How to ensure the correct pressure in the Flair coffee machine?

You want 9 bars, but you can't achieve that many bars when making espresso in the Flair? Flair Espresso only needs you to adjust one step in the coffee preparation to get the right pressure.

How many bars does the Flair Espresso Machine have?

As barista law says, "You'll need a 9 bar espresso machine". That's why, of course,the Flair coffee maker isdesigned to make coffee at 9 bar pressure. And in any of its product models. Even if you have a Flair type without a pressure gauge. Then you don't get information about the pressure exerted when making coffee in an exact number, but you can estimate it from the effort of pressing the lever. Just physics. The lighter you press, the less pressure is exerted in the coffee maker.

On Flair coffee machines with a pressure gauge, such as the Flair 58 version, the needle can read from 0 to about 25 bar during brewing. At zero, this means that water just flows through the machine. On the other hand, if you confuse coffee brewing with a gym and get the pressure gauge into the "STOP" zone (above about 13 bar), you could break the machine and it wouldn't help the taste of your coffee anyway.

Always aim for the marked ideal range of 6-9 bar. This is the optimum pressure for making good tasting coffee. At the same time, the physical resistance acting on the lever is just right. Coffee enthusiasts on the foreign forum home-barista.com have even calculated the force required in kg to obtain the ideal pressure in a manual coffee machine. According to them, you need to apply about 18kg to the lever to extract espresso at 9 bar. The force decreases depending on the length of the lever. This ease of handling is the reason why manufacturers use a longer lever on the Flair58 and 58+.

Why does your Flair have low pressure?

I hope I have assured you in the previous paragraphs that Flair coffee makers can create the necessary pressure. If your Flair doesn't reach 9 bar, then what's the problem? The fault lies in the coarseness of the grind. To achieve the targeted pressure, grind the coffee finer. Reduce the coarseness of the coffee until you get the right pressure for espresso.

The problem of insufficient pressure is mainly experienced by those switching to Flair 58 from cheaper models. This is because the design of these machines is different. For example, the Flair PRO2 has a 46 mm diameter portafilter. The Flair 58 has (unexpectedly) a 58 mm portafilter. The wider surface area and lower height of the coffee bed inside is the main reason why the Flair 58 requires a finer grind than other models.

As long as you putan adequate amount of properly ground coffee into the Flair, you should have no problems applying pressure during extraction. In other words - the machine works, the fault is in the preparation. This is the answer to 99% of questions like "why is my Flair's pressure low?". The other one percent are then machine errors caused by seal wear or a broken pressure gauge. If you have inadvertently harmed your Flair, or if a part has simply worn out, we have plenty of spares in stock.

Is 6 bar not enough pressure for a coffee machine?

In the first sentence of this article, and then in many others, I repeated the 9 bar figure. This pressure is still considered basic, but it is also now considered variable. Because Flair goes hand in hand with coffee trends and challenges, 6-9bar is the optimal range on their pressure gauge. Flair's handheld coffee machines in particular are perfect for experimenting with extraction pressure curves. Try it for yourself to see how changing the pressure in the coffee machine affects the resulting taste of the coffee.

Experiments with different extraction pressures have been tried by baristas in London. On the blog of their roastery Climpson&sons, they reported the results of testing espresso brewed at 6 vs 9 bars. The TDS values, measured on a coffee refractometer, were in the ideal range of 18-22% in each of the trials. That the coffees were prepared under different pressures was only revealed by their taste. Espresso extracted at 6 bar was much sweeter with more subtle notes. A pressure of 9bar resulted in a more pronounced taste ranging froma rich chocolatey bitterness to a bright citrus acidity.

Because the higher pressure also affects the flow behaviour of water through the coffee, making 6bar espresso ismuch more friendly to the balance of flavours. Extracting coffee with water below 9bars tends to be more prone to problems with channelling, channelling and wrapping of the ground coffee in the portafilter. To maintain expressiveness and ensure complexity of flavor profile, baristas often turn to espresso extraction techniques with preinfusion. This is exactly what you canapply with your Flair coffee machine. You'll target 6 bar for the first few seconds and then increase the pressure to the standard 9 bar.

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What to do if you can't grind it any finer?

If you have reached a dead end in optimising the right grind pressure, or if the pressure is still insufficient but you can't grind any finer, I have some advice for you too. If it's just a tweak, you can modify the original espresso recipe by adding 1-2 grams of coffee. Again, physics works here, i.e. the more coffee, the more resistance to water.

Other options are getting a finer filter i.e. a portafilter basket. However, this is only an option for owners of Flair 58 models. In other models, such as the Flair Neo, the lack of fine grinding of the coffeecan be compensated for by the so-called Flow Control (flow controller).

From my point of view, the best option is toget a proper coffee grinder. One that will adapt to you and not you to it. Well ground coffee is always the alpha and omega of a perfect tasting espresso. Think about how much time and coffee a really good grinder will save you, rather than struggling with an uneven and coarse grind. And also how much joy it adds to making espresso at home. About the perfect taste in the cup and the new possibilities in preparing a variety of coffees.