Flair The NEO Flex: UPDATED Direct Lever Manual Espresso Maker for Home with a Pressure Gauge and Two Portafilters - Brew Cafe Quality Espresso

Let me start off by saying I think it's better to buy this from the Flair website than on Amazon. Amazon will likely get you the product faster, but they don't sell the Nespresso pod adapter on Amazon. You can also easily find coupons for your first purchase on Flair's site. In case you're wondering why I say this and still bought from Amazon, I didn't know about the pod adapter until after I got my order from Amazon. Now, if you know that you won't ever use pods with this, then just buy it from Amazon. It's the same product, (at the time I'm writing this) the same price, and it'll likely get to you faster. But I really think the pod adapter is worth it. I've only made one proper espresso with this machine so far, and it was a bit fiddly to do. You need to separate everything, put the cylinder in its cap thing, pour hot water in to heat the cylinder, prep the portafilter (grind then add in your coffee and evenly tamp it down), empty the water chamber, assemble everything, then pull the lever making sure that you maintain the right pressure for the right amount of time of extraction, then clean everything up. It's not difficult, but it's not something that's fun when you are looking for your caffeine fix at the start of the day. I'm sure after enough practice I won't think it's a big deal, but removing the bit with the espresso grounds is amazing when I just want something quick. Though the taste of my properly made shot was better than the pods I bought. Anyway, five stars still because this thing works perfectly and makes a great shot of espresso.

Lattes on this will blow your mind. I primarily make lattes. Smoother workflow than expected; preheating is a non-issue with the kettle steaming trick. The super narrow filter gives a ton of body to all my shots compared to my wider portafilter machines, which complements milk EXTREMELY well. But also the flavors are so blended now that all my lattes taste the same. this is both good and bad: I lose the nuances of flavor on one hand, but on another hand it makes both expensive and cheap beans taste good. I can just go for the cheapest beans now in bulk! I suggest: -lengthen the lever and slap a grip on it. i've tried the flair 58 with both of these which, along with metal, make it 10 times easier to pull and keep pressure steady. i highly recommend wearing grippy gloves as keeping a constant 9 bars will be challenging for most people. it's sort of like holding a plank for a minute -workflow is still a lot slower than an electric machine but mainly due to lack of volume per shot (update: actually turns out not that bad with the extra portafilter) -i surmise the perfect middle ground for lattes is 46mm, so widen it just a little. I've tried lattes from 51 54 58 and now 40mm basket widths. i think sitting between 51 and 40 would give you the best balance of body + clarity. I admit between the plasticy feel, the terrible grip, tiny shot volume, this still feels like a toy. But wait! all of my suggestions are already in the pro 2. i guess they already had it all figured out. (well, minus the price tag since I don't think a basic lever machine should cost more than a Breville Bambino.) i will be getting that to test out once on sale.

Plunger cracked and broke after 2 months of daily use, Flair replaced it free of charge, the part had a 6mo warranty. Makes great espresso again!

Amazing little espresso machine for the price. I've only used the pressurized portafilter once but it made a solid cup of coffee. I have a Baratza Encore ESP so i use the black basket and once I figured out the workflow this became my daily machine. It can make WONDERFUL shots of espresso if you take the time to learn how direct lever machines want to brew, and how your beans want you to brew them. It creaks a bit, makes some weird noises here and there because it's made of plastic. The chamber requires preheating for very light roasts and cools down very quickly but its still doable and that is amazing! I highly recommend this very capable little espresso machine.

I really enjoy making espresso with my flair. It's a good result for the $. I found the alignment of the pressure gauge to not fit very well, so much that it reduces the ability of the head to build pressure because it's not centered when the gauge is used. I returned it. Additionally there is a major design flaw in the silicone base used to preheat the chamber. The first time I used it I picked up the chamber and the bottom dropped out spilling hot water down the front of me. Flair provided some technique suggestions, which I felt were totally inappropriate versus addressing the bad design and foreseeable safety issues with using a silicone mold that has no connection to the chamber. If they keep this up they are asking for legal trouble. I would suggest they actually redesign the component so that it attached securely and make it right for people. Update- The very thin piece of plastic that holds the lower rubber gasket on has broken. I have reached out to flair, but have received no response to the warranty request. Lowering review to 1 star for absolutely no follow up regarding outreach.

I've been interested in the Flair models for some time as a vacation/camping option, but the added cost of adding a pressure gauge had me look towards other options. I used the Staresso Plus last year with good results, but it started to fall apart pretty quickly with moderate use. This Flair 2024 refresh, with it's inclusion of a pressure gauge and affordable pricing, was a great purchase for my last vacation. With the correct grind, this makes fantastic espresso shots using the included black "naked" portafilter - if fact the included red one can be converted to "naked" by removing the pressurized bottom section, which is great for puck prep and pulling multiple shots in a row! The base is just two parts and is easily disassembled for portability. This refresh intentionally thinned the metal of the unit to avoid some of the pre-heating time that previous models required - again, is great for camping/vacation use cases! I've used Rancilio Silvia's for daily espresso for several decades and can attest to the quality of the shots this can produce (under the typical right conditions of grind/tamp/pressure/heat). I do wonder about the longevity of some of the components. The base is plastic, but seems sturdy, although it does make some creaking noises when pulling shots. The pressure gauge is rudimentary at best and does not specify bars - so this is something that could fail prematurely. Also of concern are the gaskets - I'm not sure if Flair sells replacements, but it would be great if they do to extend the life of the product.

Likes: portability; leaves a lot of counter space. Overall brews consistently good espresso. Dislikes: it leaks at all seals; plastic construction is unreliable and not good for sturdy use. My background and home barista performance is based typically on E 61 unit espresso machines. The fact that I can pick this thing up, break it down and put it in my bag on the way to a friends house pairs well with a pocket scale an hand mill grinder. When the seals don’t leak, their performance of this machine is amazing. Living my life Of the grind on the fly being able to speedily build this up and break it down lends well. I don’t doubt that this will hold up to consistent use, but the reason I am returning it is because it doesn’t provide for perfection. I want to be able to trust my machine, not just provide espresso, but provide fantastic results. This provides results, but the atmosphere of having something creaking and leaking, slipping, regripping, shaking and bending is just too much.

Awesome device to try out manual espresso making! In the long run it gets too fiddly for me... I wanted to experiment with all the variables that go into espresso making, from pre-infusion, shot duration, temperature, pressure profile, etc. without breaking the bank. The flair neo is an awesome entry point for this to figure out whether all the hype is worth it to me and whether I want to really customize my espresso or whether I prefer to revert back to pressing a button and drinking whatever comes out. So far I'm very excited and really love what comes out so I'm inclined to continue on this path. But I will be upgrading to a less fiddly machine. The flair neo definitely works, but there are a lot of parts making it all more hassle than I would like for a daily routine. There are more pieces to collect before getting going than I'd like, cleaning up the hot cylinder after the shot is no fun, and then there's all this stuff to wash and dry. Plus there's a kettle needed, pouring to pre-heat the cyclinder (light roasts), pouring just to the line for the shot, etc. Definitely not a deal-breaker in the experimentation phase, but eventually it gets a bit old. I've pre-ordered an odyssey argos at this point... One must-have accessory if one is to do long pre-infusions is a mirror so one can see the screen filling in, not to mention a "mini" scale that fits into the base.

機械と違った手押しの良さ！自分の感覚で出来るようになってくるとより一層楽しさが増します！

Gostei é muito boa

Excelente para preparar expreso

Exactly what I wanted, this product makes consistently good coffee even when use a spice grinder to grind my coffee

I like having the manual control to make my coffee and this Flair Neo Flex model does that for me, at what I thought was a reasonable price from Amazon Canada. However, I later found out about the Canadian distributors of Flair products and the price for this item is about CAD 80 cheaper! Too late for me but here’s the lesson learned: check your local distributors.