UPDATED Espresso Maker - Classic: All manual lever espresso maker for the home - Pressure gauge and two portafilters included

I’ve been roasting my own coffee beans since 2001 and for the past 15 years my home setup has been a Rancilio Silvia/Rocky. I also inherited a Pavoni Europicola that I toyed with for a couple years and for anyone who has used one, the Flair will feel familiar, although the Pavoni was far less forgiving. I travel months at a time, and my rig-on-the-go for many years was a Mypressi Twist. The nitrous cartridges were a pain to source and felt wasteful (not to mention expensive), but paired with a Porlex Mini the espresso quality was astounding, as in on par with the Silvia/Rocky. Sadly, my unit gave up the ghost in 2014, by which time the company was defunct. I’ve been on the hunt for a suitable replacement ever since. Enter “The Flair.” I somehow missed the Kickstarter Campaign and only realized it existed mid-February when I happened onto this Amazon listing. I’ve had my unit two weeks, long enough to run it through its paces (around 35 shots). As with any new set up, you’ll have to work out a routine and dial in the grind, but as far as I’m concerned the Flair is exceptionally forgiving. It allows enormous control (over temp and pressure) still the margin of error is wide, so it’s not as though it requires excessive precision or skill. In fact, I’d say the Flair is slightly easier to use than the Mypressi, and while the shots aren’t exactly on par, they’re darn close. In any case, the Mypressi is no longer in production and the units had very limited life-spans. By comparison, the Flair seems designed and built to last. In early 2015 I bought a Minipresso by Wacaco. It seemed worth a go for the money, but despite my best efforts, the shots were subpar. The Minipresso utilizes a pressurized portafilter to “enhance” the crema, which is to say “cheat,” and it made only single shots, not doubles. I was so dissatisfied with the results, I binned it and bought an Aeropress, which makes excellent coffee—not espresso mind you (the hype on the box claiming it makes espresso is laughable) but strong coffee. I know the Flair costs 3x the Minipresso and has a larger profile, but if you care at all about the quality of the espresso, there’s no comparison. I’ve never used or even seen a Handpresso, but like the Minipresso it uses a pressurized portafilter system and reviews seem split as to whether the Handpresso or the Minipresso deliver better results, in which case the Flair is almost certainly going to deliver better results. The other mainstream alternative is the Rok, which costs slightly more than the Flair. I prefer the aesthetic of the Rok (it’s pretty), but the Flair won me over for its portability. I also took seriously reviews by Rok owners who compared their results with the Flair. One last unit I considered is the Espresso Forge, which gets excellent reviews from serious espresso geeks, so much so I might still give one a go some day, but for now I’m quite satisfied with the Flair given the price difference. Am I ready to retire my Silvia and use the Flair full-time. No. But I’ll probably sell the used Siliva I purchased a couple years ago as a backup. And since I generally drink only 2 espressos a day, I can almost, maybe, possibly imagine resorting to the Flair full-time if the remaining Silvia has a catastrophic failure. On the plus side, The Flair is portable so I could put it away when not in use, allowing me to reclaim a chunk of kitchen counter. In conclusion, if you’re looking for a travel espresso rig and aren’t prepared to pay the premium for an Espresso Forge, the Flair is definitely worth a go. And if you’re seriously budget-minded, the Flair is probably a better choice than most consumer semi-automatics at the same price point, and probably even better than many costing twice as much, or at least the ones that use pressurized portafilters. Yes, you have to trade a bit of effort and learning curve for the relative ease of use provided by prosumer semi-automatics, but if you’re willing to learn to actually craft espresso, the Flair Espresso Maker is a worthwhile investment, particularly as a travel machine. ______________________ UPDATE: April 23, 2017 The video attached to my original review shows a shot being pulled using 18g of coffee ground in my aged Porlex Mini. Obviously the shot quality from that pairing was not just satisfactory but quite impressive for a machine at this price point. That said, a friend recently gifted me a Helor 101 and also bought himself a Commandante MK30. Both are wildly expensive manual grinders. We spent the last week running them through their paces on the Flair and the shots we pulled were insanely good. That's not to say you need a $250 manual grinder to get quality espresso out of the Flair (you don't) but with a quality grinder, there is a marked improvement in the cup, and wjth just a little effort, we were able to consistently pull shots on par with what I get out of my Rancilio Silvia/Rocky combo. I haven't had a chance to see how well the Rocky and Flair pair (or the Helor and Silvia for that matter) but it's safe to say the Flair is even more impressive and capable than I originally thought.

8 months Update: I got tired of controlling variables, especially temperature. It is annoying to spend time and energy to preheat all parts where water contacts. This morning, I screamed out of annoyance when I had to waste lots of precious specialty coffee ground and time and hot water as i failed to brew espresso. I have been using Flair for more than 6 months, but I still often fail to brew when I change types of coffee beans. Preheating chamber and portafilter with hot water is time consuming and water consuming, and I have to keep watching a thermometer all because I care about quality of each shot. I am tired of controlling all variables. Flair has potential to brew high quality of espresso if you set up routines and you are skilled and if you don't mind spending extra time and energy for precise preheating. Consistent espresso shots can only be reached when you put lots of your energy and focus in it. I was excited and didn't mind all these when I first got this machine, but I do mind now. Another disappointment was from stainless piston. It was a waste of money to buy it as it gets stuck in the chamber and doesn't come out easily after brewing. I will stick to an electric machine at home. Since The concept of Flair is "travelling," I will stay on five star because Flair is better than any other portable machines. I am a coffee snob making 3 cups of espresso everyday with fresh coffee beans. I bought this product based on reviews on other coffee experts websites. I have brewed about 20 times so far. The more I brew, the better espresso I get. This is a manual espresso maker with no electricity involved. Quality: Flair has an amazing quality in terms of built, design and functionality. It is so easy to use and easy to clean up. I once studied food engineering as a food science major, and I think this product has a solid design in my eyes. I can see the designer's effort to simplify the product. It is also portable which is a plus. I would have bought it even if it was not portable. If I have to point out a few things to improve, one would be the plastic piston. The piston got broken after 15 cups of brewing. I used too much force to press down the lever with too fine ground coffee, and the round metal piece that was sitting on the top of piston withstanding all the force from the lever popped out of its place, and the lever broke the top part of piston. It was partially my fault using too much force, but I still think that something should not break with a force that a person can possibly put on. A stainless steel piston would make this machine almost perfect although the price will go up. I wouldn't mind paying extra for a stainless steel piston if available. I thought there were some aluminum parts on the product, but the designer clarified that there is no aluminum used for the product. I am glad the portafilter basket and screen are stainless steel. The designer of Flair replaced my piston with no charge, and he also replaced my screen to a better one. Now I am a happy customer. I cannot complain for anything. I won't use too fine ground coffee to prevent brokage. Espresso: My first shot was sour with little crema. As I practiced more, Flair produced espresso with thick rich crema and good flavor. I use coffee beans in 2 weeks after roasting. I started getting more consistent espresso with more practice. I am still testing different grams of coffee and different grind settings. A little coarser grind than the usual grind for semi-automatic espresso machines is better for Flair. (I use an excellent espresso grinder. A grinder is more important than an espresso machine to make a high quality espresso if you don't know.) Customer service: The inventor of Flair responded to my emails very quickly. He has such a great business mind with flexibility and promptness. He cares about customers' issues. You will be unlikely to get a good result at the first try, but don't be disappointed. You will be better as you practice more. Overall, this is a solid manual espresso maker that delivers a promising result. I am buying another brewing head and upgrading from the plastic tamper to a stainless steel tamper as I am liking it more. 6 month Update: It has been almost 6 months since I bought Flair. I still use it about 2-4 times a week. The designer finally made a stainless steel piston. I just purchased it. I will see how it works. I still love Flair and there has been no issue. I have suggestions to designer. Flair would be greater if the bottom part of the portafilter can be separated so users can wash inside of it. There might be a reason why the designer permanently attached the top and bottom part of portafilter, but it makes impossible to wash inside area of the bottom plastic part. Also, it would be greater if the portafilter becomes all stainless steel and maybe become one piece. Currently, I put the portafilter in soapy water after each use so I can clean up inside area. But I don't know what is accumulating inside. Other than that, Flair is a very good espresso machine. I am making consistent espresso. Don't forget to preheat the brewing head before each use.

I’m coming from a drip coffee maker, nespresso machine and mokapot, this device makes stronger better coffee than all of them. I was surprised at how fast the process was, mokapot being the slowest. As far as cleaning it is as easy and fast as my clever dripper to clean, only 3 pieces that come apart and easy to wash. The device is solid, I haven’t had any issues with wobbling. It feels solid, all metal and at half the price of the pro 3. I’ve read the pro 3 and classic make the same quality espresso, the only reason to get a pro 3 over the classic is the extra 10ml more you get because the chamber is slightly bigger and It’s supposed to be heavier by 2 lbs but I think the classic has plenty of solid weight and I don’t need the mirror because I just point my camera up at it to see the drip. The version comes with a pressure gauge and a plastic cap for the chamber when preheating it. I’ve read the previous classic version was made you plastic and didn’t have a pressure gauge. Very happy with this model, would highly recommend.

I love this. I know before buying this that it will ba a little hassle to prepare an espresso or cappucchino using this device. Using Time more C3 to grind. 8 clicks (or 9 for some beans).

NAPOLIのハンドル式のエスプレッソマシンの雰囲気が楽しめます。

Pulls a really good coffee, and affordable too. Might upgrade in the future but this definitely suffice for me at the moment. Update: Few months in, this is almost my daily driver. Other than the lazy times I used my old Dolce Gusto when I am extremely lazy. Throwing away that old Dolce soon!

Il portafiltro è arrivato rotto. Non sono riuscito/a a preparare nemmeno un caffè.

Es muy práctico para llevarlo a cualquier lugar. El perfil del espresso es distinto al de máquina, sin embargo he logrado encontrar buen balance en el cuerpo y la crema.