A Quick Look At The Flair 58x
I've been lucky enough to try out the Flair 58x Espresso brewer - let's have a look at it's features and my first impressions!
I've always loved the look of the Flair espresso brewers, but never got my hands on one, until now! My friend was kind enough to loan me his, and what a beautiful brewer this is!
Stunning to look at, and fantastic build quality, the Flair 58x is a newer model on the market.
A metal body, powder coated in black, and the wooden accents to the handle and the portafilter, this design is right up my street!
Let's look at some of the specs:
Dimensions: 190 x 355 x 290 mm
Weight: 3.6 Kg
Group head diameter: 58mm (industry standard)
The thing I really like about this brewer, is you have the option of getting this brewer completely electronic free. There's the 58 version which has some electronics, so please note this when looking to purchase one. It is actually really calming to brew espresso with no noise or electronics involved!
What's included?
Base
Lever
Brew Head
Pressure Gauge & Stem
Portafilter & 16g-20g basket
58.5mm puck screen
58mm tamper
Preheat Cap
Drip Tray
What is a puck screen?!
The Flair comes with a puck screen, instead of having a shower head built into the system. These are designed to evenly distribute the water flow when brewing, preventing channeling in your coffee. Plus it looks beautiful for those Instagram reels!
This is also great for ease of cleaning. You don't have to scrub up in the group head and remove bits, for deep cleaning. You just tap out the the puck screen from the portafilter after brewing, and rinse this off.
How easy is it to setup?!
The Flair is super simple to set up. It took me a few minutes and I was ready to start making coffee! There's some really helpful videos from Flair on YouTube I would recommend watching so you ensure your base is screwed in evenly, and you're good to go!
How do I use it?!
The flair is so fun to use! The design is genius - you can remove the whole brew head and pre heat it on top of your electric kettle so it's up to temperature. Once that's done, you can pop it back in, along with your pressure Gauge, prep your coffee and get brewing! Push down evenly and gently on the handle until you reach your desired weight for your recipe.
The beauty of watching your shot pour from the bottomless portafilter is so calming. Bottomless portafilters are a great way to learn with and see any issues in shots. You want one nice even pour , not spraying out everywhere. It should look like beautiful liquid gold.
If you want a more in depth look into brewing with this brewer I will be posting some videos on YouTube, so please go and take a look!
Would I buy one?!
Short answer. YES! This brewer retails at about £485. Seems like a lot, but the quality of espresso from this brewer and the pure joy it brings brewing with it is amazing. I would highly recommend this brewer to anyone who wants to take their espresso a little more seriously and anyone like me who appreciates quality.
It's a work of art.