Flair UPDATED 49 PRO (Black) - All manual 49mm lever espresso maker with handled portafilter, pressure gauge and no plastics in brew path

I recently decided to dive into the world of home espresso. I am a professional cook so the extreme manual nature of the flair ecosystem got my attention right out of the gate. I also love camping and I find the idea of really great espresso at the campsite very appealing. So I decided on the flair pro 2 over the flair 58 simply because this being my first espresso machine ever, starting out at $1000 investment after machine and accessories seemed a bit irresponsible given that I've never really even attempted to pull a real shot ever up to this point. The pro 2 put me into the $500ish range with grinder and that seemed more appropriate for me. I have had this machine for a little over a month now, have pulled roughly one full Peetes coffee bag worth of shots. So I believe I can give a decent review now from the viewpoint of a professional cook but novice beginner espresso machine user. I have spent the month watching countless youtube videos from Lance Hendrick to James Hoffman and others. I learned about bean types, grinders, grind size, dose size, water temp, brew pressures and so on. When it comes to kitchen matters, I tend to dive in and learn as much as possible. So now to using the product. It is really well built, it is pretty intuitive on how to use it and if you know what you are doing, you can pull consistent shots. I however am not good at it(yet). So with everything you get from flair you can pull shots. Sometimes great shots. And if you are good at espresso already you can probably pull consistently good shots. I struggled out of the gate because even though I created a very consistent and efficient work flow, the one variable I couldn't be consistent at was tamping. The tamper that comes with the flair is decent. It seems high quality and well made but for me, it's too small for my oger hands and getting a consistent flat and evenly pressed coffee bed with it is difficult. It didn't seem to matter what my grind size was, what my dose size was, randomly some shots would pull with little to no resistance and squirting channels everywhere. Others I couldn't even get to pull at all. And this is with me making wild grind size changes, 16g dose to 22g dose, it didn't matter. It became clear that the issue was my tamp. So I decided to invest in the normcore distributor and spring tamper. Oh, I had also bought the normcore WDT tool with the flair 2 pro. These extra tools have completely fixed all of my issues. The first shot I pulled using the distributor and spring tamper I pulled an 18g dose in 24 seconds with zero channeling which I'd never been able to do prior. I went two clicks finer on my grinder and pulled a second shot which pulled in 34 seconds, no channeling and was basically perfect. I almost cried haha. So, my very long winded opinion is this. Flair makes a great product for coffee nerds. If you are already good at making espresso, meaning your form and knowledge are there, you will have fun with this machine right out of the gate. If you are an extreme novice like me, I would suggest at a minimum getting a spring tamper until you are a pro at tamping. Tamping seems to be the most important part with the flair to getting consistent results. Having said all of that, I am most likely going to be moving this to my camping gear and replacing it with the flair 58. The work flow with the 58 is probably better for everyday use. handling the boiling hot billet water chamber and basket after every use is a little annoying but nowhere near a deal breaker by any means. If your budget is $500, get this. If you can afford $1000 all in or you already have a good grinder, get the 58.

There are so many videos on these I don’t know what to add but this. I have a coffee shop. Opened two months ago with a used originally 20k machine from 2013. We have had so many issues and Saturday it shot out water to the ceiling. So we had to close. So I decided to order this to re open. So I’m comparing this to a top of the line commercial machine. And wanna know what trully sucks and makes me so angry. Inhale exhale. It’s making shots better than some of my shots. Not all but enough that my 400 dollar payment is making me mad. However it’s a lot of work. But not too much. Like on my commercial machine I grind into a ports filter this would be hard. Who cares I’m upgrading to the 58/2 on their web site. So It takes a little practice but not much. It’s like pancakes. Be prepped to toss the first one. I don’t work for the company or do they have me anything however…. I’m in St. Louis. Boom n brew. Laugh. The process is like this. My 100 dollar grinder. I put it on 12 it was too small put it on 14-15 it was better. But for me the issues had nothing to do with this. My grinder was stopped up. My sc New scalled would not set. So you’re gonna boil some water and put the top on the pot. Grind some beans. Do this. Use the funnel and put in 20 grams in. Pack it with the funnel. Take off the funnel out on the screen. Put the porta filter on the machine. Put a bit of water in in let it soak. It’s to release carbon dioxide. Go get your hot preheated water thingy. Put it on top. I’d say for me trying to use this commercially this is the part that challenges me personally because I need to be able to dump and pump wood fire. It’s hard cause the thing is hot. But hotter water makes smoother less bitter shots. In general. But I have high medium standards and there are coffee shops all over town with bitter shots. So then you filll with hot water. Off the boil for me I want it hot and I know it’s going to cool. So a small change that is me being stuoid and picky is when you fill it it’s easy to over fill. However I just shoved the meter in and it over flowed a few drops fine. Remember I’m thinking commercial. Then your going to want a small as in a very small litttle square scaled. Under a glass and the scale should be zero we’d out. Because your going to measure the volume. It takes a smidge of holing the meter to get the lever centered at home you will get use to this. Then you adjust your mirror so you can see. Start pushing down softly. You want that bottom screen in the mirror to show a circle of coffee. I had a half and realized me 159 year old home was crooked. To I leaned a little right and there was a full circle so look at me being picky. After you see it kind of comming out you push hard till the gage is at 9 bars. You don’t have to be exact. But for people who really get into this you will be able to kind of work the pressure for timing. Etc. For a espresso or any drink that is like 50 percent milk or water or less like a machiotto (shame on you Starbucks calling a latte a maciotto when it’s supposed to be a “dollop” of milk) laugh. Then make that shot 40 grams. If your making like a cold lattes with sweetener and milk etc you can go to 45 even 50. But in general 20 in 40 out. They say up to 18 but that what we do and that’s what I did with this. And it worked. The beans I used were nine months only not ment for espresso. Dark. And still. Dang it. It was good!!! I hate that. I spent so much money. So manual shot are better with someone who has practice the machines are better for speed and consistency. The only real issue for me is lack of heating element. I have not tried a non heated shot. But for others it could be fine. If you’re making drinks with flavors and milk it’s fine but here’s the deal. Even though I’d rather go to a shop and have someone else make it no one can do that every day. This will make you shots that are cafe quality. That sucks for me. Laugh. But you will miss out cool atmospheres and fun conversation. But seriously. I’ll know more after the end of this week. And I’ll try to update if it is worth it to get the 58/2 that new. It’s not on Amazon.

As you can see, I have set up this machine as a functional art piece that I used after my Gaggia Classic Pro began leaking and then clogged after non use. It was a first machine that taught me I want low maintenance and this Flair was something that emphasizes the 49 mm portafilter because its easier to pull a shot for numerous reasons. It took me about 4 shots to pull a nice 6 bar. LESS COFFEE, cafe quality, competitive price. Buy the Ikape tamper (30 lb worked best) and metal funnel. Start coarser and move up or down according to the manual. I really feel the tiny accomplishment of pulling a decent shot on a signature blend (that isn't as good for espresso) with the 1ZPRESSO. This thing is really fun to use. I also want to try the M8 Mach 8 crank style.

I ended up with the wrong model— instead of the UPDATED Flair 49 PRO I ordered, I got the outdated PRO 3. It’s seriously frustrating, and I’m pretty disappointed. When I reached out to Amazon customer support, they said they couldn’t send a replacement, so I had to order the right one again myself. It’s annoying that this was Amazon/Flair’s mistake, but I’m the one stuck with the extra cost. To top it off, I was so fed up with Flair's lack of respect that I considered just keeping the PRO 3 instead of ordering the 49 PRO again. That would mean more costs and a hassle with returning it— with a 2-hour ride involved— and no guarantee there wouldn't be another mess-up. Long story short, I opened the PRO 3 that Flair sent, and it’s obvious it’s not new. There are coffee spills and scratches everywhere; it’s clearly been used. Plus, it’s missing the tamper and mirror, and there might be more parts missing—I didn’t check everything. I can’t believe how low Flair has sunk. I’m sending this used machine back. Seriously, do yourself a favor and skip this garbage.

I am more skilled at repairing things than I am at brewing coffee. So I know how to assemble things and how tight to tighten steel screws or bolts into threaded aluminum castings, such as this Flair49 Pro when I fastened the mast to the base prior to making coffee. After inserting the portafilter into the Flair, I have found that the motion to lock it against the O-ring causes the mast to twist a few degrees inside its mounting pocket because the fit in that pocket is loose by about the thickness of a bank card on both sides. I know that if I try to eliminate that twisting by further tightening the steel bolt into those aluminum threads in the mast I may strip them out. As an alternative I ordered some stainless steel shims here on Amazon and installed some to tighten the fit of the mast into the base. I really need to trim them down a little bit but they have taken the twist out of the mast, which was quite annoying to have in a machine with a $359 price tag. In regard to making coffee, the machine works well. I have not been using any espresso grinds yet so I have been using the pressure basket which allows for the use of regular ground coffee. It excels at this, making shots or cafe' americano. I prefer this to pour over. I can make a regular size cup of tasty coffee by running three chambers full of water through one basket full of grinds. I was preheating the basket, but I quit because I cannot tell the difference at this level of coffee making. I will try harder when I get some more Hawaiian coffee and an electric burr grinder to go "James Hoffman" on it LOL. I like this machine. It is replacing an original line Nesspresso maker that was lent out and may never come back. It is doing a fine job. I am glad that I did not spend twice the price to get the Flair58 Plus2 with electric preheat. Gosh, that makes me think that if I was willing to spend that much I could get two of these 49pros !! Size is great. No leaks. Easy to use. Easily portable in a Pelican case. I will be making a lot of coffee with this and if I have any issues, I will update this review as soon as I do.

Just got it yesterday, and it was very easy to assemble and worked straight out of the box. I was super impressed with the shot's quality and the really nice crema it produced. This actually pulled a better-tasting shot than my Breville Espresso machine. I plan to use it in my camper van along with a JetBoil for quality espresso on the road. The only concern I have is that the handle feels a little flimsy, and I'm curious how it will hold up to daily use. We'll see!

Coming from a ninja luxe it feels like a huge upgrade in quality and consistency of shots, if you’re willing to be the boiler it’s such a joy to use with unlimited flexibility. I use a stove kettle with boiling sink water for flush and a temp controlled kettled with the filter water to exact temp for bean I want . Straight to the point espresso with full control you can save most shots once you get used to pressure feel . I’ve used fresh beans and even grocery store beans still get great results with bottomless basket . I paired mine with a x ultra manual grinder anything from 16g in turbo shots to 18g long infusion no issues. 49.5mm tamper fits with a little play 51mm magnet dosing funnel fits perfectly on outside of basket I preheat the porta filter same time in a cup with boiling water while preheating the cylinder after a few uses it becomes very smooth can get a shot done in about 5-7 min easy to go back to back after that , leave the hot water in cylinder while your prep puck to keep hot then flush and add your temp water

I've been using the Pro 3 for 6 months now, and I can say it makes just as good of an espresso as my $1500 dollar home machine. I bought this for a manual portable espresso. I have used this dozens of times while camping and it doesn't disappoint. For preheating the crucible, I have found a great way for camping. I use a coleman double burner gas stove while camping, so I usually just set the crucible and basket combined, between the 2 burners on my stove. The combination of heat transmission from setting it on the metal to metal and the ambient heat between the two burners, gets this perfectly preheated. I have to use my stove to boil water anyway for this so either using the hot water for preheat or as I described, gets me the results I need. I haven't had any issues with its use. My only minor complaints is the silicone handle definitely cheapens the overall quality of this item. It isn't a very good grip and looks bulky and ugly. So I removed mine and just 3d printed some pretty tpu blank plugs to put in the 3 holes that are on the aluminum handle, in place of the silicone grip. This looks way better imo. The only other issue I have, is I really wish there was more water capacity in the crucible. Maybe 10ml is all. They sell this Pro 3 with the description of being able to put 21gr of grounds in the basket. For a triple shot that my partner would prefer, 21 gr is what I would use on my home machine. Unfortunately, 21 gr in the Pro 3 is definitely pushing it, and if you can get 21gr in, I personally don't think you can push the amount of water needed through this. There is always about 5-10ml of water remaining in the puck. Having about 10ml of water capacity more in the crucible would solve this issue for me. Therefore, I just sacrifice the ability of having a triple in one go, and have settled for only doing doubles and singles. The Pro 3 is still the largest capacity for water in the portable options. So I can't complain too much. I imagine this will continue to produce for a long time to come, and the Pro 3 looks so good at the campsite set up. So I'm happy!

Cool 👍 Marche à la force du bras Prévoir moulin à café et bouilloire

I m green to espresso but danm good machine

Es perfecta, es una Flair de 49mm. Hermosa con su maneral de madera

I have been working as a barista for 4years. but this is my first home espresso machine for myself. Flair espresso pro2 goes beyond my expatiation. i use comandante around click 6 -8, dose 18-19g, out 1:2or 1:2.25, it tastes very good, there is crema. if you have steamer of nanofoamer, you can make late art as well! The shape is also cool. the price is expensive but worth it, if you are thinking to purchase this! バリスタ として4年働いていますが、家庭用のエスプレッソマシンは初めてで、ワクワクしながら購入しました。予想を遥かに上回るクオリティで感動しました。 コマンダンテで６〜８クリックで引いてあげるとちょうどいい気がします。 価格は確かに高いですが、数十万円するエスプレッソマシンにも引けを取らないと思います。 迷ってるようでしたら、マストバイの一品です！

Zunächst...wer braucht beim Camping einen Espresso ? ..Ich. Meine Mühle ist eine : Eureka specialita (zu Hause) ,weil: eine gute Mühle ist sehr wichtig (sehr feines Kaffepulver) . Wenn man ganz auf Handbetrieb angewiesen ist lohnt sich eine teure Spitzenmühle zum Kurbeln , da bitte nicht sparen ! Und: nehmt KEINEN Kaffee! Kauft einen guten Espresso vom Röster! Das Handling ist nach Gewöhnung super easy. ca 12 gramm Pulver eingefüllt und mit ca10 bar (wird auf dem mitgelieferten Manometer angezeigt) einen wirklich grandiosen Espresso gepresst. Crema, Farbe, Durchlaufzeit ...alles wie im Bilderbuch. Vorwärmen des Brühkopfes mit heissem Wasser ist sehr wichtig. ABER : man muss ganz schön kräftig drücken ! Das Ding muss auf festem Boden stehen. Reinigung ist etwas mehr Fummelkram als beim grossen Siebträgergerät aber akzeptabel, da das Gerät nur aus wenigen Einzelteilen besteht. Die Verarbeitung ist sehr solide , aus Edelstahl! Mit Plastik kommt der Kaffee nicht in Berührung ! Nach meinen jahrelangen Handpresso Erfahrungen ist dieses Gerät zwar teuer aber ein echter Hit. Auch und gerade im outdoor Betrieb. Die Flair wird im robusten hardcase Koffer geliefert, kann aber auch easy in wenige Einzelteile zerlegt im Rucksack verpackt werden. Der Fuss ist zerlegbar mit einer Schraube. Macht aber auch in der Küche als "standalone" was her. Ich habe schon viele mobile Espressogeräte ausprobiert , dieses funktioniert .