The Flair 58: Is It Still Worth It?

[@FlairEspresso]

that steadily growing puck tower was a brilliant homage to Tanner 🙌

[@crawdaddyy]

Flair you’re obsessed with Tanner

[@robertjason6885]

Excellent, balanced review. Glad you’re still enjoying the Flair.

[@P194-s3i]

Cool. I'm hinking about entering the world of home-espresso via either this or the Cafelat Robot. Both seem ok and play in different strengths. I'm also worried to buy one only to be faced with an updated version later. I really like your content. Super laid back yet engaging. Please keep it up!

[@dumkopf]

Why? The Flair doesn't get worse with a new release, neither does the robot.

[@P194-s3i]

@@dumkopf because I want the best of the best! Its not always the greatest mentality to have but hey. Buy once cry ONCE

[@mattscarf]

You may have decided by now but the 58 design changes have levelled off now. Also, I have a fairly early version and I’m still happy with it. They have ways to help it catch up with the more recent designs as well, so I can add their shot mirror using a plate they supply since mine doesn’t have the plate built in

[@peterr8538]

what mashine would you upgrade to from this, with the presure profiling that can do londinuim, slayer, la mazzoco ish espresso, i cant se wich mashine less expensive than a new house whold be more sidegrading than upgrading... well exept if you are evolving a craving for milk drinks, i hope the new subminimal can curb the lattecravings of my guests :) i think of the flair58 as a endgame brewer for everything black coffee related

[@Kimmiejo5]

Thank yoiu Luke for the 90 day review! I’m considering the 58 plus. What is the name of the cleaner granules you mentioned?

[@Coffeehaus]

Cafiza!

[@PhiL-zz6cu]

10:13 „just a couple grams of“ what did he say after this? Is there a product link? Would be awesome to know

[@danielgrinemaer8415]

Cafiza by urnex. But you can use less. The amount he used for one Puck screen is more than you need for an entire espresso machine for it's backflush cycle

[@Java_CM]

can you review the Cafelat Robot

[@garrettmessineo4878]

Hey, love coffee, love the review, but might I ask what kind of watch you are wearing?

[@Coffeehaus]

Hey! It’s a Tudor mini-sub :)

[@fxgiant]

No idea what he said was added to the water for cleaning the puck screen?

[@suspectdevice8725]

If I’m a noob and want to make milk drinks for family and friends that pop over, is there a good steamer to pair with this? No idea what’s out there yet so figured I’d ask.

[@mielieu1513]

bellman stovetop steamer. a bit finnicky but makes quality foam. has a big learning curve

[@xenodrake4008]

Just use a french press

[@mattscarf]

NanoFoamer v2 lithium works great

[@Bones97000]

Depending on budget there’s a few options out there now. 1.microwave and froth with a milk frother (refer to Morgan Eckroth’s YT for a tutorial on getting good microfoam this way) 2. Nanofoamer pro will heat and foam your milk at the same time, but there’s less control with this option ($150) 3.Dream steam wand is the closest option for barista level milk and will offer the best workflow experience, but price point is a bit high ($350)

[@nyang1010]

I wish there’s a tutorial on how to dial in using flair.

[@slofty]

Do I spy a copy of Eno's _Apollo?_

[@angelovalentini2115]

The old-fashioned way is the best way

[@wali8976]

What are your thoughts on the flair 58 to be used on a coffee shop and would you recommend it ?

[@Coffeehaus]

I would not! It wouldn’t be consistent enough And to get it consistent enough would greatly detract from your regular cafe workflow

[@wali8976]

@@Coffeehaus What about the flair neo flex with that regulator? (also if not the flair 58 what would you recommend as an alternative that doesnt cost a kidney or two?)

[@Raditram]

In south east asia people actually use flair signature or even pro 2 to bring the option of espresso to a slow bar setting. Flair 58 would be a great addition I think if you want to have a special espresso section where you might wanna play with the different pressure profiling techniques or different coffee style like a light roast or something. If you are a small cafe with say, a 1 group machine that operates in a flat 9 bar, with the 58 you can use it as a speciality espresso delivery machine. Of course no steaming capability, and also you have to put it next to your kettle, because a 58 without a nice kettle is almost not as fun.

[@wali8976]

@@Raditram Oh thats very reassuring to hear and thank you for your reply! As I do want to start out very small and minimal and at the same time definitely delivery specialty espressos. The steaming i feel like i can find a solution for it. But do you have any sources or channels that do this so i can understand if the workflow is doable (ofc itll be slower) but by how much?

[@Raditram]

@@wali8976 If you want there's a view solution out there. 1. Subminimal nanofoamer, there's a manual wand version (no heating) and an auto (nanofoamer pro) with heating, they are the best at replicating what a steam wand can do in terms of texture. The pro version is just off the kickstarter. 2. Meticulous is making a singular steam wand for like a few hundred bucks. 3. WPM has a singular auto steam only machine. 4. Stove top steamer like the bellman, but I would stay away from this finicky machine. 5. Microwave + frenchpress (not good, but if it's a takeaway shop and no latte art, it could work) Alternatively what I suggest you do is actually just focus on brew! In my country people use Sub $1k espresso machine for their mini shops, not ideal, but if you're running a stall that is more towards non-coffee drinks this could work. I don't have any channel that I can point to for flair other than Flair's own channel. You can take a look at other outlet like IG / Tiktok where you can see how people in Thailand / Indonesia / Vietnam are using these manual machine for their cafe stall.

[@angelovalentini2115]

complicated already. Do you think you feel like doing all that in the morning when you’re making a nice espresso

[@spyk124]

It’s weird to categorize this as an entry level point. This would be an absolutely ridiculous machine for entry level expresso. The point of this machine is to rival machines worth thousands of dollars. While it’s not hard, there are still a lot of variables and moving pieces here to be good at pulling from this machine. The lower price point flair machines, or even a breville bambino is an entry level machine. This is not that.

[@fatterperdurabo42069]

This is barely more complicated than a moka pot bro lmao don't get too up your ass about the skill curve

[@thePowerPlant]

I would hope you only take units for review and return them. Making reviews in exchange for gift units is not trustworthy. I really enjoy your approach to reviews and style. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

[@Timberjagi]

The problem with this "review" is the bias part. If Flair send it to you, you might be more biased to be more positive about it in the hope they keep sending stuff later. I like that you at least disclosed it so people are aware of this. (Don't get me wrong as i use this one as well for traveling) i actually stopped using the heating as the idea is good, execution is just poor, its not strong enough to heat up to make multiple shots (not sure if that is what its designed for anyway )

[@Raditram]

Nope, it's never designed to be used as a heater per-se more as a way to retain heat from your boiling water/make a more temperature-stable vessel. As he mentioned in the video, temperature controlled kettle (gooseneck will be better) is key in my opinion, for all flair products.

[@robertjason6885]

The 58x is unpowered… no group heating.

[@uhoh007]

!5 minutes and we never see it in action.....I hate coffee machine reviews....espcially the clean counters.