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Comment by abakker | Hacker News Reader

As the owner of an older europiccola and a quick mill qm67, I've been eying this: https://www.flairespresso.com which seems really need. the europiccola always struggled with managing steaming/overheating issues when doing multiple beverages. (Boiler was small), so I got the QM67. But this seems like it might be perfect for the times when you want to make just one shot.

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I love my flair espresso machine.

I put the cylinder (~= group head) in the water as I bring it it up to temperature, and get extremely consistent results.

I have a PID controlled kettle, and a high end burr grinder. The setup compares favorably with high end manual machines at work.

I usually make two batches (2 double shots) with the flair, fwiw.

I have a flair, a temperature controlled kettle, and a bellman stovetop steamer. The grinder I have was good for pour-overs, but isn't really up to espressos, but even so the espressos and cappuccinos I've been able to produce make my kitchen my favorite place to go to get caffeinated.

More often than not I'll make multiple beverages with it in a row. It's good enough that I'm frankly worried that when I finally upgrade to a proper machine it won't feel worth it. I had been looking forward to getting my fancy espresso machine eventually, so this is weirdly disappointing.

FWIW, I have a proper espresso machine, and I’ve considered downgrading to a Flair.

Went from a Gaggia to a Flair and can only recommend it. For me, the Flair only falls short when you want to make >2 espressos at a time. Love the control over every parameter and that you don't need to preheat for 15 mins

I've owned an EPC8, Silvia with PID, and an E61 machine and I can tell you the flair is my favorite machine

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