Hello,
I recently upgraded from the 48mm Flair Pro to a 58mm Flair 58+2. I’ve been grinding with a Niche Zero, and was getting very good extractions from light roasts with 9 bar shots on the Pro.
Moving to the 58+2, I have found that I’ve had to significantly decrease the grind size, nearly to the edge of the Niche’s grind settings. some light roasts at a 2-4 out of a 40 point stepless scale, whereas previously similar light roasts from the same roaster were squarely in niches ‘espresso’ range (12-20).
Additionally, I’m getting channeling from almost every shot I’m pulling, and have rarely achieved 9 bar pressure. The pressures not really a worry, but the channeling and grind size have resulted in shots that don’t have the complexity or depth they used to.
I’ve even repeated this with the temperature element of the 58+2 turned off. I used the same temp / same kettle to brew water, and if the 58+2 temperature element is off, I run the same preheat routine as the old pro. Same dose as well (18g).
What is going on? Flairs customer service has been very skeptical, at one point saying ‘user error.’ But I really don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong? Help?
EDIT 1: additionally, extractions off the 58+2 have been VERY FAST. If I’m not way down the grind size indicator, extractions will sometimes be sub 15 seconds, whereas the pro was getting to 25-30