Workflow is oddly personal so let me preface: I like simple workflows. I want to wake up to preheated machine, grind, slam a portafilter in, brew, and knock. My Flair Pro rarely comes out because I find the whole process to be a little too fussy for most days.
So far, the workflow has been an adjustment but it is not nearly as fussy as my flair. I've needed to retrain my routine a bit. You’re single dosing water and purging afterwards, but I’m finally getting used to it. Sometimes the machine will be on and I'll start grinding/puck prep, insert the portafilter, and then realize I haven't added the water yet, which means I'm then waiting 2-3 minutes for heating which is tedious.
TLDR: Workflow is fine but there are extra steps that you will be worrying about.
Proponents will say: Fussy workflow is the cost of using a machine with less moving parts which requires less maintenance. I don't think we should be considering that until we know how this thing will age in 2-3 years time
Same here. For espresso it was mainly an Expobar e61 and a flair pro 2. Expobar had an awesome cafe-like workflow but it wasn’t great for light roasts so I sold it. Flair pro 2 made incredible espresso but there were days when I got a new bag of coffee and it was 45 min to dial in, make myself an espresso, and then make my wife a latte. That wasn’t ideal. Now it’s in my camping box
I've had a Flair 2 Pro and it really taught me the importance of the grinder. I went from a cheap hand grinder to the Rok grinder to a 1zpresso J-Max and the J-max smoked all of them. But the workflow for my double shot drinks was a bit frustrating so ended up getting a Breville Double Boiler and a DF54 for the convenience and the milk side of things. So what I would say is get a good grinder (and bottomless portafilter, if you haven't already) for your current machine see if you need to change the machine.
I had the Flair Pro 2 and it made better spro than my current Lelit Bianca, and my other Rocket machine.. Wasn't as convenient, but actually better. Makes me want a good lever machine TBH.
I have both a Flair (Pro2) and a Lamarzocco (Linea Mini). The flair is packed in its case and tucked away. I never use it anymore. I also roast my own beans (Aillio R2 Bullet).
The question is not how high or low your budget is.
The question is how bad can your espresso taste until you find it undrinkable?
Your barista coffee from a coffee House down the street or the city is so good, that it's like having been driving around in a Rolls Royce for years and then deciding that you want to get a car yourself. And you get a VW Up or Polo and complain about how bad cars are. 😁
You cannot get a good espresso machine under $1000 and a good grinder will cost $500. There is very little room to play there, these are rock bottom prices.
Sure you can get a good deal here or there, but that is down to luck. 😛
A Sage or Breville Pro machine will make you an espresso and you may learn how to make class 1 microfoon (this is a real thing in the SCA barista courses BTW) but it won't be as good as you're used to. I'm sorry.
So ask yourself how bad your experience may get before you decide to ditch the machine again and drive down to your favorite local coffee joint?!
PS: yes I'm aware that you can use an espresso machine for 600-700 euro but these are fully manual and often don't have a PID in them. So the learning curve to get a decent cup will be present. Are you patient enough?
I'm just afraid you can get disappointed and go down into the rabbit hole that home espresso machines are.
Bottom line:
- flair pro 2
- 1zpresso k-ultra
- subminimal nanofoamer
But this is all manually operated. Cost: 500-550 YMMV
I use a Flair Pro, which has a portafilter that does not have a handle. The process is much fiddlier and fussier than the 58, which uses a standard portafilter. With a 58, you can buy 2 portafilters, prep them both, then pull two shots in a row. A machine with some kind of pump (or even a lever that just fills a chamber from line pressure) makes the process a lot smoother.
The one area where a Flair is weak IMO is temperature stability, as well as max temp. Flair 58+ doesn't get hot enough for people who are into light roasted espresso, and simply because it doesn't have the thermal mass it can't be as temp stable as an E61 group.
All of this being said, I'd upgrade my grinder before I'd upgrade my Flair Pro 2. There are a lot of different ways to use a direct manual lever, and once you develop the skills, you can do things that you'd have to buy a 2,000-3,000 USD machine to get:
Extremely low pressure preinfusion
Noticing a sudden increase in flow rate that indicates channeling, so you back off of pressure to let the puck self heal, and you get something drinkable instead of a shot of spro that's both bitter \*and\* sour.
Declining pressure profile: you can do a flat 9 bar extraction if you really want to, some coffees taste better that way. The declining pressure profile of a lever IMO is the most forgiving and broadly applicable profile, it has a way of smoothing and rounding harshness that a flat 9 or flat 6 doesn't give you. Reducing pressure as the puck degrades gives the water more time to extract as it percolates through the puck, so even though the pressure is declining, the pressure is still high enough that the lower flow rate at the end of the shot makes a noticeable difference in taste.
They make pump machines that can do most of what a lever can do, but they're $3,000+. What you're paying for is repeatability and convenience. What you could do is get a Flair, see how it fits into your life, and if it doesn't, buy a pump machine. Some people keep their manual lever around for the coffees that they just can't quite get right in a pump machine.
I use a Flair Pro, which has a portafilter that does not have a handle. The process is much fiddlier and fussier than the 58, which uses a standard portafilter. With a 58, you can buy 2 portafilters, prep them both, then pull two shots in a row. A machine with some kind of pump (or even a lever that just fills a chamber from line pressure) makes the process a lot smoother.
The one area where a Flair is weak IMO is temperature stability, as well as max temp. Flair 58+ doesn't get hot enough for people who are into light roasted espresso, and simply because it doesn't have the thermal mass it can't be as temp stable as an E61 group.
All of this being said, I'd upgrade my grinder before I'd upgrade my Flair Pro 2. There are a lot of different ways to use a direct manual lever, and once you develop the skills, you can do things that you'd have to buy a 2,000-3,000 USD machine to get:
Extremely low pressure preinfusion
Noticing a sudden increase in flow rate that indicates channeling, so you back off of pressure to let the puck self heal, and you get something drinkable instead of a shot of spro that's both bitter \*and\* sour.
Declining pressure profile: you can do a flat 9 bar extraction if you really want to, some coffees taste better that way. The declining pressure profile of a lever IMO is the most forgiving and broadly applicable profile, it has a way of smoothing and rounding harshness that a flat 9 or flat 6 doesn't give you. Reducing pressure as the puck degrades gives the water more time to extract as it percolates through the puck, so even though the pressure is declining, the pressure is still high enough that the lower flow rate at the end of the shot makes a noticeable difference in taste.
They make pump machines that can do most of what a lever can do, but they're $3,000+. What you're paying for is repeatability and convenience. What you could do is get a Flair, see how it fits into your life, and if it doesn't, buy a pump machine. Some people keep their manual lever around for the coffees that they just can't quite get right in a pump machine.
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Fast heat-up, easy for beginners; inconsistent shots, annoying cleaning.
Any_Bad_5379
