LA MARZOCCO - The Linea Mini Four Year Review

I've now officially had the La Marzocco Linea Mini on my brew bar for four full years (plus a couple days). So it's time to drop my yearly updated review about the ownership experience of the Linea Mini. Give this one a watch to find out what's gone wrong, wrong, and what's new in worth of a Mini owning home barista.

↓COFFEE ROASTED BY ME↓

↓FOLLOW FOR MORE↓

↓THE MUSIC↓
Moonbow - Milano

#lineamini #lamarzocco #sprometheus

[mrjdolman]

I purchased my first LMLM over the holidays and it arrives in a couple weeks. I have been using my Miss Silvia for almost 10 years now and so this is a very exciting upgrade. I agonized over which machine to buy, for over a year. Went back and forth on things like pre-infusion, pressure profiling, auto volumetric, etc. I told myself things like, unless I have an e61 at some point in my coffee life I’m skipping a crucial step. Haha. Seriously went around and around.

But in the end, it came down to:
I appreciate the simplicity and analog nature of the Mini. It’s an uncomplicated machine that does what it does at very high level. And the purist in me likes the idea that without the bells and whistles, the focus is on puck preparation, craft and quality. I like that the brew boiler is small and directly on top of the group, with zero temp offset. And I like that the new app allows temperature tweaks without using the click knob. I also like that prebrew can be extended to 5 seconds with the app. And I also of course love the aesthetics of the machine a lot.

My question for you, however, does concern the prebrew. From what I can tell, it seems like the prebrew phase some how occurs without the pump turning on. At least it sounds like that in videos. There’s a whoosh of water flowing freely followed by the sound of the pump engaging. Maybe this only applies to plumbed-in machines. But if so, wouldn’t this imply that pre brew is in fact a lower pressure stage?

Thanks, and love the channel!

[orrinbelcher]

Truth, priceless and greatly appreciated, thank you

[christopherschmitz]

I just celebrated the 25th (!) birthday of my Carimali Uno. It was built in 1996 and liberated from a sad existence in an unsuccesful Italian restaurant that closed down in 2001. I cleaned, decalcified and restored it back then. Since then I had to change the rotary pump once (after 16 years of usage) and do the usual maintance on valves, group heads and gaskets. If I ever upgrade from this machine it will be to a machine with flow control and PID. Because that is the only thing that is really lacking after 25 years: more control over pressure, brewing temp and a proper pre-infusion (although there is a documented work around using a switch on the magnetic valve for water access). These machines are built to last forever and if required you can still buy spare parts today. I trust the same holds true for the LMLM.

Needless to say I can switch my UNO on and off via Alexa and from anywhere in the world :-)

[anonymoususer]

My Linea Mini is dead after three years no power when switch is turned on. I have it in the shop for repairs. At this price point I think the Mini should be more competitive with advanced features like flow control, pressure profiling, pre infusion and easier to adjust the steam and brew pressure. I’ve had 5 different machines in the last 12 years and I don’t think the Linea is anything special for the price.I’m currently using a Lelit Elizabeth and it’s more advanced and makes espresso just as good or better for 1/3 the price. When I get the Mini back from the shop I will save it for a backup machine.

[nicholaspissare]

Great video as always. I just upgraded my machine from a Rocket Appartamento, but decided to go with a Decent pro. Thought about going with a Mini mostly because of your video's. For me it just came down to being able to adjust more with the Decent.

[letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo]

One thing I like about my machine, a bezzera strega, is that I can flip the top up, pour in water with another vessel, and that's it , I don't need to bring it, in and out wearing out the contacts

[danielsteck]

love the update Spro :) great as always

[osammah]

What do you feel about the Decent Espresso Machine? I feel it suites you very well. To have every variable available to play with at hand is awesome.

[DaFinest]

Hey, really a bummer about all the issues you had with the IoT retrofiting :/. I got my Linea Mini with the IoT already installed so thankfully didn't have to deal with any hiccups at all. But you should be able to remote start your machine from off the network, you just can't do certain actions like change the brew temperature or preinfusion time. I use it pretty often and it's nice!

[SL]

Why is this video called “4 year review” when it’s a 3 year review?

[stephengoldberg]

Hoping to hear your thoughts on LM’s decision to bleed the liquid in the brewhead during the pause after prebrew. Thanks for the video!

[KonCity]

excellent job on this review i was waiting sometime for it

[exupgh]

Thank you for a great video.
When i look at kitchen appliances i don't expect them to malfunction or broke for at least 5 years preferably 10. to be honest, your review made me concern about my ordered Linea Mini - maybe I'm used to Japanese and German machine's reliability and work.

[Crazt]

The tank issue, there may be something on the connector. Try getting some baking soda on a toothbrush and scrub, rinse, and dry them.

[er_matze]

great video! Thanks Sprometheus for sharing your experience with your nice LMLM ! 👍
I fell in love with this machine. The fast heat up is a big plus imo. Besides overall coffee quality potential and lovely design for sure. But what concerns a bit is the fact that the water reservoir is not easily removable due to the fixed pipe for cleaning or getting rid of old water.
....But interestingly no one in the whole web is complaining about that so there must be some good ways to deal with that I guess.

[roblucchetti]

Given the price of the unit and LM's rep for producing rock-solid machines, I'm surprised to hear that there are these types of issues. For over US $5, 000.00, I'm sure what it does better than my sub-$3K, 000. US Bianca, which is plumbing-ready straight out of the gate, and works great with smart-plugs to set on/off times. With that extra 2K in price, this LM Linea Mini should quite literally be indestructible.

[george_taylor]

Do you prefer tanked water to plumbed for any reason? Or is it just lack of plumbing where you have the Linea sitting? I prefer plumbed machines mainly because I can't be bothered with having to re-fill a tank. Also with having an E61 HX I can pre-infuse at my mains pressure of 3 bar without having the (rotary) pump kick in.

[streetballazzz]

Good review!

I just bought one this week, after watching your review and others and have a question about behaviour.

My steam boiler kicks in to reheat every 30 seconds. The steam loss is minimal, about 0.1 bar.
I checked with the seller Company and apparently this is normal... the silicone hose in the driptray that is connected to the vacuum breaker does not leak.
The machine is brand new and was like this when i got it.

What is your opinion?

[tybaltmercutio]

Great content
I was about to buy an E61 dual boiler like the ECM Synchronika, which already is super expensive, but after seeing your videos on the LMLM I am thinking about doubling my budget. ^^

Could you tell e what the heat-up time is (including heating the portafilter) for it being ready to use?

[dman]

I've had a Sylvia for about 10 years. Other than maintenance, never had any issues with it. I recently just bought a mini and waiting for it to come. I'm kind of scared about the reliability after seeing this video. I hope I didn't get myself into anything awful.