LUCCA Tempo Espresso Machine Overview
There's something beautiful about slowing down. It's about zeroing in on deliberate intention, not just in the morning, but in how we approach coffee as a whole. At Clive, we've always believed that making espresso at home isn't about rushing through steps or chasing perfection—it's about building a ritual that fits your particular rhythm. That's exactly where the LUCCA Tempo comes in.
The LUCCA Tempo is built upon the Quick Mill Pop Up platform. We've had a 15-plus-year relationship with Quick Mill, a legendary espresso machine manufacturer, where we collaborate to create unique espresso machines based on our design needs and exacting standards. The Tempo is the natural result, a machine designed for the home barista who wants control, consistency, and simplicity, without giving up the experience of dialing in each shot. It's a single-boiler machine, but don't let that fool you; the Tempo packs a surprising amount of power and precision into a compact, stainless steel frame that looks just as intentional as it feels to use.
Designed For the Way You Brew
The aesthetics of an espresso machine that will grace your counter for years need to be beautiful. It's not shallow to say that you deserve a machine that performs and is a showstopper. The Tempo has two color variants: a classic mirrored stainless steel finish and a matte black powder-coated version with wood furniture. The brew gauge matches the variant—a white gauge for the matte black version and a nautical blue gauge for the stainless steel version—and is a throughline for all our LUCCA machines.
A single-boiler espresso machine uses a singular brew boiler. Rather than having a second boiler dedicated to steaming, as dual boilers do, or using a coil attached to the boiler that flash heats water for brewing, like a heat exchanger, a single-boiler system performs a dual function: brewing espresso and steaming milk.
Single boilers are perfect for home baristas who are:
- Beginning their espresso journey
- Have a smaller budget for the machine, grinder, and accessories
- Prefer straight espresso shots over milk-based drinks
- Require a small footprint
Key Features
The Tempo is feature-rich: from its programmable pre-infusion and accurate temperature control to its versatile flow control device for coffee experimentation.
- PID temperature control: The PID is your control center for all programmable parameters. It will also double as a shot timer during extraction.
- Programmable pre-infusion: An extraction that starts off with a gentle saturation will improve extraction consistency, lessen channeling, and make espresso taste better.
- Energy-saving modes: When your machine is idle, you can set the time it powers down. Press any button to wake it up; the heat-up time is lightning fast.
- Side-loading water reservoir: This machine has easy water access with no mess, so you can put it anywhere you'd like to make espresso.
- Ample cup clearance: You can easily fit a scale and your favorite mug on the drip tray.
- Flow control: A fun, optional feature that allows you to experiment with different coffees by manipulating water flow to the group head in real time. The flow control paddle is magnetic, so you can remove it if you wish.
- Fast heat-up is our favorite feature of the Tempo. The machine is ready and able to brew within 7 minutes!
- The quick transition from brew to steam is incredible as far as single-boiler machines go. The Tempo reaches 265°F within 30 seconds, delivering robust and dry steam. There's no other single-boiler on the market that can go toe-to-toe with the Tempo's steaming capabilities.
Slowing Down Never Looked so Good
We're proud of the LUCCA Tempo for what it can do and for how it invites you to break the mold. There's a certain calm in knowing your machine is ready when you are and that every part of it is designed to support your pace, not rush it.
If you're waiting for the right moment to step into home espresso or scale back to something simpler, there's no better time to do it. The LUCCA Tempo is more than a new machine; it's a new rhythm.