So, now that I've had my machine for a few months, I thought it might be helpful to list out some of the things I think LM could address in-line for the Linea Mini. None of these, IMHO, detract from my appreciation of the marvelous wonder that sits on my counter. Some of them are wishlist-type items, and most of them are easily fixable, with a few which have quick fixes posted here on HB already.

Addressing these will most certainly increase customer perception and satisfaction, and I'm certain LM will consider at least some of them for future customers. Their customer service has been nothing short of stellar.


(BTW, these are in no particular order, other than what comes to my head):

• Knob caps were not oriented correctly when knob is in fully closed position.
  
  Ensure that the knob caps are oriented correctly upright, as the kind of consumer that pays $4500 for a home espresso machine is most likely a very discriminating type of individual.
• The feel of the group paddle left much to be desired.
  
  Ensure the paddle lever is not too tight. In fact my preference was to loosen so there was minimal effort to move it. The paddle operates a microswitch, not a real valve, so I'm not sure it was an intent to try to simulate operating a valve by making it tight. If so no one would believe it as you can clearly feel when the cam touches the microswitch lever, and when the microswitch clicks. Eliminate the metallic scraping sound made by the lever, as well as the metal banging sounds at the end of the lever throw. (I posted a quick fix for these somewhere here on HB).
• The cup grill can rattle under vibration during pump operation.
  
  I imagine this could be easily fixed with some rubber or foam tape to isolation vibration in strategic areas. One user even resorted to using Dynamat as a quick fix.
• Hot water outlet sputters greatly due to dispensing super heated water directly from the steam boiler.
  
  I also posted a hack to (kind of) fix this, however it would be better to fix would be to simply route water from the brew boiler via a secondary solenoid valve.
• The inclusion of an integrated shot mirror.
  
  This would be greatly appreciated by many home users. It can be easily done by simply extending the bottom of front mirror polished face of the machine by another inch or so, at a steeper angle so as to reflect the bottom of the group.
• The use of sticky labels for the water/heater LED indicators is bit tacky for a $4500 machine.
  
  They are obviously removable, but I would have preferred etched or embossed symbols.
• LED indicators brightness can be an issue in a home environment for some folk.
  
  I posted a hack for this, however proper fix would be to simply swapped the current ones with ones that aren't as bright.
• The advertised 3.5L reservoir size is grossly misstated.
  
  It's actually 2L at the Max Fill line (2.1 to be exact) and 1.75L of that is actually available before having to refill. That's literally half of the advertised amount of (presumed) serviceable water. Truth in advertising, please!
• Improve the preinfusion.
  
  The current implementation seems ineffective. When the microswitch is engaged, a minute drizzle of water is released from the group before the pump starts a moment later. Having observed a the "drizzle" of water that comes out before the pump engages, I am inclined to believe to properly wet the puck, you simply need more water, along with many more seconds [after the puck has been wetted] for the benefits of preinfusion to actually occur. (Disclaimer: I am not an expert but I did measure the water to be a mere 5.6g before the pump starts. This is miniscule.)

All good recommendations !

That's mainly why I try to never buy first versions of products.

Probably a lot of things on your list will be fixed by LM, well I hope so ...

I always find it funny that before releasing new products, companies don't let the people who will be using it tell them their ideas of what's good and what can be improved before releasing.

Forgive me if I am wrong . Wasn't the linea mini designed to remove pre infusion as a variable for the user . To allow The user to have simple control over the basic variables .
If it's a machine that has variable or more pre infusion then I can't see how this would be a Machine you would choose? It's not like LM have hidden this as a lack of feature?
In machine design someone somewhere has to have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and Their target market - it's their cash - their company and expertise . I presume this machine was made to fill a gap in their product line and a gap in the market .im sure the machine was pre tested somewhere before release by someone , just not the HB crowd? If pretty difficult to get any three home baristas to agree on any piece of equipment isn't it
But hey there you go . I wouldn't bet on the pre infusion delivery changing on this machine . Bit who knows

Great ideas! I would also add easier plumbing.

This is a great idea and the more Mini owners who provide this feedback the better, so LM knows what to focus on to improve the machine for future customers.

weebit_nutty wrote:Knob caps were not oriented correctly when knob is in fully closed position.

I've never even noticed this. Doesn't bother me at all.

The feel of the group paddle left much to be desired.

Mine was pretty stiff when I first got the machine but is slowly loosening up with time. I would be concerned that a looser initial setting might result in a lever that is too loose later.

The cup grill can rattle under vibration during pump operation.

Yes, agree. I have added pads and some Dynamat as well to try to quiet it a bit. Otherwise the machine is super quiet!

Hot water outlet sputters greatly due to dispensing super heated water directly from the steam boiler.

This was one of the few complaints I had in my initial review of the machine. I made this suggestion to Scott Callendar at LM and his response was that the GS3 has this capability, but that anywhere you mix hot and cold water becomes a potential spot for scale to form and cause problems.

The inclusion of an integrated shot mirror.

Hadn't thought of this since I almost never use a bottomless PF. But I see how it would be useful if you do.

The use of sticky labels for the water/heater LED indicators is bit tacky for a $4500 machine.

Haven't been bothered by this.

LED indicators brightness can be an issue in a home environment for some folk.

Big problem for me in my kitchen. I'm still waiting for LM to come out with their solution, but in the meantime I've been using the Weebit Nutty plastamorph mod which is awesome!

The advertised 3.5L reservoir size is grossly misstated.

Yes, I noticed this too a while back and brought it to the attention of LM. They changed the listed spec of the reservoir from 3.5 liters to 3 liters, but I agree that that is still an overestimate.

Improve the preinfusion.

When I spoke to Scott at LM he said they tested a number of different preinfusion times and that it didn't make a difference. So when you say improve I'm not sure any change would necessarily result in an improvement in the cup.

Mrboots2u wrote:Forgive me if I am wrong . Wasn't the linea mini designed to remove pre infusion as a variable for the user . To allow The user to have simple control over the basic variables .

That seems like reasonable rationale... I did not mind having pre-programmed preinfusion but as I stated, having observed the way it works, it's not an effective implementation. Most plumbed in machines have line pressure so a significant quantity of water is dispensed in 1 second. Here we have literally drops of water to work with, dispensed with gravity. 6 grams of water is not even enough to coat the entire top surface of the basket much less saturate it properly. An effective implementation of a pre-programmed preinfusion would have been run the pump for 1 full second, pause for a sec or two, and then resume the shot. This is effective, as I actually manually preinfuse my puck this way using the paddle.

If it's a machine that has variable or more pre infusion then I can't see how this would be a Machine you would choose? It's not like LM have hidden this as a lack of feature? In machine design someone somewhere has to have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and Their target market - it's their cash - their company and expertise . I presume this machine was made to fill a gap in their product line and a gap in the market .im sure the machine was pre tested somewhere before release by someone , just not the HB crowd? If pretty difficult to get any three home baristas to agree on any piece of equipment isn't it
But hey there you go . I wouldn't bet on the pre infusion delivery changing on this machine . Bit who knows

This was not an accusation, so let's not escalate this. No one said it was a hidden or lack of feature. I just suggested it could be improved. I chose this machine for many reasons. Preinfusion isn't the only factor in a purchase and for me, hardly a must-have. It isn't magic, you can always do it manually. Nevertheless it is an advertised feature that is engaged in each and every shot, and so I made observations and conclusions about it. It just turns out to be not as effective as I would like. Preinfusion is not an absolute necessity for the perfect shot, but I do find it does help minimize spritzing for when the basket wasn't prepped perfectly or if the roast is a little past it's prime. We all strive for perfection, but we're also human and the added assurance of more even saturation and no tiny spritzers is desirable. The way it is implemented it, I still get spritzers in some occasions (particularly if I didn't prep the basket perfectly, or if my roast was a bit past it's prime). When I manually preinfuse with longer parameters, flow development is almost always perfect. As to how it effects taste, I can't say either way it makes a difference, but it does make a difference in the appearance of the shot on and around the cup, as well as clean up.

Anyway, La Marzocco did talk about it in their videos, stating they've done research and found you only need a second. But if users understood how it was implemented, using only 6 grams of water, then I'd say most users [that use preinfusion] would agree 6 grams is miniscule and probably insufficient for proper puck saturation. The cost to fix this I'd imagine isn't huge. It just requires a few changes in the software parameters. They were probably not expecting a person whose entire 20-year professional life has been dedicated to quality assurance buy their machines!

I've found that what works best for myself is swinging the paddle back and forth fairly quickly 3 times without activating the pump. The 18 +/- grams of water saturate the puck pretty well.

I then blow the condensation out of the steam wand, (for consistent 2 seconds of delay and to get it ready to steam while pulling the shot), and then swing the paddle to the full on position and pull the shot.

The shots sure look better on a bottomless portafilter.

And it's free!

that'll work too.. good tip

Great thread. Thanks for starting it.

I'd second the comment about making plumb in easier. The plumb in kit should also be included in the price of the machine, not as an extra (and fairly expensive) add-on. Ideally, it would be set up like other machines that have both tank and plumb in modes: i.e. there would be a built in valve and place to attach the water line for plumb in operation, and a switch that you could throw to go from one mode to the other. This might clutter up the look of the machine a bit, but would be worth it IMHO in terms of convenience. Having to take the machine apart, switch lines internally, and add a piece of metal to jump the water sensor seems like a clumsy way to handle the conversion.

I don't have any problem with the feel of the paddle right out of the box. Maybe mine was set up a bit looser, but it feels nice and smooth, yet still solid. No looseness or play at all, which to me would be just as bad being too stiff. There is a slight metallic clunk when the paddle hits the end of its travel, but that seems proper to me as it tells me very clearly when I've turned the pump on or off.

As for preinfusion, that's a topic that's been discussed ad naseum here. At first, I though 1 second of preinfusion was kind of a waste of time. However, after a couple of months of using the Mini, it seems fine. I haven't had any problems pulling great shots pretty much every time. I just got a naked PF for the machine the other day, so I've only recently been able to really see what the shot looks like as it pulls. Turns out, it usually looks pretty good, though sometimes I do get multiple streams instead of a nice, unified cone. Taste is still excellent though, so that's what matters most. I do wonder how plumbing in would affect preinfusion though. It might increase the amount of water released in that first second.

The lights don't bother me, but I don't tend to stand directly in front of the machine staring at the lights. Maybe this has to do with my kitchen layout.

The hot water valve also isn't an issue for me, but I don't use the water tap all that much. I do find myself using it more than with my old machine, perhaps because I know the steam boiler is big enough that there's not much risk of running it dry.

The stickers for water and steam aren't a problem to me. In fact, I hardly notice them at all.

I do find it strange that they overestimated the size of the reservoir by so much. It's so small that I have to refill it pretty much every day. Fortunately, the design makes it very easy to refill, since you don't have to remove cups or pour into the top of the machine like with most other machines.

I have noticed the occasional rattle from the cup tray, and I plan to put some Dynamat or rubber there to kill any noises. I also put some rubber drawer liner on top of the machine to keep the cups from rattling. However, this is still by far the quietest machine I've ever owned (well, not counting my Elektra MCAL, which is in another league), and makes even other rotary machines seem noisy by comparison.

I was initially surprised to see LM recommend pulling the shower screen and cleaning it daily but after using the Mini for a week I totally see why. I've never seen a screen that caught so much coffee in it and between it and the dispersion block.

So I changed it! I hadn't had much luck with the IMS screens so I bought the Sproline Precision screen, thankfully on Black Friday.

It's a Huge improvement in time needed to clean. There is usually no coffee between the screen and block now. I can go at least a week now with just water back flushes before pulling, cleaning and doing a Puro-Caf back flush. I haven't tried longer as my routine for decades is to do a total cleaning every Saturday morning.

The preinfusion flow looks softer and more uniform also.

Recommend even though it's $$$.