The digital technology in this machine is not masking mechanical flaws that you uncover during use. It’s built to hold its own in busy service, with high quality parts and stable systems inside and out. That means that without any need for excessive maintenance or modification, its boilers, pipework and brewing quality are exceptional.

Some machines end up becoming a nuisance with either too much technology or difficult-to-use technology. With the Linea PB, you have a simple interface and 3-key menu. You can navigate your way through the controls easily once you’ve done it a few times, as it is very user-intuitive. What does this have to do with you making coffee? It means dialling in takes very little time, and making changes throughout the day doesn’t need to be more than a few clicks through a menu, instead of labour-intensive, time-intensive work.

Any Linea PB is more accurate than your human barista will be when it comes to brewing the correct amount of coffee into your cup after you set its programming up as desired. However, you can further build on that level of consistency and accuracy by choosing the ABR mode in your machine, which can be programmed to actually measure the weight of your ground coffee dose; then it will automatically adjust your brewed coffees accordingly. This will circumnavigate every barista’s main issues with producing consistent coffee – consistent grinding and dosing. It can also be programmed to simply weigh the coffee going into your cup without measuring the ground coffee dose, which is deemed to be quicker than the other method, while producing still higher levels of accuracy than can be achieved with other machines on the market. Impressive technology without difficulty of use – this is highly recommended as a feature to add to your Linea PB.

With a Linea PB you are permitted digital control of both your steam boiler’s temperature, and that of your coffee boiler too. So, for specific service styles or recipe requirements, you’re able to adapt with only a few spare seconds. For the baristas/management, that means you get the ability to make a speedy response to any unforeseen changes in your espresso’s recipe caused by external variables – and that you can do so easily without wasting time or resources.

As with all of the La Marzocco range, you are supplied a dual boiler system with the Linea PB. The difference here is that for a given machine’s size and expected output at that size, you’re getting a faster-responding set of boilers, which offer variable offsets and other features too. What will it mean? You’re able to make higher quality coffee at higher levels of energy efficiency versus other machines, you will save on power usage, all while increasing the thermal stability of everything your machine offers you (espresso, steam, hot water).

As with some of the other machines from La Marzocco, you are given saturated groups with a Linea PB. What do they do? Further boost the thermal stability detailed above. The boilers in a La Marzocco do it with impressive efficiency, but it would be pointless if thermal stability wasn’t maintained or achieved at all where it matters most – at the group head where your espresso is produced.

These come as standard with Linea PBs, and these further reduce volatility in brewing temperatures. Water never leaves the coffee boiler during the brewing process, so instability doesn’t occur due to water displacement. More accurate brewing again, without having to worry whether your previous espresso and current espresso were actually the same (aside from any human error you may commit).

The Linea PBs perhaps most under-utilised but most recommended feature is the Eco mode function. Your machine can be programmed to ‘idle’ in Eco mode, much like a new start-stop engine in a car. It is highly efficient and will save you a great deal of money long term in energy bills if properly employed in your business. When is it most ideal? Between services in restaurants, or by anyone overnight, so you don’t have to leave your machine fully off, with the need to fully reheat the next day. What would be wrong with turning it off and fully reheating it? Nothing at all, but since dialling in correctly is the most important part of achieving high quality in espresso-based coffee, and it takes the average barista around 20 minutes to do it, why then add 15 minutes of ‘machine heating time’ to that time unnecessarily? Save yourselves money on energy and labour!

As with the other La Marzocco machines, your machine comes equipped with stainless steel ‘user-handled’ parts. This means that your cleaning is quicker, less frequently needed, and that your espresso will remain taint-free during service with only a quick rinse of your espresso baskets and handles. What does this mean to you? It means consistently higher espresso quality, meaning that you can actually show off flavours that you pay for in your blends. It also means you don’t have to do excessive maintenance post-service in closing shifts, to get the machine’s removable parts back to a point of ‘clean enough’ for service. This feature (in our eyes) is the subtle marker of difference during the day between good coffee and excellent coffee.

As with their other machines, flow in a La Marzocco is managed by these narrow parts that resist scaling and formation. It means quite consistent flow over many years, because these little parts do not end up becoming blocked by build-ups of limescale, nor will they corrode, which otherwise might have allowed leaks in the system or weakening of the water flow system as a whole. In user terms, it means you can trust your machine’s water flow more directly without needing to investigate it with high risk work inside your machine. It also means you are less likely to need engineers to be called out to repair essential brewing parts of your espresso machine. It also means that over years, you won’t be compensating for a growing lack of water flow from each side of the coffee machine. That is something valuable when compared to the typical user interaction with espresso machines of other brands over a number of years. Usually, users have to compensate for weakening systems or parts during their years of use with a particular machine, whereas this is not the case for La Marzocco users unless they purposefully modify their systems.

typically, speciality coffee baristas waste somewhere in the region of 8-10 shots of coffee per morning either tasting or adjusting recipes, and more than that when either grinding equipment or their ability to taste is less than stellar. That means that for the particular kilo of coffee they are using, they may be losing as much of 1/5th of potential sales from that kilo. With a little training from us on the functionality of the Linea PB machine, we can make your recipe adjustments work for you without you having to waste a single shot that is due to needing recalibration of your machine or needing to test all groups on your coffee machine. That is a feature that you are only accurately afforded with La Marzocco’s espresso machinery, and a feature that usually allows you around £3-4 of cost savings per kilo in real terms, which usually become attributed to around 10 coffee sales that that previously wouldn’t have been possible without buying more coffee. Cost-free sales should be taken seriously when the potential cost of adjustment or quality-control based wastage considered is very high for the average coffee shop. Ask Ollie more for details on this, and how he can help you with a targeted plan for you and your staff!