Breville Barista Express vs Flair 58 Manual Espresso Maker

Use hot water and steam to clean. Chris Monroe/CNETAs long as you remember to empty the puck of spent grounds from the portafilter immediately after pulling a shot, give it a quick rinse, then flush hot water through the brew head, the machine is good to go. The drip tray is a cinch to remove and empty too. ConclusionBrewing espresso with the Breville Barista Express takes time, effort and practice

So my flair signature came today. My overall impressions.. starting with the most important, does it make espresso? Yes

I don't think this is essential for a latte, but if you drink espresso your first cup will be lukewarm unless you let the machine fully heat up (which is long after all the lights are on). - The default recommended settings on the grinder are working like a charm, so we probably won't mess with them much. We are using whole bean Starbucks espresso. - The manual doesn't explain the grinder mechanism very well

Boil water. Grind your beans. Put the brewing canister in a cup or bowl and pour your boiling water over it until it's submerged. Heat your brew water to your desired temperature

Buying those same 62 drinks at Sbux would have cost $415 (not count tip I always leave so actually closer to $500 for 62 triple venti Ice lattes at Sbux costing nearly $7 each + tip. So I figure I when just considering supplies I used $30 in beans and syrup and at around $4 per gallon, I have used maybe another $20 in Milk so $50 total in supplies about vs. around $500 for buying the drinks at Sbux including tip means I paying 10% what I used to and have saved $450 ($150 less than I paid for the machine) in a single month on the drinks for me and my daughter. As I started off saying, it does take me 15 minutes from start to finish of cleanup to make those two drinks but it could be half that without cleanup every time but I also never wait in a drive through line

And, yes, you can spend more and get even better options. I was trying to keep my total buy-in at less than a $700 Breville automatic machine was going to cost for an entry-level go. So we're at about $450 with a grinder and the machine. Add $20 for a knockbox so you don't damage your portafilter and you're at $470

The expectation for a great tasting espresso is quality water, give our well water source we purchase water for cooking and consumption. Would be nice if there was a better way to recover the dispensed water after use to be reused but since the tray also traps grounds, it's useless for reuse. For now I save this for watering plants.

What i dont like: the plastic piston- i think flair should give their costumers a plastic free espresso and by that i mean that hot water flow through stainless all the way.I know its a food grade material but its still a big minus for me. You can buy the stainless piston and the plastic gauge but the plastic gauge adapter will still get in touch with hot water during the brewing so its not an upgrade for me. Its important to say that flair's customer service answered me very quickly and honestly about why they discontinued the stainless piston that was once included

For me that's hitting the espresso jackpot each and every time! What about you? Are you interested in dialing it in too? https://www

On first impression as I assembled the machine it felt to the touch that it is a well-made product with quality solid construction. After I assembled the maker and pulled the first shot the taste was definitely good. I did not get as much crema as at Starbucks, but the blame most likely rests with my home quality burr grinder. Although the maker is of cleaver design, I find that to brew one or two espresso cups that there is too much “fiddling”

The unit heats up quickly and provides piping hot water within 30 seconds, enough time for you to pour your milk of choice in the stainless steel milk frothing pitcher. From this point you simply turn a dial on the side of the unit to the steam function inserter your steam wand and try to stimulate the milk into a gentle whirlpool motion, this process takes less than 2 minutes depending on how hot your like to steam your milk. This milk frothing process becomes second nature after the first couple of tries. I'm happy to share that almond milk frothed beautifully

The users STRONGLY advise preheating the portafilter, so thats a process too. It also takes a non-trivial amount of strength to get the full 7-9 bars of pressure. Of course it has no steamer, so you have to have an alternative way of making frothed milk for a cappuccino or latte. I use a kind of modified french press frother

The temperature of the latte will be the temperature of the milk. Unless you want to pre-heat the cup before the whole process, you want the milk as hot as possible, but not so hot that it will alter the taste of the drink. Everyday usage: 1. Wait 20 min or so for the machine to pre-heat

Hope that made sense. If you are trying to get the plunger(don't know what they call it) out right after your first shot, you will find that you will need to run the unit (portifilter) under cold water. The heat really locks the plunger in the portifilter or whatever you call that thing. The cold water trick works but you will need to reheat it again before you make your next shot to get the best results