La Marzocco - Linea Classic S AV 3 Group

For that high of a volume, you want a three group, trust me. Even if you feel like you won’t use all three at once (you will), the extra group is redundancy for any downtime you may have on a per group basis. The shop that I run uses a Synesso S300 and I adore it, but I brought in a Linea Classic S to the previous shop I managed and really enjoyed that machine as well

My V3 is in the mail 🙂

High volume cafes will be making more coffee than you will, and some will have a lot of tables and multiple floors.... so I don't think efficiency will be an issue. After you get the weight and timing of shot down at the start of the day, given coffee standards at restaurants are relatively forgiving, you can just dose and pull the shot straightaway to speed up the workflow if necessary. One way you could speed it up is making sure the grinder has fast dosing times - I've used commercial grinders that either take 9 seconds or 4 seconds to dose the same amount of coffee - mahlkonig e80 was like 4 seconds and victoria arduino mythos one was like 9 seconds? I'm biased but the La Marzocco linea classic is like a tank, you can find quite cheaply second-hand as it's an older model, and then you should be able to get a decent grinder for like £400-500 probably.

Currently running an LM Classic after upgrading from a Mini. Thinking about parting ways with the Mini soon, even though it’s still a beast.

I’ve only used home machines a handful of times but have worked in coffee, either as a barista or roaster, for a decade. If I ever buy a home machine, it’s going to be a mini or micra. I learned on a Linea Classic 3 group and they are *tanks*. Reliable machines without the bells and whistles that inevitably go wrong.

I’d continue saving more. 5 grand for a commercial capable setup is gonna get you some haggard nuova simonelli or la spaziale that’s seen better days. You can find rebuilt La Marzocco linea classics (assuming you have access to 220 volt) for 6-10 grand. Have a tech run through it and tune it up. Grab a mazzer Kony/ super jolly or major used for another grand and you’ll be dialed with workhorse gear for 10-12 grand based on your budgeting.

Get a linea classic and a mazzer Kony or robur. You’ll be dialed.

Contrary to the other commenter I highly recommend La Marzocco. Linea classic EE will easily work at the capacity you need all day long, every day of the week, and ask for more. It'll keep up as your demand grows. If you can find one used you can save a decent chunk as well. This and a good grinder are going to be the beating heart of any cafe, I would 100% not cheap out on that.

I can get milk thats 95% as good as when I was a barista on a full size La Marzocco on my bambino - the power helps, but your technique is what matters.

I can share my personal experience. I used a spice grinder for 3 years. Lol then went to Capresso conical burr grinder. That made a night and day difference! Then I went to Ode Gen 1. Another massive jump from Capresso to Ode. Recently switched out Gen 1 to Gen 2 burrs. Noticeable difference in cup quality, but the jump was much much smaller than the previous two jumps. Same for espresso - had a Turin Legato Gen 1 for 1 year and went to Profitec Pro 400. I am willing to blame my lack of skills for poor espresso quality on Turin. I didn't quite know how to pull good shots maybe, but PP400 is a huge step up from Legato. I never was able to pull a sweet shot. Espresso always tasted sour, despite having a PID. Recently tried a coffee I use at home at a coffee shop which uses La Marz professional machine. Honestly couldn't tell the difference between my PP400 and La Marz. Price point is probably a bad way to capture where you hit diminishing returns. For me, Ode Gen 2 is where you start hitting diminishing returns on pour overs. For espresso, a decent temp controlled machine (Profitec Go/ Pro 400) is where you'll hit a plateau. For grinders, I'd say Niche/ Specialita is where you'll hit the plateau.

Yeah, I worked in a place that had a commercial La Marzocco and the amount of absolute slop that came out of that machine was awful to watch. Very few cleaned up after use etc and the grinder was never dialed in. Shame really but just not fit for general office life