Javierati wrote:New video on LM linea

I've talked to Ben a few times when calling in to LM Home and he's been very helpful. But just want to point out a small error in the video. The Linea Mini has the same 3.5 liter steam boiler as the GS3 (not 1.5 liter as he said). The Linea Mini brew boiler is 175 ml as he noted.

The Linea Mini brew boiler is 175 ml as he noted.

Actually, he said "175 centiliters", which doesn't make much sense. Oh well.

It makes perfect sense; it's just wrong.

Beezer wrote:Actually, he said "175 centiliters", which doesn't make much sense. Oh well.

Not to split hairs on this but he said 17.5 centiliters which is equivalent to 175 ml and is the correct size.

OK, I heard 175 but I guess it was 17.5. My bad.

Just a quick follow-up on my experience with this machine.

In his review Chris Tacy commented on the Precision baskets supplied with the machine by LM and recommended swapping them out for other baskets. As he noted that's an easy and inexpensive change if you feel it's necessary. But so far my experience with the supplied baskets has been quite good. I have not experienced any problems with channeling, except on the occasion when I have made a clear dosing or distribution error. In fact, I've had significantly less issue with this machine than my prior HX E61. I have, however, observed that the Precision baskets do seem to be more sensitive to dose, particularly the tamped volume, than other baskets. The Mini seems to like the right amount of headspace when pulling shots. After the shot you should notice a dimple from the screen screw in the puck. My theory is that with too much headspace the puck is more likely to break up under pressure and cause channeling issues. And if there is insufficient headspace the preinfusion does not have room to work properly. If you use the strike off method to dosing you will be overdosing these baskets. The right amount after tamping seems to be just beneath the ridge in the baskets which leaves a little room between the screen and puck until expansion after preinfusion. In the 14g basket I have found 14g of a darker roasted coffee or 15g of a lighter roasted coffee to work well. And in the 17g basket I have found 17g and 18g, respectively, for darker and lighted roasts works well. I have not played around much with the triple (21g) basket as I prefer shots with a higher extraction yield and feel that higher dose baskets push things toward underextraction since the grind needs to be loosened up a bit.

That raises another comment. In theory you are supposed to be able to switch between the different sized Precision baskets without making grind changes, but in practice that has not been my experience. I need to tweak my grind on the HG-One by a couple of notches when going between basket sizes. Perhaps its not as much as with other baskets but you still need to dial each one in properly.

Now that I've had the machine about two months now I'd like make a few comments on potential improvements I would recommend to LM. First and foremost, as I mentioned before, I think they should find some way to dim the indicator lights (eg, either by different lights or covers). Second, the barista lights are great, but one way to get more out of this feature would be to have a switch on the right side of the machine to select among the following settings: off, synced with brewing, and on. This would be kind of like the settings for interior car lights. There are some times where you might want the barista lights on (eg, when steaming or for shot prep). Third, I would really like to see the hot water tap dispense 200F water and not superheated water. It really is too hot for an Americano or tea and on a machine at this price range you shouldn't have to microwave or boil water to get it at the correct temp. It would not need to be adjustable externally like with the GS3, but maybe a set screw on the interior could be used to set the hot water temp to the desired temperature.

That's really about it. I like the brew paddle and the PID wheel on the side of the machine and hope they don't change it, even though lots of people keep saying they would prefer a digital readout and buttons. It does not give you lots of features to play around with. To me the best feature of the Linea Mini is its consistency with both the quality of shots and ease of milk steaming. I remember when I first got into home espresso and bought a Silvia thinking it would provide commercial quality espresso. Nope, it didn't, not even close. And even after a series of upgrades I still didn't feel like I was there. But now with this machine and grinder combo I feel I can consistently get shots as good or better than the best cafes I frequent in the convenience of my own home. That is its value.

Check it out if you get the chance!

keno wrote:It really is too hot for an Americano or tea and on a machine at this price range you shouldn't have to microwave or boil water to get it at the correct temp.

No need to mess with Microwaves or kettles.

Just put a small dash of tapwater in the cup first. When mixed with the boiling water from the machine you'll end up with something around 80C - perfect for a Long Black/Americano.

lagoon wrote:No need to mess with Microwaves or kettles.

Just put a small dash of tapwater in the cup first. When mixed with the boiling water from the machine you'll end up with something around 80C - perfect for a Long Black/Americano.

Great tip, thanks! Just need to work out the correct ratio to approximate brew temp.

Another brief update after speaking with someone at La Marzocco the other day. We were talking about the Mini and he said that they did more consumer testing on this machine than any other. And did a lot of internal testing as well to really put it through its paces. One thing that was particularly interesting is that they tested a variety of approaches to preinfusion and found that 1 sec on and 1 sec off before pump activation gave results that were virtually indistinguishable from longer preinfusion. And the consumer testing they did with longer preinfusion led some users to think that the machine was broken. Hence the approach they took.

I mentioned the three upgrades I'd like to see and they said a fix for the indicator lights is in the works, but sourcing the right part has been challenging since there is nothing available off the shelf so they will probably need to go custom. Regarding a switch for the barista lights they agreed this would be nice to have but unfortunately the control board does not have another available slot. Finally, the adjustable temp on the hot water wand would require mixing steam boiler water with reservoir water and I was told that based on the research they have done that areas where hot and cold mix become problem spots for scale development. So to keep the machine simple and minimize future maintenance issues they opted not to include this feature.

Anyhow that brings up the point that in general more features also brings more potential problems down the road. I never had any problems with the old analog crank car windows or manual door locks but I've had a few cars now that have had electronic windows and locks fail. Costs a ton of money to fix and if you don't fix it the car is way more of a pain in the arse to use than one with manual windows and locks. There's something to be said for simplicity.