Come as a guest, leave as a friend.
This message was written on a banner welcoming people to Out of the Box, a day of product launches, coffee conversations, and tasting experiences hosted by equipment manufacturer La Marzocco.
After a decade-long hiatus, La Marzocco’s celebrated event has finally made its long-awaited return. The one-day event—which was held in Milan, Italy, on October 18, and coincided with the HostMilano trade show—was greeted with industry-wide fanfare.
The much-anticipated return of Out of the Box was also something of a homecoming for the espresso machine manufacturer. La Marzocco’s espresso machines are famously made in Florence, but the company’s sales and marketing departments have long been based in Milan.
As part of its wide-ranging programming, Out of the Box featured panel discussions, coffee tastings, and a film screening. Guests also had the chance to try out La Marzocco’s latest products, like the OFB Strada, a design-forward version of one of the company’s signature espresso models with dramatic curves and a stainless steel floating drip tray.
For the festival’s 2025 theme, La Marzocco chose Roots and Wings: an acknowledgement of the shifting landscape in the specialty coffee industry. “We want to scale, but don’t want to forget our roots,” says Paul Kelly, La Marzocco’s global director of marketing. “You can challenge and disrupt the future, but you have to respect the past.”
Taking Flight
If “Roots” honored La Marzocco’s heritage, then “Wings” acknowledged some of the company’s more contemporary moves—including several brand collaborations with legacy European manufacturers.
Last year, for instance, La Marzocco teamed up with German automobile manufacturer Porsche to collaborate on two versions of the Linea Micra, one of the brand’s home espresso machines. At Out of the Box, a Linea Micra decked out in racing stripes was displayed alongside a Martini Racing Porsche 911.
La Marzocco also unveiled a special-edition, multi-use tool from Swiss Army knife manufacturer Victorinox. The tool retains Victorinox’s signature aesthetic, but features several modifications for servicing espresso machines, including a wrench to remove steam wand tips. To show off its capabilities, a representative from Victorinox did a demonstration assembling the multi-tool onsite.
These collaborations made clear La Marzocco’s interest in expanding its line of high-end, consumer-facing products. In 2023, Italian appliance manufacturer De’Longhi S.p.A. acquired a majority stake in the previously family-owned company.
Although La Marzocco is best known for espresso, it used Out of the Box to launch its revamped Modbar Pour-Over, an extension of the modular undercounter Modbar system. The new system has swapped the spray nozzle of previous versions with an interchangeable shower screen, which makes it easier for the machine to adjust to various brewing styles. It can also connect to La Marzocco’s app and save recipes and monitor performance.
But arguably the most notable product displayed at Out of the Box was the Jay Grinder. La Marzocco’s newest commercial espresso grinder features easily removable parts, including the magnetic, 68 mm flat burrs burrs, making cleaning simple. It’s designed to be an easy to use, low retention grinder with grind-by-weight capabilities when paired with a compatible scale.
The Jay Grinder joins the company’s Swan Grinder, which was released at the 2024 SCA Expo in Chicago. Together, they demonstrate La Marzocco’s interest in extending its focus beyond espresso machines alone.
Staying Grounded
Out of the Box wasn’t just a showcase for La Marzocco’s latest gear—it was also a platform for people to try coffees from roasters around the world, from California’s Dune Coffee Roasters to Spain’s Ineffable Coffee, as well as other industry professionals.
Many shared their thoughts during a series of panel discussions, focused on topics ranging from sustainability to building more resilient supply chains.
During one of the panel conversations, Rosslyn Coffee co-founder James Hennebry described how the company became the second independent coffee business in London to be certified by the Living Wage Foundation. “People say we can pay a living wage because we’re successful, but they have it the other way round,” said Hennebry. “We’ve been paying it since day one. We’re successful because we pay a living wage.”
Producer Rachel Peterson of Hacienda La Esmeralda joined a panel on the climate crisis and coffee, meanwhile. She explained the steps her family has taken to replant native trees and promote soil health on their farms in Boquete, Panama. “All three of our farms have at least 250 hectares dedicated to preservation and wildlife. It’s part of our family’s values,” said Peterson. “Ecosystems equal farm resilience.”
Peterson was frank about climate-related challenges faced by her farm—this year, Hacienda La Esmeralda lost more than 70% of its Catuai crop due to late rains—but still ended on an optimistic note: “I believe the interaction between producers, scientists, and buyers about creating bio-diverse systems will lead to much more resilience and better-tasting coffee in the years to come.”
Out of the Box 2025’s emphasis on collaboration was further explored at the Perfect Pairings tasting bar.Innovative pairings included an almond praline by French chef Alain Ducasse with a natural-processed Vietnamese coffee. 2025 World Roasting Champion Mikaël Portannier of Normandy’s Parcel Coffee also paired a washed Kenyan coffee with a Champagne from the organic-certified Domaine de Bichery.
In true La Marzocco fashion, Out of the Box ended with a party that extended late into the night. Out came a foosball table, a basketball hoop, and a giant claw machine where attendees could nab prizes and goodies.
“This Out of the Box was really out-of-the-box. It felt like each box you walked into was a totally different experience from the other,” said Ayşin Aydoğdu, who co-owns the coffee equipment distributor Kaffesa.
“The beautiful part of Out of the Box was meeting so many coffee people from around the world,” she added.
Photos by Michael Butterworth
