Pulling a shot of espresso can be daunting, but there's no need to worry! We've laid out the process step-by-step below in a video guide and written steps to help you brew coffee you love. 

Table of Contents

1. Video Guide
2. Written Guide
   1. Part 1: Preparation
      1. Turn on Your Series 1
      2. Note: What Coffee You Use is Up to You
      3. Weight & Grind Your Coffee
   2. Part 2: Prep Your Puck
      1. Choose the Right Basket
      2. Add the Basket and Dose the Coffee
      3. Level the Coffee
      4. Time to Tamp
      5. Why is Puck Prep so Important?
   3. Part 3: Pull the Shot
      1. Attach the Portafiler
      2. Begin the Shot Option 1: Piano Key Button
      3. Begin the Shot Option 1: Make A Drink
      4. Watch the Magic Happen
   4. Part 4: Taste & Adjust

Video Guide

Written Guide

Part 1: Preparation

Turn on Your Series 1

Turn on your Series 1 by pressing the dial button or one of the piano key buttons. Series 1 has an incredibly short warm-up time—2 minutes from being completely cold—so you won't have to wait long! The screen will tell you when it's ready. 

Note: What Coffee You Use is Up to You

There's a common misconception that you need to use coffee that says espresso on the bag to pull shots of espresso. But that's far from being true! You can use whatever coffee you'd like, so feel free to experiment and find what you love. For a more detailed guide on choosing coffee, check out the article below:

How to Choose Espresso Beans

Weight & Grind Your Coffee

Espresso is best when you're able to weigh out your coffee in grams using a scale and grind it fresh before pulling a shot. In fact, the way you grind the coffee arguably has the biggest impact on the shot's taste.

If possible, try grinding 18g of coffee with a good-quality burr grinder. Start in the middle of the grinder's espresso range. Every coffee will require a different grind, and starting there will give you a good foundation for making adjustments (we'll discuss this a little later). 

For more information about Fellow grinders, check out our website here!

Check out the photo below for a reference of what your coffee should look like. You want to shoot for something similar to flour in consistency.

Part 2: Prep Your Puck

Choose the Right Basket

Start by choosing from one of the two included baskets that came with your Series 1. If you're using pre-ground coffee or a less-reliable grinder (like a blade grinder), we recommend using the double-walled basket. This will help generate the extra pressure that the coffee might not be able to. 

If you're more experienced or have a reliable burr grinder, we'd recommend using the single-walled basket (shown inside the portafilter below).

Add the Basket and Dose the Coffee

Once you decide which basket to use, place it in the portafilter and press down until it snaps in place. In case it's helpful, the curved portion of the handle should be facing upward. 

For those who desire the most accuracy, place the portafilter on your scale and zero it out (this will come in handy in a second).

With the basket in place, carefully add your freshly ground coffee. If it's difficult, consider purchasing a portafilter funnel. They're a great way to keep your shot prep mess-free!

If you added the portafilter to your scale and zeroed it before, place the portafilter with the coffee back on the scale. As long as you didn't change anything with the scale, you should be looking at an accurate representation of what you got out of your grinder.

Level the Coffee

Now that the coffee is in the portafilter, gently tap it against a smooth, level surface. This will help even out the bed of coffee. Then, swipe a few times across the top of the coffee with your pointer finger to level it out even more. For more detailed instructions, check out the article below:

How to Prep Your Puck

It also might be helpful to pick up a WDT tool. This is a small handle with flexible metal bristles sticking out of it (kind of like a head scratcher) that helps to break up clumps and prevent channeling. 

Time to Tamp

Once you have a nice, level bed of coffee, it's time to tamp it, which is when we compress the coffee down into a tight, compact puck. Hold the included tamper with your dominant hand like you're holding a flashlight or doorknob. The flat side of the tamper should be facing away from you. 

Add the portafilter to a level surface and then, with the flat side of the tamper facing down, press down on the coffee bed with consistent pressure to compress it. Your goal is a level bed with no obvious signs of sloping or cracking. For more detailed information on tamping, check out the article below:

How to Prep Your Puck

Why is Puck Prep so Important?

It may sound like a lot of importance to place on putting coffee in the basket and compressing it. But doing it well will help ensure the coffee in the basket will be extracted evenly and pull all the best parts of the coffee out into your cup. 

If your puck isn't even or level, the water will follow the path of least resistance, something we call channeling. Channeling normally produces harsh, uneven flavors. 

Part 3: Pull the Shot

Attach the Portafiler

Now that the puck is ready, place the portafilter up into the underside of the grouphead. You'll see two black lines on the front of the grouphead. It will go in with the handle lined up with the shorter black line, and then you'll be able to lock it in by turning the handle to the longer black line (the handle will normally stop in the middle). 

Don't worry if you're unable to get it to the middle of the longer black line. As long as the handle is toward the front and tight, you're fine!

Once the portafilter is locked in, place whatever cup you're going to use underneath it.

Begin the Shot Option 1: Piano Key Button

With Series 1, there are two ways to begin pulling a shot: Using the piano key button on the top left and through the on-screen menu. 

To pull a shot using the piano key button (the one on the left with the coffee cup icon), simply press it. This will automatically begin a shot with the profile selected as active.

To change which profile is active, go to Shot profile > the profile you want > Make active from the main menu. 

If you'd like to experiment, you can also create your own profile from scratch using the machine or the Fellow app! Every part of the shot is customizable—a level of control you normally only find on much more expensive machines. 

Begin the Shot Option 1: Make A Drink 

The other way to pull a shot is by going to Make a drink > Espresso from the main menu. Doing this will also use the shot profile that's currently active. You'll also notice that there are other drink options in this menu, like latte and americano. If you choose one of these, Series 1 will guide you through making the drink step-by-step!

Watch the Magic Happen

After you select your profile and begin the shot, it's time for the magic to happen. You'll see the entire progress of the shot on screen, including a description of what phase it's in, a timer, and a pressure gauge.

Some of the profiles start with a preinfusion stage. This is when the grounds are dampened by water at a lower pressure, and it helps reduce the chances of channeling and promotes more even extraction. 

After preinfusion, you'll see the full infusion stage. This is when the pressure ramps up, and the water is pushed through the coffee to produce the espresso.

Following this, there may be a ramp down depending on the profile settings, and then the shot will stop automatically. 

Part 4: Taste & Adjust

Now it's time for the fun part: tasting the shot you pulled! Take a sip and let it coat your mouth. This is when you'll use your senses to determine what you need to do next. We discuss this in more detail in our How to Dial in Your Shot article, but the general idea is:

• If your shot is too sour, weak, or salty, grind a little finer
• If your shot tastes bitter, chalky, or hollow, grind a bit coarser
• If you like the way it tastes, great! Series 1 will help you nail that consistency each time. 

Another great feature of Series 1 is its intelligent shot feedback. Based on the shot profile's settings, it will tell you whether the shot pulled too quickly, too slowly, or within the target time range, giving you an easy-to-read, visual representation of how things went. It will also tell you whether you need to grind finer or coarser!

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