Flair 58+2 – Lever Espresso with the 58 mm Industry Standard
You pull the lever down. The resistance builds, evenly, tangibly – no pump noise, no vibration, just your arm and the water pressing slowly through the puck. In the articulating Shot-Mirror under the bottomless portafilter you watch the first drop form, dark and viscous. The resistance keeps rising, you follow it with a steady pull, and the shot runs. Ninety millilitres of water, eighteen grams of grounds, no electronics between you and the extraction. That's the Flair principle – espresso as a direct mechanical experience.
Coffee Coaching Club is the importer of Flair Espresso. The Flair 58+2 is the current flagship of the Flair family and the next step from the Flair 58+. Three concrete changes: the Preheat Controller is now built into the Base (instead of sitting externally between the outlet and the machine), the power supply is smaller, and the wiring is tidier. Functionally, everything that defines the 58 family stays the same – a 58 mm industry-standard portafilter, three preheat levels, a pressure gauge at the group head, magnetic Shot-Mirror.
What makes the Flair 58+2 special
The 58 mm portafilter is the same diameter used by café machines from La Marzocco to Rocket. That means every VST, IMS or Normcore precision basket, every 58mm tamper, every Puck-Screen format from the portafilter world fits. If you later switch to a machine with an E61 or a saturated group, you take your accessories with you. Worth knowing: the portafilter itself isn't interchangeable with every 58mm model – the Flair 58+2 is compatible with Flair portafilters and Normcore portafilters. Baskets, tampers and Puck Screens in the 58mm format fit regardless of that. The Flair isn't meant to stand alone – it slots into the wider portafilter ecosystem.
Extraction runs through a manual lever press: you pour around 90 ml of hot water into the brew chamber, raise the lever, set it onto the valve and pull it down slowly. The gauge shows the actual brew pressure in real time – unlike with a pump machine, you see the pressure being created by your own arm. With the lever motion you can run a longer pre-infusion, pull the main pressure up, and ease off again at the end. This is a learning process, not an automatic one. The first shots are practice, the grind setting is the decisive lever, and after a week you've developed a feel for the resistance. Anyone after reproducibility works sensibly with a scale and a timer – at CCC we judge extraction by weight ratio (1:2 is the standard starting point), not by time alone. No shot is identical to the next. That's not a weakness of the Flair, it's a property of espresso.
The Preheat Controller is why the 58 family runs thermally more stable than earlier Flair models. Inside the Base, an electric element pre-heats the group head directly – three levels (Low, Medium, High) cover the temperature range for dark, medium and light roasts. Heat-up time is around five minutes before you pour in the water. Without preheat, the hot water would lose temperature immediately against the cold brew chamber, and the shot would come out of the portafilter under-extracted. With preheat, the temperature stays in the target range throughout the extraction.
At a glance
| Type |
Manual lever press, piston-valve mechanism |
| Portafilter |
58 mm industry standard, walnut handle, includes low-flow and high-flow basket; compatible with Flair and Normcore portafilters |
| Preheat Controller |
Built into the Base, three levels (Low, Medium, High) |
| Heat-up time |
About 5 minutes |
| Dose |
16–20 g (expandable with other baskets) |
| Brew chamber water volume |
90 ml |
| Yield |
Up to 55 ml |
| Dimensions |
19 × 34 × 28 cm |
| Pressure display |
Analogue gauge at the group head |
| Shot-Mirror |
Articulating, magnetically mountable on the post |
| Scope of delivery |
Base with Preheat Controller, lever unit with group head, walnut portafilter, low-flow and high-flow basket, walnut palm tamper, Shot-Mirror, gauge, power supply, drip tray, Puck Screen, Allen key |
Who the Flair 58+2 is for
The Flair 58+2 is for everyone who sees espresso as a craft process and prefers the mechanical directness of the lever to a pump's automation. For households where only a few shots are pulled per day and a power-saving, quiet setup matters more than a full-size dual-boiler machine. For everyone who deliberately doesn't need a steam wand – the Flair makes espresso, not milk drinks. For people who switch between beans and use the Preheat Controller's temperature levels as a tool: lower for dark roasts like Cozy Chocolate, higher for light ones like Wild Peach.
The Flair isn't a replacement for an espresso machine. It's a category of its own. If you're after a classic espresso machine with a steam wand and automated pre-infusion, our espresso machine collection has the right options. If you want to combine milk drinks with a manual-lever workflow, pair the Flair with the Flair Wizard Steamer or a Subminimal NanoFoamer. Our opinion is one of many – the Flair divides opinion, and that's fine.
The right grinder
The Flair 58+2 is only as good as the grinder in front of it. The 58mm puck reacts sensitively to grind deviations, and manual lever operation makes inconsistencies in the puck immediately audible and felt. For an honest start with espresso-capable grind, we recommend the Varia VS3 or VS4 from our collection – we're the importer of Varia, and the VS3 (38mm conical) and VS4 (53mm conical) deliver stable espresso grinding with good particle distribution.
If you want to push the Flair toward bigger burrs and finer control, the next steps are the Varia VS6 (58mm flat, variable 500–1600 RPM) or the Weber Workshops EG-1 (80mm flat, magnetic, swappable burrs). For Grind-by-Weight with a built-in scale: Mahlkönig E64 WS. For single dose: Mahlkönig X64 SD. For purists working with a hand grinder: Comandante C40 or Timemore Sculptor from our Timemore collection.
Puck prep and scale
Lever operation rewards clean puck prep. From the Normcore Collection (spring-loaded tamper, WDT tool, Tamping Station) you get the gear for consistent distribution and even tamping day to day. If you're after the finest finish, Weber Workshops (Puck Screen, Moonraker WDT tool, Tamping Station) is the craft-level option. For the scale: Acaia with flow-rate display, or something compact from the Normcore Collection.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate grinder for the Flair 58+2?
Yes. The Flair is a pure espresso machine with no grinder built in. An espresso-capable grinder with fine grind adjustment is a must – without the right grind, the shot either runs too fast or blocks. To start, from our collection: Varia VS3 or VS4. For bigger setups: VS6, Weber EG-1, Option-O Lagom, Mahlkönig E64 WS.
Is the Flair 58+2 compatible with every 58mm portafilter?
No. The Flair 58+2 is compatible with Flair portafilters and Normcore portafilters. The 58mm industry standard applies to everything that goes into the portafilter: precision baskets (VST, IMS, Normcore), tampers and Puck Screens fit without restriction – for example from the Normcore Collection or from Weber Workshops.
How long does heating up take?
About five minutes. You plug in the power supply, choose the preheat level (Low, Medium or High), and the group head heats electrically to the target temperature. During heat-up you can grind and prep the puck. The hot water (around 90 ml, roughly 95°C) comes from an external kettle – the Flair doesn't heat any water itself.
Can I also froth milk with the Flair 58+2?
No, the Flair has no steam wand. For milk drinks, pair it with the Flair Wizard Steamer (a stovetop steamer designed as a Flair companion) or a Subminimal NanoFoamer (battery-powered handheld frother, importer).
Which preheat level do I use for which roast?
Flair states three levels, designed for dark (Low), medium (Medium) and light roasts (High). That's guidance, not a rule. Experimenting with grind setting and preheat builds a feel for what works with which bean – CCC's espresso philosophy is weight ratio before temperature before time, and all three together make the shot.
What's the difference to the Flair 58+ and the Flair 58 (without Plus)?
The 58+2 has the Preheat Controller built into the Base (on the 58+ it sat externally as an inline plug), the power supply is smaller, the wiring is tidier. Functionally identical: walnut accents, Shot-Mirror, 58mm portafilter. The Flair 58 (without Plus) is the base model without walnut accents. All three models use the same 58mm standard and share the lever principle.
How reproducible is a shot with a manual lever press?
Reproducible with a scale, timer and a stable grinder, within what espresso generally allows – no shot is identical to the next, because the bean, the humidity and your own arm pull all change. That's not a weakness of the Flair, it applies to every espresso machine. Our advice: judge extraction by weight ratio (1:2 as a starting point), not by time.
Can I see the Flair 58+2 before buying?
Yes. In the showrooms in Bern (Gerberngasse 44) and Zürich Oerlikon (Hagenholzstrasse 50b) the Flair is set up and ready. Bringing your own beans is welcome – feeling the lever pull and the resistance live says more than any description.
How is the Flair 58+2 delivered?
Orderable directly online. Delivery throughout Switzerland and to Liechtenstein in 2 to 4 business days. Click and Collect in Bern and Zürich possible at any time. Financing available via Heylight.
Roastery tip
The Flair 58+2 is regularly in use in our showroom – a good partner for beans from our own roastery. Cozy Chocolate and Nutty Delight run on the Flair with dense structure – the chocolate notes and the sweetness build up through the manual pressure build, and the body stays round. Very Nutty, for anyone who wants maximum body without acidity, works very directly on the Flair. If you want to try light roasts like Wild Peach, set preheat to High, grind a touch finer and pull the lever with a longer pre-infusion – the peach note gets room to show. That's our recommendation, one of many.
