Flair Espresso - NEO Flex

I have the Flex and make what I think is a great flat white, using a small french press for the milk. Espresso shot is 12g in 24g out. (currently using a K4 Knigrinder at 63 clicks) Milk is 160g microwaved for 130 seconds (gives me milk at roughly 65c) Froth using the french press for 15-20 seconds. Transfer to a heated metal pitcher to polish and tap. This makes IMHO an incredibly tasty flat white with amazing milk texture. https://preview.redd.it/ihrusd0jt2qe1.jpeg?width=3060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13856c81f1dbff06625d23b8989c17dc55535547

I've tried cheap, budget machines before, but always sent them back as I've been disappointed. For the money, the Flex makes outstanding espresso compared to the previous machines I've tried. I don't have any issue with the workflow, but then I really enjoy the whole process. The last time I timed it it was around 11 minutes or so from start to finish. That includes filtering the water, hand grinding the beans, boiling the water, WDT, tamp etc. The shot pulls in about 30ish seconds. The milk takes about 2 minutes to do (that time is including in the 11 mins).

The piston issue has now been sorted. The first design broke all the time. I know this because I'm now on my 4th. But since they redesigned the piston with a much thicker base, it hasn't been an issue. I use mine twice a day, every day, and since getting the new designed piston everything has been fine.

The creaking sound isn't coming from the frame. It's coming from the friction inside the piston. I changed from black bands on the piston to red ones, and not one creak since.

Coffee is an expensive hobby. People here buy hand grinders for beans that are more than your machine budget. If i had 15k i would just get a 5k manual grinder like timemore c3 or izpresso q air and 10k on flair neo flex. If i was tilted more towards black filter style coffee i would just get a hario v60, gooseneck kettle and a manual grinder

I make consistently wonderful shots in under 8 mins start to finish, including heat up time with my flair neo flex. Levers are love for so many reasons. Edit: To be clear, if you have the budget, any flair, or robot, superkop, etc, will be essentially the same idea.

Keep your old machine to steam with and get the flair, thats what I do!

Levers give you everything you want in a fancy high end machine like blooming shots, pressure control/water debit, temp control... etc. Downside is that unless you get a spring lever, most fully manual levers don't have boilers so no steaming without a separate device/machine. I love my flairs, my pico, but my La Pavoni really is nice, it's convenient to have the steam with it to make caps/lattes

> Is the difference in taste and quality really that noticeable? real espresso is a stronger drink. much more variety in flavour depending on beans used. If you are wondering what you are missing out on then go to a specialty coffee shop and order an espresso > How much more work is it (grinding beans, prepping the shot, cleaning, etc.)? It's a lot more work than nespresso, I consider it a hobby. > Is it significantly more expensive in the long run (machine, grinder, beans, maintenance)? >And from what price point can you get a good espresso machine that actually delivers quality espresso? Minimum new setup cost to get real espresso (no milk stuff) is around £200 (flair neo flex and kingrinder k2 for instance). And the cost can just keep going up forever depending on what features you want (electric grinder, semiautomatic machine, steaming, multiple boilers) and how premium you want the experience to be. Also worth stating that the grinder is very important, without a grinder that is espresso capable you will not be able to make espresso. used market is good too specialty coffee is around £10 per 250gram packet in the uk. Maintenance cost is variable depending on machine but not very much money in the grand scheme of things

I'd recommend keeping the delonghi to steam milk and getting a flair pro2 or 3. You're gonna want that pressure guage and the build is much better than the neo flex. You can find a used pro2 for around $200 usd or less.

Flair Neo Flex is a good entry level device. It has a small diameter portafilter which needs to be accounted for when reading the discussion on the Internet. Makes you aware of your brewing parameters.

Maybe not the most popular answer here, but if you went manual and didnt expect to make milk drinks, you could get a flair neo flex and King grinder K6 for combined $350 and have a better setup than many people have.

I have a decent basic semiautomatic, and grinder. I picked up a Flair Neo Flex for fun ($99 on Amazon). It does pull nice shots. Better yet, it uses the same 16g doses as my semi, so the grinder is set, works for both machines. I also picked up a temp-controlled gooseneck kettle. Nice for the Neo and my Aeropress.

Flair Flex Neo for $100. Then when you can, I would add a Kingrinder K6 hand grinder for $100. This will give you excellent espresso for very little money.

Thanks for the insight. No wonder my shot are pulling way longer with my neo flex.