Flair Neo Flex review

Good shots on medium and dark roasts, flatter from the pressurized basket7.6/10

The Neo Flex makes better espresso than its price suggests, and shot quality is widely liked. Daddy Got Coffee tasted his first pull and called it "shockingly a good espresso shot".1 The Coffee Chronicler puts the cup level with the steel-framed Flair Classic and expects no difference at all between them.2

Which basket you use matters. The pressurized one is the shortcut for pre-ground coffee, and Plets Make Coffee finds those shots "fall a little flat" in body and flavor.3 The standard basket, paired with a quality burr grinder, is where the best results come from. The narrow, deep basket also wants a coarser grind than a regular espresso machine.

Roast is the caveat. Lance Hedrick judges it not good enough for light roasts and "absolutely fine for medium to dark".4 One account did extract lighter beans with a small dose and a full chamber, but most say to stay with more developed coffee. For a properly hot drink, expect to preheat the cylinder despite its thin walls.

Little else this cheap at , with a grinder and the steel-framed Neo to weigh up7.6/10

Value is widely liked, because almost nothing else makes pressure-extracted espresso for this money. Daddy Got Coffee says "there's nothing that is touching its price".5 The box holds both a pressurized basket and a standard one that converts to bottomless, so there is room to improve without replacing the machine.

The sticker is not the whole bill. Plets Make Coffee argues the saving "doesn't really make sense given the associated costs of the required accessories", chiefly a grinder that can cost more than the Neo Flex itself.6 You also need a kettle, and a separate frother if you want milk.

The other rival is Flair's own. The Coffee Chronicler would still pick the older Flair Neo, which has a steel frame and costs only a little more.7 If the gap is small where you shop, that is the better buy for daily use.

A plastic frame that creaks and shifts under the lever, and a seal with one spare3.9/10

The frame is the clear weakness. It is a light plastic stand where other Flairs use metal, and nearly every account of pulling a shot mentions creaking or flex. Lance Hedrick puts it bluntly: "this thing wobbles".8

The Real Sprometheus also saw the frame slip out of the friction teeth that hold it together at the back, and came away unsure about durability over the long haul. Against that, the frame held up through several test periods, a front leg adds stability, and Plets Make Coffee found the many small parts well made and expects the machine to last.9 The warranty is the shortest in Flair's range.

One small part deserves attention. A foil seal in the brew head is designed to give way if you grind too fine or press too hard, which protects the frame. Flair includes a single spare, and replacements can be hard to find.10

Forgiving with pre-ground coffee, slow for a second shot5.9/10

Ease divides opinion: the first drinkable shot comes quickly, and the routine around it is long. The pressurized basket builds its own resistance, so it forgives pre-ground coffee or a basic grinder while you learn.11 Flair's documentation and its active user group are a real help.

The work is in the steps. You boil a kettle, assemble a handful of small parts, press, then take it apart and clean it before going again. The Real Sprometheus calls dialing in or making several shots in a row tedious and time-consuming.12 Plets Make Coffee is harsher: "it is so much hassle to brew just one and a half ounces of espresso with it".13

Two limits are fixed. The chamber is too small for a double shot, and the built-in pressure indicator carries no numbers, so repeating a good pull is partly guesswork.14 Flair's pressure gauge upgrade kit is not compatible with this model.15

Light enough for a suitcase, and still a kit of loose parts and a kettle7.6/10

Portability is widely liked, mostly because of the weight. The plastic frame makes this the lightest Flair, "lighter than most laptops" in The Coffee Chronicler's written review, and it pulls apart and folds down without tools.16 It needs no electricity, which suits a road trip or a hotel room.

Not everyone accepts the travel pitch. Daddy Got Coffee does not think of any Flair as a portable machine, and Plets Make Coffee never found a convenient way to carry this one: "I pretty much just put everything in a box".17 He also describes it as somewhat fragile and not waterproof.

The practical limit is everything that travels with it. You still need hot water wherever you go, plus coffee and, for the standard basket, a grinder. Treat it as a light machine that stores easily, and as a travel brewer only if a kettle will be waiting.

Our verdict

Buy the Neo Flex if you want to learn whether hand-pulled espresso is for you without spending much, and you drink medium or dark roasts one small shot at a time. Skip it if you will use it every day, want doubles, or dislike a frame that creaks and moves as you press. Before ordering, compare the price of the steel-framed Flair Neo, and budget for a burr grinder if you plan to move past the pressurized basket. Go easy on very fine grinds, since the protective seal has only one spare in the box.