boren wrote:Yes, this is the video I was referring to. I don't get anywhere close to this amount of crema with the MCaL, not even on the day I roast the coffee. I do however use the single shot basket, so it's not exactly apples to apples comparison. The double shot basket does provide more crema, but the quality of the coffee is not as good, probably because the amount of water is the same for twice the amount of coffee (resulting in a double ristretto, which isn't my favorite type of coffee). Pulling the lever again to get more water hasn't proved to be a viable and consistent solution, frequently resulting in channelindg.

i have no experience with MCal, sorry i can't be of help there. I have Elektra sixties A3 and, though I've never measured, i can tell you that by eye the amount of crema from the Flair is on par with it--or bests it. Crema does not a great espresso make but i for one thoroughly enjoy it. I've heard some say crema itself is actually is not that great tasting. to each their own, i love my foam!

boren wrote:Yes, this is the video I was referring to. I don't get anywhere close to this amount of crema with the MCaL, not even on the day I roast the coffee. I do however use the single shot basket, so it's not exactly apples to apples comparison. The double shot basket does provide more crema, but the quality of the coffee is not as good, probably because the amount of water is the same for twice the amount of coffee (resulting in a double ristretto, which isn't my favorite type of coffee). Pulling the lever again to get more water hasn't proved to be a viable and consistent solution, frequently resulting in channeling.

forgot to ask you, how light a roast are you usually extracting? i like to take my beans in to second crack, cutting it off about the moment before i see the beans developing a sheen. if you're working with significantly lighter beans and never robusta then your shouldn't expect to see copious amounts of crema

The "trick" in the crema for the Flair over the MCaL probably comes down to the fact that you can apply as much pressure as necessary with the Flair to get the kind of shot you want, while the MCaL is limited to the spring pressure on the lever.

I have a La Peppina and wouldn't always get the most crema with just the spring, but with the La Peppina spring lever it is possible to assist the lever with your arm to increase the pressure which increases the body and crema of the shot at the expense (IMHO) of clarity.

One counter-intuitive thing to keep in mind is that you can have the grind too fine to get good crema, you may try coarsening the grind up, increasing the flow rate, to see if this improves things with your MCal.

It's not an issue of cost. I don't think I've ever read or heard anybody say that the MCAL is the machine to buy if your main concern is crema. From what I gather it's known for high clarity of flavor and less body and crema due to its low brew pressure. My guess is the MCAL will fail to produce the crema of most machines with the capability of higher brew pressure, which includes the flair and other manual levers.

So I took this to Colorado for a family vacation last week and it was my only source of coffee. It was a big hit. I used a Breville milk frother to heat and froth milk for lattes and cappuccinos. The grinder was a Helor 101which the TSA messed with in my checked bag. They left a note saying they inspected my bag. I'm guessing because the Helor looks like it might be a pipe bomb. I had to tighten it back down. So be warned that a metal cylinder may look suspicious. One guy commented that the espresso shot was "actually sweet" and not the bitter coffee that he had tasted before. So I might have made a convert to real espresso.

The only problem I had was the plastic around the outside of the metal disk that's in the top of the piston cracked on one piston and was deformed on the other one I have. I've noticed the edge of the round wheel that pushes on the piston starts on the plastic and not on the metal of the disk. Also it ends on the plastic sometimes at the end of a pull. On the piston where the plastic cracked and broke off a small piece you can take the metal disk out. I think I'm going to take it to work and see if our tool and die guys can make me a stainless steel one where the bottom round fits into the piston normally, but also has a larger top flat machined into over the bottom disk it so that the plastic is covered by metal. That should fix the plastic breaking and mushing.

Christopher, can you post a picture of the cracked part, and suggest what can users of the Flair do to avoid this from happening (if anything)?

Thanks!

Christopher396 wrote:The only problem I had was the plastic around the outside of the metal disk that's in the top of the piston cracked on one piston and was deformed on the other one I have. I've noticed the edge of the round wheel that pushes on the piston starts on the plastic and not on the metal of the disk. Also it ends on the plastic sometimes at the end of a pull. On the piston where the plastic cracked and broke off a small piece you can take the metal disk out. I think I'm going to take it to work and see if our tool and die guys can make me a stainless steel one where the bottom round fits into the piston normally, but also has a larger top flat machined into over the bottom disk it so that the plastic is covered by metal. That should fix the plastic breaking and mushing.

I would definitely let Sergio at Flair know about this issue, he is very open to user input and improvements. Wasn't there some discussion earlier in this thread about a possible metal piston?

It's coming as soon as September. In the meantime, Christopher can easily request new replacement pistons under warranty. I'm curious if there might be an alignment issue with his Flair as i haven't seen anyone else complain of this issue and he has it with 2 pistons. Must be biting down on piston to do damage. I don't have the rolling issue he referred to, but then i also take a quick moment to ensure the piston is level and centered every time and he may not be doing that. dunno, best guess without seeing more from him (i.e. photos)

Andrew states in the video, "Wow! Look at all that crema! You'd be hard pressed to find any machine that would give you any more crema than that..."
Huh...


HIS (screen capture from the video)


MINE (at the 2 ounce level)

Still, an intriguing device.

That shot looks amazing Randy! Do you home roast? Single origin or blend?