LUCCA
A53 Mini Espresso Machine by La Spaziale

I absolutely love my Lucca A53. It does everything I need and more. I wanted a Linea Mini forever and kept looking at them and talking myself out of it. Enter the A53 with competitive specs and a really stellar price point- I had to go for it. I am so glad I did.

Impressive temperature control, pre-infusion (add-on), and commercial-grade steam power make exceptional espresso. I probably pull around 10-12 shots a day and the reservoir is large enough that I'm not constantly running out of water. The A53 is super easy to operate, easy to clean and looks stunning on your coffee bar.

The folks at Clive are just fantastic humans and will help you through every step of the learning curve of your new machine. I wouldn't buy a machine from anywhere else. It feels so awesome to make your own high-quality espresso drinks and you also have the freedom to experiment with different beans along the way! If you're considering the A53 --go for it!

Make great espresso! Definitely comparable to the more expensive machines

This is my first espresso machine and it’s been a Little over a month since I received it. This machine is dependable efficient and makes amazing coffee. The customer service at Clive is above and beyond.

I had been eyeing the LUCCA A53 for a while and the shelter-in-place situation made it a no brainer (and necessity!) to take the plunge. Sam @ Clive answered all my questions patiently and assured me that I didn't need to crazy overspend on the La Marzocco Linea Mini to get great shots at home. At work I had been using Nuova Simonelli volumetric machines, as well as a beautiful La Marzocco, so that was my frame of reference. I also bought a single boiler Breville out of desperation and promptly returned it.

The A53 Mini, other than a temporary hiccup (more below), has worked like a dream. The tank is plenty big, enough to get through several cappuccinos, and easy to fill (front load is brilliant). It warms up pretty quickly (few minutes for the group head, about 10 for the boiler). The steamer is super powerful, as strong or stronger than the big Simonelli's at work, and makes beautifully silky and frothy milk as you please. The volumetric dosing is pretty consistent and I haven't had to fiddle with it much. Programming the dosing and water temp is a piece of cake. Combined with a Sette 270 grinder, the shots are delicious and rock-solid in consistency. Pump noise is reasonable, certainly not the subdued purr of a La Marzocco, but not obnoxiously rattly like a cheaper machine. And it looks terrific and fits neatly under kitchen cabinets with room to spare.

The bundle that Clive includes is great - bottomless and double-spout portafilters with double and triple baskets, the starter kit, the Rhino tamper - pretty much everything you need to get started. I added on a knock box, tamping mat, steaming pitcher, shot timer, Acaia scale and Saint Anthony Industries wedge.

Few very minor nits:

- I had a very weird issue for a few days where the machine kept tripping my GFCI outlets when brewing, but only in the first hour or so after turn-on. Spoke to a Clive tech and asked around online and no one had heard of this problem, and after running it 24-7 a few days it went away. My best guess is I had some condensation in the brew solenoid or something that eventually burned off... it's been perfectly reliable for weeks since so will write it off as a fluke.

- Wish it had a built-in shot timer. But I added on a Luminaire and it works great.

- The steam wand doesn't quite tuck into the drip tray unless you push it off to the side. Really not a big deal, just used to being able to tuck it in more easily like the machines at work.

None of the above takes away from what a joy it is to use and the terrific quality shots and milk it produces. It makes me look forward to every morning getting to dial things in, improve my pulls and, of course, enjoy truly cafe-quality coffee. Couldn't be happier - thanks Sam and Clive team!

I have been stalking espresso machines for almost two years now, literally. Obsessively. Desperately. I lost track of the amount of times I would open the chat and ask questions for hours about all of the machines, grinders, accessories. Amanda was always there to answer my noob questions and make me feel beyond comfortable with the prospect of becoming a brand new home barista and entering the game with a legit prosumer machine.

Long long long LONG story *kind of* short, after hours talking to Amanda, my husband and I conveniently scheduled a vacation to Portland and of course came to Clive for their milk steaming class (highly recommend) and to test out the machines we have had our eyes on. We tested all the Luccas and ECM grinders, and about a month later, bought the Lucca A53 mini and ECM Specialita Grinder. (Just in time for all of the cafes to shut down because of Covid-19)

My husband and I would probably never have bought a machine of this caliber for our first home machine if not for Amanda. She dedicated all of her time to us when we came in to test the machines, and for a year and a half before that while I was just a "clive creeper" online.

We are LOVING this machine, pulling 6-10 shots a day, drinking them all no matter how they taste, and staying up until 1am as a result. The Lucca A53 has been an absolute blast and such an easy machine to program, and as I said, besides having a barista job 5 years ago, my husband and I never owned an entry level breville or other machine, we jumped right into this one and the first day we were pulling amazing shots. The milk we steam is SO CREAMY and perfect, better than so many coffee shops we go to because not every barista has good milk techniques. Definitely watch Clives videos for that (As well as realchrisbaca, sprometheus, and other youtube barista teachers)

The steaming power on this is insane, and we can pull shots and make milk based drinks back to back with NO problems in temp or the machine not being able to keep up at all. The front loading reservoir was something I didnt care about before we got this machine, but now we have the ease of refilling the reservoir, I wouldnt be able to live without it. I cant imagine how annoying it would be removing our cups and drip tray and filling it from the back like other machines. It is SO easy to refill the water, and because the machine lets you know in advance when the water is low, you can fill it up easy and pull a shot immediately because the water in the boiler is already hot. (im not explaining this professionally but you get the idea)

In my experience, you do not need to have prior machine know how to quickly learn how to use this machine. Utilizing Clives tutorial videos on pulling shots, steaming milk, using the volumetric programming (another thing i didn't think i would care about, but I am LOVING IT) you will be beyond proficient with this machine if you watch a few videos before hand and do the mental reps.

We will definitely have this machine for a long time. It looks amazing on our counter, fits with PLENTY of space for our notneutral cups and saucers underneath our cabinets, and there is no annoying pulling the machine in and out to refill the reservoir. ALSO another random cool thing: this machine is heavy enough to not need to hold the side of it to keep it from sliding when you secure the portafilter. ( ive used a breville and know thats a thing)
Its something you don't really think of in advance, but is super nice once experienced. Our home feels like an actual coffee shop.

I will ONLY be shopping at Clive for anything relating to espresso, and whenever I get on chat for questions, I ask for Amanda because she is the best.

*everything shipped so quickly, was packaged super professionally and safe, and I loved the UPS signature required shipment so I could rest easy knowing this huge investment was being delivered to the right house haha.*

LOVE YOU AMANDA!