Another big innovation for the Series 1 is its patented heating system. Most espresso machines use either boilers or thermoblocks to heat up the water that goes into espresso. Boilers have admirable stability, but take forever to get hot. Thermoblocks are near instant, but less stable.
Fellow’s heating system falls somewhere in between, with a boiler supplemented by a thermoblock that heats water before it enters the boiler, and a heated group head that helps stabilize temperature at the portafilter. This theoretically offers the best of both worlds. It heats within 2 minutes (I clocked it) but also offers greater temperature stability across an espresso shot, without the cold starts and hot finishes that can plague some home thermoblock machines.
The water tank is a capacious 2 liters, and is removable for easy filling, with one caveat: The tank can only be removed from the machine straight upward. And so if you’ve placed this machine under your cabinets, you may have a hard time removing the water tank—a minor kvetch that may be quite meaningful depending on your kitchen setup.
Shot Selection
Video: Matthew Korfhage
OK, on to what’s actually got me jazzed about this machine: shot profiles. It has them. Seven of them, each one quite different from the others.
Does the Series 1 offer very different profiles for light, medium, and dark beans? Yes, of course it does. How about a “lever” profile with six infusion stages that mimics the syrupy body and big crema of a manual espresso machine? Sure, why not? Turbo shots? Got your back, ’spro bro. It’s a whole new ball game.
Most espresso novices may never have to get past the light roast, medium roast, and dark roast modes. Dark roast is straightforward, nearly traditional. Medium adds a pre-infusion for better extraction. Light roast adds a pressure ramp-down after the shot, to keep shots from running away as a puck degrades. For fun, you can track pressure as a “shot curve” that appears on the Series 1’s circular screen.
