Flair Signature Espresso Maker - Unboxing

Yay! Our Flair Signature Espresso Maker finally arrived! During some COVID related delivery delays I have had plenty of time to study and prepare my first steps into the world of espresso.

I will definitely be doing further write-ups and reviews after I've had some more time with this wonderfully designed machine. I just wanted to share and celebrate this moment with some moving images featuring the Flair goodies.

The first things that came to mind while unboxing:

• compact: the fact that you are able to product 9 bars of pressure with such a small lever is an awesome physics feat.
• robust materials: the base, lever, brew chamber, piston, pressure valve and stem are built like a tank. The brewchamber is perfectly machined, the fit the pistons and o-rings is perfectly tight. The heft of the devices feels great.
• well designed: Of course you have already seen loads of pictures, but it just looks great.

First things that came to mind in pulling the first shots:

• handling the parts: It will definitely take a while to get used to assembling and disassembling the parts. They are heavy (when you make a slip up they drop to the counter like bricks), they are hot (I'll do a separate write-up on preheating), and they are pressurised (handle with care, or stuff will go flying).
• tasty: even the trial runs with some old beans produced some tasty shots. "Dialing in" is definitely finicky. I didn't expect the differences between beans to be so big, but in espresso they are.
• fun: When all goes right, the routine can take around 5-10 minutes. If you mess up a shot, resetting takes a while. But man, it is a lot of fun nerding around with this device.

I've documented the very first shot with the machine, and many more to come! For the experts viewing this: yeah the grind was a little too coarse, hence the dripping!