r/LaMarzocco

How do people back flush? Using the blank basket? Do you have a second portafikter? Do you keep changing the basket to backflush?

I use a plug that I got off Amazon, same as what breville gives you with their machines. I just use normal basket with the plug. Plug sits on top of my machine. It’s very convenient, and I don’t see any other method being a similar convenience (unless maybe had a dedicated blind basket portafilter).

What do you folks do?

Hello,

Anyone running a GS3 MP for their coffee cart/pop up events? If so how do you like it/hate it? Do you feel more confident or regretful about your purchase after sometime using it? What are some tips that have helped you create a better workflow?

I was looking at getting a Gs3 AV and have been reaching out to different distributors and so far, my best deal is 5% off a new machine (comes out to about $8k). However, digging around locally, I found a used MP for about $6k from an espresso machine repair shop. Do you guys think it’s worth going for the MP at the cheaper price knowing there might be a slow down in my workflow compared to the AV or should i just cough up the 2k for the AV?

I do enjoy profiling a lot and trying out new coffees with my at home machine, different roasters is something I would want to offer customers if I eventually got a more permanent pop up spot where I could switch up every week or other week. If I were to choose one for my personal use, I would go with the MP, but for business purposes I know the AV works better for workflow, water conservation, and general ease of use. I guess I just want someone to tell me the MP is manageable and that they’ve had good experience and how they fixed their workflow, but I am open to reading regrets of not buying the AV if the MP didn’t work out for you.

Thanks

Hi, sometimes the switch that tells the machine whether the tray is present doesn't turn on and I need to adjust the position of the tray a few times to get the red light on again. What do I need to clean to fix this? If relevant could you please show a photo?

Thanks!

Hey guys! We are about to be placing an order for a micra and I wanted to hop on here to see what you guys recommended for an espresso grinder. I’m sure there are a lot of discussions around this already so I apologize for being a broken record on this. Right now we are considering the Varia VS4 but i’d love to hear other options! Budget is around $500-1,000 maybe a little more depending on the grinder! thank you guys!

We just bought a new GS3 and love it! But noticed the top panels have holes - 1 covered and 3 uncovered. Looking online I noticed some GS3s have all their holes covered and some don’t.

Should there be covers for all the holes? There are screws for them so I assume so.

Thanks

I have a 2024 Linea Micra.

Of course, I always use bottled water, flush it, etc.

Today, I pulled several shots. Everything was good.

Then machine ran out of water and I filled the reservoir to max.

Machine stayed hot, but moving the paddle didn’t do anything.

I could run steam water or steam milk, however the machine didn’t get ready to pull shots again.

I opened the app and it says “NO WATER. Please fill water reservoir.”

I can’t back flush it as it won’t recognize the paddle shifting, and after switching it on and off multiple times now it won’t steam water or milk either - like when you’re starting it up and it’s not hot.

What to do?

Event in the Seaport requires an espresso machine, but their (LM) machines are 220 and their 220 power is not in yet. Wondering if anyone has a Coffee cart that wants to work this event or knows of where I can rent a mini

I have Jura coffee machine. If money won’t be an issue which one would u get? Typically use it 3-4x a day. I like espresso, cappuccino , americano. Looking for a coffee machine that would last long. Also what would be your recommendation for a coffee grinder? Thanks

Hi all. We’re new to the Mini and we live in the Bay Area, the Peninsula more specifically. We tested our filtered water from the fridge and it all seems to be within spec. Is it ok for us to just use the filtered water? I really don’t like the idea of buying Crystal Geyser by the gallon and the environmental impact of that. Would love to hear your thoughts and experience.

I could really use some advice because I’m completely confused at this point.
My setup:
La Marzocco Linea Micra
La Marzocco Pico grinder
19grams “Wild at Heart” beans (around 2 weeks off roast)
Volvic water
I’ve been trying to dial these beans in for days.
I started with the recipe from the 19grams website:
19g in
1:2 ratio
around 30-35 seconds
93-94°C
The shots were consistently bitter, heavy and almost tasted burnt.
I contacted 19grams directly, and they told me they often use this recipe in their cafés instead:
17g in
34g out
around 35 seconds
94°C
So I tried that as well.
Over the last few days I’ve probably pulled dozens of shots using:
17g, 18g and 19g doses
different ratios
temperatures between 92°C and 94°C
lots of different grind settings
No matter what I did, the espresso always tasted more bitter and roasted than I expected.
After what felt like my thousandth attempt, I thought: forget the numbers. I’ll try something completely extreme.
I ground much finer than before.
The shot took about one minute, and I only got around 9g out from a 17g dose.
I know that’s nowhere close to a normal recipe.
But here’s the strange part…
It was the first espresso that I actually enjoyed.
It suddenly became much sweeter, with clear strawberry notes, and almost no bitterness.
Since then I’ve gradually opened the grind again. As the shot gets faster and the yield increases, the bitterness slowly comes back.
Now I’m completely confused.
Everything I’ve learned says that a one-minute shot with only 9g out should be massively over-extracted and probably taste terrible.
Instead, it was by far the best shot I’ve had with these beans.
So my questions are:
Has anyone experienced something similar?
Would you ignore shot time and simply dial in by taste?
Could something be wrong with my grinder calibration?
Does anyone here use Wild at Heart on a Micra/Pico and have a recipe that actually works?
I’m still pretty new to espresso, so I’m trying to understand what’s happening instead of just chasing numbers.