Comments on: Flair The NEO Flex: UPDATED Direct Lever Manual Espresso Maker for Home with a Pressure Gauge and Two Portafilters – Brew Cafe Quality Espresso

By: Yonatan

Yonatan — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Great product
Accurately described, easy to use, makes amazing coffee

By: Scott Ross

Scott Ross — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

decent way to make espresso on a budget
I bought this unit to keep at my vacation home, as I did not want to lug my big expensive Ascaso machine down South, but I did bring my fancy grinder. I am retired to have to time to use this machine to make a couple coffees in the morning. More work than an electric machine of course. Needed to buy a kettle with temp gauge and pourover spout, high end grinder and weigh scale. Took a while to dial in with my fancy grinder and bean weight, which seems to be ideal at 9 grams of beans per shot to the line with hot water. Any more and the puck is too thick to extract through. fwiw. Very good value, my electric machine cost 17x as much for not much better espresso!

By: OldManChild

OldManChild — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Transformed my Coffee life for the better but . . .
Been a fan of Nespresso Kazaar for 10 years.Decided to patronize Coffee grown in my country ( Ghana ) and after reading and watching many reviews, I decided to go for the Neo Flex primarily because of cost.Best decision ever and I can’t go back to ground coffee again.Think the Neo Flex is a superb product but after two months the piston broke this morning and its affecting the quality of my shots.I have ordered the Flair Pressure Guage kit with its attached stainless steel piston and hope it resolves my issue and doesn’t break down again.Apart from the broken piston, I am very happy with my Neo Flex.

By: Mountain Cat

Mountain Cat — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

First impressions – higher quality than expected
There are a lot of online reviews of the Flair system so I will focus on my initial impressions of the quality of the Flair Neo, rather than making espresso with it. I will update this once I have a handle on pulling a good shot, and after receiving the bottomless portafilter.My normal espresso machine has to be sent in for service, and I wanted to have a high level espresso machine to use on the road with our camper van. The Flair + a hand grinder seemed like the perfect solution. This being the cheapest model in the Flair lineup, I was interested to see how it would stack up to the higher end models that I have seen reviewed.Upon opening the box, the first thing I could tell is that this is a high quality unit. The grey finished metal frame is quality all the way. It’s also great to look at, especially with the red and stainless color of the group head / portafilter.The way the frame attaches and detaches is pretty smart — very stable and yet takes a second to take apart for storage. This will be great for travel. There is also a screw with a washer that they include in the box for permanently attaching the two parts of the frame for added stability if you don’t need to take it apart for travel. Without the screw, there is some play in the frame and the handle, but nothing that should cause any instability because once you put 30-40 pounds of force on the lever, nothing is going to move.Included is a red pressurized portafilter. I am somewhat of a geek when it comes to making espresso, so the pressurized portafilter would not be my first choice. I prefer to use the correct grinder and grind settings to dial in my shots and get the maximum flavor out of my espresso. Therefore I plan to get the bottomless portafilter accessory that they offer (there is currently a promo for a free one, but afterwards it is $24, a reasonable price). However, that said, there are times that the pressurized one may come in handy, such as trying a different batch of coffee without having to take the time and waste coffee to dial it in. Plus, being so small, this is an easy thing to keep around while traveling.The plunger for the group head mechanism is made of high-grade plastic. For me, this is probably the biggest disadvantage, as I would prefer 100% stainless. However, the good news is that in the future, if I purchase the pressure gauge, it includes a stainless plunger. This plunger makes contact with the hot water, although it does not directly contact the coffee. I would like to see a stainless steel plunger instead of the plastic one, at least available as an option but without the pressure gauge.The rest of the parts are the plastic funnel (a nice touch) and a plastic hollow tamper. This tamper is not a “real” tamper, but it can do the job. They sell a “real” tamper as an accessory that fits the portafilter size.Speaking of which, here is a general tip I learned that helps one figure out how much force to apply for tamping: press down evenly with increasing progressive force and feel the coffee compress as the tamper moves down. Once you feel the coffee no longer moves, stop. Don’t force it. This will create consistent tamping no matter what the coffee or grind level.The final part is a thick plastic tray for placing your cup. This just sits on the frame, and isn’t really needed. Nice that they include it but I might not bring it with me for travel.The NEO does not include the case that the higher end models include. I was fine without it, as I will create my own that also has room for a grinder and fits where I need it to.I look forward to getting my feet wet and learning to pull good shots with the Flair. Overall, the Neo — with the optional bottomless portafilter — is a good value and seems to offer the same quality as in the higher end models, and since the components are the same, obviously the espresso pulled will be of equivalent quality.UPDATE: After a little while with this Neo I quickly realized I wanted the Pro 2 version. The main reason was because the Neo can’t accommodate the pro’s group head (available separately), which was only apparent to me after purchase. The capacity of the Neo is a bit small, and the shape of the basket combined with the bottomless filter makes it difficult to avoid a bit of a sideways splattering mess. The Neo is wonderful, but the pro has truly blown my mind and was well worth the upgrade. After a little bit of a learning curve, I’m now pulling shots consistently better or at least on par with what I often get at the very best third-wave espresso bars.

By: caleb f.

caleb f. — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Good Espresso, Bad Design
I really enjoy making espresso with my flair. It’s a good result for the $.I found the alignment of the pressure gauge to not fit very well, so much that it reduces the ability of the head to build pressure because it’s not centered when the gauge is used. I returned it.Additionally there is a major design flaw in the silicone base used to preheat the chamber. The first time I used it I picked up the chamber and the bottom dropped out spilling hot water down the front of me. Flair provided some technique suggestions, which I felt were totally inappropriate versus addressing the bad design and foreseeable safety issues with using a silicone mold that has no connection to the chamber. If they keep this up they are asking for legal trouble. I would suggest they actually redesign the component so that it attached securely and make it right for people.Update- The very thin piece of plastic that holds the lower rubber gasket on has broken. I have reached out to flair, but have received no response to the warranty request.Lowering review to 1 star for absolutely no follow up regarding outreach.

By: Joel

Joel — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Great espresso and build
I was first concerned about the build and the plastic look on the photos but when you have it in person it actually feels very sturdy and doesn’t look cheap at all. I absolutely have no issues with the frame.Also when you use it with the pressur gauge, the creaking isn’t bad at all. Its also nice that you barely gave to preheat. I really like it.I ultimately returned it to get the flair pro for its bigger size shot.

By: pmtneal

pmtneal — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Great espresso, bad design.
I absolutely love espresso! I worked as a barista in Chicago for about 15 years, and even now, it’s still a passion of mine. I had been eyeing this machine for a while and finally decided to go for it. When it arrived, I used it every day, and it produced some fantastic espresso! However, after just a week of use, the gauge/press head cracked where the seal is. I was considering returning it, but I had already ordered a 9-bar pressure gauge as a replacement, so I planned to stop using the one it came with. If you’re thinking of ordering this, just keep in mind that thereâs a chance it might not last long so either upgrade like I did or save for one of the Pros.Take a look at the area where it cracked and chipped off and what the new upgraded press looks like. It’s solid, but it’s also $60 so choose wisely.

By: Jrosado

Jrosado — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

Excelente

By: ELISA MARY SANTOS

ELISA MARY SANTOS — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

By: Luis Lugo

Luis Lugo — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 04:15:58 +0000

I like having the manual control to make my coffee and this Flair Neo Flex model does that for me, at what I thought was a reasonable price from Amazon Canada. However, I later found out about the Canadian distributors of Flair products and the price for this item is about CAD 80 cheaper!Too late for me but hereâs the lesson learned: check your local distributors.