La Marzocco KB90 Commercial Espresso Machine (2 Group)

The KB90 is the only machine in La Marzocco's line designed around the barista's wrist rather than the coffee. Its Straight-In portafilter pushes in on a straight axis instead of rotating through a bayonet arc — La Marzocco's own figures put the reduction in wrist strain at up to twelve times. Over a 400-drink day that is not a marketing number, it is an injury-prevention one.

What makes the KB90 different

• Straight-In portafilter system: lock in with a single linear push. No twisting, no hunting for the bayonet, and a noticeably faster cycle when you are running back-to-back doubles.
• Auto steam flush: two seconds after you pull the portafilter, the group purges itself with a burst of steam to clear coffee oils and residue — and can be set to follow with hot water. It is one less thing for a busy barista to remember, and it keeps the group genuinely clean between shots rather than nominally clean.
• Independent 1.3 L brew boiler per group: each group runs its own PID-controlled saturated boiler, so you can hold two different brew temperatures at once.
• 7 L steam boiler with Pro Touch wands: dual-wall vacuum insulated wands that stay cool to the touch, standard.
• Four programmable volumetric profiles per group plus a digital display with three programmable buttons.
• Barista lights, hot water economizer and an easy-rebuild steam valve — the service details that keep a high-volume machine in commission.

Choosing your configuration

• AV (Auto-Volumetric): programmable volumetric doses per group with flow-meter control.
• ABR (Auto Brew Ratio): adds precision scales built into the drip tray with La Marzocco's Drip Prediction algorithm, dispensing to a programmed brew ratio by mass rather than volume.

Best suited to

Very high-volume bars, drive-through and grab-and-go formats, transit and stadium concessions, and any operation where barista throughput and repetitive-strain injury are real operational concerns.

Requires a dedicated 30 A circuit. Certified UL-197, NSF-8 and CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 109. Note: the auto steam flush purges the group, not the puck — baristas still knock out as normal.