La Marzocco Linea Mini R Espresso Machine

The Linea Mini R is the current version of the Linea Mini. You can tell them apart by the serial number: it starts with MI on the R and with LM on the previous Linea Mini. Compared with the previous model, this is what changes:

• Built-in shot timer: you see the seconds of the shot while you brew.
• New pre-infusion with two valves, a self-cleaning flow restrictor and custom times of up to 99 seconds.
• Pump pressure you can adjust without removing any panels.
• Updated looks, with the Della Pietra curve and soft-touch components.
• Accessories: some are different, for example the plumbing kit for the R is not the one for the previous Linea Mini.

Download the La Marzocco app (it is free, but you need an account) and add the machine: the first connection goes through Bluetooth, then the app passes your home Wi-Fi details to the machine. The network must be 2.4 GHz and its name must be visible: if your router only broadcasts at 5 GHz, the machine will not connect. From then on it reconnects by itself every time you switch it on.

From the app you set the coffee temperature, the steam boiler pressure, pre-infusion, the flush time (5 seconds by default), auto standby and power-on schedules, and you start the group cleaning cycle. With no internet you can use Offline mode over Bluetooth: then you can only set temperature, steam, standby and power on or off.

Not just any Lunar. Brew by weight works with the La Marzocco Acaia Lunar Brew by Weight scale, the La Marzocco version of the Lunar. An Acaia Lunar 2021 with a USB-C port and a serial number from AL008 onwards can be turned into a La Marzocco scale with a paid licence through the app; older Lunars with a micro-USB port, and other scales, cannot.

How it works: in the app you create your coffee station with the machine and the scale, set the weight you want in the cup and move the paddle. The scale tares by itself, the machine stops at the set weight and three beeps tell you it has finished. Scale and machine talk over Bluetooth; the machine must be online and on the latest firmware.

Yes, with the La Marzocco plumbing kit for the Linea Mini R, which is not in the box: as standard the machine works with its 2.5 litre reservoir. The kit only fits the Linea Mini R (serial number starting with MI) and also includes the drain hose, for which La Marzocco suggests a 65 mm hole in the counter.

Once it is fitted, you switch on Plumb-in mode in the La Marzocco app (Settings, Pre-brewing & Pre-infusion, Enable Plumb-in). If you need to drain the machine, switch Plumb-in mode off first.

La Marzocco asks for water with a hardness of 7 to 10 °f (70-100 ppm), a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 and chlorides below 30 mg/l; the table in the manual also sets limits for TDS, alkalinity, iron and chlorine. The box includes a test kit with 6 strips: with the results, the La Marzocco Water Calculator tells you which treatment you need. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) guidelines point the same way: clean, odour-free water with a low but not zero mineral content.

Test your water before you start using the machine. If you use reverse osmosis or distilled water, La Marzocco asks you to remineralise it. If you use the reservoir, change the water every day.

It depends on how much you use it, but as a rule:

• after every espresso run a little water through the group (flush): it clears coffee residue from the shower screen;
• every day backflush with the blind filter and water only;
• every 1-2 weeks, more often if you use it a lot, backflush with espresso machine detergent.

Do not overdo the detergent: even in small amounts, over time it strips the grease from the gaskets and O-rings and dries them out.

From the La Marzocco app you can also start an automatic backflush.

With this routine and good quality water, the machine does not need descaling.

No. If you use the right water and keep up the routine (a flush after every coffee, a daily backflush with water and one with detergent every 1-2 weeks), descaling is not needed.

For La Marzocco what matters is the water: if it is outside the limits given in the manual, the warranty is void.