r/FlairEspresso

Been pulling from the 49 pro for a couple weeks since it arrived. I only have an old non-espresso Kitchenaid burr grinder (the original), so the pressurized cheater basket has been a lifesaver. And an eWizard steamer arrived yesterday (how did that happen?), and so I broke down and preordered a DF54 from Cliff & Pebble, which won't ship until July (I guess there is quite a supply chain hole).

I keep telling myself my beloved coffee addiction isn't going to become a gaping maw of a black hole that will devour my soul like an H.P. Lovecraft monster...

Hey all,

Recently got a Flair 58!

Sorry to be cliché but hoping you all can help: I'm struggling to dial in at the moment.

I have watched a LOT of YouTube vids on the F58/manual espresso plus have read through this forum quite a lot.

I think the main thing I'm struggling with is grind size? I have (as per a lot of guidance online) ground considerably finer than I usually would for my Bambino+. Finding that it's really quite hard to pull the lever and hit 9 bar. Managed to get there today with my finest grind yet, but the puck at the end of it had a pool of water sat above it and was absolutely saturated - basically mud at this point.

I'm using a light-ish roast from DAK: Milky Cake, so it's a shame to waste those beans dialling in, but it is what it is.

I'm wondering at this point do I need grind finer still? Coarsen up? Have been trying approx. 10 second pre infusion before pulling straight into 9 bar as best I can.

Shots are coming out relatively thin and quite bland (albeit today's was the best of the bunch, using the finest grind size yet). Pulling around 18g in 40-45g out, but am wondering if I need to extend the ratio further still. Using 2nd light on preheater and 95°c water.

Any and all tips are greatly welcome and appreciated!

Cheers all

Hello, Ive purchased the Flair Classic for my first espresso machine. Just hoping for any tips and tricks or links to how to's. For ref Ive been making my own pourovers for a decade but started with a moka. Mostly use light roasts and love ethiopian. I have some of those ready for testing. Anyway thanks in advance!

Hey all, longtime Flair brewer. Bought my Classic with a pressure gauge in 2022 and have been enjoying espresso just as good as my favorite roaster cafe since. I've even gotten into roasting my own beans.

Recently, I goofed: I pulled a shot without the screen, sending grinds up against the bottom of the gauge stem. Well... wouldn't you know it, I've noticed water leaking up through small cracks since, and it's starting to affect the pressure build up. So... I'm at a crossroads of options:

1. Replace only the stem: $21 certainly the cheapest (minorly appealing to me) and more importantly, the least wasteful. I really don't like the idea of replacing stuff just for the heck of it. I've enjoyed the end-game feeling of my current setup.
2. Upgrade to Pro 2: $126 (on sale) Sale is appealing, but is this worth it?
3. Upgrade to Pro 3: $159 If I fully indulge and say why the hell not... Anyone made this leap? Or upgraded from Pro 2 to Pro 3? What was the biggest change?

Thoughts from anyone who upgraded? Worth it? Biggest difference? Thanks!

I've been using the Flair Wizard on a stove top for about three months. I generally get a lot of bubbles in the milk the moment I open the steam nozzle. I let the steam build til the pink area, purge, close, then reopen the nozzle (all while keeping the gas on). What is causing this? How do I prevent the bubbles?

I'm a coffee enthusiast and I want to improve my coffee skills. My question is...
How can I prepare an espresso from robusta coffee beans from São Tomé and Príncipe? What is the ideal quantity and grind size for a DF54 coffee maker?

Curious how many arrived at manual espresso via the long path of roasting one's own coffee beans.

I've been home roasting for about 20 years now, still using a 'frankenstein' setup as it hasn't broken, and provides the control required to deliver consistent results. I gravitate toward African varietals (lots of Ethiopian and Kenyan), and tend to prefer light (City, City+) in my french press, which until I got the Flair was my preferred brew method, to render the distinctives that light roast preserves of the bean (as darker tends to focus on the roast itself).

As a result, my first true excursion into espresso with the Flair just explodes on the tongue and palate (compared to the same bean french pressed). And next roast day (this weekend) I'll probably experiment with going a little darker (maybe Full City) with some of the greens I have in inventory to see what the Flair does with them.

After trying many different sources for greens (unroasted beans), including collectives, forums, and the like, I've happily gone 100% exclusive with Sweet Maria's, as many home roasters do.

Anyway, just curious who else is down this rabbit hole, alongside pulling their own shots.

I want to give a huge shoutout to Vergil in customer service.

I emailed today as my “screen was fused to the bottom of my portafilter”. Only way I could describe it. It was my first time using the black portafilter on my Neo Flex, and I was on my lunch break with only 20 minutes at home. Rush in, empty my grinder (15gs) and tamp er down, screen on top.

Pull my shot, dump grinds out, cannot find screen. Look inside, “omg how’d it get to the bottom”. It’s fused in there. Toothpicks keep snapping. Can’t get it out. Okay, time for the metal file. Puncture a hole right through it and nearly slice my hand open.

Get back to work, remember the warranty. 6 months. Let me email.

Poor Vergil. “Maybe you put the screen on the bottom”, now I’m pissed. I remain cordial, he sends me a new black portafilter.

Flash forward, girlfriend is doing the dishes.. “what’s this screen in the sink”

TLDR: I punctured through the portafilter itself thinking it was a stuck screen. Vergil is a fantastic CSR. And I’ll be calling tomorrow to see if there’s a way to pay for the portafilter being sent (will come back with receipt)

Hello, first time Flair espresso machine owner here.

I was having trouble with the grounds floating up into the water chamber and making the whole thing look like pourover, but I found from another post here that it was caused by pouring too fast. So I pour slower, only to see the dispersion screen floating upward into the hot water chamber! And that let the grounds float up into the water chamber again. What causes this? Is it an issue with the etched dispersion screen that's just a flat disc? Because I see in the official Neo Flex workflow video that their dispersion screen is different and seems to be held down by the hot water chamber.

I also didn't hit the espresso zone while brewing but I suspect I'm just not pulling the lever hard enough.

Additional info: I'm grinding my own beans with a Timemore C2, but since it's not espresso-capable I use the red pressurized filter. 10 clicks, 13 grams of med-dark coffee to err on the side of not overflowing the chamber. I'm using the plastic tamper included with the Neo Flex, no WDT (haven't gotten around to buying a tool yet).