From pier-dwelling sea lions to self-driving taxis, there are plenty of things native to San Francisco that you just can’t get in London – but there’s about to be one less, thanks to the UK launch of Fellow’s Series 1 espresso machine.
Now available from Harrods for £1,299, this striking coffee machine is absolutely beloved across the pond after dropping last year. It’s made by prestige coffee brand Fellow, which is on a mission to deliver professional-grade coffee for home brewers.
I’m fresh from a trip to the Bay Area, where I saw first-hand the California café culture that Fellow embodies, and I have to say I’m excited about the launch of this machine that will no doubt be vying for the title of best coffee machine out there.
FELLOW
Series 1 Espresso Machine
Available in Sesame, Red, Woodland, and Black, with a choice of plastic, walnut, or maple handles, this coffee machine is a design-led buy.
Whether you’re a coffee nerd or a total novice, there’s plenty to get stuck into with this incredibly impressive machine.
If you love the sleek minimalistic look of this machine but aren’t clued up on the coffee side the first thing to know is that this is an espresso maker, but it is not an all-in-one bean-to-cup coffee machine as you might find from Sage or Ninja.
This separation of the grinder is very much by design, as real coffee aficionados believe that heat from the boiler of espresso machines can negatively affect the freshness of coffee beans, preferring a separate set-up for both.
That means you’ll need a separate grinder for your at-home coffee set up if you want the freshest cup possible. In our extensive search for the best coffee grinder, Fellow’s Ode (£245 at Coffee Friend) came out exceptionally well after testing.
One of the USPs of this machine is its Boosted Boiler System, which ‘uses three independent heating elements to maintain temperature stability within a single degree’ and can heat the machine to an optimal temperature in just two minutes. So if you’re more of a rush-around in the mornings than you’d like to be, you can use this machine in a hurry.
Though designed for coffee enthusiasts, there’s also plenty of helpful tech built-in to this machine if you love how it’ll look in your kitchen but lack the barista know-how straight off the bat. Within its digital system it has a guided mode that can direct you as to how to pull your perfect espresso shot as well as a way of giving feedback to users on how to improve their coffee.
Getting the perfect texture and temperature can be the thing that stands between at-home beginner baristas and the perfect latte and luckily, milk frothing is another base covered with this machine.
It has an automated, temperature-sensing Smart Steam Wand built-in. This will stop working once your milk has reached its optimal temperature, so that you can use the microfoam for your latte art.
If space is at a premium in your kitchen, there’s the benefit of this machine fitting neatly underneath standard kitchen cupboards too. It’s short and deep as opposed to tall and bulky like other bean-to-cup machines can be, with customisable elements and colours also available.
If you’re a coffee connoisseur, then Fellow’s range of café-worthy products are absolutely worth your attention – our in-house coffee expert absolutely loved the brand’s filter coffee machine Aiden when he tried it too.
Or if you love the look of this machine but feel less enthused about the price tag, here’s a look at similar design-led alternatives with a similar feel.
Philips
Baristina Espresso Machine
This extremely affordable bean-to-cup machine is kitted out with a incredibly sleek automatic portafilter and a 16-bar pressure pump to help you pull the perfect shot of espresso. Our Editor and reviewer loved it when she tried it out at home.
Sage
Bambino Espresso Machine
This is another machine I saw absolutely everywhere in San Francisco, from matcha shops to offices, and it’s another Ideal Home-approved buy as per our review. If you’re serious about coffee, this is a great but compact way to integrate it into your kitchen.
It’s hard to look past the Ninja Luxe Café if you want a do-it-all espresso machine. With tech to help you pull your first shot and froth milk for all sorts of barista-style drinks it got a straight five stars from me in our review.
Though I’m missing San Francisco’s coffee scene already, this week sees the arrival of the London Coffee Festival into town, and I can’t wait to see the gems and new launches on show there.
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