The taste was very close, but crema and mouthfeel I just couldn't quite get to the same level as my lever machine with either of the manual Espresso makers. Item Condition: Used - Good Used - Good: Items that may have been previously owned or used for demonstration with noticeable evidence of use and wear. The Flair 58 brew head features an industry standard 58 millimeter portafilter with a wooden barista handle.

What helped is that the inventor, Sergio Landau, had the project ready right up to the manufacturing stage when he launched his Kickstarter: he had the prototype finalised, had the tooling and mold ready to go, and just needed the funds to do production on the initial 800 machines. For the Flair, we preheated the main collar in boiling water for 45 seconds, then assembled the portafilter, collar and plunger, pulled an empty water shot into a preheated espresso cup, and measured the water in the cup. EASY TO CLEAN – The Flair Espresso Maker is the only manual espresso maker with a completely detachable brewing head. Obviously, the quality of the coffee itself is also very important, there's not much point in investing money in great gear and then using rubbish coffee ;-).

When I first looked at the bits in the case, it looked a bit intimidating in terms of how many bits there are and how much figuring out I may have to do – I may even have to resort to reading the instructions? The NEO Flex is the latest offering from Flair, built for beginners and those seeking convenient, affordable espresso at home.

As far as I can make out, the main difference between the way I've been using Flair, and the way others have who have rated it on parr with powered lever machines, is that while I was following the instructions and pre-heating the cylinder with hot water (which didn't seem to make much difference really, vs not preheating it), others have found that this doesn't pre-heat it enough just with hot water (especially when using medium roasts, as I usually tend to) and that better quality shots come from actually boiling the cylinder in a pan of water, and then using tongues or heat proof gloves to handle it. It’s a relatively small device that can actually be used when backpacking and lightweight travel, since it clocks in at around 475 grams (just over a pound). The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Has good weight where it needs it (in the portafilter / coffee area), and decent "beef" to the other parts where needed.We bring together over 350 brands and 8,000 references: a wide range of manual espresso coffee maker, espresso glasses, slow coffee makers, manual coffee grinders, the best teapots or insulated mugs.