Review on ☕️ Flair Espresso Maker PRO 2 (Black) - A premium manual lever espresso machine featuring a stainless steel brew head and pressure gauge by Mark Meyer

I've always loved espresso, but it wasn't until the pandemic that I felt the need to brew it at home. Day. I've been using it for two weeks and have already taken (or pushed?) some amazing shots as you can see in the photos (it's a dark medium roast, 20% robusta and 80% arabica). Not only does this machine have an open portafilter, it also has a pressure gauge that allows for both profiling and real-time pressure monitoring, which (as far as I know) is only found in higher price ranges. Also, the smaller basket diameter (46mm) is gentler on your grinder as it requires a coarser grind (the height of the washer increases resistance). In fact, I was able to grind it with my Xeoleo manual coffee grinder from the finest setting in a few clicks. The downside to this is that it's very difficult to find accessories (like spreaders and rammers) that are overpriced compared to larger products designed for 51mm baskets. The only thing I'm still struggling with is temperature management. Since it's not plugged in, you'll need to preheat the group head by either placing it on top of the kettle or filling it with boiling water a few times. It's not so much the time it takes that worries me as the fact that I don't have very good temperature control. I'd like to get some time strips from their official site to get more consistency and maybe experiment a bit.