The Fellow Espresso Series 1 meets
the Breville Bambino Plus
Two-minute heat-up and native pressure profiling in a machine the whole household can use. We tested it head-to-head against the Breville Bambino Plus across 7 key dimensions.
Fellow Espresso Series 1
“Two-minute heat-up and native pressure profiling in a machine the whole household can use”
Breville Bambino Plus
“Café-grade microfoam without the learning curve, ready three seconds after you switch it on”
Head-to-Head Breakdown
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fellow Espresso Series 1
- Ready to brew in about two minutes, with Lance Hedrick measuring roughly 0.3°C shot-to-shot consistency
- Native multi-stage pressure profiling that used to need a Decent or a DIY-modded Breville
- Guided drink mode and an auto-stop steam wand make it usable by everyone in the house
- Plastic body panels, drip tray, and tank feel cheap at $1,500, and James Hoffmann disliked the stock portafilter
- Close to impossible to repair at home; service means shipping it back to Fellow
- No Bluetooth scale integration, and pressure ramp-downs can wobble in the current software
Breville Bambino Plus
- Hands-free steam wand makes latte-art-ready microfoam, which Alternative Brewing called shockingly good
- Ready to brew three seconds after power-on thanks to ThermoJet heating
- A 9-bar limit, pre-infusion, and a 3-way solenoid give real specialty shots once you pair it with a proper grinder
- The first shot runs cold unless you pull a blank shot to heat the group
- So light it slides on the counter when you lock in the portafilter
- Small drip tray fills fast, and the plastic tamper needs replacing on day one
The Verdict
Our Bottom Line
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 does something no other $1,500 machine in this research manages: it is ready to brew in about two minutes and still gives an enthusiast full control over the shot. Lance Hedrick, James Hoffmann, and Daddy Got Coffee all reviewed it in depth, and the heating design is what impressed them first. A flow-through heater feeds a small boiler and an actively heated group, and Hedrick measured shot-to-shot temperature within about 0.3°C once it settled.
Fellow Espresso Series 1
The Fellow Espresso Series 1 does something no other $1,500 machine in this research manages: it is ready to brew in about two minutes and still gives an enthusiast full control over the shot. Lance Hedrick, James Hoffmann, and Daddy Got Coffee all reviewed it in depth, and the heating design is what impressed them first. A flow-through heater feeds a small boiler and an actively heated group, and Hedrick measured shot-to-shot temperature within about 0.3°C once it settled.
- You drink straight espresso or light roasts and want to experiment with pressure profiles
- You share the machine with someone who just wants a guided latte
- You want to go from switched off to brewing in about two minutes
- You would rather have profiling built in than mod a machine yourself
- You are comfortable with factory service in place of DIY repairs
Breville Bambino Plus
The Breville Bambino Plus is the machine reviewers kept recommending to beginners, and at $499.95 it costs a third of the ES1. Lance Hedrick, Alternative Brewing, Seattle Coffee Gear, and Whole Latte Love all put it at or near the top of their entry-level picks.
- You mostly drink lattes, flat whites, or cappuccinos
- You are new to espresso and want a short learning curve
- You have a small kitchen or apartment counter
- You want to spend under $500 on the machine and put the rest toward a good grinder
- You want a drink ready seconds after switching it on