LUCCA A53 Mini Overview
As one of the first of our LUCCA espresso machines, we designed the LUCCA A53 Mini to bring commercial performance, modern design, and a satisfying brewing experience to your kitchen. To do this, we partnered with La Spaziale for their decades of experience making commercial dual boiler, single-group espresso machines.
The group head is the epicenter of espresso, where coffee and water meet to produce magic. This also happens to be where you’ll find one of the LUCCA A53 Mini’s distinguishing features: its 53mm portafilter baskets. This unique La Spaziale design is slightly narrower than the 58mm standard of most commercial machines and, as a result, the baskets are also slightly deeper to hold the same dose of coffee. We find that this deeper basket tends to be far more forgiving resulting in fewer instances of channeling than the wider, shallower 58mm baskets. We also include a double spouted and bottomless portafilter with the A53 Mini. Nothing helps one learn to improve their technique more than being able to see the extraction as it’s happening. We know this is a must-have for the most dedicated home baristas and, hey, it’s just fun to watch.
In espresso consistency is key and the A53 Mini has a few more tricks up its sleeve to ensure every shot you pull is as good as the last.
Its precise, temperature-controlled brew boiler can be adjusted in one-degree increments via the control panel on the face of the machine, allowing you to further dial in your coffee of choice. Its two programmable volumetric buttons can conveniently be set to dispense any volume of water and will stop automatically. Not only does this offer an added level of consistency – it makes pulling a handful of shots in sequence that much more efficient by allowing you to pull shots and steam milk simultaneously with ease.
Speaking of steam: its 1.2L steam boiler and included 4-hole steam tip strike a great balance of power and precision, providing plenty of power to quickly steam larger quantities of milk while still making it easy to nail your microfoam. You can also draw hot water from the steam boiler at the touch of a button, making americanos and tea that much easier.
With near-commercial performance, you might expect an industrial size machine, but the A53 Mini stands shorter than most home espresso machines at just 15.25” tall. In combination with the thoughtful placement of a front-loading reservoir, this makes it one of the very few machines that can fit comfortably below most over-counter cabinets. This might seem like a small thing but, for many kitchens, this can be a make-or-break detail.
Last but not least, the numerous available customization options are a big part of what makes the A53 Mini so appealing. Select them when buying a new machine and we’ll install them for you free of charge, or buy them down the line and we’ll guide you through the simple process of doing it yourself. The most unique of these is the pre-infusion chamber which enables an automatic gentle pre-infusion at the beginning of every shot, something which is rare for a reservoir espresso machine. The Luminaire automatic shot timer takes care of keeping time for you, automatically stopping and starting with every shot. Finally, our custom wood panels and portafilters made right here in Portland, Oregon add a touch of warmth to these hand-built machines. Available in 5 different wood species, they give the machine a mid-century charm that’ll impress any guest, even Charles and Ray Eames.
We designed the LUCCA A53 Mini for a home espresso experience that offers control, consistency, and clean modern design. We can’t wait for you to enjoy it, too.