Flair Pro 2 review

Sweet, full-bodied shots from a hot cylinder, sour ones from a cold one7.7/10

The espresso is the reason to buy the Pro 2, and it is widely liked. Shots come out with good body and plenty of sweetness, and Snoffeecob, who moved up from a cheaper Flair, found that "the extraction is higher, the output is hotter".1 Alternative Brewing puts it more strongly.

The pressure gauge does a lot of the work. It shows exactly how hard you are pressing, which makes a good shot easier to repeat and opens up gentle pre-infusion and pressure ramping for anyone who wants to experiment.2 The bottomless portafilter helps too, since you can see the extraction as it happens.

The catch is heat. Nothing warms the brew cylinder except the water you pour through it first, and Kyle Rowsell warns that shots from a cold chamber turn out "sour and astringent".3 Even well preheated, the temperature falls during the pull. Alternative Brewing also finds the texture a touch short of ideal, and Andrew W is clear that none of this works without a good burr grinder.4

Loose parts, repeated preheats and a lever that takes arm strength5.0/10

The routine divides opinion, and it is where the Pro 2 wins or loses a buyer. Each step is simple and Flair's guide is easy to follow. There are just a lot of steps, and a lot of pieces. The French Review remembers unboxing it and finding the pile of parts "quite overwhelming".5

Preheating is the slowest part. The steel portafilter needs warming as well as the cylinder, and Tom's Coffee Corner reports "we had to preheat it four times" for one shot.6 Warming the cylinder over a moka pot base while the kettle boils is the shortcut that helps most. The pull itself is physical: Snoffeecob says ramping to full pressure "does require some strength in your arms".7

It is a one-cup machine. A second shot means taking everything apart while the brew head is still hot to hold, and Andy's Not-Very-Interesting Adventures says plainly that "the turnaround is pretty bad".8 The small tamper is fiddly, the single spout cannot split a shot, and there is so little room under it that many scales and cups will not fit.

The upside comes after the shot. The puck taps out easily, everything rinses clean in a moment, and there is nothing to descale. Most accounts agree the routine becomes second nature after a few weeks.

7.01 lb in a padded case, with a kettle to find and a puzzle to repack9.4/10

Portability is praised almost without exception. The Pro 2 has no electrical parts, weighs 7.01 lb and comes apart to fit a carrying case with molded foam compartments.9 Business trips, holidays and campsites all come up as places it has gone.

What it needs at the other end is hot water and nothing else. That still means a kettle or a stove, and a grinder if you are not bringing ground coffee.

The one complaint is repacking. Commonly Coffee found fitting the pieces back into the case "a bit cumbersome" and wished for a diagram showing where each part goes.10

Thick stainless steel, on a base that shifts and a sleeve that slips off7.3/10

The build is widely liked, and the reason is steel. The body, the brew cylinder and the portafilter are stainless, and the lever, post and base are stronger than on Flair's cheaper models. Commonly Coffee found nothing on it that feels cheap, and trusts it to take the force a pull puts through it.11

With no electronics, there is little to fail. The seals may need replacing eventually, though Alternative Brewing expects them to last a very long time even with daily use.

The complaints are about how it sits and how it is handled. David Maurice finds the base hard to keep steady during a pull, and The French Review calls it wobbly until it is bolted to the post.12 The silicone sleeve on the brew head slips off easily if you lift the head by it.13 One long-term owner on Home-Barista saw the brew head and portafilter part slightly at the highest pressures, without leaking.

Widely liked for the money, with an awkward place in Flair's own range7.0/10

Value is widely liked. The case for it is simple: proper espresso, a gauge and a steel build for far less than a machine of similar shot quality, with room to grow as your technique improves.14 Kyle Rowsell rates it better value than Flair's larger flagship.

The case against comes from inside the family. Home Coffee Expert tried it alongside its siblings and was not convinced it earns the extra over the cheaper models.

“For us, the Pro 2 sits as an awkward middleman that doesn’t really stand out compared to the others.”

The purchase price is not the whole bill either. A capable grinder is essential, and the portafilter is narrower than the café standard, so tampers and distributors you already own will not fit and replacements are harder to find. Buying the full kit at the start is cheaper than adding pieces later.

Our verdict

Buy the Flair Pro 2 if you want sweet, full-bodied espresso from a machine that needs only a kettle and fits in a case, and you enjoy the work of making it. Skip it if you serve more than a cup or two at a time, or if preheating and a firm two-armed press sound like chores. Budget for a good burr grinder first. Before you order, measure your scale and your cup against the small space under the spout, and plan to bolt the base to the post.