Xris is a caffeinated content creator based in Boston documenting his journey into the world of specialty coffee through YouTube videos and Instagram

Flair Classic Manual Espresso Maker

The Flair Classic is the original manual espresso maker from Flair. Brew anywhere and get café-quality espresso all while benefitting from the immediate feedback and control of a manual system.

Add a Flair Classic to Your Cart

The post Making Espresso At Home Without A Fancy Machine appeared first on Flair Espresso.

We see posts and reviews from customers and aficionados around the world daily, and the question keeps coming up: in the battle of Flair vs. Robot, which manual espresso maker should you choose?

Thankfully, the good people at Alternative Brewing, a powerhouse in the coffee world around Australia and the Pacific, decided to run their own test and reveal their results in this informative Youtube video, below.

While both espresso makers are very capable, and customers should pick which is best for their own needs, this reviewer at AB personally chose the Flair due to a lower price point and the ability to travel with our custom carrying case. Their synopsis of our Flair PRO 2 says:

“The Flair range has added value in this series by including the very best of features so you can achieve a premium espresso extraction with control and precision.

This espresso machine is elegantly designed, durably constructed, and empowering to espresso brewers & filter aficionados alike. This easy-to-use espresso maker can generate pressure to a style of espresso more commonly found in commercial espresso machines. It’s capable of producing full-flavored, full-bodied espresso; rich in crema.

Additions to the PRO 2 such as a stainless steel spout that clips on to the bottomless portafilter for a concentrated flow of espresso, silicone grips to the handle and pressure gauge for improved work flow and an enhanced-flow bottomless portafilter make this the superior espresso maker to take with you anywhere you want.”

And not to worry, while the users at AB don’t yet have our split spout, this is now part of our product line, launched in July, which allows Flair PRO 2 users to split each shot as desired.

No matter which you choose, you’ll be able to get delicious, real espresso. But the Flair’s expanded features and ability to travel at a lower price point make this decision a no-brainer for us!

Check out all our manual espresso makers here!!

The post Flair vs. Robot – An Independent Review appeared first on Flair Espresso.

Sterling Grinnell, YouTuber extraordinaire, got his hands on a NEO to complete the first unbiased and independent review of our new manual espresso maker. While you can watch below, here is our favorite quote.

“I was so, so, so impressed with the simplicity and ease of use. This is something that maybe you can actually squeeze into your morning routine.”

The NEO was designed just as Sterling describes it, to be a simple and affordable way to brew manual espresso in your home. Our Kickstarter, which can be found by clicking here, is currently over 2000% funded, but there’s still time to back if you’re interested!

We also understand that backing Kickstarter projects can be a bit nerve-racking. Maybe you’re worried about the quality, or if you’ll get what you really want. At Flair Espresso, we feel our record stands for itself. But, we also feel this wonderful review should put any of those fears to rest. If you are interested in the quality of The NEO, or how good of espresso it will make when it arrives on your doorstep after backing the project, then please watch below.

While we won’t spoil all the fun, we’re sure that watching this video will make your appetite for espresso go through the roof. And we certainly don’t want to make the wait for our backers harder, but if you do back The NEO Kickstarter, you can be sure you’ve got something great headed your way.

Come brew with us and back The NEO on Kickstarter today.

The post The First Review of The NEO! (spoiler alert…it’s great!) appeared first on Flair Espresso.

But, if you’re still undecided about whether to buy, or are waiting and watching to see what happens, here are the most convincing reasons you should buy a NEO now and enjoy handcrafted espresso yourself.

Perfect for espresso beginners
The NEO was designed with simplicity in mind. Featuring our Flow-Control Portafilter, the NEO reduces the need to dial-in your grind by restricting the flow of your brew water through your grounds. This means you get a great result, and delicious espresso, no matter what type of grinder you’re using.

We surveyed our first 800 backers to get to know them a bit better, and we found out that for over half, The NEO would be their first espresso machine. And we are thrilled! If you’ve never owned an espresso maker, don’t worry. The NEO is a no-fuss, approachable espresso solution.

Saving the world, one shot at a time
The world could use a bit of saving right now, and The NEO can contribute to that. Using no pods or electricity, The NEO is a manual espresso maker, that uses your own hands, to craft delicious espresso. Every time you lower the lever, you’re reducing the number of pods that could go into a landfill.

Kickstarter deals don’t last
We all know about the great deals you can score on Kickstarter. But these deals don’t last. Already, The NEO has reached the max on two reward levels, and the current levels will be gone before you know it. It’s true, even at the full price of $119, the NEO is affordable and makes delicious espresso. But, at $95 dollars, it’s truly a steal. And once this deal is gone, it’s gone forever. This campaign ends May 7th.

​A short wait from backing to fulfillment
During these times when everyone is stuck at home, it’s important to have a solution for home espresso. But you’ve heard that some Kickstarter campaigns have massive delays in delivering products. Not with the NEO. Flair Espresso is a manufacturing company, having three years of experience bringing manual espresso makers into customers homes. We’ve got a target delivery date of May for the first lot of NEOs, which is the same month the campaign ends. Click, order, and before you know it, your NEO will be at your doorstep.

So what are you waiting for? Get the best deals, and back today. You’ll have espresso in your home in no time.

Come brew with us.

The post The NEO is 1400% Funded. Here’s Why You Should Back It Too. appeared first on Flair Espresso.

A recent New York Times article asked the question, “Is coffee good for you?” And, the answer was simple – and wonderful news to everyone’s ears – “Yes!”

But, before we dive into the health benefits of coffee, and how espresso fits into this, we wanted to take a quick moment to address the Corona Virus sweeping the world.

Of course, no amount of coffee will stave away the current pandemic of the corona virus. So, considering the current state of global health, we wanted to urge everyone to stay safe and healthy, and to please follow the directions of your local officials. If you’re not feeling well, get treatment and please stay out of contact with others.

We view our entire network of Flair-istas as part of a global family and want to see everyone healthy and happy. Luckily, using your Flair can be done at home, so hopefully each and every one of you will still get to enjoy wonderful, well-balanced cups of your favorite espresso drink even during this difficult time.

Now, back to coffee and the benefits that it can hold for everyone. According to the article, which you all can read in full here, experts are now saying that the evidence they’ve found remains consistent, and that evidence suggests coffee consumption overall is linked to a lower mortality risk. This bucks the previous knowledge, which was reversed in 2017, by controlling for lifestyle factors like smoking and drinking. When coffee consumption was isolated, the authors of a British Medical Journal study “observed that moderate coffee drinkers had less cardiovascular disease, and premature death from all causes, including heart attacks and stroke, than those skipping the beverage.”

While the experts still aren’t certain where these health benefits derive from, it is currently hypothesized that they stem from the polyphenols in coffee, which are plant derived compounds that have antioxidant properties.

And here’s the really good news. Espresso, the drink of choice among Flair-istas, “has the highest concentration of many compounds because it has less water than drip coffee.” So, while the evidence isn’t conclusive, we are delighted to hear that your daily Flair could potentially help keep you healthy!

The next most pertinent question has to then be, what if you take your espresso as a milk-based drink or with lots of sugar? Does this reduce the potential for positive effects? Sadly, researches aren’t yet sure about this. Previous research has demonstrated similar positive benefits, even with milk and sugar, but it’s important to add that some drinks are chock-full of sugar, and those most likely have other issues baked in.

Please read the entire article for all insights, but for now, feel a little bit more relaxed that your daily shot, direct from your Flair, is happily helping the hands that brewed it.

Stay safe everyone!

The post A Flair for Good Health appeared first on Flair Espresso.

In October, the extremely popular channel, Binging with Babish, launched an espresso drinks video that featured the Flair as a way to “make the real deal, without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars.”

The video is nearing two million views, as of the writing of this blog, and if you haven’t seen it yet take a look! (We feature at the 3:43 second mark). Babish not only breaks down what makes a Flair so special, but also discusses at length the process, and the need for good heat management and dialing-in your grind.

But, that wasn’t the only superstar that took a liking to our humble manual espresso maker in the last year. All the way in Japan, Ryoya Takashima of Peaceful Cuisine found our PRO, the original, to be a beautiful addition to his channel. His first video, back in the middle of March 2019, truly went viral. Currently standing at 3.5 million views, this video brought in over ten times his subscribers!

We here at Flair don’t speak any Japanese sadly, but the shot he pulls is magic. If you haven’t seen the video, take a look below.

And, while technically not in 2019, we’d be remiss to not place the review created by one of the most popular and revered coffee influencers in the world, James Hoffman.

Together, these videos accounted for more than 5.5 million views over the course of last year, and we are so proud to have such an audience.

Here’s to hoping that 2020 will bring even more attention to our humble espresso maker. We all could use a moment or two during our busy lives to slow down and handcraft a beverage that brings so much joy.

The post Flair Shines on YouTube with 5.5 Million Views appeared first on Flair Espresso.

Here at Flair Espresso, we hold ROK in the highest respect. Fifteen years ago their first product, the Presso, helped to create the space in which we all operate today.

That being said, our goal at Flair Espresso has always been to produce cafe-quality shots in an affordable, transportable package, but to compete, we knew we had to outperform the ROK. Based on our customer ratings on Amazon (4.4 stars vs. 3.9 stars), it’s clear that we succeeded. So it was with a high level of interest that we watched when ROK introduced their GC update around the start of 2019.

We wondered how this new product would perform and if it would come closer to our Flair Classic and Signature models in terms of espresso quality? Internally, we were confident in our own products, but this confidence only grew over the past few weeks as two esteemed Youtubers, The Real Sprometheus and TV by Tom, dropped comparison videos.

Spoiler Alert! The Flair was deemed the winner in both occasions!

First, let’s discuss the video by The Real Sprometheus. He pitted the Flair Signature against the ROK GC in four different areas: temperature stability, ease of cleaning, process time, and shot quality. First, in temperature stability, we were awarded a tie, but are unclear about whether he followed the instructions for preheating our brewing head. But even if not, we still matched the ROK in thermal stability, with room to improve!

Second, in terms of ease of cleaning, he declared the ROK the winner. Not to be sore losers, but we have to disagree with him here, although we respect his insight. The Flair is different from the ROK, and all other manual espresso makers, in that we have a patented design that allows for a removable brewing head. While it’s true that our portafilter doesn’t have a handle, being able to remove the entire head from the lever assembly and rinse under cool water is a key attribute that we feel is overlooked in his comparison, and one that makes the Flair incredibly easy to clean.

In the last two categories: process time and shot quality, which we deem most important, the Flair was a runaway winner. We always state that you can use the Flair to make an espresso in less than two minutes, and while The Real Sprometheus didn’t quite match this, he did best the ROKs process time by 40 seconds!

Finally, the holy grail, shot quality. Here the Flair received an 8/10 vs. a 6/10 for the ROK. And again, here is where the Flair really shines. He noted thicker crema with nice color and tiger-striping and a more well-balanced shot overall. As we always say, we are cafe-quality!

Now for the video by TV with Tom. First off, it’s important to mention that Tom originally created a Flair and ROK comparison video which gained over 100k views. In that one, the Flair was the winner. And, spoiler alert again, Flair won this time too!

In general, Tom stated that, “Again, the ROK is not able to keep up with the Flair.” He spoke specifically about, you guessed it, the shot quality. “Something you should notice, is there’s a different quality to the crema [with the Flair],” he said. And you can see for yourself. In the screen grab below, he’s absolutely right.

Now, we at Flair Espresso understand that crema alone isn’t a signifier of shot quality. But, when compared across the same beans, on different devices, it’s easy to see that the crema generated by the Flair in this example is thicker, has better coloring and in general signifies a more complete extraction.

And, not to be forgotten, the Flair Espresso Maker system is also upgradable to include a pressure gauge, which means customers will always have instant feedback on the pressure they are using in their extraction. The ROK, over the course of 15 years and two different product updates, still has not offered this.

To us, the choice is clear, the Flair Espresso Maker is the best manual espresso machine for the price, creating cafe-quality espresso from your home, or wherever you find yourself. Visit us online to learn more.

You can also watch both full videos, below.

The Real Sprometheus

TV by Tom

The post The Jury is In! Flair Reigns Supreme Over ROK GC. appeared first on Flair Espresso.

It’s lonely at the top. That’s why we at Flair decided to give the Flair Signature, our flagship manual espresso maker, a bit of company. Starting February 22nd, the Flair family is growing to add the Signature Black to our portfolio of products.

Made from the same high-quality materials as all other Flair Espresso Makers, the Signature Black features a modern matte finish with the Signature’s premium copper-plated portafilter base. It’s an elegant compliment to the chrome of our original Signature, and provides discerning customers with the ability to keep a darker styling in their kitchens or at their coffee stations.

But, just as with most things at Flair, we decided to outdo ourselves. The launch of the Signature Black also coincides with the launch of our new Easy-Clean Portafilter. This improved portafilter features a removable spouted bottom that makes cleaning easier and faster. After brewing just remove the spout, rinse from both ends, and set aside to dry. 

The Easy-Clean Portafilter will come standard with every Signature Series Flair, truly elevating it to new levels of brewing greatness. But no matter which Flair you choose, you can feel confident in the same great espresso every time you lower the lever. 

We at Flair know espresso, and our Signature Black is one more way to Make Espresso Right.

The post Introducing the Flair Signature Black! appeared first on Flair Espresso.