Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Unbelievable quality for the pro barista or home enthusiast
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 is perfectly designed for both beginners and pros alike, with enough bells and whistles to make even the most decadent of espresso lovers pine
The Series 1 might be Fellow's first-ever espresso bar, but it's got the design and build chops of something that'd put La Marzocco to shame. Aesthetically pleasing and sublimely impressive at delivering exceptional quality espresso and outstanding milk, it's packed with practically every bell and whistle you can think of and then some, all while retaining a remarkably competitive price. It's skill agnostic, you don't need to be an ex-head-barista to take advantage of it, and if you are, you'll probably never go back to a coffee shop ever again.
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Commercial-grade shot profiling and analysis with pressure curves, ramps, and temperature control to 0.1 degree increments
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Stunning build quality
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Effortless at any skill level, with a simple three-button design or full dial control
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Auto(ish) steam wand with temperature probe and memory.
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Outstanding systems that keeps your coffee running smooth throughout
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Could be slightly heavier for when you lock in the group handles
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Deep-sided group handle supports standard baskets, but you can't swap the handle out
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The bulky steam wand can be fiddly with smaller milk jugs
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Fellow's one of those brands that has really only just made a name for itself in the last few years. It's a brand based out of the US that's designing some of the most cutting-edge coffee tech we've seen in the industry to date, and the Espresso Series 1, is its first debut on a fully fledged coffee bar, and I'll tell you right now, for the price, it is outstandingly good.
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 coffee machine has been designed in part with ex-barista champions and all manner of technical experts and delivers extraordinary espresso, through and through. It's a difficult product to review because there are so few negatives to be said about it. That's not to say it's perfect; there is the odd hiccup here and there, but overall, what you're getting for the price, it's well worth living with and it's easily one of the best espresso machines money can buy.
Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Price and availability
As of June 2026, you can pick up an Espresso Series 1 in the US for around $1,499 from Fellow directly. Alternatively, you can also grab one on pre-order in the UK for about the same price from Origin as well. Although availability is still limited at this time.
There's all manner of different finishes as well. You can pick up the Cherry Red & Walnut version we have here, but Fellow will also sell you a black version, along with malted chocolate & maple, a woodland green and walnut, sesame white and maple, a marine blue and walnut.
Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Design and build
I'm going to sound like a broken record for much of this, but the overall build is exemplary. The unboxing experience isn't anything too special, but once you get the Series 1 out of its packaging, that's when you really get to appreciate it. The chrome-plated group head, the walnut handle, the bold fellow logo lovingly etched into everything. Even the steam wand looks good. The finish, too, with that gloss metal body, is just lush.
The group handle itself is a hefty wooden unit, with a naked bottomless portafilter, meaning your espresso prep needs to be on point to avoid any mess (perhaps my only gripe is that they don't include a full metal dual-spout portafilter as well). The basket is the industry standard 58mm design, but the group handle itself is bespoke to the Series 1, so if you want to swap it out, you'll need to get one that's compatible with the group head design.
Fellow also included a full water hardness kit, used during the first setup (the machine asks you to test your water before proceeding to fill it so it can set its own descaling cycle, with a handy digital indicator and PH test stick). Alongside that, there's also a small milk pitcher included, as well as a wooden tamp as well. The tamp is a little light, but that's mostly an aesthetic grievance (as realistically you're going to be using your body weight, not the tamp, to compact your coffee puck).
Other things to point out. Steam wand? Fully articulating, with a built-in temperature probe. It's got a 2L water reservoir on the right side that's fully removable, and a fairly sizable drip tray too. Oh, and of course, you get a full circular display and control dial, plus three simple buttons on top for quick use as well. Although more on that in a bit.
Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Performance
It's the display of the Fellow Espresso Series 1 that's half the fun here as well. Once you've finished your setup and you've got the tank full (don't worry, it'll let you know if it's running short, because of course it does), you can then run through all the settings, including the insane amount of espresso logic that's built in here.
You get a whole plethora of different shot profiles as standard, modern-arc, classic, turbo shots, and tonnes more, all fully customizable. You can control pre-infusion times, shot duration, water ratio, temperature to within 0.1 of a degree (thanks to a digital PID), ramp curves, the lot. It's properly deep, and there's even more nerdy settings (in a menu literally called settings for nerds).
Shot analysis too is top tier, with a very simple display that shows you pressure, shot completion percentage, and total time all in a handy little circular panel. It's perfect for dialling in quick too. Switch to steaming milk after you've pulled that perfect shot, and that too is all visible on the display, where you can set what temperature you want, hit go, and then it'll auto-shut off once it reaches that point.
There's just so much going on here, it's radical. It's commercial-grade tech in a machine that costs half as much as it probably should. Combined with a pump that's honestly as silent as the grave. Compared to Gaggia's Classic UP (itself a more than capable machine) I could barely hear it at all, when it was pulling a double.
Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Verdict
I can't express enough just how impressed I've been with my time with the Espresso Series 1. I've been using it for about two weeks now at the roastery, and it's by far my favourite bar to use in place.
Is it perfect? Well, there's a few things that frustrate me a little. But they're very minor. It's still not quite as heavy as I'd like. That's particularly annoying when you're trying to lock the group handle into position with a fresh puck prepped in it, and the steam wand is very low to the drip tray as well. Which is great if you're ghosting milk (the act of just leaving the steam wand in the jug while it steams and not controlling the pitcher), but less useful if you want to actually control your texturing.
The pucks, too, are a little on the wet side. From my research, this seems to be a result of the solenoid design in the Series 1. But again, it's mostly cosmetic and doesn't impact flavour at all, just the clean-up.
And yet still, if someone came to me, looking to build the ultimate home espresso setup, without breaking the bank, I'd recommend this over practically every other machine out there. Particularly if you've got the budget. Pair it with something like a Niche Zero single-shot zero-retention grinder, and you'll never need to visit a coffee shop ever again.
Fellow Espresso Series 1 review: Alternatives to consider
At this point, there's no use denying just how phenomenal the Espresso Series 1 is, but if you're not keen on all the manual faff involved with pulling your own shots and steaming your milk, but are still looking for a solid alternative, I'd highly recommend you check out Sage's Oracle Dual Boiler. It's a brilliant automatic machine, ideal for those too tired to worry about what the pressure profile is on their latest batch of Ethiopian Gesha.
Alternatively (and to be honest, it's quite a bit cheaper) the Gaggia Classic UP is a redesigned icon that refuses to go down without a fight. At £800, the UP refresh finally brings dual PID to the legendary line-up, and the handy display gives you a good chance of getting the perfect shot dialled in. Is the steam wand as good as the Series 1? No, but it's pretty close, particularly at near half the cost.
