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Actively heated reservoir with three temperature settings provides a stable brewing environment.
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A lot of this machine is extremely well built and looks good on the counter (except for the big power brick).
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58mm portafilter a game changer in the manual, “unpowered” espresso machine marketplace.
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Unlike most manual unpowered espresso machines, you can bang out shot after shot with the Flair 58.
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Gauge for pressure is well positioned and easy to read while pulling shots.
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New flow-through valve eases the entire workflow entirely when filling the reservoir with pre-heated water.
The Flair 58 (as of October 2022) comes disassembled and includes a lot in the box.
I love that Flair is going much more recycling friendly with their packaging. The 58 is shipped in plain cardboard, and the forms and protection inside the box are cardboard as well. They still use plastic for protecting the machine’s parts during travel, but this is still much better than many manufacturers. I would like to see Flair go 100% enviro friendly, by changing from plastic bags to compostable bags in the future.
There’s the main parts of the espresso machine: the base, main frame and lever assembly, the heated grouphead reservoir, already-installed valve plunger, the pressure gauge attachment valve, the portafilter and the preheat electrical parts, including a giant power brick. You’ll also find a single filter basket Flair calls the “low flow” 18g basket (you can get a “high flow” straight wall basket as well for the machine), a puck screen (a lot more on that below), a tamper, a silicone drip tray, a preheat silicone cap (in case you want to run the machine without power), and the product manual.
The grouphead assembly is wrapped in a textured silicone sleeve to prevent any possible burns or contact with hot surfaces. It has a texture and moulding to it, including two ribbed side grips.
The Flair 58 has to be assembled before use, and it can be a bit daunting to some, and tricky for others. When I first put it together, I did not have the lever aligned properly with the base, which is an absolute no-no. It was taken apart and I tried again, this time really paying attention the alignment. I could detail the steps here, but why re-invent the wheel: Flair has a good video tutorial of the process.
As you can see, even in that video Andrew had an issue with the lever handle being perfectly level. It’s easy to correct and fix, but I feel this is a slight engineering miscue on Flair’s part: they should design the mounting with tighter tolerances so it’s absolutely foolproof when assembling. A minor issue though.
Next is the placement of the water reservoir / grouphead onto the main frame of the Flair 58. This is secured by a single hex screw located towards the front of the main frame. Once in place, the pressure gauge valve assembly is placed into the pre-installed valve plunger by inserting it with the tabs lined up, then rotating the valve plunger so the gauge is facing forward. This “locks” the pressure gauge valve into the valve plunger.
There’s still one more tricky bit to do, and it took me some time to get it done properly. The lever arm has a hook that seats onto the pressure gauge plunger, and there’s a hook you have to seat properly behind the assembly to keep it secure. I have pretty fat hands (yep, both pretty, and fat), and it took some time to get that hook in place to secure the assembly. You have to angle things in a weird way for it all to fit right.
Flair did post a video showing how to attach this hook properly. It definitely helps as a guide.
The video definitely helps.
That said, I feel this is the engineers taking the simple route in design, giving the end user a slightly more difficult assembly experience. It could be better thought out and designed for no-fuss assembly. The good news is, you only have to do this once, unless you plan on taking this machine apart for travel often.
With the grouphead and lever and gauge system all assembled, the Flair 58 is for most purposes now a permanent “home” machine. That said, you could easily break everything down in about 5 minutes to flat pack it for travel. It’s no where near as travel friendly as the Flair Classic, Signature, Neo, or Pro models are, but it remains an option.
The next step is plugging in the power brick to the grouphead. The original Flair 58 required three connection points for the power, and they had to be done in a certain order, otherwise you could short out the electrics. Flair simplified this by removing one connection point (it’s now hard wired between the grouphead and control panel buttons).
Regardless of the improvement recently done to the machine, the entire power system is the biggest negative of the Flair 58. It’s massive, ugly, and feels extremely cheap. The worst thing is the humongous power brick. I mean, it’s only driving about 80W, yet it’s the size of a notebook computer power adapter from the early 1990s. I’ll have a lot more to say about this later in the review.
The power bits do take away from what is otherwise quite an elegant, slightly “steampunk” machine. The mostly black frame, lever arm, and grouphead assembly all look serious. The wood accents give a premium flair (get it) to the machine. Even the way the drip tray sits in situ looks nifty. Wether the lever arm is down or fully up, the Flair 58 is what I call “stark gorgeous”, as long as you don’t look at the power brick, or control.
The portafilter that ships with the machine is a chopped 58mm model, and it reminds me of the more ‘premium” aliexpress chopped portafilters. I have a bunch in the Lab that we ordered from Aliexpress over the years, and some feel extremely cheap, some super premium. I’d place the Flair 58 model in the bordering on premium category.
The straight wall filter basket I got (the “high flow” model) had the filter holes off centre; Flair assured me this was a miss in their earliest shipping models, and they inspect every basket before it goes out with machines since then. The low flow basket I got was perfect to the eye. You can, of course, use any after market basket in these machines, including VST and Precision baskets.
The drip tray is interesting. Works fine for single and double cups, but it only fits two small scales I have here in the lab: the crazy expensive Acaia Lunar, and the Timemore Nano. Again, I feel Flair could have designed this to accommodate a few more budget mini scales. My time tested SKG-2000 is only 5mm too long back to front, to fit.
The tamper included with the machine is nice in that, you get a weighted, all metal 58mm tamper in the box. Otherwise, the design is not ergonomically friendly and doesn’t suit my own tamping style (I like to use my thumb and forefinger to check the level as I tamp – I can’t do it with this tamper). I am on the fence complaining about this, as I always encourage espresso machine makers to include a tamper.
My suggestion for Flair down the road is just include a traditional 58mm tamper; don’t try to redesign what works ergonomically. Or perhaps a nice levelling tamper (piston style), one that sits on the filter basket in perfect level. Even better, one of those distribution / tamper dual devices. I bought one for Breville 54mm machines for $18, and I love it.
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Before we get into the meat of this review, I want to touch on the concept and execution of lever espresso just a bit. When I was introduced to a friend’s La Pavoni Europicola machine in 1997, I had a bit of an epiphany moment: I was more a part of the espresso making process than any time in my life up to that point. Because I was the pump. Not cocking a spring like I did on an Gaggia commercial machine a few years prior, but I was controlling the pressure directly.
Fast forward to six years later, and I had another epiphany moment. Constant playing in 2003 with an Elektra Micro Casa a Leva machine – a spring piston lever machine – delivered what I knew was the best espresso shot I had ever tasted in my life. To this day, it remains one of those true “god shots” of espresso I can count on one hand. I achieved that by playing around with the water temperatures, including hacks like wrapping a cold cloth around the grouphead, turning the boiler off at a certain point, and flushing out the grouphead before pulling shots.
Spring piston levers pressure profile too, in a way pump driven machines cannot. They decline pressure during the shot pull in a linear downward slope. They can peak at 135psi pressure under full load, and finish at 50psi or less at the end of the shot. It’s been long argued that this helps reduce the bitters extracted towards the end of an espresso shot, when the coffee is spent.
Kees van der Westen recognized the ability of spring piston lever machines, and tried to reinvent how they work with machines like the Speedster and Spirit machines, with their active preinfusion chambers (which includes a rising piston showing pressure build up), and the two stage shot delivery system with active or passive pump.
La Marzocco and Decent espresso approached pressure profiling via expensive and complicated systems with flow and needle valves and varying pump pressures. Because they realise the power and ability lever espresso machines can bring via pressure adjustments during the shot pull. They didn’t slap levers onto their machines (well, actually, La Marzocco did, but not the one I’m talking about); they just wanted their semi-automatic and fully automatic commercial and high end home espresso machines to mimic pressure tricks that levers could already do.
Manual, direct levers take pressure profiling to an entirely new level. They have no cocked spring to drive water pressure. Your hand is the pump. In the past, you had to go by feel on the pressure delivery because most machines didn’t have an active pressure gauge to show you how much PSI you were delivering in real time. Believe it or not, this was a good thing, as it trained the serious home barista operating a direct lever to recognize flow rates, how much pressure is applied, and in tasting the results, how to make adjustments.
Today, we have several manual, direct lever machines that have active flow rate pressure gauges built in. Most of the Flair models now ship with it. The Cafelat Robot ships with it. The forthcoming Odyssey Espresso Machine has pressure gauges. And the Flair 58 has it as well.
I cannot stress enough the ability levers have on crafting better espresso in the hands of an experienced, trained (either self or professionally), and sensory-capable barista. Simply put, levers give them an additional tool for crafting that other baristas, using traditional pump driven espresso machines simply do not have.
I’m a firm believer that both pressure profiling and temperature profiling lead to better espresso. Staring shots at low pressure gives a full saturation effect before bringing things up to the traditional 135psi / 9BAR of pressure. Slowly lowering the pressure as extraction continues means you’re torturing the spent coffee less, and extracting less bitters towards the end of the shot, compared to full 9BAR pump machines. Water temperature plays a crucial role here too: the higher the temperature, the more unsavory flavour components get extracted towards the end of the shot.
As to which is more important in improving espresso – temperature profiling or pressure profiling – I’m still on the fence on that. But the truth is this: lever machines give you one of those two tools that your average home barista with a $1,500 machine doesn’t have.
So I think we’ve established I love espresso machines and the set of tools they deliver to me as a barista. With that enthusiasm, I dived right into using the Flair 58.
I have not used the first iteration of this machine, which required you to remove the pressure gauge valve assembly each time you wanted to fill the reservoir. Instead, the current Flair 58 has a one way flow through valve that allows you to fill the reservoir with the entire assembly pressed down and in place. This is a game changer over any and all Flair machines. To be sure, it’s a way better workflow than even the Cafelat Robot, which I previously gave top marks for being easy to use (as compared to the Flair Pro or the ROK Espresso machine).
The second big game changer in the Flair 58 is the standard 58mm portafilter. No more assembling and disassembling the brewing group, like you have to do with the other Flair models and other portable, manual espresso machines. The foremost thing I have to remember is placing the Flair 58’s puck screen on top of the compacted coffee. The first few times I used the machine I forgot, and it makes a serious mess with coffee grinds and grit everywhere.
The third impressive game changer is the pre-heated grouphead reservoir. If you own an unpowered, manual espresso machine, temperature management is always a concern. We go to extremes, including steam baths for grouphead assemblies, running flushing shots… the works. This is not an issue at all with the Flair 58.
Three game changers in one machine. And I haven’t even gotten to the actual lever arm yet. Which is in itself a minor game changer. I’ve struggled at times to get to 9+BAR on the Cafelat Robot and older Flair models because of the short lever arms and the amount of force they require. Because the Flair 58 uses a much bigger filter basket than those machines, Flair designed it around a much larger lever, with a (mini) double handled grip. In use, it works extremely well, and the entire machine’s overall balance is suited and designed to this new handle size and length. The exertion is minimal, and pretty much worry free.
Let’s get to the work flow. It’s pretty straightforward. Power up the ugly control box, and press the button three times to get it to max heat (95C). Live the lever arm so the piston is sitting up near the top of the grouphead (Flair recommends this for better heat up). Wait a good 10 minutes for things to fully heat up (though if you’re in a hurry there is a cheat for this). Fire up your kettle to full boil.
At 10 minutes, lower the lever and remove your portafilter. Grind your standard espresso grind of 18g or so. Do your usual stuff (WDT, distribute the grinds, load the portafilter, tamp it down, etc). Place the metal distribution puck on top, and lock it into the machine. Make sure the portafilter is cranked over to between the 3 and 4 o’clock position.
Start pouring water into the reservoir. You’ll note some of it will flash to steam, because the metal is so hot. You want this. Fill it to near the rim, then start lifting the lever. You’ll note some water evacuates down to the portafilter at this point, so you might want to top off the reservoir as you continue lifting the lever. Once it is fully in the up position, it’s time to pull the shot, as it is already pre-infusing with your off-the-boil water.
Confidently grip the lever handle, and start pulling down. If your grind and dose are spot on, you should start seeing some expresso dribbling out at around 3 or 4 BAR on the gauge. Ramp up slowly to a full 9BAR pressure by 10 seconds in. Hold at 9BAR for the next 10 seconds or so, or the first 20g of espresso pouring out.
Next, loosen on your pressure slightly to lower it over the next 10 seconds of the shot, down to around 5BAR. Aim for 40-45G of output total, and aim to be at around 2BAR by the time you hit 45g. Then stop pulling the shot, lift the lever to cut off the flow.
Your shot is done and ready to drink. But you’re not done with the machine yet. The next step is to put another cup under the portafilter and flush out the rest of the brewing water by pressing down completely on the lever arm. Once done, remove the portafilter, remove the puck screen, and dump the spent puck. Give everything a good rinse (esp. the puck screen) and the machine is ready for the next shot pull.
That’s it. No take this apart, unscrew that, lift that lid, remove that top part, wedge this bottom off. The workflow is simple, quick and efficient with the Flair 58.
When you come to the Flair 58 from other manual, unpowered lever machines, or even the other Flair models, you realise you’ve reached a different level of performance, ability, usability and output quality..
The older Flair models are all excellent shot output devices, and have the added bonus of being extremely packable and travel friendly (for most forms of vacation or business travel; they aren’t especially backpack friendly). The tradeoff with those machines is that the workflow of the machines required a lot of finicky back and forth, dealing with those machines’ proprietary grouphead / portafilter assemblies. Also add in the absolute need for temperature management with those machines, and they fit entirely in a niche category of “espresso anywhere” devices that you have to babysit.
The Flair 58 breaks that paradigm. The addition of the heated reservoir takes away the need for temperature management. The 58mm portafilter simplifies the workflow greatly. The updated flow valve plunger design Flair brought to this machine only months after it was launched also greatly improves the workflow of the machine.
Where the Flair 58 loses out on its “portability” (it still is sort of portable); it gains 10 fold in workflow. It also gains in shot quality by a good amount, thanks to the larger puck sizes and the nearly perfect water temperatures.
Ease of Use
The Flair 58 is a very easy machine to use, maintain and get repeatable results from. Count on about 10 minutes heat up time for the reservoir before you add off-the-boil water. There is a simple way to speed this up if you want a shot as soon as you wake up. Turn the machine’s heating element on, and boil water. Fill the reservoir with water and run it through an empty portafliter. Repeat. The machine should be fully up to temperature for your real first double of the day.
The lever arm’s added length and big grippy handle make pulling shots an easy affair that even my neighbour’s 9 year old child was able to do several times.
Cleaning everything is pretty easy too, except for one element. The grouphead / reservoir is probably the trickiest thing to clean manually, but since it kind of self cleans everytime you use it (the gaskets and one way valves clear everything out of it), it’s not something to worry about. The portafilter and filter baskets are also just as easy to clean and maintain as any you would find on traditional espresso machines.
The only slightly difficult part for cleaning is the puck screen, which takes the place of a traditional machine’s dispersion screen.
Flair 58 Puck Screen
Puck screens made their debut a few years back with the B Plus screen. The idea behind them is an additional water diffuser that evenly soaked the bed of coffee in a portafilter. Initially designed to sit in between an espresso machines’ normal dispersion screen (located in their groupheads) and the bed of compressed ground coffee, Flair made the decision to entirely replace their dispersion screens with a puck screen.
Puck screens really do a fantastic job of distributing water over the entirety of a bed of coffee in a filter basket. They also prevent some coffee expansion from water, which some have argued leads to better overall extraction (jury’s still out on that, IMO). When used in conjunction with a standard espresso machine they have the benefit of keeping a grouphead much cleaner as well.
Because the Flair 58 doesn’t have a dispersion screen, some of the benefits of these puck screens might be lessened a bit, but all the things I’ve noticed using screens on traditional machines carried over here. You need to grind a bit coarser because the compression and flow rate change will slow down shot pulls. There’s virtually no channeling or pitting on any shots I pull with the Flair 58 because of this screen. Overall, I think it is a good solution, but not perfect.
The downside to puck screens is they get dirty. Manufacturers of them, like B Plus or Weber Groups, recommend an immediate rinse, and an ‘occasional steam wand flush” (which you cannot do if all you own is a Flair 58). Weber suggests using a Cafiza bath (a Urnex cleaner) to give it a thorough clean.
I’m not convinced. And videos and pictures like this back this up. The former shows supposedly clean puck screens put in an ultrasonic bath. The latter photo shows the murky water after an ultrasonic cleaning.
Coffee grit can get stuck in the most impossible places, and all those 150 micron width baffles in an espresso puck is the ideal place. To test this a bit, I had two puck screens on hand – one that’s never been used (but was soaked in boiling water once) and the Flair 58 disk that was used and cleaned for a month. We did a massive steam and cafiza cleaning of it, rinsed it, put it in boiling water and rinsed it again.
My partner, who has a way better olfactory system than I did, did a simple smell test on both. She could detect no odor at all from the unused puck. She did pick up an odor from the Flair 58 disk, and while faint, she said it was not a pleasing smell. I wish I had a better test to do to back this up, but I don’t have the capability.
Bottom line though, these disks need a good regular cleaning way beyond just rinsing them under hot water. Boiling them would help. Long soaks in espresso machine cleaner, ditto. You may also want to consider buying an ultrasonic bath cleaner to really get the dirt out.
I’d like to see Flair include a few of these disks with the machine down the road. This would allow you to rotate them and give a disk a good long clean while you’re using the other one.
The benefits from the puck screen, in my testing, outweigh any concerns about cleanliness. Just keep on top of it.
Flair 58 Durability
The Flair 58 has been mainly maintenance free in the six months of testing it got, Everything remains tight and solid on the machine. A few bits show wear and tear, but the machine has really stood up to pulling about 450 espresso shots so far and counting.
I’ve seen another reviewer complain about the lever arm squeaking under use. My guess is they haven’t assembled the machine properly or checked the hex nuts are tight because our test machine is as silent as the day it was first used.
All this said, there’s a few parts on the Flair 58 that will see long term wear and tear. It’s all the gaskets on the machine. I would have liked to see them include at least one set of spares in the box, for the flow through valve gaskets and the grouphead gasket (the gasket the filter basket mates up to).
Temperature Tests
Towards the end of my six month tests with the Flair 58, with the machine well broken in, I ran a series of temperature tests using a Scace device. I wanted to see what the water temperature was based on start up times of the machine and using just-off-the-boil water. I set the machine to the highest temperature setting (Flair says its 95C), and set about data logging the results.
I ran three tests in all, one after the machine was on for 5 minutes, the second after the machine was on for 10 minutes, and the third after it was on for 20 minutes. All three were tested from a cold start. Here’s the range of grouphead water temperatures these tests. All temperatures (Y Axis) are in Celsius.
All in all, extremely impressive, but I noted that temperature climbed a bit during the simulated shot, when ideally, you want it to drop a bit towards the end.
There is a hack for this. Fire up the machine and preheat it for 10 minutes. Fill the reservoir with off-the-boil water, as normal. Turn the power off to the grouphead just before you pull your shot. When I did it this way, I was registering a decline down to about 88C towards the end of the shot pulls, but still seeing temperatures in the 92 range at the start.
About the Power Brick
Unless you have something huge (like a toaster over) to hide it behind, that brick is going to be an eyesore on your kitchen counter. Even the control box with the power button and three LED lights for different heat levels looks budget. It also doesn’t even seat well on the table from the machine (the cord from grouphead to the control box isn’t long enough).
This is definitely another area where the engineers of this machine took the easiest, most “off the shelf” approach to the power unit, when they should have been thinking elegant, refined, and invisible. Almost all the points Flair lost in this review are based on that power brick and the power design.
They really need to address this the next time they do a major update to the Flair 58, or come out with the Flair 58 2.0 model. I have some suggestions.
First and foremost, the brick has to go. Find another solution for driving the wattage. It has to be invisible. At worst, the machine should have a cord coming out of the grouphead to a control, and a cord from that control to the wall outlet.
Even better would be controls self-contained in the grouphead or lever frame design. Preferably with a digital readout. And just a simple, standard plug line coming out of the machine and plugged into your wall outlet. If this solution adds $100 to the Flair 58 price, so be it.
If I can be frank, that power brick and design actually angers me. It angers me because this otherwise excellent machine is besmirched by that afterthought of a power system.
Focus Group Comments
I organized a multiple-products focus group late last fall and the Flair 58 was one of the machines discussed. I set up a scenario where they first got to admire and use a Cafelat Robot, and then moved onto the Flair 58. Reactions and comments were recorded.
The universal consensus was that the workflow and output from the Flair 58 was superior. One tester said it was the best shot of espresso he had ever tasted.
Opinion was more mixed on looks and which machine each person would purchase if they were in the market. Two of the group picked the Cafelat Robot for its smaller size, unique look and shape. One picked the Flair 58; incidentally, it was the same person who said it produced the best shot of espresso he had ever had.
There was one more universal consensus: the power brick is horrible.
“The Robot has a more unique shape and I love that it takes up so little room on the counter” – Jason
“The Flair 58 is really easy to use. I like that it works just like a regular espresso machine and filling the reservoir is dead simple.” – Jason
“That was definitely the best espresso I think I have ever had in my life. I cannot believe I made that shot. It puts my Lelit machine to shame.” – Robert
“I like how easy the Flair 58 is in the act of actually pulling the shot. This lever is very easy to use. The Robot makes me think I might break something or send it flying across the table with the pressure and angle I have to exert on the two arms.” – Robert
“I’m gravitating towards the Robot because it’s elegant, unique and small. I really don’t like that ugly power brick on the Flair 58 and that would be the main reason I wouldn’t buy one.” – Elise
“I couldn’t see myself using a lever espresso machine. I like pushing buttons on our home machine. So I’m surprised at how fun it is, even though it does take both my hands to control the lever with any confidence. As you said, being hands on with the process makes it more special and personal.” – Elise
“I could see us buying the Flair for our cottage. It would be luxurious and as you said, you don’t need to run it with power if you don’t want to. I like having options like that!” – Elise
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We put the Flair 58 up against the Cafelat Robot with our small focus group. I also ran some direct comparison and usage tests against the ROK Espresso maker and the Flair Pro. For taste tests, the machine was put up against our standard Lab machine, a Breville Dual Boiler.
Cafelat Robot
Out of all the manual machines, the Cafelat Robot is probably the closest in terms of ease of use, but it’s still not a fair comparison. I have to do a lot of temperature management with the Robot. It involves presoaking the main portafilter in a cup of boiling water, loading it with ground coffee, tamping it, putting the dispersion screen on top, and filling the portafilter chamber with boiling water. Then I dump that initial water quickly and refill it before it gets placed into the machine. Doing this results in shot temperatures of around 90C, which is acceptable.
Before getting the Flair 58, I thought this routine with the Cafelat Robot was really easy and pain free. Now I see it as a chore, because the Flair 58’s workflow is infinitely better.
Banging out shot after shot is also much faster with the Flair 58. The Cafelat requires a bit more hands on, cleaning and re-heating between shots. It’s not horrible, but it cannot keep up with the efficiency and ease of use of the Flair 58.
The act of pulling a shot with the Flair 58 is also much easier thanks to the long lever arm. The Robot’s short double arms require more force and more care in using the machine; I’ve sent it flying across the counter more than once in the past. I’ve never worried about this with the Flair 58.
Where the Cafelat Robot trumps the Flair 58 is in the more refined elegance of the package and its tinier footprint. It also requires no power to work (other than the power you use to heat water in a kettle, which can be done over a fire).
As for shot quality, I have to give the nod overall to the Flair 58.
Flair Pro
I won’t get into too much detail here as we are working on a Flair Pro review, but though the machines are both lever machines and from the same company, they really are in two different classes. I think of the Flair Pro (and Neo, and Classic, and Signature) as travel, niche, everywhere espresso machine devices that have sacrifices for that portability.
When you want a shot of espresso from the Flair Pro, you have to think “assembly required” for every shot pull. It’s not a bad thing per se, and not a hardship by any means, but it does take time and it becomes a ritual. They simply cannot compete with the Flair 58 in terms of ease of use.
I take the Flair Pro with me on vacation all the time (and took the Signature model previous to the Pro model). It can produce a fantastic espresso with proper temperature management and care to details. I even had two complete group assemblies for the Flair Signature so I could pull two shots back to back.
I won’t be taking the Flair 58 on vacation. But I probably would set it up as my permanent espresso machine at my office. Because it’s that darn good.
ROK Espresso
The ROK espresso machine can be looked at as the first generation, first of its kind manual lever espresso machine for the 2000s. It was introduced as the “Presso” in 2004, and we wrote a review for it on CoffeeGeek in 2006. Here’s the BBC talking about the Presso in 2004.
The biggest problems with the device back then was temperature management (I could not get it above 88C in the shot basket) and blown gaskets. Since then, the Presso changed into the ROK brewer and had some incremental improvements, In 2017, the machine got the biggest upgrade yet, to the GC model. We do not have one at CoffeeGeek; only the 2015 era ROK and this is the one I used to compare to the Flair 58.
On one hand, the ROK is easier to use than Flair’s other lever machines. The ROK relies on a 50mm portafilter for its workflow. This compares well to the Flair 58. On the other hand, I have found it nearly impossible to get the ROK up to 92C brewing temperatures, the “sweet spot” needed for optimal espresso extraction. I’ve also been through several gasket replacements as they seem to wear down quickly.
Head to head, the workflow and shot output of the Flair are in their own league when compared to the ROK. The ROK can produce an acceptable espresso shot, but it will not be the best you can produce. I also find its smaller dosing size means you have to adjust your output volumes accordingly. It is however less than half the price of the Flair 58 and is a lot more portable.
Breville Dual Boiler
A $1,500, double boiler machine up against a direct lever system for $500. Who’s going to win.
On pure taste, it goes to the Flair 58, if you are really in tune with the brewing process. I did 5 blind taste tests of shots pulled by my friend Sebastien on both machines back in September. Seb’s a serious espresso nerd, and runs a Lelit machine with a Niche Zero grinder at home. I gave him a full tutorial and run through on the Flair 58, and he has experience on a La Pavoni lever machine from a decade ago.
It was close. I scored 2 of the Flair shots higher; 2 shot pulls were a tie, and the Breville was the winner for one shot pull. This, from a guy who only had an hour or so training time on the Flair 58.
We flipped the scenario and I pulled three sets of shots for Seb. In his blind taste tests, he gave the nod twice ot the Flair 58, and declared the third a tie.
Of course, a full featured automatic espresso machine like the Dual Boiler offer a lot of other benefits. No temperature management at all; constant, instant on steaming ability; hot water delivery; automated one button press shot pulls. You can bang out shot after shot after shot with the Dual Boiler, and steam milk at the same time.
But the Breville Dual Boiler isn’t portable or travel friendly at all (the Flair 58 can be broken down for travel, and can be used without electrical power).
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If you like lever espresso machines and manually pulling shots, the Flair 58 might just be the perfect machine for you. This isn’t to say the machine is perfect by any stretch. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a better manual lever shot puller on the market right now.
The workflow is night and day different from any of its competitors on the market. Temperature management is of zero concern, and the reliance on a standard 58mm portafilter and the flow through valve design of the reservoir mean you can confidently deliver shot after shot out of the machine.
I cannot stress enough how wonderful the playground is with the ability to control pressure to minute levels during the entire shot pull process. This takes espresso making to its own level, and makes you a vital part of the resulting shot quality. The Flair 58’s pressure gauge is well positioned, easy to read and very accurate. Compare that to the tiny gauge the Cafelat Robot comes with, and it’s hard to read angle when you’re operating the machine.
During our long six months of testing, I had several people claim it produced the best shot of espresso they had ever had. Frankly, that’s both amazing and telling.
The biggest drawback to the machine is its entire electrics setup: especially the big honkin’ power brick. It really takes away from what is otherwise an elegant and mostly well engineered product, and this drops our rating score by at least 5 points. The control interface is also janky and seems very cheap, which drops it another couple of points.
I couldn’t help but think they could engineer the grouphead reservoir and power system so it gets up to heat a lot quicker (150W? 200W?) and create a nicely engineered electrical system that keeps the machine’s lines and shape sleek and elegant. Maybe the Flair 58 2.0.
The other big concern is the puck screen and specifically cleanliness of it. I ordered an ultrasonic cleaner but it will not arrive before this review is published; as such, I’ll post an update here in this review covering the puck screen and more ways to clean it, in a few weeks. The puck screens have obvious as well as debated benefits. I do feel the benefits outweigh the sanitary issues.
At $500 (on sale as of this review), I feel this is the best direct lever machine you can get today. It’s easier to operate than a La Pavoni traditional machine (and doesn’t overheat like Pavonis do), and is ⅓ the price. The engineering advances on workflow and being built around that 58mm portafilter make the Flair 58 the best in class manual lever espresso machine. Highly recommended.
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8.5DesignExcept for the power brick a very well thought out design.
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9.0UsabilityIt still requires some effort to finely control the lever when pulling a shot; some people find it hard to do.
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8.5FeaturesThree game changers would score a 10, but the electrics package steals some points away.
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9.5PerformanceOverall performance is really good, but I feel the grouphead could be better desgined to heat up quicker.
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10.0Value vs. CostFantastic value for what it delivers. Pressure profiling and excellent workflow.
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9.0Quality of BuildThis should be 10pts, but electrics take it down a point.
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9.0Service / WarrantyFlair really backs up this product, and tries to make upgrades backwards compatible.
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8.5Included in the BoxLots of good stuff in the box, including the tamper, upgraded basket, and the puck screens.
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9.5Resale ValueYou should have no problems selling this for around 75% or higher the purchase price.
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9.5OverallScores took such a hit from the electrics, that we’re giving 3 points back.
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One Response
I’ve seen the Flair 58 mentioned in a few circles but never quite understood the entire way the lever worked. I really appreciate the detailed information you provided in this review. It helps to make a purchase decision, and I’m almost there.