La Marzocco
Florentine espresso machine manufacturer, building commercial hardware since 1927.
La Marzocco has built espresso machines in Florence since 1927, and its influence on the category is difficult to overstate. The company is credited with introducing the horizontal boiler and, later, the dual-boiler design that separates brew and steam temperature — the arrangement most commercial machines still use nearly a century on.
What they make
The Linea family is the workhorse: the Linea Classic became the default machine of the specialty movement, and the Linea PB refined it with pressure profiling. The GB5 and Strada sit above them for higher-volume and competition use, and the Linea Mini brought the same build into domestic kitchens at a price that says a great deal about who was asking.
Why it matters on a trade floor
Espresso hardware is a considered purchase with a decade-long life, and nobody signs off on one from a brochure. La Marzocco’s stands are built around bar time — you pull shots yourself, on the machine you are evaluating, with a technician beside you. For a café owner comparing a Linea PB against a competitor, that hour at the show is worth more than every spec sheet combined.
Who buys
Independent cafés and small groups, roasters running their own retail, and increasingly hotel and restaurant operators upgrading beverage programmes.
Related coverage
What to look for on the Coffee Fest floor this August
Two days, one hall, and an audience that arrives with a shopping list.