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
(30 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 30 reviews
5 Stars
23
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Star
1
92%of customers recommend this product.
(
24 out of
26)
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
3
Meh….
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: Graham cracker
Was really looking forward to a positive experience out of the box but shot length was completely off on a 18g pull. After calibrating with a scale I had to add an extra 14 seconds. While I was able to resolve this issue, I still haven’t gotten an answer on how to calibrate hot water output. Followed directions on the website but they don’t match the options available under settings in the menu. Sent a video…waiting on a response. So far the responses seem AI driven.
Water tank is hard to remove if your machine is under a cabinet. I have to pour water in the machine using large glass.
When the shot pulls, the initial splatter makes a mess. I find myself raising the espresso glass by resting it on another lol.
Lastly, the group head moves the entire machine trying to set it in place. Good luck getting it straight in there at 90 degrees. Mine sits a bit on an angle. Maybe it gets better with time?
Water tank is hard to remove if your machine is under a cabinet. I have to pour water in the machine using large glass.
When the shot pulls, the initial splatter makes a mess. I find myself raising the espresso glass by resting it on another lol.
Lastly, the group head moves the entire machine trying to set it in place. Good luck getting it straight in there at 90 degrees. Mine sits a bit on an angle. Maybe it gets better with time?
No, I would not 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
4
Beautiful to look at good to use
on March 3, 2026
Posted by: Jason R
Everything is wonderful but the tea setting water isn’t hot enough for tea and I can’t figure out how to change it. Love the finish. Been a joy to use
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
Customer Rating
3
Little Frustrated
on March 4, 2026
Posted by: SSW1046
I've only had the Series 1 for a few days, and I've watched most, if not all, of the videos, but I wish there were more videos of EXACTLY how to 'Make a Drink' and 'Shot Profiles'. How about a few Step by Step videos? Almost nothing as far as I can determine. I would think this type of video would be the first available??? Or, maybe there's something wrong with my machine??
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow
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
1
Another poor launch at the expense of preorders
on March 2, 2026
Posted by: Mason
The machine has many bugs on the interface and also comes with no profiles through app. The delays between pulling an espresso ranges from 6-11 seconds the steam delays 7-15seconds. The screw on the drain boiler was dripping water and not righted which should have a warning sticker to make sure it’s right before adding water. Lastly to promise a profile and not deliver on an app is poor quality. Also the dial is to sensitive and should have a setting to make it less responsive or more. Many other things but that’s a good info. Don’t forget the units bug and creating profiles.
No, I would not 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
Customer Rating
5
My early review
on March 1, 2026
Posted by: Bob
These are just my initial impressions as I've only unboxed yesterday. Visually it's impressive and the hands on feel is nice. The menu screen makes for lots of options and controllability. I misjudged the grind size on my first shot, it ran too fast (traditional 9 bar, medium roast) but I salvaged it my steaming some milk to make a cappacino. The steamer was a pleasure to use and my drink still was enjoyable. I'm looking forward to playing with all its adjustability options and to make use of the forthcoming app features.
Written by a customer while visiting Fellow