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
4.6
(138 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 138 reviews
5 Stars
105
4 Stars
22
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
1
1 Star
6
92%of customers recommend this product.
(
90 out of
98)
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
1
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: Yups
Not a fan of the flavor. Seems like it needed more beta testing.
Response from FellowBy CX, Customer Experience Team, March 19, 2026
We're sorry to hear that this was your experience with Series 1! We're confident that with a little tweaking, we can get you pulling shots that you love. One of our Customer Experience team members has reached out via email to assist you with this issue. We look forward to connecting!
-The Fellow Team
Andrew Martin (He/Him)
Customer Experience, Learning & Development Specialist
Mon-Fri 8-5 PST
F E L L O W | fellowproducts.com
-The Fellow Team
Andrew Martin (He/Him)
Customer Experience, Learning & Development Specialist
Mon-Fri 8-5 PST
F E L L O W | fellowproducts.com
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
4
I like it?
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: JohnU
Overall very happy with this machine. Initial dial in of volumetric system a little confusing. I don't like going to reddit to find answers. Recently I found water on my countertop. I thought I had a leak. Water tank was almost empty. Well even though I had only had 3 coffees it was full. But again reddit was the answer. During a wind storm the power went out. So each time it came back on the machine back flushes. Also steam wand purges a large amount of water. I guess their will be a software update. Lastly the app. I can't figure out what it does. It doesn't control any settings. You can't create profiles with it. So far no firmware updates. So what does it do? Maybe during production of the machine someone could have worked on the app. I still think a good machine but not perfect.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Exactly what I hoped for!
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: BenW127
I’ve been using the ES1 for a couple of weeks and I’ve enjoyed getting to know its ins and outs. For me, the ES1 has delivered on what was promised, and has made getting into making espresso easy and approachable. While the exterior is plastic, the build feels solid and high quality. As I become more comfortable with the machine, I’ve appreciated the ES1’s ability to make tweaks to the process. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting into and learning about espresso.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
4
A decent home machine
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: Humanclan
I have had my Series 1 for a couple of weeks and I am still learning the ins and outs. In general the fit, finish and function are pretty good. A few negatives are the user interface is pretty clunky. Trying to figure out how to set the auto volumetric is not intuitive at all. I am not sure why this would bot be included in with the profiles. Perhaps as I learn I will find there are ither ways to do it. Next, the portafilter feels cheaply made,and when you crank it into the group head it feels gritty and like unfinished metal grinding together. Perhaps ad it is used that will break in. In general the machine pulls a decent shot and steams well for a home machine. I wish I didn't have to qualify that statement by saying "for a home machine". The interface while steaming showing the current temp of the milk and the target temp is nice. I hope as I use it my mind changes on some of these things but for the price point I expected more.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic step-up from generic prosumer machines
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: dizziness
I was an early backer and waited patiently for this unit. It fits my needs, space constraints, and still has power user tweakability. Fellow knows how to make affordable but customizable products! And the proof is in the cup, the flavor and consistency of the coffee is what I expected. Profiling is fun, too!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
2
Alpha/Beta level product with potential
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: Rob
Alpha/Beta product that could live up to its potential. The design is striking but the automated concept is not fully baked. The app is useless and profiles are painful to configure only from the one button scroll/click wheel. Volumetric brewing is way off. As a semi automatic espresso machine it is good. But any of the promised profile/app/fully automatic features are missing. Future updates will be crucial to long term success.
Foamed milk is next level and easy to achieve great results.
2 minute heat up is fantastic. And multiple shots with minimal lag between them.
As with all espresso the coffee grind is key to getting good results.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
4
Frustratingly close to greatness
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: Dev
There's a ton to like about the Series One. The feature set is tremendous for the money, the interface is clean, the display and encoder are easy to use, and there are some really nice industrial design touches like the big chunky ball joint on the steam wand. Understandably given the price point, there's a few cheap/flimsy feeling parts of the fit and finish (especially the drip tray), but broadly speaking it's an attractive design and it feels well made. Most importantly, in no uncertain terms, it can pull an excellent shot. Even coming from a Decent DE1XL at work, I've not at all been disappointed with the extraction, programmability, temperature stability, or pressure profiling granularity. If you can't make first rate espresso on a Series One, it's on your grinder, your beans, your profile, or your prep, not the machine.
That said, there are a couple annoying quirks that hold it back currently from no-brainer territory for me. Most I really hope get sorted out in firmware updates, though a few are endemic to the actual physical design.
1. While I was incredibly stoked for the temp controlled steam wand at this price point, and while the steam wand itself looks and feels amazing, it's the weakest part of the machine. The steam pressure is anemic, steaming is painfully slow, it's hard to get a nice vortex and fine effectively, and it's very clunky to hold a pitcher and have to reach over the group head to initiate the controls. It's also a bizarre oversight that you can't adjust the target temp before you start steaming. 65C as the default is too hot IMO - by then it's already starting to get that weird cereal smell.
2. The incredibly fast cold start to shot ready is awesome, but the amount of water waste/bypass to get that super fast startup is significant. I've typically filled the drip tray within three shots, and I'm constantly having to refill the tank. Not ideal if you're using expensive filters or mineral packets for your coffee water, and not ideal from an energy waste perspective.
3. Having remote app connectivity and choosing not to support scale integration/gravimetric targets is a bummer and a half. The volumetric targets sort of work, though I almost always have to vastly overestimate the ratio. On the current coffee I'm working with, I have to specify a coffee to water ratio of 1:4 to actually yield around 1:2.5 in terms of liquid mass. Even if it came by way of an upgraded drip tray with an integral scale, gravimetric programmability is my number one wish list item.
4. The portafilter is perfectly nice looking and feeling, but the gasket on the group head is really stiff, and it makes it quite a task to lock the portafilter in. A softer silicone gasket option for the group head would go a long way. I really don't love how much strain I currently have to put on the group head to get a seal, you can see it bend under the torque just to get it like a quarter turn in.
So yea, 4/5. I would have happily paid a little extra to have a few more plasticky bits be less plasticky, but I understand the price psychology of where they have it, and I honestly can't think of anything else I'd rather have under 3k. A handful of software/firmware updates, and ideally a couple of upgrade options to add in some of the missing features, and I think this will more or less own the consumer market for the foreseeable future.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
1
Room for Improvement
on March 18, 2026
Posted by: Surge
Only had one day to test, but all the shots came out really large, 8-12oz! I may be doing something wrong but definitely not the first impression I was hoping for.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow