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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.
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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.
