Out of the BoxLegato Espresso Machine
Espresso Outlet and their in-house brand Turin really shook up the grinder market with their importation of the DF64 series grinders, followed by the DF83 and the SK and SD 40 models. The selection matured and became really serious with the DF64 Gen 2, which is the best new grinder of 2023, when both features and price are taken into account.
Espresso Outlet have now dipped their hands in the espresso machine market, bringing over a white-labelled espresso machine that’s been making the rounds in Europe and Asia for several years now: the CRM3007 series machine that has been through more than a half dozen variants.
The espresso machine’s most popular variant currently is the Gemelai CRM3007G. Turin worked with the manufacturer to update the espresso machine to specifications wanted by North American espresso fans, and Turin now has a more recent iteration, the CRM3007L model. That said, there may be an even newer model out there (more on this later on).
It arrived, double boxed (a good thing). There was no “Turin” branding on our box, but this was a very early unit that shipped direct from Asia. The black box is labeled “CRM3007L”, and only has the power specs and weights for the machine.
Inside is a usual assortment of a lot of styrofoam and plastic packaging. This, as you well know now, is very bad. Companies need to move away from these environmentally unfriendly packaging methods and materials. Until they do, we will call them out on it every single time in our reviews. I am happy to see some companies do get this. We recently unpacked a 2024 version of the Rancilio Silvia, and almost all the packaging was cardboard. Turin should push their suppliers to do the same.
Once the styro forms are taken out, the machine and its parts start to become visible. A plastic tamper / scoop thing fell out, as did a grouphead brush, both wrapped in plastic bags. On the side of the styro, there’s a cutout that holds a single shot filter, also wrapped in plastic. Inside of that is a rubber stopper, which serves as a blind filter insert. There was also a broken piece of black plastic I couldn’t figure out the source for. A cardboard box formed into the styro housed the portafilter and double basket.
Once you have everything out of the styrofoam, and the initial wrap of plastics off everything, you see more… plastic protecting parts of the machine’s outer body. But not all of it. Once this is peeled off (it will take a bit of time), we finally have our first look at the fit and finish of the machine.
For the most part, the fit and finish of the Legato is quite nice, and better than I would have expected at this price point for all the features inside. Most of the surfaces are brushed stainless steel, and reasonably thick. Everything seems to fit together well without much in the way of gaps or seams out of place. The water reservoir fits on the back of the machine via two plastic anchors, and holds a good amount of water. I also like that it is a visible reservoir, and removable for easy filling at the sink.
I do have some minor concerns about the reservoir. First, the two anchor points where it secures to the machine are a pretty basic and hard plastic that, given that is a high traffic and movement area, could easily be broken, down the road. Keep some super glue handy. Second, the lid is really basic, though it flips up to allow pouring water in place. It’s also the same plastic as the anchor points. It’s that kind of plastic with almost no flex to it, so when you do flex it, it can snap.
As for the rest of the machine’s outer body, there was no scratching or any kind of marring on any of the finish. The manufacturer has done a really good job here.
Up front, the control panel has 3 switches on the left, and a big rubberized steam knob on the right. Above that is the PID control / shot timer readout. I’ve seen one reviewer complain about the big rubberized steam knob, but I’ll take this anyday over the cheap plastic ones seen on some other machines in this price point.
The cup tray up top is very roomy up top for a machine that’s relatively narrow in size. It is also brushed stainless steel, with cup rails on each side.
Moving down the machine to the brew area, the 58mm grouphead design is nice and beefy, and the dispersion screen looks excellent, featuring a radial pattern initial dispersion, followed by a fine mesh outer screen. Next to it, under the overhang are two nice features: a “barista light” that lights up the brewing area, and a brass nut that allows you change the overall flow rate of the machine.
On the back splash panel to the lower left is a pressure gauge, showing you pump pressure as the machine brews.
Continuing down the Legato, to the drip tray area, this is probably the weakest part of the machine, in terms of construction quality and materials used. Unlike the rest of the machine with its solid steel plating, the drip tray is plastic with a wrap of very thin metal. It is also very shallow overall.
The drip tray cover is a more solid metal, but I have never had good experience with these kinds of trays with the slits cut into them – far too much water from the machines’ operation can splash around on that and spray everywhere. We’ll see if that is the experience with the Legato machine.
The portafilter is very nice for this machine. The handle has an ergonomic wave to its body, and the portafilter itself is a very solid chromed brass affair with double spouts. (ed.note: Turin says this is all stainless steel; to my practiced eye, it looks and feels like chromed brass; but I’ll take their word for it).
It is not the deepest of portafilters though: I tried putting a 22g VST in it, and it bottoms out. Stick with 20g or smaller filter baskets.
The bayonets are Rancilio compatible, which means buying after market chopped portafilters for this machine should be very easy and economical. The double basket included is meh fine. Nothing to write home about.
Overall, my impression is the general build quality, outside of the drip tray, is quite good. I have slight concerns about the potential brittleness of the high contact point anchors in the water reservoir, along with its lid, but otherwise, things look strong, secure and durable.
By fortunate circumstance, I had the Legato sitting next to the king (or is that queen) of the all metal, single boiler espresso machines, a Rancilio Silvia, for about two weeks. Obviously, the Silvia is more beefy and heavyweight, especially with its painted iron skeleton and thick brushed steel thick sheet plating exterior, but the Legato looked right at home next to it.
Turin Legato and Rancilio Silvia
Had both machines on the test bench for a few weeks, side by side. The Legato definitely keeps up with, and often surpasses the Silvia in a lot of a ways. The Silvia still gets the nod in build quality, after sales service and support, and probably resale value too.
Here, in an easy list, is some of the Turin Legato’s specifications and features.
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550ml stainless steel brew boiler
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Tankless thermojet system for dedicated steam production
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PID temperature control for brew boiler, 85C-102C (no offset)
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1500W total power draw, 120V
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1.75L water reservoir, removable, no water filter
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58mm, Rancilio compatible stainless steel (!) portafilter
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Dimensions: 38cm tall, 22cm wide, 30cm deep (15"x9"x12")
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Weight: 10.5kg (23lb) empty with portafilter
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Adjustable Flow Rate Valve (no OPV Valve though)
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Fully adjustable, single hole steam wand (not insulated)
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Automatic shot and steam timers
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No hot water function
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Heat up time for brew boiler from room temperature: 5:12
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First UseLegato Espresso Machine
My very first thought when firing this machine up and using it was “this is pretty good value for $500!”. I mean, the overall materials used and construction are really good for the most part, even comparable with some Lelit lower end machines I’m testing lately. The fact it has a full PID controller and two heating systems inside really make it stand out.
Fully unwrapped and set up, the first thing you want to do with any espresso machine these days is completely prime and flush the system out. Priming the Legato means filling the reservoir with water, powering the machine on, and immediately hitting the middle left button to run the pump. This will fill the 550ml steel boiler, and get things ready to rock and roll.
Owners of other variants of this machine have complained that when they initially used the steam function, nothing would come out. This is because the steam thermoblock needs priming as well, and it sometimes needs additional priming if you have the machine turned off for an extended length of time. I had researched this, so I knew that as soon as I had primed the brew boiler, I needed to prime the steam thermoblock as well.
You can do that by opening the steam knob for about 20 seconds, placing a cup under the steam wand before you do so. Shut it off, wait 10 seconds, and repeat. By the end of this time, nice dry steam should be coming out of the wand. It is now good to go. If you don’t steam for a few days, you may have to repeat this once.
Ultimately, the Legato is set up, out of the box, to deliver exceptional espresso as long as you are using a capable grinder, good coffee, and good water. There’s no water filter included with this machine, so we highly advise using a Brita filter or similar. Being PID controlled, temperatures are rock-solid stable once the machine is fully heated up. There’s enough beef in the grouphead to aid with this.
Our machine’s of of the box pressure is set a bit high (over 10BAR). There is no OPV valve in the machine (though one can be added pretty easily – search Youtube for some videos); but you can play with the pressure a bit by adjusting the machine’s flow rate brass nut, to slow down the overall flow. This doesn’t lower the max pressure, but it will set a longer time before that max pressure is reached.
The first shots I brewed — using a similar grind our lab standard machine (Breville Dual Boiler) is happy with — worked well on the Legato. Very early we hit the mark in our CoffeeGeek testing standard, using 18.5g in, 45g out, in about 28-30 seconds (because we had preinfusion turned off). Dial in on this machine is a breeze.
One thing I did not do was run the Scace on this machine for the First Look. Also, I have no idea currently if there’s a way to program in the PID offset for the grouphead temperatures. I will look into this for the Full Review.
The first steam experiences were also fairly good. The thermoblock isn’t a powerhouse by any stretch, but the Legato delivers better (and more important: consistent) steam than other machines in this price point and lower, save for the Breville Bambino machines (which, let’s be fair, are in a class of their own).
Overall, the initial impressions of this machine is it not only has a lot of features and capabilities, but it delivers as well.
Microfoam from the Legato
Not an issue at all - steams quickly, with good control.
Longer Term UseLegato Espresso Machine
It didn’t take long to get comfortable with the Legato. It does most of the things you want an espresso machine to do, and the controls for the most part work well and are intuitive.
But there’s one thing I just didn’t like, from the get go. It does not have any kind of hot water function. You cannot dispense hot water for americanos, for tea, or even for preheating cups. Well, you can, if you run water through the grouphead. We’ll cover this more later.
I discovered the full PID controls have one limitation I haven’t seen mentioned in other reviews: it cannot be changed to Fahrenheit. Celsius only. Hey, we should all be doing metric, but one area Fahrenheit has an advantage over Celsius is this: a change from 200F to 201F is a smaller temperature change than 95C to 96C. When the PID controls only adjust in full degree increments, this matters. Either they should include Fahrenheit, or allow .5C adjustments on this machine.
PID Settings
The Legato only allows Celsius temperatures in full degree increments. The buttons are also a bit hard to press, with almost no tactile feedback (they are slightly dimped). I do not know if there's a secret menu acess or not, to get into the PID settings or offset.
“Dual Boilers”
Let us cover that a bit. The Turin Legato has two heating systems: a dedicated, 550ml, stainless steel brewing boiler, and a thermoblock system for steam production. For $500, that’s crazy good. Even if the steam is slightly anemic, that is — as us Gen-Xers would say — pretty rad.
What this means is, there’s no wait time between brewing espresso and steaming milk. There’s also no worry about cycling a boiler back down to brewing temperatures after steaming milk. That’s a pretty big deal.
In our full review, we’ll really test the crap out of that steam wand to find out what kind of performance it has. In our initial tests, it is a better performer than the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro, but not as good as the Breville Bambino lineup. In our full review, we’ll do more detailed tests and timings, and compare the Legato to machines like the Lelit Anna, Profitec GO, and Bambino Plus.
Steam on Demand
As long as the thermoblock for steam is properly primed, the Legato has ample steam power, and you don't have to transition a single boiler like other machines in this pricepoint.
Other Notable Features
There is much to like on the Legato from Turin Grinders. Of course it has a 3 way solenoid valve for instant pressure relief and an easy way to backflush the machine. The pressure gauge up front is very nice to have, because it helps you chart out your shot performance. You can adjust the flow rate somewhat via a brass nut underneath the machine’s overhang (behind the barista light), though this is not an OPV valve adjustment.
The machine has no OPV valve, but one can be added easily if you like to tinker. I’m a bit surprised the manufacturer didn’t spring for a $3 fitting to add an OPV to this machine.
The pressure gauge is a nice addition, something you rarely see on machines under $500. It’s not just for aesthetics too; an active pressure manometer helps you to monitor your shots for defects, allows you to adjust and internal OPV if you decided to install one, and lets you know when things are running fine with the machine.
The wand is fully articulating, but also pretty stiff to rotate and position. This may be a “new machine” thing where it will break in and become easier to move. The tip is a single hole style, and it works fine, though you should be able to spec an aftermarket 3 or 4 hole tip if you want.
As mentioned, the interior of the machine is accessible, and well laid out overall. I cannot speak on “unique” parts availability down the road, but pump replacements, leaks and other issues should be easy to work with on this machine, long term.
The only part I’d be really concerned about, long term, is the thermoblock. Thermoblocks in general are somewhat notorious for gasket failures after 5, 7+ years, and it might be difficult sourcing the right shaped gasket for it down the road if this machine disappears from market. That said, the thermoblock on this machine will see a lot lower use than those found on various super automatics or cheaper budget espresso machines, so it may be a non factor.
Pressure Gauge
Good real time feedback via the pressure gauge. If you squint and look closely, half the gauge has a PSI scale as well with hard to read numbers (the more visible numbers are BAR settings).
Programming and Preinfusion
The PID controller is fairly basic, but it switches to both a shot timer and a steam active timer, depending on the machine’s mode, which is also something not seen often in machines $500 or less. Heck, even the Linea Mini from La Marzocco didn’t have a shot timer until they revamped the machine late last year.
The machine as we test it has a very poorly executed preinfusion mode. You can program only one thing: how long it pauses. You cannot program how long the initial preinfusion time is (when the pump is active and initially saturating the puck), or the pressure. It is preset to about a second. It is nowhere near enough to saturate the puck of coffee.
The manufacturer of this machine seems to struggle getting the preinfusion set up correctly. Every variant of this machine did something different: initially no preinfusion, then a forced 4 second preinfusion (running water for only 1 second, then pausing 3 seconds), then preinfusion turned on and off, then being able to set the preinfusion pause time (though the 1 second actual water flow wasn’t changed).
A note to the manufacturer: the right sort of preinfusion is this: lower pump pressure, and ability to set initial flow time, and pause time. And do not let the preinfusion session / timing affect the auto shot time for the second brew button.
A newer variant of this machine from MiiCoffee (they call it the Apex) allows the initial flow time to be programmed. It is possible Turin’s model will gain this feature in the future. For now, the preinfusion mode, only accessible via the auto-shot button, is useless, so turn it off.
Which brings me to the auto shot button. The machine does not have a volumetric control for the auto shot button, It is just timer based. You can program it (by pressing and holding the lowest button on the front panel’s left side for the duration of your shot) but being timer based, it will not deliver accurate volumes in the cup if your grind or dose is different. Also, I’m still confused if the machine takes into account the preinfusion you have set, vis a vis the programming of that shot timer auto button. I’ll verify this for the review.
Preinfusion Pause Setting
The Legato (as we tested it) only preinfuses for 1 second of pump time. You can program in the pause after the 1 second pump activation. Kinda useless.
No Hot Water
This is the biggest disappointment for me on this machine. In our house, we treat the espresso machine as our hot water station, giving us near instant access to hot water for americanos, for small teas, for preheating cups, and even for the occasional neocitran in the winter months. Most espresso machines above $300 have some sort of access to on demand hot water. This one does not, unless you run some brew water through the grouphead (which can mean stray grounds in your cup of hot water).
I suppose you could steam a cup of water, but that is not ideal.
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ConclusionLegato Espresso Machine
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