Flair Espresso Maker PRO 2 (Black) - An all manual lever espresso maker with stainless steel brew head and pressure gauge

Product Information

When I ignored the instructions in this regard and dosed with 14g, I seemed to get the best results, at a more coarse setting than I'd usually use with the La Pavoni Euripicolla and The Rok. Taste wise, the shots I pull with the PRO 2 are just so much better across the board: the extraction is higher, the output is hotter and there is a load much more range in ratio. For a very light roast that I find hard to extract without sourness, I like to position the cylinder in the silicone pre-heating cap and fill it twice with water off the boil, letting it rest at least 30 seconds each time. Flair maintains that getting the unit better preheated and temperature stable mitigates this, and I found that to maybe be true, where getting the brew group hotter produced shots with more crema, though it still was thinner than with a pump machine. Having said that, I do think, judging from other reviews I've read such as the Flair Espresso Review on Home Barista, that this kind of quality is possible.

I pulled shots of Espresso with Flair alongside my La Pavoni Europiccola, and The Rok, using the same coffee. The outer cardboard box is even thoughtful enough to let the very high quality travel case’s handle come through. Over complicated by the dosing and grind fineness, but also the pages and pages of discussion online about how best to get it temp stable and the extra steps needed to get the most from it.It has a piston that travels down a cylinder containing hot water that's forced under pressure through coffee grounds below. In my experience I did found it a little harder to dial in the 15 gram pucks, but I'll definitely keep brewing my favorite old 15g dose shots as well. Update: Todd also pointed out to me that you can just push the plunger past the o-rings and I can confirm that works.

I had side channeling and sprites with a Fiorenzato Doge Conico, with 71 mm conical burrs similar to some versions of the Mazzer Robur.

The PRO's portafilter is held onto the cylinder by an o-ring in the cylinder (it's best not to lubricate that o-ring for a stronger grip).

I did my tests using a Versalab M4 and a Feldgrind, both very high quality grinders that produce very consistent grinds. This seemed counter intuitive to me, assuming filling the brew head with boiling water and letting sit would absolutely get it hotter than just steam venting from the kettle heating, but Flair maintains the kinetic energy of steam is higher and get the unit hotter.I sometimes switch back to the signature brew chamber for creating a small single shot, but the difference in output quality is quite noticeable. Also, it can be unsettling at first to see the cylinder shift its grip on the portafilter and create a slight gap.

All Flairs are pour-over espresso makers, meaning the brew water is heated externally by the user, and there is no milk foaming capability. The brewing chamber would much better be thermally isolated - or be able to heat like in the flair 58x. Sufficient resistance in the coffee grounds are provided by particle size tuned to dose, so lower doses will have finer grounds to create the same resistance as larger doses with coarser grounds. The Flair PRO 2 is made from durable materials like cast aluminum and stainless steel, so you can be sure your manual espresso maker, by Flair, is built to last.Maintaining all the performance of the original PRO, the PRO 2 features four upgrades including a removable spout, an enhanced bottomless portafilter, a gauge guard for increased durability and a silicone grip for better brewing ergonomics. You can then prepare 2 shots, and when the first shot is done, move the (still hot) brew chamber to the second portafilter, add water, and you can make another shot. I have a steel dissecting probe with a dulled point for redistributing grounds (for Weiss Distribution Technique, aka WDT).