Brand New: La Marzocco Linea Mini R Review 

PLEASE READ: It has come to my attention (by 1 person) that there is a slight chance one could watch this video and think I'm impressed by this machine. That is not the case. For the price and legacy and company, I expect and have expected for some time a true competitor for the modern market. But the company decided to hold onto what they do best and not push for unnovation or question the quo. For what they do, they do well. That's what this reflects. If you jive with that, cool. I'd never buy this unless I had a small catering service. Hate to ask, but if you enjoyed the video, kind reminder to hit the like button, leave a comment, hit save or copy link, etc. All of these help push the video and is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed. And hope LM is willing to take a step outside their comfort zone to provide something a bit more innovative in the future!

Thanks for the shout, Lance. We're happy that, as almost always, we're on the same page with this test and the evaluation of the Linea Mini R. Keep up the great work. ❤

There is no reason why all APIs aren't open source. They're selling the hardware, they're not a software company. Having the community contribute to software improvements only makes their machines more valuable.

21:21 Omg that's my face 😯😯 thanks for the mention, working on getting that kit ready for you!

“I’m always at 3 cause I go hard in the paint”. Needed that Lance moment. Thank you.

Absolutely another great video Lance, thank you for also doing these High end machines 🙏

Love the pre-brew critique

Nice thorough review, as always!

I also wanted to saturate the pack as quickly and efficiently as possible - so I bought the lever :) All jokes aside, this is an absolutely wonderful machine, I used Micra for about 8 months and enjoyed it so much. Great review Lance!

Looking forward for the Tate Mazer collab!

Loved the detailed non-bias content. Keep it up.❤

First time watching your videos. Excellect job without going too far into the weeds. Thank you

The plastic attachment to the portafilter is actually really cool. Comes in handy very much when you have guest over

great work Lance!

Amazing review (as always). Thanks for the shoutout. ❤

As a Decent user I lol’d at the pre infusion limit and the screwdriver pressure profiling. Not to mention having to buy a more expensive special Lunar.

I love the idea of the mini as a catering machine - and if I was going to do that I'd shell out for the scale. I got to play with one a few months ago and it worked really well. That being said, for home use, I'll just stop it manually. I also love that portafilter as someone who normally uses a bottomless but occasionally likes to split shots. And honestly the shot timer is so nice to have.

Love the RPavlis water mention and the idea of adding more minerals after the shot. Makes a lot of sense and never occurred to me as a viable option.

Just a small note to the steam wand mention at 1:45 - they used to ship the previous Mini with Pro Touch stock (at least here in Europe), Mini R has something they call Cool Touch. The steam wand on the Mini R isn’t the $700 Pro Touch made in the US, it’s some sort of cheaper alternative made in Italy. It’s still double walled stainless steel and all that, it just isn’t vacuum sealed and isn’t made by the aerospace company in the US. 😊

Geat video Lance...Love your delivery.

As always perfect presentation 🙏❤️‍🔥🙏

Great Video Lance!

Very nice analysis Lance, thanks! ☺️possible correction at 18:07 - I think it’s still an integrated brew group rather than saturated… I think the thermal stability issue without the steam boiler is perhaps due to the steam boiler being an HX to preheat the feed water to the brew boiler. Interesting to hear how much it affects things when turned off, though I agree with you regarding the ability to taste a couple degrees drift over the course of a shot being very small!

Very sick machine. Great video

Amazing innovation presented by Koffeemacher about how vibration improves taste

This is the video I was waiting for!

Thank you so much for sharing Lance… Great video! I would really love to hear your thoughts about the new La Marzocco Mini vs Lelit Bianco V3… Thanks again

Lance Hedrick! Thanks for that honest review! =) 
Have my Linea mini r in black matt. And I love it. 
 one thing: black matt is extremely easy scratchable ;D should be carefull

I added a pump kill button to my Eagle one prima and now I can do pre infusion with line pressure without activating the 3 way solenoid. I don't understand why it is so hard for these big brands to offer these basic features. As much as I don't personally love the feel of using the Decent espresso machine, I totally understand why its popular since its actually giving customers what they want.

I'm so excited to test this bad boy out. The matte black model arrives on my bar this week.

Lance, I love you. Your channel is everything I want in coffee RU-vid.

I appreciated the Avett Brother's reference

Great review as usual.. Normally I like matt plastic aesthatic, but boi, the matt finish plastic on the new mini looks very cheap....I much prefer the original one...

Lance, Thank you for the super helpful and insightful review. What grinder would you recommend to go with the Linea. I currently use Bartaza Forte with stainless burrs for pourover. Pure espresso use. Open minded about single dose. Thanks

Came here for the review, left with an Avett Brothers reference. Bravo

Nice video! Lots of useful information. Every time I go into my local coffee gear shop and see the Linea Mini I think "wow that is a big machine, and what is that lever for - it can't really be just a big ugly switch?". I would not want to be locked into an inflexible algorithm for saturation/blooming, even if it kinda works based on time with a fixed speed rotary pump. If I pause or go too slow before the puck is fully saturated, the extraction from the upper part of the puck is different to the lower part of the puck too much and I usually dislike the resulting flavor profile. So, when I pull shots with full manual control of the pressure the puck is usually saturated at around the time I reach 6 bar, but the time it takes to do that varies quite a bit from coffee to coffee and different puck preps. I can't rely upon first drip for this - the amount of water delivered to the puck is a much better indicator. I guess with a fixed speed rotary pump it has a fixed flow rate as long as the OPV is not engaged yet, and in that case time is a way to achieve saturation as long as you keep pulling the same shots with the same coffee and procedure - which I do not.

The Synchronika also has a switch to turn the steam boiler off. I don't steam but I do like having the hot water tap so I leave it on.

If I’m being picky, the gauges are a little small and it would be nice to have a timer that didn’t look like a clock radio from 1983.

Thank you Lance.

I have a video idea for you Lance. Take brew recipes from random viewers and try them yourself on video, and critique them. Would be a great way to learn. Sure it's very dependent on beans and such, but I think A LOT of home baristas are very set in their ways, no matter what beans they are using. You could also teach about the differences on beans and maybe give opinions on what would be better for different types of beans and why. Maybe people could submit videos of their process, and list their machine, grinder and type of beans, and the actualy brew recipe they are using? I would love to watch this kind of content. Could even be a video series you do over time. 🤩

"A lot of people don't want to faff with an app." I love that word. Way to work the word faff into a review!! Lance you da man, who always goes hard in the paint.

Thanks Lance for your work! Wondering about your thoughts on the gs3 mp for home “prosumer” use compared to a mini (Including for pre-infusion ramp up and down).

Thank you for the video. I guess as someone trying to decide between the Micra and this new Mini R version. Is there any difference as far as espresso taste is concerned? My focus is on taste rather than all the other features. thanks! 🙂

I love LM, but solely for home use is it worth getting over the micra for the price increase...?

I feel like when you get to this level of price for a machine it has to give you what you are expecting. Missing shot timers (I know this one has one), weird app configurations, an inability to use other smart scales and whatnot just feel like they're overcharging you. I especially find that there really shouldn't be an excuse with thermal stability at that point, considering the Sage/Breville Dual Boiler nails that so consistently at a much, much lower price. It feels very much like it's more of a name recognition thing with this machine rather than actual worthwhile quality, even though I'm sure it's built fantastically. It seems to me that something like the Sage/Breville DB or the Lelit Bianca are far more worthwhile purchases. It does make me wonder a bit who these types of machines are really for when I just don't see what they offer beyond some small additions that you could probably replicate in much cheaper machines, too.

17:10 so true regarding the importance of water. That is also what drove us to create pure coffee water - best coffee/espresso taste with zero risk of corrosion/scaling

That plastic spout is a great idea now you explained it. I want one!

I have a Linea Micra and I grew fond of the plastic portafilter. Just one weird thing, without the plastic piece, the metal sits weirdly in the Mahlkonig E65s (assuming some other grinders as well) and I couldn’t find a way to use it without issues

Great video, as always. How would you rate the performance for nordic (light) roasts without being plumbed in (= no pre-infusion capabilities)? Is it a machine worth looking at or would you recommend something else in this price-range? Thanks in advance

19:10 Ooooh I can’t believe what is happening. I love watching Kaffeemacher 😮 Do you speak German?

Would the Dr Pavlis Water on its own make good coffee or would you need to add additional minerals to the coffee after extraction?

So would you say blooming shots are superior to pre infusion? And I take it you would have preferred they left the flow restricter at 0.8?

Lance! Love the video, man. Unrelated but any chance you could share where you got that shirt?

On the topic of water, would it be possible for Lotus to make a remineralization filter that adds the right recipe for coffee back in after an RO system? Probably not simple, but i would love that.

Great review! Lance where do you get your offset flannels?!

Just a thought but won't the espresso coming out of the plastic spouted portafilter and the steam coming out of the plastic nozzle release microplastics over time?

Man, that thing has the face only a mother could love.

wish we could get a updated MP version for flow control. like bells and whistles but i want it in a manual control format

Any recommendations for pre infusion plumbed in? How many seconds are worth for improving espresso?

I would love you to review the Spritiello :D

Awesome review, I love the more detailed approach. I was surprised by your statement that the minerals in the water doesn't affect the brew. I would argue that those minerals passing the coffee would have an effect (chemically) on the brew? Do you know if anyone has made some tests on that already?

Hey Lance, love those corduroy jackets you wear. Really wanna know where you get your hands on those hahah.

Cool shirt

Cracking review Lance. I returned a Micra model this week for a full refund. I was very disappointed because the brew group was loose in its entirety moving up and down too much. Upon inspection I put it down to the plastic brackets that support the boiler leaving too much room to move. Poor QC maybe. The Mini in your vid look like solid metal supports for the boiler. You can see what I mean in a Short Vid that I made in my channel. Did you experience this issue with the Micra you have used? Cheers man.

Great review. What is better: DF83 V2 with HU burrs or Zerno with 64mm HU? Are there any recommendations for burrs for lever coffee machines? Thanks

4:35 Forgot your puck screen here! :O One thing I was surprised about on the Micra and I see again on this is that the shower screen is held on by a protruding screw. On E61 you don't get anything dropping down into the basket (but you have to PRY it out to clean behind it), and on Breville Dual Boiler you have a screw but it's more flush with the screen indented. I think that's a better solution! One issue with plastic, which I think we're desensitized to since plastic is now everywhere in everything, (it's not just about fanciness or quality, sometimes plastic is a better material than let's say wood, like for use on a portafilter or espresso machine handle!), for me the issue is that it's likely leeching chemicals when combined with high temperatures (or when combined with oils, which is why you shouldn't use plastic Tupperware with oily food). 9:00 So for Pre-brew pressure it's kind of like how the Breville Dual Boiler does it but has even less configure-ability, since the Breville can lower the pump power from like 90% power down to 60% I think, also can be held manually for an indefinite amount of time, like the whole shot (great for spro-overs). Actually I think the max shot time on BDB is 1:30 on the BDB actually, I've had shots cut out there, I guess it's trying to save the pump! Which is better than on my buds Linea Micra which cut out after 1 minute! Surprised you mentioned it's loud, it sounded really quiet when you pulled the shot but maybe the mic wasn't picking up the sound there. Plus I'm used to my dying BDB with vibratory pump and a failing solenoid that buzzes loudly :D The easily accessible Adjustable OPV is great, I wish more machines would have that. My first 'real' espresso machine the Quickmill Silvano had that right near the brew group on the front! On the ECM Synchronika it was underneath the machine which meant I had to get a screwdriver under it, poking in a hole at just the right angle, while lifting the 90lb machine!? or teeter it off the edge of the table!? I couldn't bother with adjusting it.

You stated that the portafilter was chrome plated brass, is that also true of the portafilter that comes with the micra?

Any insight into warm-up times from power on to brew-ready temp? One thing that had me sold on the micra was the much faster warmup time compared to the previous iteration of the mini.

hello! First of all, I'm not familiar with English, so I'm sorry if what I said was difficult for you to understand. Other than that, I have benefited a lot from seriously watching your machine reviews and experiment videos over the past year. I also became interested in machines that use a 54mm diameter, but no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find any review videos of Dalla Corte machines (Studio, Mina, etc.) at home. So Lance, can you tell us what you think about the Dalla Corte machine? I apologize if this was a rude request. thank you:)

Nice! I want to want one 😂 but I don’t!

I'm sorry, but have you made any videos with the superb FAEMA in the background?

That dirty spoon on the drip tray triggered me way too hard 😅

I saw you visited Arkel in Porto. Whats you thougts on the Arkel Coast? Can it beat the LM Mini?

Yes

I’d rather have that beautiful lever machine. What model is it? Thanks.

I really hope they release the firmware update for all Acaia Lunars. It just feels unjust and wasteful to force people to buy another scale they might already have, or one that is more accessible (As in available everywhere) to sell their own white labeled scale that is exactly the same. For how much this machine costs, I would expect them to have a brew boiler with a heating element and not one being fed by a heat exchanger and pressure profiling that doesn't require you to twist that thing on top. The plastic portafilter thing is actually genius, it would come in handy when you have guests and want to split a shot. Great machine, but too expensive for what it does.

Oh boy my opinion on the La Marzocco Linea Mini R just dropped (I had never heard of this machine)

This will be super interesting, let's go!

@Lancehedrick where did you get that shirt? Asking because I like it

This or the Bianca V3? What would you recommend?

Liked the video. for sure. Why did you stop recommending Lotus Water? ❤️

I only watched this cuz of the post where you apologized and I don't see any issues. 😅 I watched half and couldn't continue only because I have zero interest in this machine and will never have any interest in paying the price of it. 😂 Like I said, you do you, at least it was fun watching your face about the bloom.

Has Lance done a review on the OG linea mini?

I would love an entire vid about water. Options. Do. Don’t.

Nice video. What is that lever machine in the background?

Is the boiler size 3 or 3.5 liters I’ve read both from different sources and la marzocco website says 3 but I can’t figure out which it is

Lance. Do you think they would line you a single group Strada X? I have an original single group Strada. New to me. It’s in bits as I’m servicing it. It will be as new when I finish it. Cost me £500 more than this machine. It’s a beast 🤣

How SOL am I if I don't want to (or can't) use the app? (edit to add: the soft-touch finish on the controls looks like it'll be a PITA to keep clean)

Was waiting for another plastic-portafilter beatbox breakdown.

Love the call out for the pre-brewing limitation, also who came up with the idea to use slotted screws on the panels. Slotted screws anywhere is a big questionmark.

This makes me so happy that I couldn't afford the cost or the space. So many half thought out features, not good from the factory that makes the best baskets but doesn't seem to know what to do with them... My GCP with diy side pod mod (PID, dimmer, gauge, timer and preheat coil) can do so much, intuitively, calmly, and with non of that inDecent or Gaggiuino death rattle, that these beasts can't hold a candle to. Two two ways instead of a three way, yeah, that's nice, but it's not enough

Do you recommend pre brewing to be 6 secs and 9 secs off just like your video or that just a random seconds that you did in your video? Thx

Next review do the box move and beat box at the same time 😂

Ey, I gotta say bro, I love your shit.. Ite man peace out lol..

Is this linea mini R a saturated group head or integrated group head?

i would be one of the maybe many(hopefully) that would race to merge request from 9.9 seconds to 1 millions seconds on blooming shots

Can anyone explain where the extra $$$$ this machine costs over a Lelit Bianca manifest in terms of actual capabilities? I doubt the slightly better temperature stability and huge steam boiler make as noticeable a difference as what the Bianca flow control can make (with some beans). The only thing I can think of is the LM brand, to those who care about it.

hey can you review new presso smartshot by ROK please 🙏

One day I'll but this "monster". I've just one silly concern... Why's they're still using flat head screws?

"Bada-Bing Bada-Boom" Indeed.