In this first look's preamble, I gave a bit of history on La Marzocco and their efforts for the home market. It's important to note the famed La Marzocco GS/3 isn't La Marzocco's first home machine; they have a bit of a small history doing limited run machines designed for home use, going back to the 1950s. But it was in 2002 that something more than a "limited run" was envisioned: La Marzocco saw real potential and a brand new market that no other commercial machine manufacturer was tackling: bringing a genuinely commercial grade machine into the home.



Sure, other manufacturers, from Nuova Simonelli to Rancilio and others had home machine lineups, but these were definitely home machines, and not machines you could rely on for very long in a high volume environment. La Marzocco wanted commercial grade to mean something, and the GS/3 project was born.



It has been a slightly rough ride for the GS/3 early on. Acceptance by the super high end home barista community was mixed; on one hand, you had LM quality in there. On the other hand... plastic side panels. On one hand, you had the iconic shape of the old GS series from the 1970s (the side swoops and profile of the GS/3 are a tribute to La Marzocco's GS machines from the 1970s and 1980s). On the other hand, you had visually poor welds and a horrible drip tray cover. And you also had Franke, the company that owned La Marzocco distribution in the US during the mid and late 'oughts (side note, La Marzocco USA, a newly formed company, gained back those rights in the early part of this decade). Franke did not "get" the home consumer at all, and really mudged up things on sales and service, including pricing the machine through the stratosphere. Europe may have been another matter, but at least in the US, sales, service and support for the GS/3 wasn't a shining example of how things should be done.



When La Marzocco USA took over distribution, things started to change. The GS/3 was promoted more, and the company started thinking about the machine's aesthetics (new side panel options, better aesthetics QC) and maybe more importantly, the community of GS/3 owners, past, present and future. They founded the La Marzocco Home program (again, only in the US); created easier ways for the LM GS/3 community to stay in contact; added value to the machine by including more "goodies" when you buy one; and even going the extra mile on old support issues that perhaps were neglected when Franke was the distributor.



But this wasn't their only plan. They wanted more. They wanted another machine to offer, at a lower price point than the GS/3. That machine was the La Marzocco Linea... Mini.



Now the Linea Mini wasn't a very well kept secret. A late prototype of it was shown to La Marzocco resellers, during a trade show event in Italy last year. Photos circulated on the Internet, and for a while, there was some buzz. We didn't know much about the machine. What was its price point? What kind of boilers? Is it heat exchanger based? There a thermoblock in there? A gear drive pump?



Today, we know a bit more. I was able to spend a day at La Marzocco, seeing the new Linea Mini first hand, pulled shots on it and generally put it through some paces. This isn't my standard First Look or a review since I wasn't able to have the machine in my own testing environment, but I did make some observations, and found a lot to like about the machine, and a few things I think might be viewed less than favourably by the home community. . The La Marzocco Linea Mini at First Glance Honestly? the Linea Mini is a striking, well made, good looking machine. It's funny: when I first saw the GS/3 in final prototype form, it had black anodized aluminum side panels with the LM global logo full on etched into the side, a smaller, more "out there" drip tray and I was blown away. But when I saw the shipping GS/3 a few years later, my impressions were less than stellar on how the machine looked with those plastic panels.



The Linea Mini? All steel here. And I've even go so far as to say a better quality steel, in weight, fit, finish, polish, than the Linea Classic commercial machine (this is evident in the top cap plate above the grouphead, paddle, steam and hot water dials). The Linea Mini has a serious wow factor happening with it. It figuratively is a Linea Classic, shrunk down -- but if I can get this point across, it doesn't look like a miniature -- everything seems the right size and shape.



Aesthetically, the machine was an absolute home run, from first glance. Logo placements, front and back are tasteful and what you'd expect. Polish is amazing on the stainless steel version. They paid attention to almost everything, including the plastic front caps on the hot water and steam knobs. The gauges look fantastic, and both the drip tray cover and the cup warmer covers are first rate. The cup tray holds 6 espresso cups and 3 cappuccino cups with lots of room to spare; in a pinch, it could hold 50% more if you wanted. Logo Branding, Front Drip Tray Panel

Detailed Hot Water Knob.

One of two gauges on the Mini, this one indicates steam boiler pressure

Thick top tray on the Linea Mini

The steam wand side of the machine

Cup tray holds 9 cups easily with room for more

I appreciated pretty much everything about the look of the machine, except for one element: there's two indicator lights between the hot water knob and the paddle group: red and blue lights. They are extremely bright, and to be honest, aesthetically, didn't seem to match the machine much as they looked like the standard overbright lights you'd find on very inexpensive home machines. A minor quibble, but the lights were bright enough to be distracting, even in a well lit room.



This is no lightweight machine. Dry, it weighs in at 41kg (about 75lbs) and the shipping weight is a lot more (42kg, or 92.4lb). There's absolutely no concerns about this machine sliding across the counter as you try to lock in the portafilter.



There was also another feature for this machine that wasn't ready in time for my demo, but it is one that La Marzocco is proud to include on the Linea Mini: as they call them, "Barista Lights". All Linea Mini machines will ship with very advanced LED lights (heat safe, vapor safe etc) that will automatically light up the entire drip tray, shot area whenever you pull a shot. This will be a nice feature we don't see often on home machines.



The machine is 36cm wide (14"), and 53cm deep (21"), and while tall with cups, the machine's 39cm (15") height should still fit under most modern kitchen cupboards (older homes, or homes with unusual-height cupboards might have a problem). Inside a lot is going on. It is, of course, a dual boiler machine and while I'll get more into the details of the machine's plumbing in a later section, here's a few of the more pertinent ones now: main steam boiler is 3.5litres in volume (and also serves as a heat exchanger for the brew boiler).



The brew boiler, a rather unique design for La Marzocco, holds only 175ml.



The built in reservoir (under the machine) holds approximately 3.5litres of water.



The machine is a true 110V, 15A, 1400W maximum machine, making it safe and easy to use on almost any plug in your home.



The machine comes with a full 1 year warranty



All the complex setup inside the Linea Mini, the main steam boiler is the insulated large item.

Water drain valve, right off the brew boiler.

The Brew Boiler sits atop the grouphead.

The interior of the Linea Mini, with only the top panel off.

La Marzocco is not being stingy with the machine either when you buy one. It'll come with two complete portafilters (the exact same ones their commercial machines use), one with an easily removable double spout, and the other with a single spout. No chopped portafilter option (LM Home told me they want to move people away from using chopped portafilters). It also comes with three "Advanced Precision Baskets" which are the VST baskets, but without the little custom chart / printout / analysis every VST basket gets. The basket sizes are 14, 17 and 21 grams respectively. You will also get a fantastic La Marzocco tamper, a blind filter, a LM branded 12oz steam pitcher, and two advanced water test kits for tuning your home water supply for the machine. And the machine will come fully documented with a proper manual.



The machine will come in four colour choices: Black model with polished steel elements and black body frame

Red model with polished steel elements and black body frame

White model with polished steel elements and black body frame

Polished steel model with black frame.

The machine will only come in one variety - the paddle group version. But it's important to note, this is a "faux" paddle group, and I'll get more into that in the next section. No EP, MP versions are planned - this one is called the "EE" version. You can dial in different brewing temperatures since the machine is PID controlled, but you cannot adjust the water temperature out of the hot water faucet. You cannot program in shot times on this machine, though again, it is not a true "MP" model.



While the machine can be plumbed in, it is, unfortunately, a lot more difficult to do this as compared to the GS/3. Because there's no digital controls on the Linea Mini, you have to do some physical changes on the machine to get it to work with your home's water line, including removal of several body panels, and you need to place a metal strip over the leads that detect water levels in the built in reservoir. La Marzocco will set an optional kit for this machine to plumb it in.



Now, price and availability. I was able to confirm this machine will be sold in Canada and the US, and other parts of the world, and in the US, the launch price is $4,495 US dollars, through La Marzocco Home. That makes the machine $2,500 cheaper than the GS/3 base model. Dealers may sell it for less, of course.



Why a $4,500 price point? It's pretty simple: La Marzocco sees a real hole in the marketplace at this price point. The GS/3 has some competition; you can get a Kees van der Westen Speedster 110V model for around 5,500 Euros, or get a Slayer 1group for well under $10,000, with both machines featuring a lot more style and attention to aesthetic details making up the price differences. But in the $4,500 range, not much exists, and nothing is really competing in that space. La Marzocco thinks there's a real market there.



One last bit on the design and aesthetic. I asked Scott Callender, who heads up the La Marzocco Home project, why this machine is what it is: "We spoke to the barista community and asked them what they wanted in a (home) machine (from La Marzocco), and they kept coming back to us about how much they loved the Linea Classic and its shape." Callender said. "We decided to go with that, design a machine that looks like the Linea, shrunk down. We also wanted it simple to operate, simple to pull shots on, and not much to fuss around with." Using the La Marzocco Linea Mini As mentioned, I had a brief time working with the Linea Mini, so my opinions expressed here are based on that short time - both the good, and not so good.



The machine is pretty easy to set up. Unlike other commercial (grade) machines, there's no pressure valves to set and release, no bleeding of the boilers, none of that; it's basically fill the reservoir, turn it on. The machine will auto fill, necessitating a second reservoir fill, then it is ready to go. La Marzocco told me that the Linea Mini -- unlike the GS/3 or other commercial machines -- was designed to turn on and off, with quick warm up times for brewing espresso (steaming milk may take longer times).



They also mentioned that they had worked around some design issues with regards to the Linea Mini being turned on and off all the time, yet not suffer any excessive wear and tear like most commercial machines would (sidenote: most commercial espresso machines, with their various gaskets, pipes and connections don't like being turned on and off, with the massive temperature changes that accompany it - they will require a lot more service). However, I couldn't get a clear explanation as to why the Linea Mini, with its internals much like any other commercial machine, wouldn't be prone to increased maintenance from being turned on and off. Still, LM says they have designed this machine to turned on and off each and every day.



The machine is quiet, except when filling up, but even that's not too bad; the pump inside seemed quieter than the various GS/3s I've tested and owned, but I didn't get a chance to actually test that. It does feature the same pump as the GS/3 machine.



The brew boiler design is something new for La Marzocco too; it's a small volume box that sits right on top of the machine's grouphead. PID controlled of course. La Marzocco told me that it was incredibly efficient and one of the reasons the machine had such a quick heat up time. The water volume is quite small inside, but since the water being fed into it comes through the steam boiler heat exchanger, this is not an issue at all.



There are some usability improvements over the GS/3 that were pointed out to me, not the least of which is the drip tray design. On the GS/3, it's a bit of a hassle to lock down the drip tray into place (when refilling the reservoir, located behind it), as you have to find two holes on the frame arms of the machine for pegs on the drip tray to latch into, before you manually slide two wing lock adjusters. On the Linea Mini, strong magnets are in the drip tray base and lock into specific places on the machine's frame arms. Easy peasy.



Steaming is much, much easier, especially if you are left handed, on the Linea Mini (as compared to the GS/3). I was never a fan of the GS/3s joystick for steam control, or its placement; the Mini has a nice big fat knob up on top of the machine and it works like any old school Linea Classic does -- all mechanical control for steaming. Of course, the steam wand is 360 degree rotating and can stretch far out or stay close in depending on your milk steaming style.



The hot water tap is accessed via the big front panel knob on the left. Unlike the GS/3 though, there is no mix valve for the Linea Mini's hot water function - it is just pure steam boiler water. Some won't care, some would prefer to finely tune their hot water for teas, americanos and other hot water needs.



The Linea Mini has PID controlled temperature for the brew boiler (the steam boiler is still mechanically controlled); so how do you change the temperature on the machine if it has no digital control panels accessible by the barista? It's done by an electro-mechanical dial located on the machine's left side, which juts just below the top surround panel (above the slanted side panels). La Marzocco told me shipping units would have some kind of marker written right on the dial to show temperatures (or setting numbers, I wasn't clear on that) but the unit I tested was blank.



This is one of my least liked things about the machine, and it'll be interesting to see how home baristas will like it. You cannot dial in 200.5F for this machine's brewing temperature, or 199.7F. I was told there would be markers on the dial, so I imagine you wil be be able to dial in a 7, or a 8, or something like that. The dial is small enough that its resolution (accuracy to dial in down to .1F or perhaps even .5F changes) will be a challenge. It was still a bit of a mystery to me at the demo, and I hope LM explains it more or details how temperature changing will be controlled on their website. I was told that the temperature changes via that dial are "almost immediate", meaning by the time of your next shot, it's at that temperature (though I wasn't able to confirm this). The dial might be fine for some folks but perhaps this is something that La Marzocco might address down the road, depending on customer feedback.



Since I'm on my least liked things about the machine, there were two other things I wasn't sold on. One I already mentioned - the blazingly bright indicator lights that seem a bit out of place on an otherwise super-polished machine. The other thing? The control you use to brew a shot.



This Linea Mini has a paddle group. That's one of its' biggest selling features, and something many baristas asked for when La Marzocco was polling them. The thing is, it's at best a "faux" paddle group. It's not like the MP paddles on the GS/3 and definitely nothing remotely close to the paddles on the La Marzocco Strada MP machines. It is basically a super fancy way to hit a microswitch inside the machine to turn the brewing on or off. It's a placebo effect, because Baristas have indicated they like the action of swinging a paddle. La Marzocco calls it the "EE" group, which was first featured on the almost-all auto Strada EE version.



La Marzocco explained this to me in detail -- most baristas don't know or realise about preinfusion control, ramping up, and other nice cool super advanced things you can get from La Marzocco's advanced paddle technology (or in machines like the Slayer or the Synesso or the Kees van der Westen Speedster and Spirit machines) -- they just like the act of sliding over a paddle. So LM delivered just that in this machine. I asked if there were plans down the road to do a true MP version of this machine, or (gasp) a Strada MP version, and was told, most likely not. The paddle group with it's "brew" position indicator

The paddle group's mechanism and the microswitch (blue) for turning on machine's brains for brewing.

So is this bad? Hell no. I imagine the machine would cost $200-$500 more if they put a proper MP paddle group inside of this thing. You still get the action which is nice, but bear in mind, all that's going on is as you slide the paddle over, you move a piece of metal inside which hits a microswitch and then the machine's electronics take over completely.



So how does it brew? Well, pretty damned good, based on my limited experience. We got the chance to "Scace" the machine (check its temperature) and while I wished I had more of a controlled environment to properly scace it, what I saw showed good stability. The machine has a programmed in / mechanical preinfusion (you can hear the pause, that's the programmed part, and the valves do the rest mechanically) but it's not anything the barista can fine tune easily, if at all. I pulled about a pound or so of coffee through it -- well actually two pounds after being frustrated with a finicky scale we initially used for weighing our doses -- and dialing in the way I eventually did (all manual, eyeballing everything) took about three shots to get things humming; by my fourth shot, I was really pleased with the results.



What can I say folks - it is a La Marzocco machine. And it performs like one, in the cup. You just don't have a lot of control over how it performs, other than a rudimentary PID temperature adjustment.



Steaming was also... fantastic. The steam power is BAM on powerful and the steam tip and the way you can control your steam pressure via the knob was great. Considering this was a brand new machine, I only expect the steam performance (especially the ability to slow down or speed up the steam pressure exiting the wand) to improve. We were able to get beautifully textured milk, lightning quick. Absolutely no complaints here.



On safety... this machine is safe to the gills. For instance, it has not one, but two connectors in the back of the machine for low water sensing. It has uniquely engineered overpressure valves to prevent any kind of catastrophic failure (these are all mechanical controls and don't rely on digital boards or electricity to do their thing). It has an advanced autofill system and a unique (again) breaker drain valve for initial steam build up and machine heat up (in this element, it's more advanced than the GS/3).



The machine is ridiculously easy to service too. Most of the machine is accessible via the removal of a few screws, the top cup tray, the top control panel, and the side and back panels. Well designed drains make it super easy to drain the machine for storage or transport. A fair amount of the machine could be user serviceable down the road (after warranty) if you know your way around a few wrenches and pipes. That said, La Marzocco does recommend a regular, routine service visit every year or so from a trained La Marzocco tech, who will check all your valves and lines, replace gaskets and o-rings where needed, and do the occasional descale of the boilers. LM includes water test kits in the box for you to test your water and stretch out the machine's operating time between descalings.



The Linea Mini is completely built in Italy, near Florence. It goes through quality control steps along every building stage, from initial frame setup, to boiler installation (LM makes the boilers), to putting the brain box in and doing most of the wiring, to adding all the finish attachments and installing the panels. Each machine is then basically torture tested for a 24hr period before it's deemed QC passed, and shipped to its final distributor, around the world. In the US, they perform an additional QC step, including a full range of bench tests, before crating up the machine for sale and shipping to the purchaser. You can see where a lot of the $4,500 goes, in this hand built, hand checked, and I'd go as far to say "barista checked" machine. Conclusion Something I want to mention before you think I came away negative from this test of the La Marzocco Linea Mini; this machine is a serious joy to work on. It is beautiful -- I'd argue more beautiful than the stock GS/3 -- and it looks serious. I always feel that if you feel your equipment looks good and works well, you'll do better with that equipment. My job here is to point out all possible flaws and benefits from a machine, and I'm doing just that, but I do want you to know this is a standout machine, that is great out of the gate, and probably will only improve with time.



I loved the look, the fit, the finish, the substance that the Linea Mini presented. I loved the steam performance, and I liked how easy the machine was to work with in pulling good shots pretty quickly. I appreciated all the extras the machine shipped with (though I'd like to see the plumbed in kit included, and not as an option). You get some of the best portafilters in the world, paired up with some of the best filter baskets in the world with this machine. I had absolutely no complaints about the drain tray, the drip tray cover, or the top of the machine.



I'm mixed on the paddle group. I usually don't like "placebo effect" elements on espresso machines (or any other type of machine for that matter) but this one's done pretty well. It's not a detriment in operation for most folks -- you get that nice action of sliding a panel -- but potential buyers may look at this machine thinking it has a full fledged MP grouphead paddle design, so I feel it's important to set the record straight on that.



My least liked thing is the indicator lights, followed by the seemingly low resolution mechano-electrical dial for changing the machine's brewing temperature. When you think about it, $1,200-$1,800 machines are now coming with highly accurate, digital PID controls, and this one doesn't. If the Linea Mini had better, more aesthetically pleasing (and premium looking) lights, and a true digital control (somewhere) for dialing in accurate PID controls, I'd think La Marzocco knocked this one out of the park, Babe Ruth style. But with these two elements in place, they've still got a potential winner, but time will tell if the buyer market demands more or not.



The La Marzocco Linea Mini is available now from the La Marzocco Home website in the US, for a MSRP of $4,495. Dealers around the world may also be able to sell, but their pricing may be different.



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