Brand Story

The History of La Marzocco: The Italian Brand That Defined Modern Espresso

The Italian brand that engineered two of the standards every modern multi-group espresso machine still relies on: the horizontal boiler and the saturated group.

Shop La Marzocco The Linea Micra

La Marzocco is an Italian espresso machine manufacturer founded in 1927 in Florence by brothers Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi. Almost a century on, it is widely regarded as the benchmark of speciality coffee machinery, having engineered two of the standards every modern multi-group espresso machine still relies on: the horizontal boiler and the saturated group.

Origins: Two Brothers in Florence

Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi started out as Officina Fratelli Bambi, a Florentine workshop building their first machine, the Fiorenza, in 1927. It was a vertical-boiler steam machine, handcrafted to order in the traditional style of the era.

The company's name and emblem came from something distinctly Florentine. The Marzocco is the seated heraldic lion of Florence, sculpted by Donatello, shown holding the city's coat of arms, the giglio. Taking that name was a statement of civic and artisanal pride, and it has stayed the brand's identity ever since.

1939: The Horizontal Boiler That Changed Espresso

In 1939, Giuseppe Bambi engineered and patented the world's first espresso machine with a horizontal boiler, called the Marzocco. Laying the boiler on its side rather than standing it upright let multiple brewing groups sit in a line, which improved heat distribution, gave baristas a clear sightline down the bar, and made the whole machine easier to operate. That layout became the standard shape for every multi-group commercial machine built since.

Three decades later, in 1970, La Marzocco went further with the GS series, the industry's first dual-boiler espresso machine. Separating steam production from brew water removed thermal interference between the two, while welding the brew groups directly to the brew boiler, a design known as a saturated group, kept the water and the group metal at an identical, unwavering temperature. Between the horizontal boiler and the saturated group, La Marzocco had defined the architecture of the modern espresso machine twice over.

1990: The Linea Classic and the Third Wave

The Linea Classic, released in 1990, became La Marzocco's best-known machine. Its linear stainless-steel casework and dual-boiler reliability made it close to indestructible under daily commercial use, and it went on to power Starbucks' global rollout through the 1990s. It became a cornerstone of the Third Wave speciality coffee movement, the shift in the industry towards treating coffee as a craft product rather than a commodity. La Marzocco reinforced that position as the official machine sponsor of the World Barista Championship from 2000 to 2008.

What La Marzocco Is Recognised For Today

La Marzocco's engineering has continued at the same pace. The GB5, launched in 2005, introduced CPU-driven PID temperature algorithms for precise thermal regulation. The Strada, in 2009, was engineered directly with world-champion baristas and introduced independent per-group boilers with individual gear-pump pressure profiling. The KB90, from 2019, introduced a Straight-In portafilter mechanism, engineered to eliminate the bayonet twist motion and rated by La Marzocco to reduce repetitive physical strain on baristas by up to 12 times, along with automated steam flushes.

The brand has also scaled its commercial architecture down into smaller footprints for home and prosumer use, most notably the GS3 and the Linea Mini, and introduced Modbar, a modular under-counter system that hides the machine below the counter entirely. Alongside its machines, La Marzocco builds its own line of grinders and milk automation, extending the same engineering standards across the full bar setup.

La Marzocco's Range Today

That range grows outward from the compact end. For home and prosumer use there's the Linea Micra, the Linea Mini R, and the dual-boiler GS3 for anyone wanting more capacity on a home counter.

On the commercial side, the GB5 anchors the line-up, the Strada adds per-group pressure profiling for shops chasing more control, and the KB90 brings the Straight-In portafilter mechanism to the bar. For venues after a different feel entirely, the lever-driven Leva X sits apart from the rest of the range. Where counter space matters more than machine presence, the Modbar Espresso AV, Modbar Espresso EP, and Modbar Pour Over modules move the brewing under the counter entirely.

Alongside its machines, La Marzocco builds its own grinders and milk automation: the home Pico, the commercial Jay and Swan grinders, and the Wally automated milk frother, extending the same engineering standards across the whole bar setup.

We supply, install, and support the full La Marzocco and Modbar range nationwide across South Africa, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, with professional installation, preventative maintenance, and barista training included. Browse the dedicated La Marzocco collection and Modbar collection, or the wider espresso machines and coffee grinders collections.

The La Marzocco Range at Buna

Linea MicraCompact home and prosumer machine.From R72,015 Linea Mini RCommercial-grade engineering, home footprint.From R106,737 GS3Dual-boiler, AV or MP Manual Paddle.From R149,303 GB5CPU-driven PID temperature control.From R266,710 StradaPer-group boilers, individual pressure profiling.From R386,950 KB90Straight-In portafilter, automated steam flushes.From R400,070 Leva XLever-driven, 1 to 3 group configurations.From R248,186 Modbar Espresso AVUnder-counter brewing module.R162,499 Modbar Espresso EPLever-paddle under-counter module.R167,299 Modbar Pour OverUnder-counter batch brew module.R131,299 PicoHome grinder, matched to the Micra and Mini.R24,008 JayCommercial on-demand grinder.R38,559 SwanHigher-volume commercial grinder.R84,875 WallyAutomated milk steaming and frothing.R82,149

Frequently Asked Questions