even though I haven't pulled a single espresso shot in about 1.5 years.
Unboxing/Build Quality: Pretty solid machine even though it has very little metal on the exterior. All the plastic feels high quality and it has been easy to clean. The machine has a good weight to it and the feet are really grippy so it's planted when tightening the portafilter one-handed. I like the drip tray and rubber mat. I have low kitchen cupboards above my countertops (big reason I wanted this machine in the first place) so I can't remove the water tank without scooting the whole thing forward.
The only gripe I have is with the wooden walnut ("walnut?") handle of the included portafilter and tamper. It's so smooth and lightweight, it honestly feels plasticky. Doesn't feel like real wood when I hold and tap it, even though they claim it's "natural wood" on the website. I'm not an expert on wood, but it doesn't feel anything I've ever owned.
Setup: Very simple and straightforward. Once the machine is plugged in, it goes through a few quick menus like setting imperial/metric, altitude, and then testing your water hardness with a pre-included test strip. The dial is just twist and press only like everything else from Fellow, so it's kinda annoying, but the UI is intuitive enough I was able to create a custom profile and change everything on-machine until the app gets updated to allow that feature.
Workflow: After my first test shot, I made a cortado for myself and a mocha for my wife. Preheats fast. You can't pull a shot and steam at the same time, but that doesn't affect my personal routine when making 2 drinks back to back. It's my first machine with a cool touch steam wand so that's nice. The wand auto-purge is neat. The whole machine is easy to wipe down and clean so far.
TL;DR: Good build quality; love the design. Time will tell if the plastic holds up. The circle screen and dial is whatever, but gets the job done until the app gets updated. It's a great little espresso machine so far out of the box that makes tasty coffee. Don't judge my latte art.
by CommanderAME
11 Comments
So far, every Fellow products people say it looks cheap make crazy sound but I haven’t often read about breaking issues.
Great feedback—thanks for sharing. Eager to learn real world impressions like this as more people get them in their hands.
+$1k machine with a plastic exterior is bonkers
What is the wait time between pulling a shot and being able to steam effectively?
Thanks for the info! A couple of questions if you have time:
1. Does it support any kind of brew by weight? e.g. by connecting with bluetooth scales? For me it doesn’t make sense to buy a machine without that at this point.
2. What other machines did you also consider, and why did you choose this over them?
Thanks!
I have a solid wood bottomless portafilter and it is also very light. The spouts and metal in the handle add a lot of weight
Curious about steam pressure. Is it strong enough to steam thinner oat milks?
Thanks for sharing !
Does the plastic shell scratch easily?
tried it today at crate and barrel by a fellow demo person. build was pretty mediocre and they had trouble dialing in a shot of local medium roast. i was surprised by the price tag of this and the 200 dollar scale. their fellow grinder also at 200 seemed pretty fisher price too.
for the money, fellow seems to be getting by off aesthetics and brand.
i could never recommend someone spending this much money for something marginally better than a super auto espresso machine.
looks like they are targeting a niche of tiktok main stream adopters who they expect are not interested in going more than a reel deep into making coffee.
Waiting on mine but got confirmation of shipping this morning. Did you feel your shots were pulling well with the included equipment or is a puck screen, basket upgrade, and possible hollow screw needed to make this a comparable machine. What about novice coffee hobbyist, good enough for them to learn on?