A manual lever is like driving a stick vs an automatic car. The lever gives you all the control and the best shots I’ve ever had are with profiles only possible on a lever (or very expensive computerized machines). If you are a little adventurous go with a lever machine. Starting with a Flair/Cafelot/LaPavoni/Odyssey will let you learn a lot and make unbeatable extractions. If you don’t need to steam milk then a Flair58 is an excellent choice (I love mine!) and no temperature management like an LP. If a steam wand is important then LaPavoni or Odyssey Argos. If you just want you push a button and get a decent shot easy, then Bambino is for you.
And don’t forget there is no good shot without a good grinder.
Go with a Flair 58 you don’t want milk drinks and only care about straight shots
Go with a Gaggia Classic if you want milk drinks. Just for the love of god stay away from the cheap DeLonghi stuff (see flair)
Also tell your dog s/he’s the bestest boy/girl
I went with a flair 58 and manual grinder zpresso k ultra to start with a separate steamer for milk
Eventually upgraded to a niche Zero because I got tired of grinding manually.
The rabbit hole goes deep if you let it, look at my user flair.
The Flair 58 platform is pretty much my ideal. I’ve got full BT graphing with scale and pressure sensor, and combining that with the manual feel of the lever interacting with the puck is the right combination of data- and human-driven coffee-making for me. I have a 46 mm step down basket and I’d maybe like a heated Flair version of that (like the 49 but heated). There are maybe other ways to optimise the platform but the Meticulous is too detached from the human side for me, as are the Decent machines, but I definitely feel like they are taking the best alternative approach. Other lever machines like the Strietman seem excellent, but take a more proprietary approach.
You were right the first time - I have the 58. I used to have the Pro2, and it was quite fiddly assembling it every time (although you get used to it), and the heat loss even with good preheating made everything quite a rush. So I was talking about my experience after upgrading. If anything, the 58 mm diameter reduces the cup quality, that’s why I have the step down basket to 46 mm. That way I get the best taste like the Pro and Classic but don’t need to worry about heating.
Your Classic probably has less issues with heating than the Pro2 since it’s thinner, and they made the chamber thinner on the Pro3, probably for similar reasons
Happy Tamper has an alternative 58 mm basket with a conical geometry that they say achieves something similar to a step down basket. They call it the Fusion Shot. I have the Graph 58-46 and I like it a lot but on the Flair I feel like the extra distance from the step makes it behave a little oddly
Top Espresso Machines on Reddit
1
Breville
Bambino Plus
77% positive of 1,081 users
Fast heat-up, easy for beginners; inconsistent shots, annoying cleaning.
AlternativeMany7690
