Flair Espresso Maker - Manual Press

Product Information

I think they're both great manual non-powered Espresso makers, I'm really impressed with the quality of the shots I've been able to pull using both of them, considering there's no power involved. After 30 years working an an enginner in the bio-medical sector, he used his knowledge to develop the Flair Espresso maker. CoffeeGeek has been online for twenty years now, educating, entertaining, and connecting the specialty coffee loving public. Brewing with a Flair is more like cooking a meal for yourself, as opposed to getting takeout or using the microwave. While that is heating up, you remove the dispersion screen from the coffee chamber, and put in roughly 16-18g of finely ground coffee.

We are here for the espresso, for the mornings that linger a bit longer, no matter where you find yourself.

This design also means the Flair PRO 2 can pack into an included, precision cut carrying case, meaning you can take your espresso anywhere you’d like. You then remove the outer beefy collar from the boiling water, and carefully slide the grinds chamber into the bottom of it. The instructions say to fill the dosing cup with beans, and I decided to follow the instructions to the letter for the purpose of the review, and doing this seemed to overfill the portafilter regardless of the grind. I thought the biggest issue people would have with the machine was finding the right grind, and using the right piston lever pressure, but the cleaning regimen between shots was seen as a barrier, as well as brewing multiple shots. It’s perfect for those looking for café-quality espresso, all from a portable, manual lever machine.

It was big and beefy with a lot of metal to retain water heat as well, and the shots tasted amazing from this device, no doubt aided by the sweetness boost the N20 gas provided to the brewing espresso shot. This isn't a put down of Flair (or Rok), as I'm comparing non-powered manual coffee makers to an electric machine costing four or five times as much, so that's really not a fair comparison. If you’re brewing a single shot using 7-10g, the same grind you use for your pump driven espresso machine will do fine in the Flair. As mentioned in our previous section, assembling the Flair Espresso Make is stupid easy, at least to begin with.More information will be provided via your personal e-mail address once you've completed your purchase.

I wrote The Rok Espresso Maker review a few months ago, and in this post, I promised to also review the Flair Espresso, which is the latest invention of this type of manual non-electric espresso maker, so here it is – better late than never ;-). Leading the revolution of accessibility in home espresso is California based company Flair Espresso. A single slot-enhanced valve plunger, a shot mirror-ready post, an angled elbow connector to minimize wiring and a detachable preheat controller so you can brew anywhere. Once they used the machine, some questions and concerns, popped up, from the mundane (it needs better grip on a countertop), to the serious (two of my testers “blew out” the piston gaskets by applying too much pressure, and for one, it created a shower of hot water and coffee grounds).It is larger in terms of water capacity, larger in terms of dose range, and more capable in terms of managing different brew ratios. If you are looking for an upgrade or a spare part, you can find here everything from drip trays, temperature strips, pistons to second shot kits. The Basic Flair Espresso Maker comes with a black and red lever assembly, one piston and brewing collar combination, a plastic drip tray, a plastic funnel, and a plastic tamper / tube.

This is especially interesting to me because I can use a grind in the ROK that is much closer to my traditional espresso machines (without it stalling during the shot pull), whereas I have to use a coarser grind (and therefore less overall surface extraction contact) with the Flair, when pulling double shots. With a larger capacity cylinder and larger portafilter, you can control your brew ratios with ease to ensure your espresso is brewed exactly the way you want it.It started sliding out after a few months, and now I have to be aware of it, or I could lose this vital part — without it, you can’t operate the lever. The Flair Espresso machine (in the signature edition), a Kickstarter Success story, is beautiful, capable, and can brew a very nice shot of espresso once you nail the grind and preheat the heck out of everything. It’s a bit tricky remembering the configuration of all the parts so they are snug and secure in the case, so definitely do not lose that printed how-to. Rok wins for ease of use, clean up after each shot, and espresso quality in terms of how quickly I was able to start making great shots of Espresso with Rok vs how long it took me to achieve the same with Flair.