Flair 58

Anyway, that is my full review on the brand new Flair 58.

One of the things I quickly learned with the decent is that absolutely every roast is an espresso roast, this machine can extract everything no matter how light or dark. One last tip, pick up one of those Flair 58 puck screens. It does wonders for even, consistent extraction and will keep your shower head clean. EDIT: Also, check out [Sheldon's](https://sworksdesign.com/) site for some nice accessories.

Flair 58 might have an edge performance wise and uses standard portafilter which is great for tamper and accessories, but Robot is simpler and more portable so it gets some points there. I have the non-gauge one and I love it. The ceiling of a manual lever is indeed higher than the pump machines especially in this price range, but the experience is quite different and also if you want to make a few drinks in a row it can become tedious.

I like the Flair 58 recommendation. You could also check out the La Pavoni Europiccola. A used one should still fit your budget and those machines are made to last. Pair either with the DF64/G-IOTA grinder and you have yourself a nice little setup.

If you are going for a Flair 58 probably your best option is a 1Zpresso Jx Pro or J-Max, you need tight adjustment to find the sweet spot for your shots, this grinders have at least 200 clicks, the Timemore is a good grinder but don't make the cut for espresso, if you don't want to waste coffee, effort and money, go for something like the 1Zpresso or Kinu grinders to start with a real espresso machine like the Flair 58.

They still suffer from the old heat problems that plagued them decades ago too. La pavoni levers are a dinosaur compared to newer budget lever machines like the Flair 58. I hope they either decrease prices or introduce a better group head that can compete with the Flairs as I just dont see how they can stand still whilst all these new lever machines beat them at every metric.