Customer reviews from Fellow
Fellow - Espresso Series 1 Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine with up to 9 bars of pressure and custom roast profiles - Black
Average customer rating
4.5
(159 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 159 reviews
5 Stars
118
4 Stars
24
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
3
1 Star
10
91%of customers recommend this product.
(
90 out of
99)
Customer Reviews for Fellow - Espresso Series 1 Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine with up to 9 bars of pressure and custom roast profiles - Black
Customer Rating
5
Such a beautiful machine!
on March 7, 2026
Posted by: BenW
We recently received our Fellow Series 1, and it's been a blast to play with! After dialing in the settings, the espresso quality is excellent, the steamer works very well, and the machine is super easy to use.
The machine completely justifies the digital integration of all the options and settings. (We are coming from an old-school lever machine with almost no electronics whatsoever.) And the 2-minute warmup is a beautiful thing!
Notes:
- The shot volume seemed to be poorly calibrated out-of-the-box. When set to a double-shot 36g pour (18g grounds, 2:1 ratio), pulling a shot yielded only about 18g of espresso, equivalent to a single shot. It took some digging and internet sleuthing to discover the setting buried deep within the menus (Settings > Customization > Nerdy Settings > Volumetric Offsets) that allowed us to correct this. We had to adjust the settings from 48mL to 65mL for the first shot, and from 44mL to 61mL for the 2nd and nth shots.
- It was useful to have the water hardness measuring strip in the box, but oddly frustrating to not have an immediate way to correct the issue. (Our RO filtration unit provides about 20ppm; ideal is more like 100ppm.) If Fellow were to partner with e.g. Third Wave Water to provide a couple water-softening packets in the box, that would be a nice touch for both companies. Unboxing a new espresso machine is the perfect time to change consumer habits for something like this, and it would make the coffee taste better, and make the machine last longer.
- Tiny bug: Setting the water hardness to "5-7dh" causes the setting to be locked in as "2-5dh". (It would be useful for the screen to show 'ppm' equivalents here as well, for customers who measure their water in ppm units. 1°dH is about 17.8ppm.)
- The hot water dispenser seems to have a very slow flow rate. Maybe this is limited by how fast the heating element can heat the water, but if there were a way to make it 2x faster, that would be a nice improvement.
Overall, we are very happy customers so far. Kudos to Fellow for making such a fantastic machine!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
So Far, So Good, Impressed with the Execution
on March 6, 2026
Posted by: ken27
I have been making espressos and espresso drinks for more than 3 decades on a variety of commercial machines. I bought the Fellow Espresso Series 1 out of curiosity and for potential use as a spare machine and on the road. I have used it for a week and made 3 drinks per day. I have not tried to use any of the automated features and have used the machine manually. The display shows the extraction pressure and I have been able to set the shot temperature. I haven't independently verified either, but the results seem consistent with what I've seen n the screen.
In my use I have found the machine to be very solid, very user-friendly, and intuitive to use. The quality of the drinks produced has been very good. I have been able to use portafilters made for other machines such as La Marzoccos in the Series 1 without issues. Build quality appears to be good. I obviously cannot comment on durability at this point since I've only had the machine for 1 week.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
4
Promising Espresso, Few Rough Edges
on March 5, 2026
Posted by: Rich
The Series 1 makes a genuinely good espresso. Once properly calibrated for volumetric extraction, shots are consistent pull after pull, and the pressure graph is a nice touch for dialling things in. Steaming is equally solid.
Out-of-the-box hardware setup is smooth and well thought out. The software, however, feels like it's still catching up. The default shot calibration produces 20ml pulls — far short of a standard espresso — meaning immediate manual adjustment is required. Beyond that, several expected features are simply absent: drink recipe customisation isn't available yet, hot water temperature can't be set, and there's no Bluetooth scale support. The scroll-wheel UI also feels sluggish in use, and the drip tray fills faster than you'd expect, needing frequent emptying. A few things also aren't well documented. Flushing the group head, for example, requires holding the espresso button for 3 seconds — not super obvious, and took a few minutes to stumble upon without hunting for it.
Out-of-the-box hardware setup is smooth and well thought out. The software, however, feels like it's still catching up. The default shot calibration produces 20ml pulls — far short of a standard espresso — meaning immediate manual adjustment is required. Beyond that, several expected features are simply absent: drink recipe customisation isn't available yet, hot water temperature can't be set, and there's no Bluetooth scale support. The scroll-wheel UI also feels sluggish in use, and the drip tray fills faster than you'd expect, needing frequent emptying. A few things also aren't well documented. Flushing the group head, for example, requires holding the espresso button for 3 seconds — not super obvious, and took a few minutes to stumble upon without hunting for it.
Bottom line: The fundamentals are there. Extraction quality and consistency are real. But the software feels unfinished, key features are missing, and some basic functions are harder to discover than they should be. I look forward to software updates as they roll out.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Impressed with the quality and ease of use
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: Frankie P
I just received mine and it's so easy to use. I was able to pull a perfect shot within 4-6 tries! Once you get the feel for it, it's smooth riding.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: Eric
I am a newb. But this espresso machine is very nice. Easy to use. Espresso, Americano and Cappuccino have been easy and delicious. Excited to learn on this espresso machine :)
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Using the Series 1
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: Don
I waited a year for the Series1. I am happy with this machine so far. I have been using a Breville Barista Express for the past 4 years. I took me a while to dial in the settings the way I wanted them. Now I am happy with the results. I actually did my first custom profile brew the day after I set it up and tested. It turned out the way I wanted it first pull. very happy with that. My other machine I was always chasing after a consistent pull. I emailed support a couple times for spec information that I couldn't find in the videos. Like Temp range and adjusting water spout temp and adjusting. The response was fast and helpful. Thank You Katie @Fellow.
I've been a Fellows Drop subscriber for a while now. It will be nice to try some of the profiles when they come to the app.
I've been a Fellows Drop subscriber for a while now. It will be nice to try some of the profiles when they come to the app.
Don
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Consistent and capable
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: PCL
Back to back to back shots are no problem for this machine. Profiles are actually working great. I should give it 4 stars because I don’t have the full app experience yet but the machine has been impressive enough to accept a little wait time on full app control.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Fellow Fanatic
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: Keegs
I preordered immediately and I am so happy that I did! This is my first espresso machine. I can’t stop looking at it, and making drinks of course!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow