The Fellow Espresso Series 1 machine. All images courtesy of Fellow.
Popular consumer coffee equipment maker Fellow just launched its first espresso machine, the Espresso Series 1.
After hosting a launch event at its San Francisco headquarters today, the company is planning to showcase the sleek new machine throughout the Specialty Coffee Association Expo, taking place this week in Houston.
Priced at $1,499 and designed for home use, the Espresso Series 1 single-group espresso machine drives water from an internal 2-liter reservoir through a patented heating system comprising three heating elements that Fellow calls the “Boosted Boiler.”
The system, including the group head, is fully preheated in under two minutes. Water temperature is controlled to 0.1 degrees, and the system shifts from brewing to steaming almost instantly, according to Fellow. The steam wand also senses temperature and can self-purge.
Data gathered by sensors inside the machine are displayed either on its full-color LCD screen or through the Fellow smartphone app. Users can control the temperature, flow rate, pressure and total dispensed volume of water for each shot, in real time or through pre-programmed settings.
Profile design, machine settings and other adjustments are made by turning and pressing a hallmark Fellow knob on the front of the machine beneath its screen, while three programmable shortcut buttons are available on the top panel of the machine to the left of the group.
The Espresso Series 1 also features what Fellow calls “intelligent pressure control,” which automatically adjusts the flow to meet pressure and time goals based on the resistance of the coffee, accounting for variances in “puck prep” factors such as the user’s dose, grind, distribution and tamping techniques.
“Espresso Series 1 is the most powerful, capable espresso machine ever designed for the home at this price point,” Nick Terzulli, Fellow’s Vice President of R&D, told Daily Coffee News.
Similar to the Aiden drip coffee brewer, which Fellow unveiled one year ago at the SCA Expo in Chicago, the Espresso Series 1 will also execute shot profiles downloaded and shared through built-in wi-fi. The company told DCN its Boosted Boiler system uses the same core technology as the Aiden.
“This is our most ambitious undertaking yet, [taking] two years and a team of over 10 people working full-time to deliver Series 1,” Fellow Founder Jake Miller told Daily Coffee News. “Everything we’ve learned over the past 10 years about how to design, test, innovate and manufacture at scale has allowed Series 1 to come to life. So much of our past work has set this stage for this moment.”
Standing 17.24 inches long, 12.4 inches wide and 10.98 inches tall, the Espresso Series 1 weighs 21.7 pounds and is built from parts made of food-grade plastic, stainless steel and silicone. Colors available as of today’s launch include black, Cherry Red and Malted Chocolate.
Founded by Miller in 2013, Fellow was propelled early on by a series of remarkably successful Kickstarter campaigns. The company then raised $7.6 million in a Series A funding round in 2021, and $30 million more in a Series B round in 2022.
The Fellow Aiden brewer at the 2024 SCA Expo. Daily Coffee News photo by Howard Bryman.
Since Fellow’s original Stagg kettle and other manual equipment, the company’s products have become increasingly technologically advanced while maintaining a distinct and sleek aesthetic. The company offers both the Opus and Ode grinders, while last year’s Aiden launch represented the company’s first venture into automatic brewing.
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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