Coffee & Espresso Makers Tips

FLAVIA® FUSION™ (FL401) Espresso Machine & Coffee Maker Key FeaturesTypeEspresso Machine* Coffee MakerOperation SourceElectricMax. Power1400 Watts ...

Fabulous Flavia Fusion FLAVIA® FUSION (FL401) Espresso Machine & Coffee Maker I recently bought the ice blue Flavia Fusion for my home and could NOT be happier all around. I have already bee...

Let me begin by stating that I’ve explored virtually every type of coffee and tea prep method that I have stumbled upon over the years. From wondering why anyone would fuss with anything but instant coffee (wow was I young and easy to please back then), to the art of the brew with the French Press, Bodum, steeping cast teapots, drip, espresso pumps, you name it, I’ve bought it and even learned to use and appreciate each one for what they offered (some more than others). While this doesn’t qualify me as any kind of an expert, I want to preface my review so that the opinion expressed here can be placed in their proper perspective.

Prior to discovering the Flavia Fusion Drink Station, I had been using a Cast Japanese teapot (with mesh filter) for making tea, a small (but expensive) drip brewer for my coffee, and a Nespresso machine (also quite pricy) for brewing what I consider to be a near perfect espresso with absolutely no muss, fuss or happily, cleanup.

While I do enjoy a variety of brewed and steeped beverages, problem is (and always has been), how much time was I willing to devote in making them, and is it worth the trouble for just a single serving? Sadly, the answer was often “too much”! Too much time, too much trouble, too much hassle during a busy day to stop, heat water, or turn on a machine, fill it with water, grind the beans, add a filter, measure amounts, clean up… you get the idea

Well that was then, this is today! Enter the Flavia Fusion…

There are a number of “almost instant single serving” machines available to the consumer today. From pod coffee makers, to barcode reading and temperature adjusting uber gizmos. Clearly, making coffee, tea or whatever today isn’t like it used to be. Sadly with so many options available to the consumer, how is anyone suppose to compare one to the next and know what is best for “them”!

Ah, that’s the million-dollar question. What is best for you? While I can’t offer an answer to that exact question, I can through this review hopefully enlighten you as to what was important to “me” and perhaps through that, help you in discovering the answer to that question for yourself.

The Criteria:

Here’s what I gauged as important in my search for the perfect daily brewer.

1. Must be able to heat water to a good hot, but not scolding temperature in less than a minute (or faster).

2. Must require “absolutely” no clean up time (perfect for “A” type individuals)!

3. Should offer a wide range of beverage selections from dark coffees to delicate and exotic teas with easy purchase options (local retail, online…). I don’t want to buy a machine that’s here today and gone a year from now and becomes useless, so company history is a factor,

4. Should have a solid, functional (and very hip) design.

5. Coffee & tea costs should be in line with other specialty makers (typically under .50 cents per cup or less)

In short, I was looking for a machine that provided versatility, ease of use, great taste and would allow me to enjoy a variety of beverages at a whim with virtually no effort. Does such a machine exist? Was it the Flavia Fusion? In a word, “YES”!

Before trying out the Flavia product, I was fortunate enough to test out a few of its competitors. Briefly, here’s how my thought/testing process went.

Since the pod coffee makers didn’t offer an ability to make teas or other beverages, I passed on those, as they automatically didn’t meet criteria #3.

There were a couple of relatively new high-end machines that used self-contained cup or pack style brewing systems that did meet the variety requirement (#3) that the pod makers overlooked. I taste tested each of these and examined them in greater detail. Sadly both were more expensive than the Flavia (one by almost a factor of 2x), one did require regular cleaning after use and neither had much of a selection of beverages with only promises of more to come in the future. As for taste, that’s very subjective so I’ll withhold comment at this juncture except for the Flavia Fusion Drink Station, which I’m reviewing here and have lots of experience with. Leave it so say that because the competitors were generally much bulkier, more expensive, had far fewer beverage choices and were not completely “clean-up” free, I kept on searching until I stumbled upon the “Fusion”.

As it so often happens, when you’re ready to discover something, isn’t it amazing how that something almost magically presents itself. Well that’s how the Fusion and I hooked up. Only a couple of days after I had decided that the other machines weren’t exactly what I was looking for (at least not yet), my Sharper Image Catalog arrived and wouldn’t you know the Flavia Fusion was one of it’s featured items!

Well knowing that Sharper Image has always been “customer friendly” and one retailer where if you truly weren’t satisfied with something you bought from them, would politely take your return and not make you feel like some kind of criminal (like so many stores do today). Needless to say, I rushed on down and bought one straightaway.

The Goods:

Upon opening the outer shipping box I discovered two boxes within. One contained a rather elegantly designed machine that had swooping lines and a simple yet functional control panel on the top of the machine. The second box was a sampler pack that included about 30 different coffees, teas, cocoa and flavoring selections and a thermal travel mug. This allowed me to get going with the machine in only a few scant minutes after a short setup of the machine.

As far as setup was concerned, it was a very simple process of inserting the included water filter into the base of the water tank, plugging in the machine, filling it with water, and pressing a couple of buttons when powering on the machine to prime the pump. Now this process was extremely easy and quick to do and shouldn’t give anyone difficulty (even my father could do it, and if he could you could, trust me on this).

The Process:

To make my first cup of Joe, all that I had to do was simply insert my selected coffee packet of choice into the face of the machine (by rotating the front cover revealing an opening where the packet goes), closing it again and pushing one of just three lighted buttons on top.

There are only five actual switches on this machine and one of them you’ll only have to use a single time. The designers at Flavia were pretty smart in designing this machine. Once you turn on the power (which resides on the back of the machine), you can forget it. How, because the Fusion actually goes into a sleep mode after 20 minutes of non-use have passed. I simply love this feature as in the 5+ months I’ve had mine, I haven’t turned it off once and it has worked like a charm. To brew again, all I need do is rotate the faceplate and it begins heating up the water (which incidentally takes about 50 seconds for a first brew and less than 20 for subsequent ones in my actual use). While on the subject of water, the temperature the Fusion produces is about as close to perfect as I could have hoped for. It’s quite hot and steaming when delivered, but also can be carefully sipped without melting flesh from the roof of your mouth. Nicely done! On a side note, if you’re planning to be away on extended vacation for example, you should turn off the Fusion or better still unplug any and all unused appliances as a safe practice. This advice comes from my years as firefighter, so its value is derived from experience.

Moving right along, since the Fusion uses a system that’s completely self contained within its packets (the coffee, tea or cocoa and filter are all in a single foil sealed pouch there is absolutely no mess and surprisingly nothing at all to even clean. All you do is insert your beverage of choice, adjust the height of the brew-head over the cup or mug you’re using (a simple press of a spring loaded tab and then raising or lowering to fit is all it takes), push a button, and throw out the expired pouch when done.

Earlier I referred to five switches and have only described one of them (the height adjustment tab doesn’t count). All the others are located on top of what I earlier referred to as the brew-head (where the brewing actually takes place). There are three lighted buttons and one multi position dial. The dial is simply used to select various brew amounts (5 of them) to enable you to fill anything from a petite demitasse cup to a hearty mug. The three-lighted buttons each make a different type of beverage. The centermost button will likely be the one you use most as choosing it makes coffee or tea and operates in concert with the dial for the amount of water you want to brew. The others are for specialized brews and the selection dial doesn’t affect these options. There is one on the left labeled “Choco/Other” and one on the right, labeled “Frothy 2 Pack”. Both are pretty much self-explanatory. If making cocoa, you press the left button. The button on the right however adds some versatility to the Fusion. It permits you to make beverages that combine two packets such as a Cappuccino or perhaps Chi Tea. The sample box includes a special silver foil pack that they call “Creamy Topping”. How you use this is by placing it in the machine first, and then press the far right “Frothy 2 Pak” button, allowing the Fusion to brew hot water through that one; then by removing that pack and inserting a second one (like a Cappuccino blend, hot chocolate or Chi perhaps), pushing the same button makes a beverage that includes a “milk like” froth (similar to what you would find in a cappuccino). It’s easy, works and even tastes quite good too. Will it compete with a specialized Cappuccino maker and properly frothed milk? Frankly not in my opinion, but in a blink it isn’t bad, and for making a single cup in a pinch beats out not having one at all. One other little note, another nice creative feature of this machine is that you can easily blend two or more items to experiment and create a unique brew of your very own.

In summary:

There are a great many things to like about this machine and frankly few things to take exception with. The selection of coffees, teas and cocoa currently exceed 30 in number and include decafs and herbal teas. The coffees are rated by strength to help you choose the blend that’s perfect for your taste. For me, I love a strong brew so my favorite is the Sumatra (coffee) and the Japanese Green Tea. Another thing I like is the practice of freshness dating that Flavia puts on each pack. Even vacuum packing doesn’t keep coffee or tea fresh indefinitely so at least you have something to gauge its freshness by.

One thing that Flavia doesn’t tell you is that a packet can be used more than once. Through my testing I have discovered that a single Sumatra pack run twice using the middle water level makes a “perfect” large mug of java! Typically I use each pack twice depending on the potency of the item. My girlfriend likes her tea better on the second or even third brew (although not generally at the maximum water level). So like me, you’ll want to experiment to discover what works best for you. Either way, using a pack twice (or perhaps more) will save you gobs of money and get the most from the grind of choice.

Speaking of packs, you’ll be purchasing them online! How do I know this, because as of this writing, they aren’t sold in any stores including The Sharper Image where I bought mine. At first this seemed to be a deal breaker for me, but in actual practice, it works rather well. Allow me to elucidate.

The packs come in what they call “rails” and are generally 20 to a rail. Price ranges depend on the beverage selected and they offer discounts for case purchases (however the cost is about .40 cents per packet on average). Flavia also offers a variety of condiments, pack holders and such… including a nicely finished wood display case that comes loaded with approx 90+ packs (a true sampler selection) and sells for $99.00. I bought one and while it’s unlikely I’ll finish every sample they include, it has been great trying out the variety and friends just flip out when I offer them to choose their own flavor from this impressive selection!

Flavia has a long history of producing this packet system and its beverages for a many years (it was originally created for commercial settings, offices and businesses). In fact it’s not unlikely that you’ve had a cup in an office, auto dealership or such, maybe without even knowing. Flavia is owned by the Mars company (M&M Mars), so it’s likely they’ll be around for quite some time to come. While you can’t use your own coffee or tea in it (like any other specialty brewing system), the quality of the coffee, tea and cocoa are actually quite good. It may not make you abandon Starbucks, but it certainly may make you feel like you have your very own barista in your home on the days you don’t feel like venturing out to buy a $5 cup of coffee.

Perhaps best of all, you can have your brew, and the person after you (wife, roommate, guest, children) can enjoy an entirely different selection without any cross-contamination of flavors due to their exclusive self-contained brewing system. If you entertain, it’s a dream come true as guests can have their own favorite brew from cappuccino or chi latte to herbal tea or decaf without fuss or muss in just seconds. It’s so sophisticated that the Fusion even blows compressed air through the pack at the end of a cycle so it doesn’t drip across your countertop when you remove the expired pack to throw in the trash.

So are there any negatives worth noting, (as clearly this has been a pretty favorable review in general so far)? Well frankly other than a relatively small water storage capacity (I fill mine every day or two depending on use), and the fact that even with my requests, Flavia hasn’t found it’s way to producing a Chamomile tea (yet), there isn’t much I can fault it on. There is of course the rather expensive water filters (about $30 or so as I recall) which they recommend you replace every 2-3 months or X# of cups. I don’t plan on buying one anytime soon as I already use filtered water.

Grinding to a conclusion:

Of course the proof is in the pudding so to speak and the final judge has to be your individual pallet. If you’re a coffee or tea connoisseur (read snob), I suspect it’s unlikely that you’ll find the beverages much to your liking. But if like me, you can appreciate what this machine offers, while still respecting the art of the occasional timely steeped tea or carefully ground and packed brew when time and circumstance permit, then you may very well become a convert as I have. It won’t ever replace my Nespresso machine for a near perfect (and also extremely fast and easy) espresso with a delightful crema on top, but I sure do enjoy my morning coffee and now enjoy a lot more green and herbal tea simply because it’s so quick and easy to make during my busy day. All in all, this is one very cool machine and one I can happily recommend.

Oh, one last thing. If you run a couple of water cycles through an empty “Creamy Topping” pack, you can insert that anytime you desire (virtually) instant hot water for brewing your own tea, or when you simply want a cup of hot water. My girlfriend loves hers so much that she now has one in the kitchen (the kids love the hot chocolate that it makes) and another (that I bought her) upstairs in her master bedroom. She truly enjoys the luxury at bedtime or even on those cold mornings when she doesn’t want to venture downstairs just for a hot cup of tea before going off to work!

Bottom line though is will it taste good to you? I like the selection as do many of my friends, but your mileage may vary…

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