Very excited today, my new Linea Mini arrived. I got the stainless version. Ordered from Chris's (I've been happy dealing with them for years) it arrived UPS freight with its little pallet strapped to a big shipping pallet. No damages, all looked good, so proceeded with setup. Filled with Crystal Geyser water as a reference point and let it fill, purge the boilers and heat for one hour.

First attempt was a decaf - which came out surprisingly well. I've been using a QM Anita and Baratza Vario + gram scale for years, so I had a pretty good reference on the grind and fill. Dialed up the PID on the LM a little bit and made a second attempt which I have to say, was quite good.

Switched to the good regular espresso beans, again, with a good grind reference on the Vario, was able to pull a pretty darn good shot on the first try. Did some experiments and made a mess of the kitchen and went through a couple of gallons of water and a lot of coffee messing with stuff. I can't say I pulled a bad shot, but some were definitely better than others. I can say, it pulls a good shot, it's quiet and it seems pretty repeatable. I realize the Vario isn't everyone's favorite, but I've had it for years and know it well.

On the steam side - this thing is a monster. Mine is a recent production and the steam boiler is turned down quite a lot from the factory, about 1.3 bar. The valve is a bit hard to control, goes from off to full blast very rapidly. I haven't mastered the microfoam yet. It just has a lot of power for single-serving milk pitchers. I'm seriously investigating tips with smaller holes to get more control with my generally small amounts milk I steam.

Other stuff already noted in reviews - the LED's are clear type and bright when viewed straight on. Milky type diffuse LED's would be a better choice, or a resistor in series with them to lower the current wouldn't be a bad hack.

I also got a naked LM porta filter that I haven't tried yet. The LM porta filters don't fit my old-style Vario portafilter holder well. I also need to sort out how I'm going to tamp the LM portafilters. My kitchen counters have full bullnose edges, so it is difficult to tamp the LM angled PF's with swappable spouts. The granite edge on my undermount sink is workable, but it feels awkward. Just need the right tamping stand. I'll probably switch to the naked bottom PF, but I wish it had a straight handle.

One thing that did surprise me - the stainless steel used in much of the Linea Mini is magnetic. There are different alloys of stainless, generally the higher grade alloys are non-magnetic. I hope it holds up well. My Anita's stainless body is completely non-magnetic and has held up to daily use for many years.

Congrats on the machine! I'm sure you are going to love it. Sounds like you're off to a great start with it.

PS For a more controllable steam tip try one of the Slayer tips, which are offered in a number of sizes. I have a post about it somewhere if you search.

Congratulations - I have always loved the Linea Mini!

Post some pictures!

Congratulations!! You have got a great machine. I wouldn't switch the tip out. Just get used to the power. You won't regret it. I steam 275ml of milk every morning and it only requires 1 sec to a sec and a half of air before you submerge the tip to stretch. Any more than that and the milk will have too much air in it and your latte art will suck. Believe it or not this machine steams better than the GS3. Your latte art will jump a few levels with the quality of the milk you are able to steam.

I also use a naked LM portafilter with VST baskets. They work great.

I used to have the same issue with my granite so I got a Cafelat tamping mat that overhangs the edge for a perfectly flat surface to tamp.

Again, congrats on getting the best home machine out there.

Stan

Very cool machine. Congratulations! Show a pic of the set up!

sharkdc wrote: I used to have the same issue with my granite so I got a Cafelat tamping mat that overhangs the edge for a perfectly flat surface to tamp.

Interesting, I have the same granite countertops. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use that really great Cafelat mat. So you're saying it works well?

nuketopia wrote:One thing that did surprise me - the stainless steel used in much of the Linea Mini is magnetic. There are different alloys of stainless, generally the higher grade alloys are non-magnetic. I hope it holds up well. My Anita's stainless body is completely non-magnetic and has held up to daily use for many years.

Fantastic - enjoy it!

The magnetic properties of stainless steel depend on its molecular structure - it's not a matter of grading, quality or anything else. Austenite, the basic iron form in "stainless steels" (some of which are, in fact, quite stainable) is the proper name for γ-phase iron, which is a solid solution of carbon and other elements. Austenite is totally non-magnetic, has a basic molecular unit that is a face-centered cubic iron molecular structure, and can be structurally stabilized by addition of chromium and nickel. Two other common structural forms of iron are magnetic: ferrite and martensite. Martensite has as its basic molecular unit a distorted cube, and it results from mechanical and/or thermal deformation of austenite. So when austenitic steel is rapidly cooled ("quenched") or mechanically worked, it becomes more martensitic and takes on magnetic properties. Ferrite is the proper name for α-phase iron, with a body-centered cubic molecular unit that occurs in ordinary low carbon steels (the classic magnetic steel).

Austenitic stainless steels that may not stick to a magnet when produced can become more and more magnetic as they're worked and formed into shapes. The classic example is a stainless steel sink that's been pressed from a sheet using a die stamper. The flat rim will be non-magnetic on many of them, but the folds where the bottom meets the sides will be magnetic because the process of deforming the metal altered the crystal structure of the steel, transforming some austenite into martensite. Parts of a SS machine that are magnetic have usually been formed or otherwise worked for shaping and/or to harden them. You'll often find that a magnet sticks only to some parts of a single panel and that there's nothing behind it made of martensitic or ferritic material. You can't draw any conclusions about the quality of SS (or of any items made from it) by its magnetic attraction.

Excellent!... I was going to respond to nuketopia's concern over it's magnetic properties but you beat me to it. Very well said. Your explanation and example in regards to the formation of a stainless sink was spot on! As you know, many people believe stainless steel is a miracle metal when In truth the term stainless is somewhat of a misnomer. Stainless steel will not only stain under certain conditions but it can even rust.

Probably the most popular stainless steel is 304, which contains (in the neighborhood) 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel. In some applications it is nonmagnetic (for example the doors of a stainless steel refrigerator)... much to the chagrin of some parents wanting to post their childrens refrigerator art. However as bluesman indicated it can become magnetic when mechanically deformed, shaped or bent... and those sections can partially transform to the ferritic phase and thus ... will become magnetic.

An added benefit... a result of the metal forming and altering the crystal structure of the steel... martensite (ferritic materials) are to a degree... stronger than austenitic stainless! So relax and enjoy!

Don Task wrote:An added benefit... a result of the metal forming and altering the crystal structure of the steel... martensite (ferritic materials) are to a degree... stronger than austenitic stainless!

And even here, things are not what they seem. "Stronger" may not be the best word, as there are many determinants of strength and they are often at odds with each other. Hardness, stiffness, elasticity, ductility, shear strength, tensile strength, yield strength, impact strength, fatigue strength etc are all terms that are often misused to suggest overall strength. In the real world, one is usually more important than another in a given application - and too little of one can sometimes negate the value of the rest.

We pay close attention to this in automotive fasteners, for example. Use of SS fasteners instead of grade 5 or 8 is often a mistake, because stainless steel is not stronger than regular steel. The low carbon content of many stainless steels means they cannot be heat treated to harden them. So most stainless alloys used in bolts are a bit stronger than grade 2 steel (a level above the ungraded nuts and bolts you buy at a hardware store, and not treated to increase its native hardness) but significantly weaker than grades 5 and 8. But grade 8 is the most brittle of the graded fastener alloys, so many race mechanics and engineers avoid it in high impact use in favor of AN (so-called aircraft grade hardware - the AN stands for "army-navy"). It's a tradeoff of ultimate tensile strength for shear/bending fatigue life. Too "strong" a bolt may be too brittle, snapping under repeated bending loads as can occur when holding a shock to a frame or A-arm. Too "weak" a bolt will bend with stress, ultimately breaking from the work hardening.

This is very important to us on HB. A SS panel that was worked into an espresso machine shell may be sufficiently brittle to crack at its corners and folds if it flexes during use. And many smaller, lighter machines flex visibly as the PF is locked in place, especially if you hold a top corner with one hand to keep it from rotating while you seat the PF with the other hand. Sound design can prevent this, but many cheaper SS machines have rudimentary frames and/or their panel structure is not very rigid.

Very little is as simple as it seems.

Very interesting and clear explanation of stainless steel and its properties. Thanks for that.

To the OP, I would recommend keeping the stock steam tip and getting used to it. It may seem too powerful at first, but you will probably learn to love it after using it for a while. I find it's incredibly easy and fast to get microfoam with this machine using the stock tip. Mine is turned down to about 1.4 or 1.5 bar, and it steams milk perfectly pretty much every time. It's just a matter of getting used to the extra power and learning how to use it to your advantage. I can't imagine that any aftermarket tip would be an improvement over the stock one.