r/FlairEspresso

Hi Everyone. I’ve been trying single origins coffees and trying to learn more about coffee for a year. Have been brewing v60 and espresso with mocha pots. I think I’m ready for an upgrade and after doing some research I fell in love with the flair 58 series! Do you all think it would be a good idea to start with 58 plus 2? Are there specific tutorials you’d recommend?
Also I’ve been waiting for a discount for some time, and now there’s a sale! And I saw people who buy a machine can get a discount code. I know it’s a huge favor but I thought I would shoot my shot. Is anyone willing to share their discount code with me? I will definitely share the code with you once I buy mine. Again i understand I’m asking for a lot, but I thought I’d try :)
Hoping to learn more from the community and make better espresso soon!!

Just sharing my experience on the Neo Flex. I paid $100 for it.

My neo flex is falling apart after a year and a half of not quite daily use, 1-2 shots. It was rinsed after every use. Saved money over the coffee shops for sure…. pulled wonderful shots but am pretty disappointed with the longevity. Pinholes developed in the plunger top that shoot water into the ceiling, pin won’t stay in the handle, plastic broke off of the seal edges. Had the arm for the gauge blow off 6 months in- fully cracked the plastic under pressure to complete failure. Flair replaced it, and I’m very grateful for that. It’s pretty much dead. I pulled maybe ~500 shots before it went to pieces.

Are the next level Flair machines that much better or should I be considering another manufacturer? Id rather the next one be a buy-it-for-life machine and I’m willing to spend a little money here. Thanks :)

I've had the Flair 49 Pro for about a month. Went to pull a shot today and the plunger popped out of its housing. I had to dig out some Allen keys, remove the plunger from the lever arm, and reinstall it before I could make coffee.

Not ideal when you're desperate for a caffeine hit

So inspired by the video linked at the bottom, I just pulled a decaf shot and a regular shot with these changes to my workflow:

• 16g rather than 18g
• ground directly into basket, not dosing cup
• tamp edges, than full tamp
• preheat portafilter (as well as cylinder and cup), submerging directly into boiling water
• pull 20-22g rather than 32-26g

Oh boy. More syrupy, more body, more fruit, less sour notes, less bitterness. I guess essentially this was ristretto / salami (I drank the 2nd half that was left in the pull afterwards). I'm going to use this as my daily morning routine for a bit.

Flair 49 Pro: I let an espresso expert fix my shot

Hey folks!

I've been tempted by a Flair for quite a while, particularly with portability in mind. I'm trying to understand how portable different Flair machines are. The 2Go is obviously the one most designed for it, but both the Neo and Classic look fairly portable as well.

What's the actual subjective size of something like a Classic? Benefits and drawbacks of each of the more portable models?

I definitely want a pressure gauge, kinda prefer minimal work in general, and do care about size and weight.

Thanks for any thoughts y'all might have!

Have been using my flair pro3 for a month and getting some decent shots out of it. Yet, it has a been a pain to clean it afterwards. I think the most annoying parts are the wet puck and the sticky shower screen due to the wet puck. Do you guys have any tips that can help this situations, or anything that can improve the efficiency of cleanup? thanks

Is it true, Flair 58 users, that if your shot can't reach 9 bars of pressure—even though you're only aiming to brew at 6–7 bars—it usually means your grind size isn't quite right?

Or what's your take on this?

I'm still a newbie, so I'd really appreciate your opinions. To me, the espresso often tastes pretty good (I've only been learning to drink and dial in good espresso for about two weeks), but the pressure only peaks at around 6–7 bars. If I try to push harder, the flow suddenly becomes way too fast.

What do you guys think?

Hello! I've had a flair (I think the classic) for about 3.5ish years now, and it usually works great. But recently, I've been completely able to get any pressure at all - even before I pull the shot, water starts dripping through, and then just a tap on the lever causes a suuuper watery shot to pull instantly. That's true even after I adjusted my grind down to be insanely fine.

My best guess is that something isn't sealing properly - no water is getting out but it seems like some air is. I assume the next step is to replace the o-ring in the piece that holds the water, but wanted to see if anyone else had other ideas or recommendations!

I’ve been wondering if I’m missing something.
No matter how long I leave the brew head sitting on my kettle to preheat, my espresso never seems as hot as what I get from a coffee shop. I’m using the Flair 58 with the brew head preheated, and I also preheat my cup by filling it with boiling water before pulling the shot.
For those of you getting really hot espresso:
What preheat setting do you use?
Do you leave the brew head on the kettle for a certain amount of time?
Do you preheat the portafilter and basket too?
Is there anything else that made a noticeable difference?
I’m just curious what everyone else’s routine is, because I feel like I’m doing everything I should but the final drink is still noticeably cooler than café espresso.

I’m looking to get my first flare machine and i was going to go with the classic but after seeing so many people recommend the 58 I’m wondering what everyone’s experience is with both and if there’s any major differences

I have the Flair Neo. Is a high quality spring loaded tamper necessary and do you notice the difference in taste from the plastic tamper?

Thank you

Hi everyone! Just got a 2nd hand Flair 58 plus 2 and while learning on how to operate it, I saw that it's possible to lift the lever all the way up with one hand, while the chassis stays planted. I saw this think on multiple videos, including from Flair.

On my machine, the lever moves with much more friction, at the point that if I want to top up the water, I can't safely do it without putting down the kettle, keeping the chassis with one hand and lifting the lever with the other one.

Why is my machine acting like this and what can I do to behave like it should? Many thanks!