Morrow started in 2021 in a Portland garage with a broken espresso machine and a question: why are good ones so hard to repair? Five years and fourteen prototypes later, this is our answer.
Founded 2021
Portland, Oregon
11 people
Five years, inside one shell
01 What we believe
Most espresso machines are built to be replaced. We think the last one you buy should outlast your kitchen: standard parts, a published manual, and a team that answers the phone.
02 Our story
From a garage bench to the first 400.
2021
A garage on the east side
Elena Morrow, a café-machine technician, and Sam Okafor, a controls engineer, take apart nine home machines and list what fails first.
2023
Prototype fourteen
Dual boilers, a rotary pump under closed-loop control and a single folded steel shell. The design stops changing.
Dec 2025
The beta begins
58 home baristas and four cafés get pre-production machines for nine months of daily use, and tell us everything.
Feb 2027
The first batch ships
400 machines, each assembled, tested for 200 shots and signed by one person in our Portland workshop.
03 The people
Small on purpose.
Eleven of us design, assemble, test and repair every machine under one roof. The person who answers your support email can usually see your machine’s build sheet.
EM
Founder · design
Elena Morrow
Fixed café machines for twelve years before deciding to build one.
SO
Co-founder · controls
Sam Okafor
Wrote the pump and boiler firmware. Pulls a lever decline every morning.
RL
Assembly lead
Rosa Lindqvist
Runs the bench where every machine is built and signed.
MB
Owner support
Marcus Bell
Former head barista. The voice on the phone when a shot runs sour.
04 How we work
Three rules we do not bend.
Repair
Fixable by anyone
Standard fittings, a published service manual and every part kept for ten years. If a technician can open a café machine, they can open ours.
Honesty
Numbers we measured
Every figure on the spec sheet comes from production-intent machines in our workshop. We publish every beta rating, not just the good ones.
Close to home
Made where we live
Shells are folded 20 miles away, walnut comes from a mill in Oregon, and final assembly happens on our bench in Portland.
05 Visit
Pull a shot at the workshop.
Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, our assembly bench becomes a tasting bar. Bring your own beans if you like, try each finish in person and meet the people who will build your machine.
Where: our workshop in Portland’s Central Eastside. The exact address comes with your booking.
When: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon. Weekday visits by arrangement.
Cost: free, and there is no obligation to reserve.
