Flair 58 Manual Espresso Maker vs Nespresso Essenza Mini

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

Hey there! I’m a frequent coffee drinker but no way near to the degree of excellence I see in this sub. I use (forgive me) a Nespresso Essenza Mini alongside a Nespesso Aerocinno 3 Milk Frother.

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

I've had this for several years and it still works great! My only complaint about nespresso machines is that they don't pull very hot shots. I feel like it's a great machine for a quick shot, but I would LOVE it would heat the water more.

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

Love my nespresso machine! Wish it were cheaper! The coffee cubs can definitely be on the bigger side!

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”

Love this espresso maker, it's a great brand and I love that it comes with the milk frothed! That makes my lattes taste really delicious and they're always fresh and hot! I love that it takes only a bit of counter space and it's very easy to use! I've enjoyed the sampler that came with the machine and how easy it is to operate! Really delicious lattes at home, I'm very pleased!

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

I grew up with very expensive espresso machines and have had a hard time finding one that makes as good tasting espresso. This is the closest that I have found to the quality that I am used to. I like the compact size for my apartment size kitchen as it doesn't take up too much counter space. I do wish that it looked a bit more sophisticated though…

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

So the box came with this machine and at the back, there's a water tank that you can just remove and then fill up the water and then attach back. So t...