Hello everyone
This is Ahnstar
The espresso machine
That I have for you today is
Something that La Marzocco
Really had its ambition for
La Marzocco Linea Micra
Many of you see
Whether a cafe uses the La Marzocco machine
Or not
And consider that a cue
Which shows how much
That the cafe prioritizes
The taste of their coffee
That's how powerful
The brand La Marzocco is
In my humble opinion
And La Marzocco has just released
Home espresso machine
It's this, Micra
The price for this Micra is
4.95 million won
Which is by no means cheap
Still, for something at La Marzocco
That targets home baristas
This is the most affordable and the most compact machine
Exterior
Looking at it from outside,
Compared to Mini
(Mini: length 35.5, height 38, width 53 - Micra: length 29, height 34, width 39) It shrank from Linea Mini by 6cm in length, 4cm in height and 14cm in width
With that said
It may not sound like
A dramatic decrease in size,
As some of you may think
But when I look at it
(30% smaller) I can actually see that it shrank by 30%
It may be a small machine
But it comes with dual boilers
Coffee boiler is 0.25L
Steam boiler is 1.6L
And for the pump it's
A rotary pump
And for both boilers
(PID control / Sensor control device that stabilizes the temperature or pressure to a set value) They come with PID
(PID control / Sensor control device that stabilizes the temperature or pressure to a set value) So it'll be a dual PID
The water tank is 2L, at the bottom
The power switch
Is on its bottom right
The hot water activation knob
(Hot water activation knob) Is here to your left
(Lever-type extraction paddle) It's a lever-type that doesn't automatically switch off
You need to stop the extraction manually
It's a Cool Touch steam wand
It's great in fixing the paddle below in place
Whenever I use a home espresso machine
And happen to insert the Portafilter
With a little too much pressure
It sometimes shakes like this
But for Micra,
It rarely does that
If it shakes whenever I insert the Portafilter
I would have to position it again every time
Which is a lot of work
So I really liked this
And it has a big water tank
The big-sized tray
Is one of my priorities
For a home espresso machine
If this is too small
You'd have to empty it pretty often
Which is a lot of work
The great thing about either Mini or Micra
Is that its water drip tray is pretty big
It was a great game-changer for me
And there's the red float to it
Which gives me a nice cue
For when I need to empty the tray
In my opinion
For a home espresso machine
It's between whether
It can pull a shot and steam milk simultaneously
Or not simultaneously
I think these are the two categories
For a machine with a vibration pump
(Thermoblock = boiler system) Or a Thermoblock
It may be harder to pull a shot
And steam milk at the same time
So for those machines
You start extracting
And when the shot is pulled
You then turn the steam function on
And you'd only then steam the milk
It is for sure limiting for you
To have a quality latte
However, machines with specs
As good as those of Micra
Even with the simultaneous extraction and steaming
It will not get shaky or become unstable
That's this machine
(Can pull shots and steam milk simultaneously) So basically, you can create
A high-quality lattes
Or cappuccinos
The Linea Mini
(Gigluer / regulates the flow of pressurized water in the rotary pump) Used a 0.8mm gigluer
(Gigluer / regulates the flow of pressurized water in the rotary pump) The larger the gigluer means
When you turn on the paddle
The more flow rate there is
Is how you can think of it
But coming over to the Micra
The gigluer size was reduced to 0.6mm
It has a flow rate of 240-250ml per 30 seconds
(Stable extraction with lower flow rates) So you will notice
The flow rate per second has greatly decreased
Why this is important is
If there's too much flow rate
It means the headspace is filled quicker and
The time taken to apply pressure to the coffee puck
Becomes that much faster
The more headspace there is
And the less flow rate there is
It delays the time taken to apply pressure
As it is delayed, the hot water will
Slowly wet the coffee puck
And allows for a more stable
Extraction process
So larger gigluer
And higher flow rate means
The time for pressure will shorten
Which means
It would cause more channeling
There are many cases where
Light-roasted coffee is
Extracted without
Its flavor being fully revealed
That is why people using the Minis
Purposely replace the gigluer
To a 0.6mm
You may ask,
If there is a pre-infusion function
And yes, it has a pre-infusion function
It also has a temperature control function
If you download the La Marzocco Home app
You can check through the app
You can connect your machine by
(1. Machine OFF) Turning off the machine
(2. move lever to extraction) The extraction button, move the lever to the extraction side
(3. Machine ON) And then you turn on the machine
And now you can connect it to your machine
You can go into general settings
To choose the temperature
I set it to 93°C
You can also adjust it by 0.1°C
And you can set your steam pressure
(Three options for steam) You have level one, two and three
So we've tested the steam pressure
We used room temperature milk at 17°C
With the amount of 260g
And with that
For our usual lattes
The temperature is usually between 50~60°C
When done at home
And we tried the 60°C for the steam
For the sake of this test
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) And then, we steamed the milk in level one
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) For around 26 seconds
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) And when we weighed it
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) It was around 277g
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) Meaning it was around 16~17g heavier
(Steam level one, 26 seconds, 277g) That's the result
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) And when the steam pressure
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) Was tested at level two
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) It took around 22 seconds to hit 60°C
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) And around 279g
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) That was its weight
(Steam level two, 22 seconds, 279g) Which was slightly heavier
(Steam level three, 21 seconds, 277g) And finally when we
(Steam level three, 21 seconds, 277g) Tested it with level three
(Steam level three, 21 seconds, 277g) It took around 21 seconds to hit 60°C
(Steam level three, 21 seconds, 277g) What we noticed here was
(Steam level three, 21 seconds, 277g) For level two and three
There wasn't a big difference
Here's how the steam pressure works:
By heating up the coffee boiler
It increases the pressure
And thus the stronger steam pressure
And with changing the pressure
From level two to three
Wouldn't immediately
Spike up the coffee boiler temperature
And have the pressure change so drastically
So if you happen to
Really need that particular pressure
You have to set the level
And wait
For around 20~30 minutes
Give it some time
And then try steaming it
That's my tip for you
But for us,
Just using it at level one
We encountered no problem at all
So even with level one
It will be enough for a great latte
Or a cup of cappuccino
(Level one is enough!) I'd like to stress that
Once you enable pre-brewing
You can use the
Pre-infusion function
When I set for two seconds on
And four seconds off
It purges water out for two seconds
And it turns off for four seconds
And only then it begins to extract
That's the gist of it
If you choose to turn it off for longer
The carbon dioxide inside the coffee
Will have a longer period of time
To be let out
So for the actual extraction
You'll see how it extracts faster
For its later half
And as this time
Gets more shortened
It means there's less time
For the gas to be let out
Meaning the extraction still holds itself
During the later half of the extraction
So in terms of flavor,
The longer that
The off-time becomes
The espresso will become
Smoother in taste
And the shorter the extraction becomes
The stronger
Your coffee will taste
So you can adjust this
Pre-infusion function
Based on your preference
(Pre-Infusion set for 2-4s) So I have set it for two seconds and four seconds
Hear that?
(2 seconds on) Two seconds
(2 seconds on → 4 seconds off) And then after four seconds of rest
(2 seconds on → 4 seconds off) It begins extraction
Of course,
You need to turn it off manually
The pressure does not change here
The pressure is stable here,
The pump pushing it by 9bar
Micra is not a machine
That allows for variable pressure
The disadvantages of Micra
(lack of display) Is that it doesn’t have a display
If you want to look at the seconds
(Can check the seconds on the app) You need to check it on the app
When you turn on the app
You can see the information such as
The extraction time
Also
There is a automatic cleaning function on the app
Turn the paddle as instructed
And you can activate the automatic cleaning function
The disappointing thing about the app
Was that it was a little slow
Since it’s an app made in Europe
It’s not localized for Korean users
In terms of correct translation
You can use the steamer with the lever
And based on how much you turn the lever
(Lever style) You can intricately adjust the steam
So that’s the steaming function
With the Micra, La Marzocco
Emphasized one thing in particular
It’s this portafilter
This is called a convertible portafilter
(Can separate spout) The spout can easily be separated like this
So you can use it as bottomless
Or you can also use it
With the spout
Attaching and detaching is very easy
Regular portafilters are
Like as you can see here
(Convertible filter/ Stainless steel) Usually made of stainless steel
(Convertible filter/ Stainless steel) With a spout attachment
This material in particular
Is made of something called PPSU Radel
So I’ve researched PPSU Radel
PPSU is short for
Polyphenylsulfone
It has a high glass transition temperature
And low moisture absorption rate
And is an amorphous plastic
In other words
Steel plastic (?)
It’s a good plastic
PPSU is
Plastic
So the temperature rises quickly
But the temperature also drops
Quickly as well
So we tested both
At the same temperature
With an equal amount of dose
Through using same variable
And extracted an espresso
(Convertible filter with fast heat conduction speed) Stainless portafilter was
(Convertible filter with fast heat conduction speed) About 1-2℃ lower
So regardless of taste,
This could affect the temperature
I really consider
This a very fresh approach
In the case of commercial portafilters,
Maintaining the temperature is crucial
During working hours,
Consistently,
Or even after closing
We keep the machine running
And given the limited time
Where extraction needs to be done
Temperature maintenance is crucial
However, with home espresso machines, extraction happen
Once in the morning,
Once in the lunch time,
And once in the evening
Or even just once a day, so
Rather than maintaining the temperature for a longer time,
Rising the temperature faster
Is somewhat more important
Is what I think
So perhaps, at La Marzocco headquarters,
In that sense,
Might have questioned
Would home machines also require
A stainless steel spout
And have considered developing
This PPSU material
Convertible spout
For that purpose
Also another advantage is that
These paddle feet are great to keep it fixed in place
Because whenever I use a home espresso machine
And happen to insert the portafilter
With a little too much pressure
It sometimes shakes like this
But for Micra,
It rarely does that
If it shakes whenever I insert the Portafilter
I would have to position it again every time
Which is a lot of work
So that's why I really liked about this
Then now
I'll show you
How I extract it
And how I make latte out of it
And also the sound
As well as the taste
I'll give you a brief comment on them all
Extraction test
I'll use this Overtime Blend for extraction
I'm using VST 20g for the basket
And I'm dosing 18g
Let's pull around 40g
One downside for Micra,
Which isn't too big a deal,
Is that its water drip tray and spout
Aren't too long
With that
Since it has no display
You must use a scale
Some of you may be using
A brewing scale like this
A small cup fits in like this
But when it gets any bigger than this
It will not fit
(I recommend you use an espresso scale) I recommend you go with this espresso scale like this one
Extraction is looking very stable
It isn't too noisy
So now
I will try pulling a shot and steaming at the same time
One thing I'd like to tell you
When you make a latte:
In a cafe, we usually
Use a 600ml pitcher like this
Or a smaller one, like this 300ml one
But this is a little short in angle
(A little short for a big pitcher) So for a 600ml pitcher
It'll be very tricky to get the right angle for steaming
See how this gets in the way on top?
It'll be very hard to steam the milk right
So that was the
Simple espresso extraction
And steaming milk for a latte
To show you
How Micra works
When you pull shots from it
Here's my final comment
From using Micra
(Final comment) For a short amount of time
Overall
It's very pretty
It has all the necessary functions
To use at homes
Making a shot of espresso
Or a cup of latte
Or other variations of a coffee drink
It lacks nothing for that
It's a great machine
Because in the end
A home cafe is part of an interior design
So its strength on its design
It's something not many can outweigh
The analog part of it
Like how it has no display
That's a downside for sure
But considering its design
As well as
All the needed functions
Doing their job in this machine
Considering that, I think it's worth it
That's what I feel like
However
5 million won
That's definitely a price
Which isn't too accessible
There are so many
Machines with so much more functions
While being much cheaper
In your personal preference
If you use variable pressure
Or if you need the display for the convenience of extraction
Or if you extract your coffee in a more strict environment
Which requires a certain temperature stability
If this is your case
With this price for Micra
There are so many other choices
Of machines with similar specs
So I think you should
Definitely consider that
Nevertheless,
Even if you give up a bit of functionality
And design is your top priority
Then
Linea Micra could be your great choice
That's my opinion on that
That was a review video in a while
I will be back with another
Helpful coffee-related video soon
Bye