Fellow - Espresso Series 1

The thing to me about the Series One is that if you get past the flashy temp sensors and volume control stuff, past the nice looking plastic and look at the boiler, their patent on the “innovative design” is..basically the Breville/Sage ThermoJet. Like, at it’s core, yeah it has a lot of tech to help you make better espresso, but the reality of it all is that the machine is just pushing water at ~9 Bar through coffee. Someone like James Hoffman with a Bambino Plus will still be able to make a better shot than 99% of people with the Series One. Because I make terrible financial choices - I’m also into photography. The fact of the matter is that you can buy a $7500 Hassleblad body and $10k in lenses…but you’re still gonna feel humbled by Pulitzer Prize winning photos. Spend $2500 on the setup and $1000 on becoming a god-level barista. You’ll be better.

The Opus which is their only espresso capable grinder is bad. But the Ode is actually pretty nice IMO though won't really do espresso. They definitely have an aesthetic but their products often are nice IMO. The scale I always felt was way overpriced given that it doesn't include smart features for example. I tried the ES1 a few months ago when they demoed it at SEY and it is interesting in that it gives you a lot of control in the brew process.

It self calibrates the volumetric flow. Nick has said that it will improve over time and should settle in to +-1ml.

The receiver is in the machine and the intention is that it will be added but Nick has said that there is not a timeline for that. They need to make sure that the launch goes well and they handle anything that comes up there first.

Damn mine is off by a lot. Asked for 300ml of hot water and got 225. Tried other amounts as well. Not happy with how the group head moves the entire machine. I can’t even get mine to be fully centered. Considering to return.

I’ve had mine for about a week and been enjoying it very much! I split the shots between the ES1 and my Robot to keep it interesting :) Having a steam wand coming from the robot alone has been game changer when it comes to time - I used the nanofoamer and that was a PITA to clean up every time I needed to do an extra drink, but no more! Also bought the extended warranty to be on the safe side.

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.

$1200 for the black. $1300 for the red or chocolate with wooden handles on the portafilter and tamper. Initially, $100 credit in Drops was included. Later, a Carter mug was sent as a gift and then after the delay from December to February or March was announced, a $200 Fellow credit was added.

Be careful talking about the Series 1 here. They’ll call you a paid bot lol. I’m not familiar with the Primus. I got myself the ES1. Like it so far. Hope it lasts haha

I’ve spent a week with my preordered Fellow Espresso Series 1, coming from a Breville/Sage Bambino. I gotta say, I’m really liking it so far. I had concerns about reliability, so I purchased the extended warranty. And I’m also really impressed by how they’re handling people’s issues quickly, with failure rates being at the single digits compared to the thousands shipped. I love that it heats up in about a minute for me, before I even finish my puck prep. The steam wand is loads better than the bambino, as it adjusts the settings based on the type of milk I’m using. There are some gripes, that they’ve already listed as future firmware updates. Volumetric mode is terrible, it’s a pain to just do a simple steam wand purge before actually steaming (outside of the “make a drink” mode). It dispenses a lot of water when heating up. But these are being fixed soon. One thing that wouldn’t be a firmware fix is the pretty terrible decision to flare out the bottom of the portafilter. It makes the whole thing completely incompatible with any type of 58mm portafilter holder or storage shelf. I’ll probably swap it out. Overall, love the machine. My shots have been very consistent. And I’ve never had better tasting coffee.

I live in LA and they do have a dedicated store here. I’ve been looking to upgrade my Breville Bambino soon. I’ve pretty much mastered this machine and need something that could take me to the next step as I grow into the hobby. I recently pulled this gorgeous shot [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/s/PPcrgMkDvT) The Fellow S1 looks like it could be a good beginner-expert machine with all the adjustable features.

I’m only getting 15 seconds of pull time. I need weigh the output… looks very to be a very Small shot

How many seconds do your oulls last? I have pulled about 10 shots on mine so far and according to the on screen timer, it’s only pulling for 15 seconds. I am using a very grind size and tamping hard. In one of Fellow’s reviews, it says the machine will tell you how to improve if your shot is not pulling correctly, but there is no feedback shown on the screen.

If the app is any indication, it will be a total chore to use. The app is the weakest part of the Aiden experience for me as it is constantly logging you out, not connecting with the Aiden and is very, very limited in features. I can only imagine this being twice as horrible an experience with the ES1 as compared to Aiden.

I was interested in the ES1 but this app experience is holding me back and making me not even truly give it consideration. Don't get me wrong, the Aiden itself has been stellar but the app is just not there. Sure, making recipes is easy in the app but sometimes taking 3-4 days before saving because of the endless connectivity issues? It's just not a good experience. Thanks for the reply. I do appreciate it. I hope these issues can be hammered out and made smooth but I think the app needs far more quality testing.

The manual method of using Aiden is a chore on the small screen especially when you take into account the controls are sometimes unresponsive. The app makes putting together recipes for Aiden a lot easier. The espresso maker looks like the interface is the same size and like it functions the same. It would be a chore to do I am sure.