dreadnatty08 wrote:Steve, your thread may seem lonely, but I'm appreciating the feedback!
My old Gaggia does an ok job at espresso but I've been really interested in either a Flair or Robot (leaning towards the former and I'm digging your results. With the moka pot preheat, are you just setting the group upside down over the base with a little water and steam heating it?

Have a look at the pictures in post 2 of this thread. Yes, I add about an inch of water into the moka base, heat to boiling, then place the group head right side down on the moka base to let the steam preheat it. It only takes a few min for it to get quite hot, but you can still handle it with the silicone jacket.

You could also preheat the portafilter basket the same way but I choose not too thus far. You'd want to dry it off after steaming and before adding coffee, which adds a step I am not sure provides a real benefit. Do you think preheating a portafilter makes a shot better?

dreadnatty08 wrote:Steve, your thread may seem lonely, but I'm appreciating the feedback!
My old Gaggia does an ok job at espresso but I've been really interested in either a Flair or Robot (leaning towards the former and I'm digging your results. With the moka pot preheat, are you just setting the group upside down over the base with a little water and steam heating it?

Did you make a purchase? I'm in the same boat...Flair Pro or Robot. If you did, what was the decider?

No, never really did make the jump. Once I dialed in a regular and decaf for the Gaggia, it's been pulling fine shots for the lady and I. Think I just enjoy trying new coffees with pourover than espresso.

UPDATE: I've been using the PRO 2 daily for 6 months and thought I would update this thread with my experiences for anyone interested. I remain very happy with this lever and highly recommend it.

1) I still use a moka pot base to heat both the group head and portafilter. I always preheat both pieces to reduce heat loss and do it while heating water in my kettle so it's no impact to overall workflow.

2) My standard recipe remains 2.5:1 with 18 grams coffee in and 45 grams out. I remove the drip tray and put my cup directly on a scale with timer (see below). I roast my own coffee and use a blend of light roasted Ethiopian, Sumatran and a Brazilian.

3) Puck prep: I grind using a Lido ET or a Niche Zero into a dosing cup. I shake the dosing cup after grinding to distribute different sized coffee particles evenly, then slowly pour into the portafilter while rotating it. After dosing, I use deep WDT (see tool below) all the way to the bottom of the basket and then slowly moving up to the surface. I then lightly tap the portafilter once on the counter, followed by a tamp with my thumbs and index fingers on the base of the metal Flair tamper. This has been highly reliable for me and my grind varies by no more than 0.5-1 marks on the Niche.

4) Assembly: You read a lot of reviews critiquing the Flair because of the number of parts contributing to an inefficient workflow. With respect, I call those critiques a bunch of baloney. Once you've done a couple shots it assembles very quickly without any thought. I place the dosed portafilter in the frame, drop in the shower screen, place my 200F heated group head on top, add boiling water from my kettle, then put the piston/gauge assembly on and start the pull. This literally takes 10-15 seconds. Sorry for a bit of a rant but it's a fair rebuttal.

5) My standard shot profile when pulling is: 20 sec pre-infusion at ~2 bar where I see a donut initially that then starts to fill into the center of the portafilter. After pre-infusion I ramp up to about 8 bar and then decline pressure based on feel as the puck degrades to about 4 bar, then finally ending about 2 bar at 45 grams out around 60 seconds or so. I get nice mottling and great taste regularly.

6) Clean up is simple and from startup to putting everything cleaned and dried back in the cabinet is 10-15 min tops.

I have made straight up shots, Americanos, and used an old French press to froth milk for an occasional flat white. Even though the geek in me is now lusting after a DE1, I'm not sure whether I would get appreciably better results in the cup than what I'm getting now. Hope this helps anyone interested in the PRO 2.

Pictures of toys available on Amazon follow:

0.4mm stainless 3D printer nozzle cleaners used as a WDT tool


Weightman 1000x0.1g scale with timer


Markha Pocket Mirror used as a shot mirror

RE: WDT tool.

There are now several sellers with beautifully handcrafted distribution tools on Etsy FYI.

Steve, just wanted to say thank you for making and updating this thread with your experiences. It's definitely the thing that makes me reach out for my moka pot base as a way of preheating, as soon as my new Flair Pro 2 arrives. I also joined the Brew with Flair facebook group, and there's a lot of good stuff posted there, but your workflow seems so intuitive as a go-to.

Quick question - after preheating the brew chamber and portafilter, do you then need a cloth to grab them? Or is the silicone around them enough for handling them the entirety of your brewing process? Also, if you've made any new tweaks to your workflow, I'd love to hear 'em. Cheers!

You are welcome. Silicone covers are enough insulation to grab them by after pre-heating to assemble the stack.

No major changes to workflow, but I am also doing some flow profiling of Pro2 shots with my Bluetooth scale and the SEP app. See this link about pour-over profiling for an example: Profiling pour-overs

Hi All,
Thought I'd chime in on our cozy corner of H-B. I echo the sentiments of the 'brewzologist' ...we occupy a "lonely corner" here. I've enthusiastically used the Flair Pro 2 for 10 months and it's become my daily driver (I see the unused Gaggia glaring at me from the countertop). Perhaps of some interest to fellow Pro 2 fans is a simple mod I made from the drip tray of an old Baby 06 I've got sitting on a shelf. A few hours with a dremel tool, files and wet sanding yielded a serviceable larger drip tray for 2 cappuccino cups. This fits neatly over the shallow Pro 2 drip tray, without the Flair grate in place.

I'm brand new around here, and just placed an order for my pro 2. This thread, as well as a few others will undoubtedly help get my wife and I started.

Thank you!