Exploring the La Marzocco range with Erik from La Marzocc Australia
When Luke visited the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE 2022) this year he caught up with his friend Erik on the La Marzocco stand and got chatting about their coffee machines.
Luke and Erik explore the entire LM range starting from the all new updated Linea Classic which is the Classic S. One interesting and exciting product from La Marzocco (which isn't a coffee machine) that they take a look at is 'The Wally'. This is an automatic heater and steamer for milk that taps into the espresso machines boiler. It's very impressive and a great addition to a commercial coffee bar to free up time in the work flow.
Here at Artisti we've always been huge fans of La Marzocco and the equipment they produce. It's the machine of choice for our Artisti Cafe Partners due to the reliability and quality.
We hope you like this video and enjoy exploring the range of La Marzocco machines with Luke and Erik.
Unedited Video Transcript
0:00
Hi everyone.
0:00
Today we are at MICE, which is the Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2022
0:06
and I thought it was a great opportunity to start talking about coffee machines.
0:10
Now when you upgrade and if you've got an old two group machine
0:14
and someone's talking about giving you a free on loan machine and you know,
0:18
you're looking at a beautiful shiny new piece of equipment on your bench
0:22
and why you would do it?
0:23
What are the advantages
0:25
and is it really something that would help you grow your business?
0:29
Well, I think it is because when you start to consider that if you're not doing it
0:34
and the guy a couple of doors down has that beautiful machine
0:37
and his que is going out the door and his business is growing.
0:42
I want to share with you perhaps why that is actually happening.
0:45
And today is a perfect example because we're at the La
0:48
Marzocco stand and we have all of the equipment here.
0:52
So to help me run through some of the benefits of investing
0:56
in something like this for your cafe,
1:02
is Erik.
1:03
Erik.
1:03
Hey Luke how are you? Mate, thanks for joining me here today.
1:06
Thanks for having me. Can you just first? Yeah, that's alright.
1:08
Firstly, tell everyone what is your role at La Marzocco?
1:11
Yeah, great.
1:11
So my name's Erik.
1:13
I'm in the sales team with La Marzocco.
1:16
Yeah, my focus is regional and small roasters.
1:18
I also take care of all the Modbar sales for Australia.
1:22
So, yeah, a big part of our brand and our little subbrand,
1:25
which I'm very passionate about.
1:27
Yeah, it's great.
1:28
It's awesome.
1:28
It's lovely to be here. It's been a long time coming.
1:31
Three years without MICE.
1:34
Awesome to have everyone back together again.
1:35
Yeah, it's great.
1:37
We're pretty blessed
1:37
to be able to have the experience of having a really nice new machine
1:41
a couple of times a year.
1:41
We get to play with this gear, which is great. Yep.
1:43
But that feeling is really hard when you're in a café
1:47
because you have a machine for quite a few years and it may
1:50
deteriorate, might not look the best, you know, over time.
1:54
But we know from dealing with that our customers La Marzocco is the staple
1:58
we have for a lot of time, and they've definitely built
2:00
the industry here in Australia.
2:02
So yeah, well done as a brand.
2:03
We really love that.
2:04
We're very fortunate to be quite trusted by the by the industry
2:08
and that's built on the back of support.
2:10
We want to make sure that not only our machines
2:13
supported in the field wherever they are throughout Australia,
2:16
we want to make sure that our customers that we have get listened to.
2:20
So a really strong part of our business is the ethos of feedback.
2:25
We want to ensure that we're constantly
2:26
improving our product and constantly growing the market
2:30
so that everyone can drink just as good as coffee as everyone else.
2:33
So it's, it's a great, great brand and a great product
2:37
and thanks for being such great, great ambassadors of the brand itself.
2:41
Mate I love it.
2:42
I've still got my 2006 model two group.
2:45
It's finally it's been through many cafe's been rebuilt, repainted
2:48
and always looks schmick every time. Awesome.
2:50
But is now in my training room. Wow.
2:52
So you know that many years it's been an investment, which has been fantastic.
2:56
Yeah. And it's lasted the test of time so.
2:58
And it's still current.
2:59
It's almost time to upgrade then perhaps?
3:02
Well perhaps yeah.
3:02
So, look somethings happened that's a , that was a Linea Classic two group
3:06
that we had and something definitely has happened right now from La Marzocco.
3:09
So it's standing behind us.
3:11
Let's go and have a look at the new Classic S.
3:14
Beautiful. Here we go.
3:15
So mate tell us a bit about this machine, you know?
3:18
So yeah.
3:19
So the Linea classic has been a, you know, kind of a staple of our industry.
3:23
It's really grown not only the Australian coffee community,
3:27
but it's also grown the global specialty coffee community.
3:30
It really started the third wave of espresso way back in the day.
3:34
First designed in 1988.
3:37
This year
3:37
we've finally been able to re invigorate the model.
3:41
Still keeping the classic design
3:43
and the classic ethos of reliability but upgrading all the specifications.
3:47
You've got shot clocks, you've got an auto purge function, the new buttons,
3:53
the new steam wands,
3:55
yes, that's right.
3:56
Yeah, it's I know, no, no longer do we have to unwind the whole shed.
4:01
So quarter turn steam taps is fantastic.
4:04
That's definitely a feature that people want in cafes, For sure.
4:07
You know, and that's something that like we talk about upgrading our equipment
4:11
in a cafe environment, but La Marzocco is also upgrading
4:14
our equipment over the years.
4:15
We're constantly listening to the feedback we've got with, with our customers,
4:20
and this is built on feedback from our technical support.
4:24
All over the world and our roasters and our cafe customers all at the world so.
4:28
So if we're a customer or you have a cafe and you've got a single boiler
4:32
coffee machine, you're doing you know, ten, 15 kilos a week
4:36
and you really want to grow your business and you think, Oh, I'm
4:39
going to invest into something like this, what are you actually going to get
4:43
from a single boiler to going to a multi boiler La Marzocco?
4:47
Like, what's it going to do to workflows and the actual quality of coffee?
4:51
What's going to happen?
4:52
Well, one you've got a, you know, a heightened level of consistency,
4:56
both in temperature and pressure, you're going to be able to your your programing
5:02
functionality of this machine is going to be heightened by a magnitude.
5:07
You've got shot clocks,
5:09
you've got a work for environment that's really approachable
5:13
so you've got that real base to enter
5:16
into an entry level specialty coffee shop with no limitations.
5:22
So dual boiler, one that's going to be doing steam.
5:25
Yep. And hot water tap.
5:26
Absolutely.
5:27
And then another brew boiler just focusing on the heads.
5:29
Absolutely. Yeah.
5:30
We've also improved our temperature stability inside with dual PID controls.
5:37
We've got level probes now inside all the boilers.
5:40
It's all of them at like all about models.
5:43
We've got saturated group heads.
5:44
So you've got that heightened level of thermal stability
5:46
that people know trust and respect in with La Marzocco.
5:49
So yeah it's amazing.
5:51
A bit of ergonomics there and the way the handles is designed.
5:53
Absolutely.
5:54
So the handles are all apart from the KB90 ahh we've got a universal handle
5:59
for all of our products.
6:00
So a big part of the La Marzocco range now that everything is up to spec
6:05
is that it's easily transferable logic
6:08
for programing and for baristas to jump from one machine to another.
6:11
It's it's kind of easy to understand.
6:14
So it's just the feel of it is also like relatable as well.
6:18
It's interesting you say that because we were on the stand.
6:20
Yesterday, ahh Tuesday afternoon, serving coffee.
6:23
I'd never touched a Modbar before. Yeah. And
6:26
Luka was there and he goes you guys know what you're doing?
6:27
And I go yeah, I do. Yeah. Jumped in there.
6:29
We managed to program that machine because it was logic across, which was
6:32
that was great.
6:33
That's awesome. I was excited about that. That's great.
6:35
Just one thing about the, having a separate boiler for your front brew. Yes.
6:39
We all use different coffee and different
6:41
when to look into the science and we should have different temperatures.
6:43
So that's the one thing you're going to get from a dual boiler.
6:46
You can actually dial not only the volume but the temperature that water
6:50
into the coffee that you're using
6:51
because you might have a light roast or a dark roast medium, whatever it is
6:54
that will have different temperatures. Yeah.
6:56
So I think that's a significant taste advantage
6:58
you going to get from going to a La Marzocco. Absolutely.
7:00
And you know what?
7:01
Our number one focus is?
7:02
We're never going to tell people how to make coffee.
7:04
We always do and try to make machines that don't break down
7:08
and machines that are as consistent and stable as possible
7:11
so that businesses can really grow to succeed, so. Yep.
7:14
You know, there's a bigger boilers, more stable boilers,
7:17
more stable temperature stability.
7:18
It's it's all a package with us that we love being able
7:22
to showcase at shows like this. Yep. Yeah.
7:24
The one thing
7:25
just from a servicing perspective, we know we can shut off this steam
7:28
tap in service. We can work on it. Yep.
7:30
Is there manual buttons on this one if the brain does die
7:33
or is that, I just noticed thats missing? Ahh no.
7:35
That's one of the big things that I have missed out on.
7:37
But you know, the beautiful thing about the Old Linea
7:39
Classic is it's not going anywhere.
7:40
So those machines are going to be around for years and years.
7:44
They like an old car.
7:45
So yeah, the, the Linea Classic original model
7:49
I can imagine is going to be in the cafe scene for another 30, 40 years.
7:53
So it's, it's a very exciting piece of equipment.
7:56
And if you still want that manual override switch like I do
7:59
I'm definitely going to go grab one.
8:02
So look, there's an attractive peice there that does draw people in.
8:05
A La Marzocco you see one on a bench,
8:08
you should start to be thinking its quality.
8:10
The baristas going to have some sort of professional attitude towards coffee
8:14
because they're working on a really refined and expensive piece of equipment.
8:18
But you're going to get a great cup of coffee.
8:20
So there are a lot of
8:22
different looks and feels you can customize any of these machines.
8:24
Yep. Whites. Absolutely.
8:26
Change them up, different badges, whatever you want to do.
8:29
So you'll notice our show.
8:30
We've all just gone for a straight stainless mirrored stainless look.
8:34
And you know that's, there's there's a purpose behind that.
8:36
We wanted to keep that original facade of and purist approach to our equipment
8:42
because we know how easily it is to customize.
8:45
And around the show, you'll find a lot of our customized machines,
8:48
which is a tribute to they're kind of like personalities.
8:52
Yeah. You know, that's something that's so cool about our product.
8:55
It's so adaptable to so many different cafe's businesses roasters,
8:59
you know, it's just it feels like you can personalize everything.
9:04
So the Classic S is the entry model now. Yes.
9:07
And we go, Okay, now that's that's why we going to be classified
9:10
as specialty coffee and get a benefit to the business.
9:13
And there's a lot of other things
9:14
now that La Marzocco has technology wise as we go up in ranges.
9:17
This is a PB behind us, is it?
9:19
Yeah, this is the PB.
9:20
So this is considered technically now that PB S.
9:23
So it's our newest model of PB
9:26
and it contains an IOT a Gateway Board.
9:29
So this is an upgraded model.
9:31
It's got the upgraded PB logic firmware interface programing.
9:37
So you can see obviously it's definitely more luxurious button interface.
9:42
The way you program it is slightly different to the Linea Classic in that.
9:47
It's got a lot more variables
9:48
which you can control straight away from the screen there. Yep.
9:52
But the beautiful thing about
9:53
it is you've got now an IOT gateway where you can log into your machine and,
9:57
and just make anything you want happen at the touch of touch of your finger. Yes.
10:00
So definitely this is a game changer for us.
10:02
This is a machine we've been running out across all of our cafe partners
10:05
because we used to have to hold the button and hit stop
10:09
when we were running the flow through the you and the company brought in pulses,
10:12
which gave us a number to actually adjust, increase or decrease the amount of water
10:16
coming through.
10:17
So it's a very specific great measuring tool.
10:20
And that's basically from here up in all ranges.
10:24
And I'm pretty sure that goes backwards a little bit into that technology as well.
10:28
Yeah, absolutely.
10:28
You've brought the Classic up.
10:30
Yes. Enhanced, this moving forward.
10:32
Absolutely.
10:33
So it's something that we're always, always looking at is how can we, you know,
10:38
like give beneficiary to some of our equipment range and continue
10:41
to upgrade it so that it's adaptable to the current industry standard market.
10:46
So it's exciting
10:47
and it's always something to to watch out for is new, new upgrades.
10:51
Alright we're going to have a look over here because.
10:53
Yep, absolutely. La Marzocco means quality. Absolutely.
10:56
But as you start to see the design and some changes,
11:00
these people are investing some amazing money and
11:02
and they're really focusing on making a much better coffee.
11:04
When you see these different types of machines. Absolutely.
11:06
So we'll come round this side here and have a look.
11:08
This one looks beautiful. This is the KB90.
11:11
We did do a review video on that one, so you can have a look at that as well.
11:15
Absolutely.
11:16
Apart from design and elegance, around this side,
11:18
we have an amazing feature called the Straight in Portafilter. Yes.
11:22
What a game changer.
11:24
I mean, ten years we've been
11:25
you know, pushing our arms left and right, getting a bit of RSI. Yes.
11:29
But it's
11:31
this feeling of,
11:33
you know, responsiveness with straight in portafilter.
11:36
And even like we debut this product three years ago
11:39
at MICE itself and even still now,
11:42
people are still getting a real feel for it because it
11:45
it is changing the game for a lot of businesses.
11:47
It's it's pretty special. Yeah.
11:49
So just a quick, quick summary.
11:51
What actually happens instead of having to pull the group handle to the side
11:55
and compress and create a vacuum basically for the water to come through,
11:59
the whole actual piston comes down onto the head and seals.
12:03
Yeah. So that's why we can go straight in.
12:05
And if it's also then got automatic flushing afterwards.
12:08
Yeah.
12:09
You'll notice this model also has the ABR scales, which we've touched on
12:13
you guys touched on in a previous video, which is, you know, phenomenal.
12:17
If you're looking to upgrade
12:19
your machines in
12:20
a cafe, you go, how can we make things more consistent, more reliable,
12:24
we're taking the guesswork completely out of volumetric programing.
12:27
Yeah, we're adjusting it to be so accurate
12:32
that, you know, we've got such incredible work flo now.
12:35
So we always talk about brew recipes.
12:37
We're always getting people to weigh the grind and weigh the shot after.
12:40
So this is what's going to happen here.
12:41
It does it for you, and it will basically make sure that you get the right amount
12:45
of liquid in the cup as it's measuring after taring your cup on the scale.
12:50
So yeah, you dial in, you get the right grind.
12:52
You're always going to get the great end result. Absolutely.
12:55
Just a nifty little thing.
12:57
There's are cool because they're all weight balanced.
12:59
You know, if you are using scales and, and doing some other things,
13:02
you always tare off every individual handle.
13:05
But now with I don't know the exact name of these,
13:08
but they're all matched by weight in a whole set.
13:11
You buy for your machine. Yes.
13:12
Precision handles.
13:13
You've got the ahh. There you go precision handles.
13:15
So we've got them all weighted and all exactly the same to specifications.
13:20
It's interesting the handles are so well weighted it feels like
13:23
everyones got such a special connection with the handles itself.
13:26
They're actually designed by an old sword wordsmith fabricator way back in the day.
13:32
It was an original like mould that was cast maybe 30 or so years ago.
13:37
And we've kept the same handle weights and mould for over the years.
13:42
So this is the first one which we've actually redesigned in a while,
13:46
but yet
13:47
it's still got that same weight and feel and the love for the product.
13:50
Awesome. It's awesome.
13:52
And another machine which got a bit of a rebirth in its life is the, the GB5.
13:56
Yeah, absolutely.
13:57
So the GB5 is again another upgrade of our equipment range
14:01
where the original GB5 was released in 2005, and it made such a
14:07
huge leap in the specialty coffee industry but what we actually,
14:13
what we did with the GB5 was we introduced temperature stability.
14:17
We introduced new technologies inside the machine
14:21
which allowed for baristas to create a really consistent product.
14:24
And now we want to keep the same ethos of the GB5
14:26
and bring it up again to modern specifications.
14:28
Yeah definitely so
14:29
keeping the multi button still, same similar feel, which is great.
14:33
But the internals is the brain of all of the other machines.
14:36
Absolutely.
14:37
So yeah, we've upgraded certain things like the steam wands are phenomenal.
14:41
Now, the we've got obviously the,
14:44
the new PB interface, if you hold this button down here,
14:47
all the logic of our machines become very easy to understand.
14:51
So you hold down the function button and then this now becomes
14:54
very similar to the PB, to the KB90, to the Modbar, to the Strada.
14:59
All very easy to understand and adapt to your businesses.
15:05
Fantastic.
15:06
And now we're starting getting though into multi boiler technology.
15:09
Absolutely.
15:09
Which correct me if I'm wrong but it allows you to have each individual head
15:14
then temperature controlled and dialed into multiple coffees. Yes.
15:17
So if you are running a main
15:19
blend a single and a decaf each of these can have individual temperatures.
15:23
Yeah.
15:23
Which then make sure that you're getting that perfect taste
15:26
that the roaster is asking to make you achieve out of their roast.
15:29
Absolutely. It also creates a heightened level of thermal stability.
15:32
Again our number one thing is consistency, you know, and no downtime for cafes.
15:36
We want to make sure that we're,
15:38
our machines are able to adapt to a really busy workflow
15:42
and constantly keep up with heightened levels of demand, so
15:45
those multi boilers are able to facilitate that at a really high degree.
15:49
So we've got the multiboiler in the GB5 X and the KB90 as standard.
15:55
We can also get the PB there's a PB X model with the multi boiler unit.
15:59
So yeah, again, a really big, really big part of our business.
16:03
And from here we sort of go up to what's on the other side.
16:05
Now I don't know if we're going to be get in there because people will be on it.
16:08
But I'm sure, I'm sure we'll hopefully find a way.
16:11
Yes, look, we might get to
16:13
get a quick little pan through there and then we can just ahh.
16:15
Alright so we've got the Modbar, so we did use this the other day
16:19
and it's a very distinct change in your business
16:21
if you want to create a better interactive piece
16:23
which you can see what's happening right now
16:25
and the customers can engage with the barista.
16:27
Absolutely.
16:28
You know, the people can see what's happening.
16:30
You can see your espresso shot being made right in front of your eyes.
16:34
You can see the steamer.
16:36
You can see the barista pouring out.
16:37
So it's really becoming a great theatre piece now
16:40
where you can engage with your customers on so many different levels.
16:43
It's such a little, ahh, it's always been somewhat of a barrier
16:47
with espresso machines from barista to customer.
16:50
And this really breaks down that wall, but it still is able to provide that
16:55
same consistency that our entire espresso machine range can provide so.
16:59
And the ability to change things up.
17:01
So you can say we've got four heads in a row then two steamers.
17:04
So we are always usually have a set up that works left to right.
17:06
So you can really have the parts of the machine where you need them
17:10
because of your layout. Yeah.
17:12
In essence, it's
17:13
a modulated system that you can design to whatever specifications you're after.
17:17
So it's again amazing piece of technology that a lot of people
17:21
are really looking to to upgrade their businesses into, which is awesome.
17:24
And I don't know what they call it, but I used to call it
17:27
the pour over Modbar system.
17:28
I don't konw it as anything else other than that.
17:30
as a name.
17:30
Yeah, not, not, not too many people are using it in Australia.
17:34
It's very popular in the US and, and through Asia
17:38
it's, it's definitely
17:39
a unit that you can preprogram up to 20 different pour over recipes in.
17:44
You can change the nozzle to a more of a spray option.
17:49
Again it's just like almost a permanent solution to seeing what you know
17:55
is undertaken in a barrister's filter coffee bar, you know, day in, day out.
18:00
So yeah it's amazing businesses in the US and just got six of them
18:04
again it's all new varieties of equipment that we're able to provide
18:09
to all these different types of businesses. Awesome.
18:11
And a shout out to Rumble roasters today.
18:13
They're doing great on the Modbar. They're doing fantastic.
18:15
Keeping everyone happy.
18:16
Absolutely.
18:16
Alright now new product. Yes.
18:18
All right.
18:19
Away from coffee machines.
18:20
What's what's the other new little oh man.
18:24
I reckon it's a little creature to be honest.
18:25
We forgot to mention the Wally.
18:27
So ah yes.
18:31
So there is something really special on the horizon at this show.
18:35
We've got them.
18:36
We've got them attached to all of our equipment range.
18:38
So when we're talking about upgrading cafes,
18:43
restaurants, some people with like maybe a small
18:47
barista team, we're always looking for that heightened level of
18:51
of help or assistance when you're when you're talking
18:54
about a really heavy milk focus coffee program.
18:59
So, yeah, the Wally milk is it's pretty amazing.
19:02
We've got up to 20 programable recipes,
19:05
a heightened level of temperature.
19:07
You can choose any stretch value.
19:10
The beautiful thing about is it just connects to the steam boiler
19:12
in the machine so you can still use all the steam wands at the same time.
19:16
It exhausts out the back.
19:17
So there's no like waste, no mess
19:21
and really quite simply
19:25
is measuring the temperature of your milk.
19:27
That you can specify
19:31
and it's going to auto steam the milk for you.
19:34
That's really cool.
19:36
It's really cool.
19:36
You know, we think of it as a barista simply just holding that jug
19:39
and having to to get the tilt and the angle.
19:42
We've got to teach new baristas how to do that.
19:43
Absolutely. Absolutely.
19:45
But the Wally's got it down pat.
19:47
So this really provides a level of multi-tasking that,
19:50
yeah, you know, I hadn't really been seen before.
19:52
So you can use this, you can walk away from your unit
19:56
and you can maybe grind some extra shots.
19:58
You can go to your till.
19:59
You can get a muffin out of the the pantry.
20:02
You can engage with your customers. You can engage with the customers.
20:05
Exactly right.
20:06
And so what we're really finding here is a beautifully textured milk
20:11
that you can split, you can go, you can do all your large
20:14
takeaways, you can do you finer detailed alternative milks with it.
20:19
Yeah.
20:19
It's just a really great addition to a coffee bar, which is always expanding.
20:23
Awesome. There you go, why would you upgrade?
20:26
Well as you keep going you're basically getting more automation.
20:29
You're probably saving some
20:30
some money around staffing as well with something like the Wally.
20:33
Absolutely.
20:33
But ultimately you're making a better coffee for your customer.
20:37
Absolutely.
20:38
With a marketing piece, we're just going to draw people in.
20:40
Absolutely.
20:41
If you're afraid of upgrading or looking at a new opportunity
20:44
where someone is going to give you
20:45
a new machine with a coffee contract or whatever it may be.
20:49
It's going to be a huge benefit on the other side
20:50
when you actually do upgrade.
20:52
Absolutely.
20:53
You know, we're always
20:54
we're always here to support that, you know, and support those questions.
20:58
So thank you, Artisti for coming here and being so,
21:02
so, so forward with with this kind of educational base.
21:05
It's awesome. It's awesome to see.
21:06
Thanks very much for making great machines.
21:08
It's been the backbone of our business and we really appreciate it.
21:12
Great. Love using it and look forward to the new stuff.
21:15
Keep going
21:15
because every time something new comes out,
21:17
we're just excited to see how it can help the industry so.
21:20
Awesome, great.
21:22
Thanks for having me here.
21:23
Thanks so much.
21:24
Cheers, everyone.
21:25
I hope that helped you to get an understanding as to why
21:28
you would look to upgrade from a single boiler to a multi boiler unit.
21:33
You know the costs, but the benefits that are so outweighing any sort of investment
21:38
so I would encourage you to consider to keep pushing into better quality
21:42
coffee, better equipment and systemising how you make coffee
21:47
and the outcome is going to be a reward of a happier customer, a happier employee,
21:53
and more profits in your pocket because that queue
21:56
at the door is only going to get bigger as your business grows.
21:59
Thanks very much for watching, guys.
22:00
Got any questions, pop them in the comments below.
22:02
Happy to answer those ones.
22:04
Might even beable to shoot them back to Erik
22:06
if it gets a bit too technical
22:07
so I can't answer it and look forward to catching you next time.
22:11
Thanks very much.
22:12
Much for watching live here today in the MICE Expo.
22:16
Cheers catch you next time.
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