After my cheap espresso maker broke, I’ve been searching for a replacement but I didn’t feel like spending $500 on the medium range espresso machine just to use it on the weekend. We have a professional espresso machine at work already so I have no desire to put money into a machine that cost greatly to maintain and eventually will break after couple of years. I’ve been using a different method of brewing with Vietnamese coffee filter, pour over, French press, Moka pot and Turkish. Making coffee manual way help me appreciate my coffee more than using the machine. It feels artistic and relaxed. After reading hundreds of reviews, watching dozen of video, I narrowed down to the Flair Espresso maker and Rok espresso maker. The price range is affordable and the result is a great tasting espresso.

I picked the Flair Espresso maker because it has a better warranty in the US and potential for upgrading.

Amazon was great for one-day delivery and I got this delivered to me this morning. Here is my first experience with the machine.

Unboxing and the first look. Nice traveling case and design. Everything feels well-made and study. Assembling took about 10 minutes for the first time. It should take about two minutes when I influence at using it.

You can easily find instruction video from Flair channel and other experts on youtube so for now, I will just share my first experience with the device.

To keep everything manual, I used my beloved Hario Skerton Pro Ceramic Coffee Mill.

1. Experiment with the coffee grounds. My first setting on the coffee grinder produced very fine grounds. I felt it difficult to pull a shot with the machine so I knew it wasn’t right.

The coffee came out with good crema but I was struggling to pull the shot so I knew that I need coarser grounds. The espresso tasted a bit sour.

I adjust the grinder back one knot and grind another batch of coffee. It took about 5 minutes. I boiled water and reheat the Flair while grinding coffee.

With the new coarser grounds, I feel comfortable pulling the shot this time. Crema looks the same with the last shot but the taste is different. It wasn’t sour anymore. I will keep experience with the Flair for longer and update the post. So far, I am happy with the result. And the device was easy to clean and store away. Happy brewing, everyone! One cup at a time. 😁