La Marzocco Espresso Review: Strada and Linea
One of the most popular brands for both commercial and home espresso preparation, La Marzocco leads the market in terms of innovation and style. The company, founded in 1927, was the first to introduce saturated group heads and double boilers to commercial machines — forever changing their design industry-wide.
To help you more easily evaluate espresso machines for your cafe, this manufacturer guide covers three main areas: general pros and cons, pricing, and overall ratings. In this review, we take a close look at two of La Marzocco's main commercial models: Strada and Linea.
Recommended: Read our full, in-depth How to Start a Coffee Shop Business guides, inspired by coffee professionals, they will help make your coffee dreams real, from sourcing beans to hiring baristas, choosing the best POS system, forming an actual company, and everything in between.
Pros & Cons of La Marzocco Espresso
From its classic Linea product to its new Strada machines, this brand has options for every specialty coffee shop. While this review focuses on semi-automatic espresso machines, the most popular format for third-wave coffee shops, La Marzocco does offer automatic machines as well.
To help you more easily evaluate espresso machines for your cafe, this manufacturer guide covers three main areas: general pros and cons, pricing, and overall ratings.
PROS:
- All machines feature insulated boilers, which increase energy efficiency by 20 percent.
- Temperature control features make for more sustainable, efficient machines while elevating quality.
- Trusted brand in the specialty coffee world, a pioneer in innovation in their field.
- Multiple color options available to make your machine truly unique.
CONS:
- La Marzocco typically has higher price points than some of their competitors.
- Fewer trendy features than some of their rival brands making learning on this machine more difficult for beginners.
Pricing
With such a wide variety of machine options, La Marzocco pricing can vary to fit your business’ budget. Depending on where you purchase your machine, you also may have access to payment plans to help with your initial investment. This is especially important when purchasing newer models, which can easily exceed $15,000.
Strada
A darling of the specialty coffee community, La Marzocco’s Strada espresso machine includes a preheating system, lever steam actuation, an LCD display with timers, and exposed group heads to enhance visibility. These features make preparing a high-quality espresso on this commercial machine both easy and enjoyable.
- Price Range: $18,900-$22,300
- Group Heads: Two or three
- Boilers: Individual
- Body Material: Stainless steel
- Temperature: PID temperature controller
- Aesthetic: Available in a range of custom colors to match your shop
Linea
La Marzocco’s classic Linea espresso machine has a long history within specialty coffee shops. Equipped with knob steam actuation and manual buttons instead of LCD screens and built-in timers, this machine requires a little more labor than the Strada. However, some baristas prefer this added level of interaction to enable them to pull a perfect shot.
- Price Range: $8,000-$10,300
- Group Heads: One to four
- Boilers: Double
- Body Material: Stainless steel
- Temperature: PID temperature controller
- Aesthetic: Available in a range of custom colors to match your shop
Ratings
Value – 4.5/5
While La Marzocco machines often cost more than other brands, they’re worth the higher price. The integrity of each machine’s design means it will last for years while the stainless steel body easily hides any wear. Additionally, the innovative features La Marzocco includes in their models promote a barista friendly approach to coffee preparation. Meaning, each feature has a purpose that baristas will actually use to make even the busiest rushes feel manageable.
Ease of Use – 5/5
La Marzocco designs all of its semi-automatic espresso machines to give baristas maximum ease of use. Some examples of this are insulated and independent boilers that allow not only multiple group heads to be in use at once but also maintaining temperature to ensure extraction is even. The stainless steel body and, for the Strada, exposed group heads allow the barista a clear visual of the espresso extraction.
Included Features – 5/5
Both the Strada and Linea machines include temperature control in the form of insulated boilers, multiple PID and pre-heating systems as well as a variety of group head and color options. The Strada definitely has more features than the Linea, but, overall, La Marzocco machines all offer a strong set of included features.
Conclusion
La Marzocco’s unrivaled focus on quality and innovation is why it continues to thrive nearly 100 years after its inception. Either the Strada or the Linea would make a great option for any specialty coffee shop.
